Overwatch 2has a variety of Heroes that you’re able to use in the game’s many modes. One of those heroes includes Ana, a founding member of Overwatch, equipped with a sniper rifle.
RELATED:Overwatch 2: Tips & Tricks To Play Junker Queen
We havesome tips for beginnerslooking to get into the game, but if you’re interested in learning how to use Ana at her best, this guide here should help you out.
Ana: Playstyle And Physical Attributes
Ana is a Support-type Hero with 200 HP. This means she can be killed pretty easily if you aren’t careful. She’s most effective at mid- and long-range, so you’ll want to stay as far away from close combat as possible while being able to deal damage and contribute to your team. She has some tools that make this manageable. However, she lacks unique mobility options, and her own ground speed isn’t the best. You’ll most likely find yourself falling behind your teammates a bit.
Main Weapon
Let’s start with her weapon, the Biotic Rifle. It’s a sniper that holds 15 darts containing yellow fluid. This can damage enemies over time for roughly 74 HP. It’s great for finishing opponents that have run into cover, as well as chipping at the health of opponents that are near death. It can also heal allies that are shot with it for the same amount. It’s a great support weapon, capable of letting you eat at the health of enemies while healing allies that are in a fight.
Ana’s Biotic Rifle also has a scope that you’re able to zoom in with. While this does increase your shots' accuracy and speed, it also slows down your movement and narrows your vision. ensure you’re mindful of your surroundings if you’re planning to commit to it. Even while you’re using the scope, listen closely for enemies that might be sneaking up on you. Despite this, the weapon isn’t capable of dealing extra damage with headshots. So don’t be too mindful of where you hit the target, just aim and fire away.
Sleep Dart
Up next is her Abilities, the first of the two being her Sleep Dart. Ana pulls out a pistol that shoots a dart, putting any opponents hit with it to sleep on the spot. The effect lasts for about three seconds and the Ability has a cooldown of 15 seconds. It deals very little damage but has a variety of uses. For starters, it allows you to incapacitate troublesome enemies, allowing you and your team to freely rack up damage and wipe them out. For those that successfully close the distance, you can use the Sleep Dart to damage and finish them off, or leave them be and gain some distance (if you do plan to finish them off yourself, a good strategy is to get some distance and attack them from behind before they wake up; they’ll need to waste time turning around to continue fighting you or run away themselves).
Its most practical use is how it can interrupt the enemies' Abilities. This is great for shutting down a lot of characters with deadly Abilities or ones that rely on movement, examples being Bastion’s Configuration: Assault and Reinhardt’s Charge. It can also disrupt Ultimates in the same way. If an opponent is trying something that leaves them vulnerable for a while, make sure to use the Sleep Dart and nullify it.
RELATED:Overwatch 2: Tips And Tricks For Tank Class
Biotic Grenade
Her other Ability is her Biotic Grenade. She throws a grenade that can damage enemies for roughly 50 HP and heal allies for twice as much. The cooldown for this Ability is 10 seconds. It also provides a buff for allies and a debuff for enemies, both of which lasts three seconds. The buff makes allies gain more HP from healing, whether it be from Ana herself, other allies, or health packs. The debuff, however, prevents enemies from being healed by their own teammates and health packs.
Much like her Sleeping Dart, there’s a variety of uses for the Biotic Grenade. For starters, it’s another way to damage enemies after they’ve been afflicted with the Sleeping Dart. It deals less damage than a regular shot from the rifle would, but the damage is instant. The debuff on top of it makes up for that if they have the ability to heal as well. 10 seconds can be the difference between life and death if you end up needing to heal yourself shortly after though. Because of that, you’ll need to be mindful of if the Biotic Grenade is the best option.
Another use is the ability to heal allies in a pinch. Ana can use her rifle to heal, but it’s only one at a time, and she needs to be able to aim carefully for it. With the Biotic Grenade, she can just throw it and heal allies that are within range of the explosion. Because this can also heal multiple allies at a time and do so for more HP, it’s suitable for wounded teammates that are close to each other. The buff also makes healing less of a strain for yourself and other Support teammates, so you can focus a bit more on damaging enemies.
The debuff is also a lot of fun. When thrown within a group of enemies, it renders them all unable to heal, allowing you and your team to continue damaging them as long as it lasts. This is very useful for enemies with high HP like Tanks, or enemies in general that are being healed consistently by their partners. If your whole team is fighting against the other team, perhaps around a payload or an objective, throwing a Biotic Grenade at them can help turn the tide in your favor.
Nano Boost
Last but not least is Ana’s Ultimate, Nano Boost. Ana can inject a teammate with a needle that fully heals them, but it also reduces the damage they take while increasing their own damage (in solo battles, the buff is applied to yourself). The buff lasts for about eight seconds. While it’s a great Ultimate that can buff anyone, the utility of it depends on who you choose to use it on and when.
Of course, you’ll want to take advantage of the damage boost and defense increase when other enemies are around, since the buff only lasts for so long. With that in mind, verify to use this in the heat of battle, particularly when a teammate is in critical condition. As for which teammate to use it on, you’ll find the most mileage with a Hero that has high mobility and decent damage output, like Genji. Tank characters are also really great for this.
Matchup Advantages/Disadvantages
Ana is a character that has a difficult time at close-range. You’ll want to be very careful against characters like Tracer that can close the gap quickly. She also struggles against characters with attacks that don’t rely on accuracy, such as Mei or Moira. There are very few characters she has an easy time with, but she works well against characters that are slow or need to get close to deal damage at all, such as Reinhardt or Brigitte.
Ana is one of the more tactical Support Heroes. She’s suited for a player that can work well with their team. With a variety of ways to heal and power up allies, as well as disrupt the enemy team, she can prove to be very useful. However, with her slow movement speed, accuracy-reliant weapons, and Ultimate attack that only works on another teammate, this makes cooperation, teamwork, and awareness absolutely necessary to use her well.
