So, You're Last Pick? - Support Guide

We've all been last pick and forced to support at least once, let us help you make the best out of it and even carry your game as a support, and yes, supports CAN carry.

Before beginning, you have to pose a couple of questions.

Would I like to put in a lot of work, yet get none of the gratitude?

Would I like to get yelled at for any and each seemingly insignificant detail that turns out badly?

Would I like to wind up hating the game, and every one of the bastards who play it?

Do I like being a prisoner to my team?

Am I last pick?

On the off chance that you replied "Yes" to any of these questions, then supporting may be a good fit for you.

Let's begin, shall we?



Support: An extravagant word for healer.

In this MOBA called Heroes of the Storm, supports are a touch not quite the same as different MOBAs. While in LoL/DotA, they are frequently stuck with utility, for example, vision, CC, buffs and debuffs; in Heroes of the Storm, it's significantly all the more "real healing" centered.

Presently, while crude healers don't work so well in those MOBAs, it's far less demanding to adjust in Heroes of the Storm because of the absence of "Armor & Magic Resistance." Outside of special talents (Block, Imposing Prescence, Hardened Shield), the main thing that differs a Warrior and an Assassin is normally simply their stamina numbers.

Like I said, supports can still carry games and our employees regularly use them to perform Heroes of the Storm Boost services.

That said, I believe there are various types of "supports." I separate them in "Main Healer", "Utility" & "Flex". I won't be explaining utility, as it is an truly obscure idea. It's basically someone who picked that certain champion only because you lack a certain buff/shield/utility. It can often be a Tyrael who's spec'd into shielding the team, or an Abathur who's talented full Symbiote and MULE for repairs.

In our Warrior post, I was an impassioned supporter that most warriors can fit in many parts and compositions; I gave cases on the best way to make a customary Mace/Brusier champion into to a something like a Spear/Engage or/Shield/Tank. Anyway, can the same be said for supports?

Shortly: No

Long Answer: Supports/Healers are intended to rescue their team from their own clumsiness, and as much as I cherish Brightwing and Tyrande, they can just counter so much clumsiness.

That as well as your warrior and melee heroes need to have confidence and trust in your capacity to perform. This implies adhering to the meta. Despite the fact that I know I can put out awesome numbers as Tyrande, if my warrior is reluctant to stay in a fight for reasons because he's afraid a support wont keep him up; they are going to clasp, and withdraw, potentially costing us an objective in the game, or surprisingly more dreadful, having the opposite team get a few kills as your team is spreading away.

Nonetheless, worth saying, two "flex picks/Off healers" can carry out the role of an off healer, yet it would require extensively more work and coordination. Meaning, stop picking Tass, Tyrande and so on as primary healers in soloQ environment! Free pro tip from our Heroes of the Storm Boost team.

MAIN HEALERS: What Main Healers do is obviously pretty self explainatory. They offer incredible healing numbers and have a brave destinty committed to sparing their clumsy buddies. There are 4 I think of Main healers: Uther, Malfurion, Rehgar, and LiLi.

Uther: Best healer, no doubt. He has a single target huge-ass heal, and an "AOE" weaker heal, alongside a stun, able to talent into Cleanse, his own type of Rewind talent, and Divine Shield, which is most likely the best Heroic to spare 1 buddy. I truly don't see quite a bit of a drawback to him. He's the best at this very moment.

Rehgar: Another awesome choice. With access to "Healing Surge" and "Tidal Waves" he can keep up a whole group against fairly decent poke (Kael'thas) without any issues. His Heroic, Ancestral Heal makes him capable to deny burst kills, yet you have to count on the short ability delay to utilize it legitimately. Be that as it may, he seriously lacks peel, yet compensates for it in offense capacity.

Malfurion: Awesome single target heals, great CC, ready to restore mana. Disadvantage? Heals over time. He needs burst heals, big ass heals right away. The HoT way of his healing, specialises him for more drawn out battles (Great for Mines, Battlefield of Eternity). His Heroic, Tranquility is an AOE HoT, so as opposed to what people think, you need to pop this directly after the begin of a teamfight, right when teams have dedicated to a fight. In the event that you attempt to utilize it to keep up somebody under 20%, it might be past the point of no return.

Li-Li: Ugh... Okay, she's not "that awful." She has extraordinary heals for the mana costs, has talents that increase it, and her Heroic is truly solid. Thing is, and it's a major thing, she can't point her heals.

