Mastering Moira in Overwatch 2 made me the best support player – she can do the same for you

Overwatch 2 It’s been over a month since it went live, and I’m back in Blizzard’s hero shooter in surprisingly strong fashion. It was as if I was 16 again, trying to climb the competitive ranks day and night. “One more fight” turned into five, and before you knew it, it was 1:00 in the morning – enough time for another one, I figured.

But for some reason, I don’t feel nostalgic. Overwatch 2 feels like a very different game from what I remember playing years ago. It’s probably because I’m on the sidelines these days.

You see, I’m kind of too lazy to queue up for six minutes to play tank or DPS, flying around like I miss D.Va. So, it was inevitable that I always had support because the lines for therapists were significantly shorter. That’s because support is currently the most underrated and taxing role in the game, thanks to the 5v5 team changes.

I’ve played countless games with tanks sneaking up on the enemy team alone, then blaming the healer for not following them into some kind of doom (fist). You’ll also rarely end up with the best of the best at the end of a game, since Overwatch 2 only really tracks POTG’s multiple eliminations. Playing support, frankly, is a lot of work with little reward.

Despite Overwatch’s huge support issues right now, I’m not mad. I’m actually as obsessed with the sequel as I was with the original 2016 shooter, and I’m pretty sure I can pinpoint exactly why: it’s Moira. The sadistic scientist is currently my favorite support on this list, and it just doesn’t feel good to play a support with her.

Suppose you play a supporting role as Zen or Ana; hide in the back row and stay out of imminent danger. What will protect you from a flanking Sombra or a diving Winston? Even if you’re playing a support that needs more close-range healing (like Mercy or Lúcio), a negligent team will just let you die – and then blame you for not healing.

Playing support is tough work, but those frustrations don’t exist when playing Moira. Flanking enemies will be disappointed that they take the time to chase me down, as I quickly disappear into thin air, cease to exist, and counterattack with a damaging, often deadly bio-ball. If an enemy had the guts to charge in the middle of my team, I doubt they’d be able to finish me off when I used the healing bio orb—a flying orb that clings to friends or foes to heal and damage. Moira is by no means a support made for healing, specifically: she’s nimble, quick, and in the right hands, she’s deadly.

In fact, the game itself perfectly illustrates how I felt during the interaction between Moira and Reinhardt–even the fact that I remember this conversation is a little scary. Reinhardt says he should crush Moira like a bug for what she did. Moira replied like a bad bitch that some centipedes could kill prey fifteen times their size.This is emblematic of Moira’s experience: She is a DPS support. Of course, she’ll heal, and she’s really good at it. But her toolkit is designed to take out enemies in certain situations. Essentially, she’s the perfect support for the main DPS line. Centipedes on the list of bigger, softer bugs.

For example, Genji is a very annoying damage hero. His high mobility and deflection abilities make him a hard target for many heroes. Not for Moira. Moira’s second fire automatically locks onto enemies within range.boy this thing has scope. So if the rest of my team is having trouble killing an evasive target, like Genji or Lúcio, I can step in.

The aforementioned Bio-Ball could be another real horror. I’ve been on the receiving end of that ability, and unless you have the ability to do it, it’s impossible to go beyond. Escaping a low health encounter only to see a biosphere chasing you reminds me of the final scene from Friday the 13th. Canoeing, bruised and nearly dead, let out a huge final girl sigh before Jason jumps up and kills you with his machete (or magic vampire orb).

If Overwatch 2 wants to fix its support issues, it should look to Moira for inspiration. A 5v5 setup is not suitable for a support with no offensive or evasive abilities. Instead, Moira actively encourages aggressive play. After a while, your healing spray will run out and regenerate too slowly. The only way to quickly reload it is to attack.

Honestly, maybe the reason I had so much fun with Moira is because her playstyle left an imprint on my mind. If I close my eyes, I can see exactly when she jumps during her fade ability, extending the distance covered while being thrown in the air. Likewise, I instinctively know how to angle my biosphere so it bounces off walls and reaches my target.

For me, playing Overwatch 2 is like watching a one-man show: The Moira Show. I sort of accepted her behavior. Any Mercy I see is just prey. I swooped and backed like a snake. Throw my bio orb alongside my main attack, then quickly retreat to safety.

There is a whole drama in one game. I feel like a predator when I see a Zenyatta that I can turn and assassinate. I get horrified when I see a roadhog that I’m hopeless. When I died at the hands of Symmetra, I was miserable – a character I loved playing in 2016. I’m sure the main Genji players had a completely different experience with Overwatch 2; I hope they see me upset.

My lack of playtime with other characters didn’t prevent me from enjoying the sequel. There’s a unique joy in mastering and dominating a character in any game–familiarity with a hero’s toolkit feels like an intimate experience. It’s like no one knows this character quite like you do; the nuances in their movements, the instinctive knowledge of skill cooldowns, the familiarity of all their voices.

I’m not mad I rarely play other heroes anymore. I’ve had a lot of fun cosplaying as Moira, inflicting pain on my enemies…to improve my team, of course. If you’re primarily a DPS player but want to get into games quickly, choose Moira. try it. I believe it is equally satisfying. But maybe try to heal from time to time.