We are going to be looking at a few of the Overwatch healers and diving into their abilities so that you can decide which best suits your play style.
Mercy
Mercy is arguably one of the most popular healers in the game largely due to the fact that her Caduceus Staff does not have a limit or a cooldown.
She is able to heal for as long as necessary, healing 55 HP per second. The only factor to be aware of is that she can only heal enemies within 15 meters that remain within her line of sight. Let’s take a better look at her abilities
Resurrect: Mercy can resurrect one ally every 30 seconds. This is a powerful ability if used right, but it can be interrupted and Mercy is highly vulnerable when using it.
Guardian Angel: This allows Mercy to fly to her allies, both dead and alive.
Angelic Descent: Mercy slowly floats to the ground while airborne, which can be combined with Guardian Angel to allow her to fly around the map to her allies at ease.
Regeneration: Slowly regenerates Mercy’s health.
Caduceus Staff: Mercy’s staff has no cooldown meaning that she can continuously heal her enemies so long as they stay connected and relatively close to her. She can also buff her allies with her staff.
Caduceus Blaster: Mercy’s secondary weapon allows her to defend herself, packing a small but punchy blast.
Ultimate: Valkyrie
Mercy’s Ultimate ability allows her to fly around the map healing or buffing her enemies. Her healing is increased to 60 HP per second, though she does become an easier target for certain heroes and their ultimates like Soldier 76’s Tactical Visor.
This ultimate is an asset as it can quickly and efficiently heal and/or boost the entire team.
Baptiste
Despite being the most recent addition to the healers in Overwatch (see also ‘How Many Characters Are In Overwatch?‘), Baptize has quickly risen up the ranks. Let’s have a look at his abilities.
Biotic Launcher: Baptiste’s primary weapon is his biotic launcher, which fires healing grenades at allies. This is particularly useful when teammates are scattered, as the arcing projectiles have a three-meter effect radius and fly at 60 meters per second. With a direct hit, they can heal 70 HP, whilst allies within the range- but not directly hit- are healed by 50 HP.
The launcher also acts as a weapon that Baptiste can use to fire on his enemies in three-round bursts. The launcher does a surprising amount of damage, making him an admirable foe in his own right as well as an excellent healer.
Exo-Boots: Baptiste’s Exo-Boots allow him to jump as high as 9.1 meters when at full charge, making for a great method of escape should he become cornered.
Regenerative Burst: This quick burst ability- which heals all allies as well as Baptiste himself- allows for an intense healing effect for those within a 10-meter radius of him.
Immortality Field: Baptiste’s Immortality Field prevents teammates from dying whilst they are inside it. It can be destroyed, hacked, and has a long cooldown of 25 seconds, but if used appropriately it can be a game-changing device that keeps allies alive in key moments.
Ultimate: Amplification Matrix
Baptiste’s Ultimate creates a matrix that significantly amplifies both healing and damage for 10 seconds. If placed correctly, the Amplification Matrix can easily decimate the enemy team in a few seconds.
Ana
Ana is a healing sniper who uses a Biotic Rifle to heal her teammates at long range, though she is also able to manage close-range healing. Her rifle shoots individual darts that heal 70 HP to allies and damages enemies by 70. Her abilities include:
Sleep Dart: Ana fires a dart that puts enemies to sleep and causes 5 damage. The enemy is left completely vulnerable whilst unconscious, but they can be woken up if they are hit by teammates.
Biotic Grenade: This biotic bomb is similar to Baptiste’s healing grenades in that they are arcing projectiles that can heal from afar. Much like Ana’s rifle, these grenades can also do damage to enemies- leaving them unable to heal at all for a few moments- as well as heal teammates.
Ultimate: Nano Boost
Much like the ultimate of all the healers, Ana’s provides a significant boost. However, this is limited to one teammate only.
Ana’s Nano Boost dart offers 50% damage reduction, extra health, and plus fifty damage to the ally she chooses to boost. This can be a very useful ultimate to use on tanks as they become even more durable when boosted.
Final Thoughts
Mercy, Baptiste, and Ana are certainly noteworthy Overwatch healers, but that isn’t to say that the other healers in the game – Lucio, Moira, Brigitte, and Zenyatta – don’t have their merits.
It all depends on your personal play style. Take some time playing with each character to find out which healing style suits you best!
My name is Ashley Newby and I want to put integrity back into esports and get the hype surrounding them paramount once more. During my teenage years, I happened to stumble across a Street Fighter tournament online and I was hooked.
From that day, I have kept up with and watched many tournaments including Valorant, Super Smash Bros, and League of Legends. I even got to compete in my first one earlier this year!
