Hi all,
I debated posting this or not as I barely made it to Plat last season. I'm by no means a pro, and I only just this morning had my first 2000 damage game. I'm better than average but I'm not great by any stretch. I'm also a big fan of theory crafting and I have noticed a lot of newbies jumping into ranked, making questionable choices, and then cause us all to die. This post is meant for general population PUGS who are attempting to win the game/improve but this advice is likely somewhat irrelevant at the highest ranks / a consistent team.
I'm going to briefly talk about the dynamics of a fight, break down roles, and which Legend goes into each role. If you have good suggestions / constructive feedback, I am more than willing to incorporate that knowledge into this guide.
We all know that our best tool for winning is just clicking on heads but each Legend adds unique dynamics to a team. But what are the dynamics of a fight?
Team Fight Dynamics
The most average of fights will begin with both teams quickly noticing each other, beginning a poke battle, waiting till one enemy or goes or multiple shields are broken, one team will then push the other and attempt to wipe the disadvantaged squad. There are other factors involved though, which include:
- Awareness of Enemy Locations – Sometimes enemies can slip right passed your squad as you push in, forcing your squad to push the wrong location. Or an enemy can pop out of an unexpected spot and turn the tide of a battle. How good is your squad at keeping tabs on this?
- Distance/Cover – Are you in the open? Are they in the open? Do they have snipers and you don't? When and how you push are totally dependent on these factors.
- Third Partying – If other squads join the mix, how quickly can your team address these other threats in order to come out on top?
There are three people on each team, so I am recommending filling three primary "roles" in order to give your team the largest amount of options to deal with these dynamic circumstances.
The Roles
In order to give your squad the largest advantage possible there are three main roles than can or should be filled in a generalized squad in order to come out on top of EVERY situation.
Mobility : These Legends all have powerful ultimate abilities that allow your ENTIRE squad to move as one to close the gap on an enemy team for a coordinated push OR allow your squad to intelligently disengage / pick their fights. This is essential to being able to wipe squads and to fight in favourable situations. This person is basically team captain. When they say push. PUSH. This person's job is to make sure your team can take advantage of favourable situations and must try to bail your squad out of bad ones.
- S Tier Mobility: Pathfinder, Wraith
- A Tier Mobility: Bangalore, Octane
Pathfinder: PROS: Provides fast unprotected vertical mobility, can recon rings to help take favourable positions early, quick in-combat repositioning, good poke due to verticality of positions. CONS: No real close combat advantage save clutch grapples.
Wraith: PROS: Very fast secure mobility, can easily reposition herself, small hitbox (great for close quarters), passive gives some awareness of enemy teams. Can survive longer in late game rings. CONS: Slowest initial push of all mobility champs. No speed advantage in combat.
Bangalore: PROS: Ultimate proves great well-timed opportunity to push (poke one down, ult, shield cell, and push). Passive provides great mobility when moving cover to cover / for dueling. Smoke is great for covering disengages, revives, looting, and can be used to cause confusion. CONS: No team speed boost, she only provides windows of opportunity to move.
Octane: PROS: Best overall speed, provides some fast vertical mobility (but not as much as pathfinder). CONS: Doesn't do anything better than any other mobility champ, he's very much an allrounder with no unique advantage or disadvantage.
Support: These Legends allow your squad to regroup quickly and can suppress/slow enemy squads. In the event you lose your initial fight / are down a member, this person and their cooldowns are suddenly the primary advantage your team can have. This person's job is to give your team some sort of advantage when your team is at a disadvantage (being pushed, low health, down a member).
- S Tier Support: Gibby, Wattson, Lifeline
- A Tier Support: Caustic
Gibby: PROS: Tanky, Amazing Poke. Provides Cover for healing, reviving, poking, retreating. Fast team heals. Ultimate can be used to suppress enemy teams/ slow pushes, or for damage if the enemy is caught outside. CONS: Huge hit box, long cooldowns.
Wattson: PROS: Provides a great position to poke from, enhances team sustain while poking, can maintain defenses in an area for ridiculously long periods. If pushed, the enemy is pretty much forced to be slowed at least once. CONS: No advantages available without preplanning/preparation time.
Lifeline: PROS: Great sustain in poke fights, fast healing, can provide loot / cover to team. Very fast, protected rezzing. CONS: Cannot slow or suppress an enemy squad, as a result she pairs well with bangalore (as a mobility) or another support for team balance.
Caustic: PROS: Tanky. Slows enemies very effectively. Can provide mobile cover. DOTS, MORE DOTS. CONS: Not great for poking with and large hit box in close range. Yeah, I put him in A Tier but he is my character with the most kills in the game. I love this guy he just doesn't add as much to the whole team as the other three.
Utility/3rd Pick: This Legend is a bit of a swing. Make sure the first two roles are filled first. After that, the 3rd pick on a team is attempting to provide some sort of advantage either offensively, defensively, or both (recon characters). This changes the way your squad engages with other teams but is does not provide as large a benefit as the first two.
- S Tier Utility: Crypto, Lifeline, Bangalore
- A Tier Utility: Mirage, Bloodhound, Wraith
- B Tier Utility: Everyone Else
Crypto: PROS: Strong scouting, EMP is great when timed with a mobility champ's ult, amazing banner recovery. CONS: No real combat advantage outside of Ultimate (who let's a crypto drone just sit there…really..)
Lifeline: I detailed her in the support section. She pairs very well with other supports and so can warrant being selected in this slot.
Bangalore: I detailed her in the mobility section. Her kit provides mobility opportunities but also can be used defensively and her ultimate "can" zone enemy teams. So her can really fit on any squad.
Mirage: PROS: Very strong dueling. Can easily flank other squads. Gives information on enemy locations. CONS: No team utility outside of decoy scouting.
Bloodhound: PROS: Can support a push by team's mobility champ VERY WELL. Enemies can't hide. Provides intel on enemy locations. Can see through walls. CONS: Is also easily tracked by anyone else due to the loudness / visiblity of their abilities.
Wraith: I detailed her in the mobility section. She deserves a mention here just because of how secure her mobility is and how well her ultimate can be used for flanking. She can pair well with any of the other mobility legends.
TL;DR Just click on their heads.