Her Q focuses on the closest partner with the least stamina, keeping in mind this may appear like something worth being thankful for, the most hurt ally may not be the best target. Would I like to heal the Assassin who is as of now disengaged with 10% HP, or the Warrior with 20% remaining in the middle of the enemy team and us?

Much more terrible, heroes like "The Lost Vikings" and Murky will quite often be targeted by heals because of their low HP pool. Her Heroic, "Jugs 1000 cups" can be easily interrupted, be the range is sufficient that you can skirt the edge of the back line and not stress over getting hard CC'd.

FLEX PICKS: Take these as "off healers." Now while they are able to put out extraordinary numbers, it's regularly not the numbers you want, it's the urgency that you require them. Like I said, it's about sparing your buddies from their own particular clumsiness.

In the event that you can't get that burst heal to spare a fellow team member, it's simply number cushioning. On the other hand, they do have a part. They generally have better offensive abilities, perhaps a couple of more actives, or simply convey some utility to the group. This is the place I put the other 4: Tyrande, Kharazim, Brightwing, and Tassadar.

Tyrande: Likely the best "Flex" in the game right now. With decent healing numbers, vision with her owl, a skillshot stun, and an active that destroys tanks, she can do a ton of work in good hands. Her drawback is 1 utility Heroic (Shadow sSalk) and the other one is again offensive, Damage+Slow (Star Fall).

I've made her role as a main healer, yet I don't suggest it, it's just not worth it. As I said before, it's likely that your team will blame you, not have confidence in you and lose because of the attitude and behaviour. Great players like our boosters love picking her when doing the Heroes of the Storm Boost services for our clients. Not sure if we'll use him for the HotS Placement Matches this wednesday.

Kharazim: The Monk is the new hybrid support coming to the game. I played him and you have 2 in each game on the PTR server. Puts out great numbers and has a pleasant Heroic that revives your buddy back from the dead, so why is he considered to be a "Flex?" Positioning. I'll go more top to bottom later yet the range of his heal is tiny, which means in order to heal the tank, you must be right beside the tank, that is the one spot you don't want your healer to stay in.

Additionally to make utilization of his trait you need to be in close melee range, hitting someone, which once more, may be detrimental for you. I wonder if he'll be good for Heroes of the Storm Boost jobs.

Brightwing: A victim of the nerf bat. Used to be the very best supp in the game, now with some talents gone, she just lacks the ability to help clumsy buddies. Now, she's not awful at all, I for one think she can even now have extraordinary effect on a group.

Stage Shift, Pixie Dust, Polymorph all have talents to convey a great deal of help to a group. I would very suggest BW over a second warrior or third DPS in your composition. Shield Dust+Bouncy Dust can nullify Jaina/Kael's/Nova's Damage burst, while Critterize can help your group focus and kill a target you intend to.

Tassadar: This hero is just bad right now.The shield mechanics are just fine but he is lacking. I would not suggest picking him as a support, but rather as an "Utility" pick or a "Flex DPS". His Oracle is extraordinary for scouting and having your group map aware. MULE is useful for specific maps, Shrink Ray can deny a good burst, and he can be fairly hard to kill. Still, he isn't a support in my eyes however. Still fun now and again.

Active Talents: We all hate them, more buttons to press. :)

Since the supports are explained, let's proceed to active talents, the thing that divides a decent from an extraordinary Support. Worth specifying and making note of, not all supports will have access or need to talent into these. On occasion, there will be situational or map wise, yet it's dependent upon you to choose when to talent them. A good booster that wants to perform Heroes of the Storm Boost services with us obviously has to be used to this many buttons.

Scouting Drone: If you played other MOBAs, this is a "ward" to you. Gives vision in a territory for a short time. In maps where you really need that vision to see if they're at boss or some other crucial objective, this is often a wise pick.

Healing Ward: Heals for 2% of all teammates Max Health consistently for 10 seconds. Consider it a 20% heal in the event that you can get it off and people really stand it. Here's an insight, they won't. Also it is easily rekt by random AoE Yet, can be great when guarding a point and getting a little relief (Cursed Hollow Tribute).

