As soon as the newest Overwatch hero was announced I was pretty excited, then to find out it’s not only a sniper, but a support as well, I was thrilled. I was hoping Ana would bring me back to sleepless all-nighters of Overwatch. She comes packing dual use grenades, which both heal allies and damage enemies plus a stun ability, she sounded like an unstoppable force! Then I find out she boasts a rampage/rage style targeted buff that can be cast on a teammate, and I found myself calling for an early nerf.

Unfortunately as good as Ana sounds on paper, she just does not deliver in gameplay. Her sluggish movement speed and lack of mobility skill left me wanting for more. As much as I enjoyed playing a sniper that could get up in the mix, without the addition of a jump, climb or sprint the hero is left feeling very flat. The lack of mobility coupled with the lack of damage from her over accurate sniper rifle simply took the fun out of sniping for me.

Now this is not to say that Ana is a bad hero overall, her primary weapon hits multiple times with what seems to be 100% DOC accuracy. Her stun ability is a bit slow for long range but can really change a team fight or ruin an ultimate while you are up close and personal. I also think she has much more utility than Widowmaker, especially in the ultimate department.

Overall I think Ana is a good start to a very interesting hero class, with a bit of work I think she could be a very valuable part of any team. Currently, however, there are few situations where I don't see a Honzo or a Mercy being a better choice in either roles Ana can fill. All of that said,I can't wait to see the first balancing patch on Ana, and to see how Blizzard evolves the sniper support class!

 

See James get a sweet double kill that leads his team to victory: