noiseredux wrote:so in the past I got lazy and just let myself gravitate towards always playing the same couple characters - namely D.Va and Soldier 76. But honestly, I'd like to feel good about playing some other roles. So I'm looking for a little coaching from those who play other classes more often.
Defense:
I've used Widowmaker a bit in the past. I really like sniping from afar, but of course you need to be able to (safely) get her away from harm. It also seems like the meta is getting away from Widowmaker lately, though I can't really say why. Bastion seems like a beast, but I've never really used him. Mei is interesting to me because of her ice/heal ability thing (though this can often make her a target of gang-ups too).
Support:
I'd really like to be more proficient as Mercy. I think I get confused switching between her damage and healing guns. I like her ability to fly quickly to allies, though. Ana seems awesome... if you're good at using her. I feel like I get my ass handed to me when I try.
...any tips on this roles?
I'd say Widowmaker is better on attack. On defence you have to be very good at consistently getting kills, whereas on attack a quick kill or two can be enough for your team to snowball through. You have to do less work to achieve something worthwhile. On defence, consistency is key.
Ana is awesome, but right now Mercy totally outclasses her. She's more consistent at healing, and resurrect is so powerful that it decides games almost single handedly. Ana is my favourite healer though - sleep dart and the bio-grenade are amazing abilities with lots of utility.
On defence, being good at a tank who can set up barriers would be very useful to just about any team. A good Orisa or Reinhardt can prevent picks that could cost you the game otherwise.
On attack, everyone goes DPS anyway, so being a good support like Lucio or Zenyatta who can support them is great, as is being a mobile tank like Winston and getting their supports out of the picture.
I say this, but I play Symmetra, Ana and Tracer the most currently, so maybe I'm not the best person to listen to