The Ultimate Ana Synergy Guide: Which Healer Complements Her Best?
Fast answer first. Then use the tabs or video for more detail.
- Watch the video explanation below for a faster overview.
- Game mechanics may change with updates or patches.
- Use this block to get the short answer without scrolling the whole page.
- Read the FAQ section if the article has one.
- Use the table of contents to jump straight to the detailed section you need.
- Watch the video first, then skim the article for specifics.
The best healer to combo with Ana is Brigitte. While Ana brings immense healing and utility to a team, her weaknesses – vulnerability to flankers and lack of consistent burst healing at close range – are directly addressed by Brigitte. Brigitte’s ability to peel for Ana with her Whip Shot and Shield Bash, along with providing consistent healing and armor, creates a powerful and self-sufficient support duo.
Understanding Ana’s Strengths and Weaknesses
Before diving into specific pairings, it’s crucial to understand Ana’s core strengths and weaknesses. Ana is a long-range main healer capable of delivering massive amounts of healing to both tanks and damage heroes. Her Biotic Rifle provides sustained healing, while her Biotic Grenade amplifies healing received and prevents enemies from being healed. Her Sleep Dart is a powerful crowd control tool, capable of shutting down ultimates and isolating key targets. Nano Boost, her ultimate, empowers a teammate, increasing their damage and reducing damage taken.
However, Ana also has several weaknesses. She is vulnerable to flankers like Tracer, Genji, and Sombra due to her lack of mobility. Her Biotic Rifle requires accuracy, making her less effective at close range. While her Biotic Grenade provides burst healing, it has a cooldown. Finally, line of sight is essential for her healing, requiring teammates to position themselves strategically.
Top Healer Synergies with Ana
While Brigitte shines as Ana’s best partner, other healers offer valuable synergy depending on team composition and map.
Brigitte: The Ideal Protector
Brigitte is the premier choice for pairing with Ana. Her strengths perfectly complement Ana’s weaknesses. Brigitte can:
- Peel for Ana: Her Whip Shot and Shield Bash deter flankers, protecting Ana from dives.
- Provide Consistent Healing: Repair Packs offer targeted healing to allies out of Ana’s line of sight or those needing immediate attention.
- Offer Armor: Rally provides armor to the team, increasing their survivability and making Ana’s healing more effective.
- Engage in Close-Range Combat: Brigitte can hold her own in close-range engagements, allowing Ana to focus on healing at a distance.
This duo is particularly effective on maps with tight chokepoints and close-quarters combat, where Brigitte can thrive.
Baptiste: Burst Healing Powerhouse
Baptiste is another strong choice for pairing with Ana. He excels at providing burst healing and damage amplification. Their strengths combine like so:
- Immortality Field: Protects Ana and the team from burst damage, giving Ana time to heal through incoming attacks.
- Amplification Matrix: Amplifies both Ana’s healing and damage output, increasing the effectiveness of her Biotic Rifle and Biotic Grenade.
- Regenerative Burst: Provides additional healing to the team, supplementing Ana’s sustained healing.
- Excellent at Mid-Range: Baptiste’s kit performs well in mid-range engagements, while Ana excels at long-range.
The Baptiste/Ana duo excels when facing teams with high burst damage potential and on maps with clear sightlines for Baptiste’s Amplification Matrix.
Mercy: Mobility and Damage Boost
Mercy brings mobility and damage boost to the table, enhancing Ana’s potential. Here’s how they complement each other:
- Guardian Angel: Allows Mercy to quickly reposition and protect Ana from flankers.
- Damage Boost: Amplifies the damage output of Ana’s Biotic Rifle, making her a more significant threat to the enemy team. It also can be used on friendly DPS making them more lethal.
- Resurrect: Can bring back key teammates who are caught out of position or eliminated by the enemy team.
This pairing works best when the team composition is heavily reliant on a few key damage heroes that Mercy can consistently damage boost.
Lucio: Speed and Area Healing
Lucio offers speed boost and area-of-effect healing, enabling the team to engage and disengage effectively. The synergy is such:
- Speed Boost: Helps Ana reposition and escape from flankers. It can also facilitate aggressive plays by the team.
- Amp It Up: Provides bursts of area-of-effect healing, supplementing Ana’s sustained healing.
- Sound Barrier: Provides temporary shields to the team, protecting them from burst damage and giving Ana time to heal.
This duo excels on maps with open areas where speed and mobility are crucial.
Moira: Resource Management and Aggression
Moira provides strong resource management and aggressive potential. How they work:
- Biotic Orbs: Provides additional healing and damage, supplementing Ana’s kit.
- Fade: Allows Moira to quickly reposition and protect Ana from flankers.
- Coalescence: Provides a powerful beam of healing and damage, increasing the team’s survivability and damage output.
This pair works well in brawl compositions where constant aggression and close-range engagements are favored.
Key Considerations When Choosing a Healer to Pair with Ana
When selecting a healer to pair with Ana, consider the following factors:
- Team Composition: Choose a healer that complements the team’s overall strategy and playstyle.
- Map: Consider the map’s layout and the types of engagements that are likely to occur.
- Enemy Composition: Analyze the enemy team’s composition and select a healer that can counter their strengths and exploit their weaknesses.
- Personal Playstyle: Choose a healer that you are comfortable playing and that complements your individual playstyle.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Can Ana and Mercy work together in higher ranks?
Yes, Ana and Mercy can be effective in higher ranks, but it requires excellent coordination and awareness. Mercy’s damage boost on a skilled DPS player, combined with Ana’s high healing output, can be a potent combination. However, this duo is vulnerable to dive compositions and requires strong tank play to protect them.
2. Is Moira a good pick with Ana against Dive?
Moira can be a decent pick against dive due to her ability to peel for Ana with Biotic Orbs and Fade. Her high healing output can also help to keep the team alive during intense dive engagements. However, she lacks utility compared to other supports.
3. What is Ana’s best ultimate combo target?
Ana’s Nano Boost is most effective on damage heroes like Genji, Soldier: 76, and Reaper. Tanks like Reinhardt and Winston can also be good targets, depending on the situation.
4. How do I protect Ana from flankers as Brigitte?
Use Whip Shot to knock flankers away from Ana, and Shield Bash to stun them if they get too close. Position yourself between Ana and the flankers, and use Repair Packs to heal her when she takes damage.
5. What are some good maps for Ana and Brigitte?
King’s Row, Numbani, and Eichenwalde are excellent maps for Ana and Brigitte due to their tight chokepoints and opportunities for close-quarters combat.
6. Is Ana good on defense or offense?
Ana can be effective on both defense and offense. On defense, she can hold down chokepoints with her Biotic Grenade and Sleep Dart. On offense, she can provide sustained healing and Nano Boost to enable aggressive plays.
7. How can I improve my Ana accuracy?
Practice in the training range and quick play. Focus on tracking enemy movements and leading your shots. Adjust your sensitivity settings to find what works best for you.
8. What heroes counter Ana?
Tracer, Genji, Sombra, and Winston are effective counters to Ana due to their mobility and ability to dive her backline.
9. When should I use my Biotic Grenade?
Use your Biotic Grenade to heal critical teammates, deny healing to enemies, or secure kills on low-health targets.
10. How do I use Sleep Dart effectively?
Use Sleep Dart to interrupt ultimates, isolate key targets, or create space for your team. Be mindful of the cooldown and try to predict enemy movements.
11. How do I deal with Pharah as Ana?
Communicate with your team and ask for assistance from hitscan DPS heroes like Soldier: 76 or Widowmaker. You can also try to land a Sleep Dart on Pharah, but it can be challenging.
12. What is the optimal Ana sensitivity setting?
The optimal sensitivity setting varies depending on individual preference. Experiment with different settings until you find one that allows you to track targets accurately and consistently.
13. How do I position myself as Ana?
Position yourself in a safe location with clear lines of sight to your teammates. Stay behind your tanks and away from flankers. Use natural cover to protect yourself from enemy fire.
14. What is Ana’s role in a team fight?
Ana’s role is to provide sustained healing, crowd control, and damage amplification to support her team. She should prioritize keeping her tanks alive and enabling her DPS heroes.
15. Can Ana work well with Zenyatta?
Ana can work well with Zenyatta, but this pairing requires very strong positioning and awareness from both players. Zenyatta’s Discord Orb can amplify damage, but he lacks the consistent healing output and peel that Ana often needs. This comp is often seen in OWL or organized play, but less common in ranked games.
By understanding Ana’s strengths and weaknesses, and carefully selecting a healer partner that complements her abilities, you can create a powerful and effective support duo that can carry your team to victory.