Imagine a skill based hero that could heal teammates, dish out enough damage when needed, makes enemies unable to heal, can make an enemy immobile for a short period of time, and be able to power up teammates; sounds pretty overpowered, right? Well, with the support hero Ana, this is a reality. Ana’s gameplay is purely based on accuracy by landing her attacks and her skillshot abilities. Because of this, Ana has a high-level capacity and is played at the professional level. Exceptional Ana players can swing team fights by landing any one of her crucial skillshot abilities; teams and tanks be aware!
Ana’s Kit
Given her skill set in the support role, Ana can punish tanks and teams hard. The main reason she can punish tanks is due to her ability Biotic Grenade. Ana can throw a projectile, her Biotic Grenade, and when it connects with enemy players it makes them unable to receive healing for a short period of time. Landing this ability on an enemy team who is grouped up is a great sign to be aggressive. Just being able to kill one enemy tank or player creates a huge team fight advantage. Likewise, she can also use this ability to heal herself and her teammates by landing it on a friendly character. Ana’s ability Biotic Grenade gives her a healthy blend of healing and damage from the support position.
Similarly, Ana’s other ability Sleep Dart allows her to sleep enemies for a short period of time. Like Biotic Grenade, Ana shoots a sleep dart projectile. When it connects with an enemy it causes them to sleep and become immobile for a short period of time; however, if that target takes damage whilst asleep they wake back up. Landing a sleep dart is a great way to catch enemies out of position or negate crucial Ultimates like Winston’s Primal Rage, Genji’s Dragonblade, or Soldier 76’s Tactical Visor. Sleep Dart can be a game changing ability when landed in a team fight. The clip below is Ark shutting down Rascal’s Dragonblade.
"Lights out." @Arkyjun #OWL2018
Live: https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/bPJoxnAXHH
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) March 23, 2018
Finally, Ana’s Ultimate Nano Boost allows her to select a target to power up. The target that she selects has an increased damage output and receives less from enemies during Nano Boost’s duration. Nano Boost can be paired with almost any other ultimate to help secure a team fight win. It is commonly used with Genji’s Dragonblade, known as the Nano-Blade combo, and Solider 76 Tactical Visor, known as Nano-Visor. These combos are deadly and can give a player the power to wipe an entire team. The clip below is of EQ’s Genji getting a Nano-Boos; he absolutely wrecks havoc.
MONSTER DRAGONBLADE FROM @eqo! #OWL2018https://t.co/U6dIipgQGs pic.twitter.com/7YeDb0sakX
— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) March 26, 2018
Professional Play
With such a high skill capacity and deadly kit, professional players can have a major impact when using Ana. Although she is great, most teams use her as a situational pick. On long line-of-sight maps teams can be seen playing Ana; likewise, when the team composition is a good fit for her. In addition, when teams try to run Triple or Quad-Tank, Ana is a fantastic choice if you can land your Biotic Grenades. Ana has a healthy balance of offensive and defensive power. If teams can find someone who can master this hero, expect team fights to swing in their favor.
Looking Ahead
Overall, Ana has a very strong kit when mastered. She has the ability to swing team fights by the use of her healing and skillshot abilities. Additionally, with teams in the Overwatch League running health-heavy compositions, expect to see Ana being played more frequently. Ana can be used in almost any composition and situation due to her versatility. She can create nightmares for teams if they don’t focus her… and also if you get hit by a sleep dart.
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Featured Image Credit: Blizzard Entertainment/Overwatch
Videos Clips: Overwatch League