Protective Shield: Grants a shield equivalent to 15% of the target's max HP. It's more significant on a tank, however, can be utilized to keep the last few ticks of envenom, chain bomb, or voodoo custom on your carries, without utilizing a CD on a real heal of yours.

Cleanse: Used to be a must pick, however the nerf to it makes it significantly more situational. If you have great reflexes and mechanics, it can save an ally from death, yet in the event that you're a tad insecure, may be ideal to pick something different. This nerf is coming in the Wednesday's patch so take note when performing your HotS Placement Matches, or let us do it for you.

MULE: Fixes buildings. Very underrated. This is a very must on Sky Temple, Blackhearts Bay, and Haunted Mines. It stops pushing, denies their progression, and buys you time opportunity to get into the game again.

Shrink Ray: Slows movement speed and their damage output by 50%. It's great... be that as it may, not extraordinary. The range to cast is quite short, so you can't target the back line with it, and the main T1 melee assassin right now is Zeratul, and you don't have enough time to respond to him. Be that as it may, in case you're managing a Butcher, Tyrael or Kerrigan, may be worth getting to stop their diving.

Storm Shield: Gives everybody close to you a shield equivalent to 20% of their maximum HP. Another incredible ability. Use it as you're starting the fight, and it's essentially a huge HP boost to your group. You can likewise utilize it protectively when they're moving onto you. It's just great.

As I said, there's no brilliant principle when to get the talents. Quite often, you'll be more "reactive." If they like to pick off one team member, Protective Shield and Shrink Ray may be better abilities. In the event that there is a lot of fighting spots (objectives), or only a huge map where you can't move effectively, then Healing Ward may give you some recuperating to stay in the fight. Also, in case you're on Sky Temple, you fucking take MULE... no reasons.

Positioning: Seriously, how long is this effin guide?! Shut up and read, don't be this cat.

Being the Support/healer, you're going to need to keep an eye on front and back line. This implies you have to position in a manner where you can have the most impact without actually exposing yourself.

So underneath are some amazingly point by point high res pictures that serve as cases on the best way to position.

Position 1: Double Warrior



Standard setup. Here you are in the middle of the Tank and the Carry. Notice where the "Off tank" is and where you are. Attempt to remain opposite of him to have him serve as a cushion, or for you to be a human shield on the off chance that somebody tries to get on your DPS (Ranged Assassin and Melee Assassin)

Position 2: Double Support



On the off chance that you have a Secondary support, have the "Off Healer" hold tight the back in between the enemies and your carry. In case you're the Main Healer, stay somewhat closer to the Melee as they will be soaking most of the damage and will require more healing. On the off chance that the "Off healer" doesn't have CC, This is the point at which you take Protective Shield in order to peel a bit.

Position 3: 4 Man Chokepoint



In the event that you have a fifth either split pushing, buddy dead, or a Zera sitting tight for a fight to break out, this is the way you need to position. You let the tank lead in the choke point, checking that they have to work to get through. In any case, you'll be holding tight the back more to make sure nobody hops on your ranged carry. Likewise, on the off chance that you have to disengage from the fight, you're not in a tank's or melee's way (Body block!)

Position 4: 4 man Engage



This is much more aggressive positioning. Will be exceptionally close to the front on the uncovered side, once more, centering healing on the tank. Preferably you need your other side to be protected by a wall. So, why go on the open? 2 reasons.

To start with, to serve as a cushion in between you and the assasin. Remember that they can wreck things a lot harder than you can. Second reason is to fan out in the event that you have to withdraw. In case you're alongside a wall, it limits your paths, here, everyone can go in different directions and make the casualty number smaller.

Counters and Synergy: Dude...

I'll attempt and keep this really short. In a perfect world You need to pick a "MAIN HEALER" for your composition.

On the off chance that they have a lot of poke: Rehgar

On the off chance that they have Burst/Pick potential: Uther

On the off chance that they have drawn out/AA substantial fights: Malf

Do you not recognize what the heck to do?: Li-Li

Credits: GetEquipped

I hope this guide helped you.

Make sure to check our most affordable Heroes of the Storm Boost prices on the market. We're one of the rare services that offer Heroes of the Storm Placement Matches Boost.

In case you're interested only in learning, try out our Heroes of the Storm Coaching service, starting from 10 EUR/$ per hour.

In case you want more guides, check out our Warrior Guide and Cursed Hollow 101 guide, there's many more in the blog left.