Mastering Moira in Overwatch 2 made me the best support player I could be – and she could do the same for you

surveillance 2 It’s been out for over a month now, and I’ve been sucked back into Blizzard’s hero shooter in alarmingly intense fashion. It’s like I’m 16 again, wasting my nights trying to climb the competitive ranks. ‘One more game’ turns into five, and before you know it, it’s 1am, enough time for just one more game, I think.

But for some reason, I don’t feel so nostalgic. Overwatch 2 feels like a drastically different game from the one I remember playing as a teenager all those years ago. And it’s probably because I’m always in support these days.

You see, I’m kind of lazy to queue up for six minutes to play as a tank or DPS, just as much as I miss flying like D.Va. So, inevitably, I’m always in support as wait times are significantly shorter for healers. This is because support is currently the most underrated and most demanding role in the game, thanks to the move to 5v5 teams.

I’ve played countless games with tanks diving themselves into enemy teams and then blaming healers for not following them to a certain doom (fist). Also, you’ll rarely receive Play of the Games at the end of matches, as Overwatch 2 really only tracks things like multi-eliminations for POTG. Playing support, frankly, is a lot of work for very little reward.

However, despite Overwatch’s huge support issue right now, I’m not mad. Actually, I’m still just as glued to the sequel as I was to the original version of the 2016 shooter, and I’m pretty sure I can pinpoint the exact reason for that: it’s Moira. This sadistic scientist is currently my favorite support on the list, precisely because with her, it doesn’t feel like playing support.

Let’s say you’re playing support as Zen or Ana; hiding in the back line, staying away from imminent danger. What’s going to protect you from a Shadow flanking you or a Winston diving in to catch you? Even if you play a support that involves a closer heal (like Mercy or Lucio), a negligent team will just let you die and then blame you for not healing.

Playing support takes a lot of work, but these frustrations don’t really exist when playing as Moira. An enemy flanking me will be disappointed that they spent any time chasing me when I quickly fade out of range, out of existence, and counter with a biotic orb that deals damage, often fatally. And if an enemy dares to come at me in the middle of my team, I doubt he’ll be able to take me out when I use a healing biotic orb, a flying ball that attaches to friends or enemies for healing and damage. Moira is by no means a support built for healing, specifically: she’s flexible, agile, and in the right hands, she’s deadly.

In fact, the game itself perfectly illustrates what I feel during an interaction between Moira and Reinhardt, and even the fact that I remember this conversation is a bit scary. Reinhardt comments that he should squash Moira like a bug for what he’s done. Moira, like a bad bitch, replies that some centipedes kill prey fifteen times their size. And this is emblematic of Moira’s experience: she is a DPS support. Sure, she heals and she’s very good at it. But her toolbox is designed to take down enemies under certain circumstances. Essentially, she is the perfect support for network DPS. One centipede in a list of larger and softer insects.

Genji, for example, is a damage hero who can be very annoying to deal with. His high mobility and deflection ability make him a difficult target for many heroes. Not for Moira. Moira’s secondary fire automatically locks onto an enemy within range. And boy does this thing have range. So if the rest of my team is having a hard time taking out an evasive target, like Genji or Lucio, I can step in for them.

The aforementioned biotic orb can be another real terror. I’ve been on the receiving end of this ability and it’s impossible to escape unless you have the ability to do so. Running away from an encounter with low health, only to see a biotic orb chasing you reminds me of the last scene of Friday the 13th. Canoeing, scarred and nearly dead, giving a final big girlish sigh, before Jason jumps in to kill you with his machete (or magical orb that drains life).

If Overwatch 2 wants to fix its support issue, it should look to Moira for inspiration. The 5v5 setup is not suitable for supports that do not have offensive or evasive capabilities. Moira, as an alternative, actively encourages aggressive play. After a short time, his healing spray depletes and he regenerates too slowly. The only way to recharge it quickly is to attack.

Honestly, maybe the reason I have so much fun with Moira is that her playstyle has left an imprint on my brain. If I close my eyes, I can see exactly when to jump during her vanish ability, extending the distance traveled as I launch myself through the air. Likewise, I instinctively know how to angle my biotic orb so that it bounces off walls and hits my target.

For me, playing Overwatch 2 is like watching a one-woman show: Moira’s show. I have adopted her behaviors. Any Mercy I see is just prey. I lunge to attack and recoil like a snake. Cast my biotic orb at the same time as my main attack before quickly retreating to safety with a fade.

There is a whole drama that unfolds during a single game. I feel like a predator when I see a Zenyatta that I can corner and kill. I’m terrified when I see a Roadhog I’m hopeless against. And I feel bitter when I die at the hands of Symmetra, a character I loved playing in 2016. I’m sure Genji has a completely different experience with Overwatch 2; I hope you’re not happy to see me.

My lack of game time as other characters hasn’t stopped me from enjoying the sequel. There’s a unique joy that comes from mastering and maintaining a character in any game: becoming so familiar with a hero’s toolkit that it feels like an intimate experience. As if no one could know this character the way you do; the nuances in his movement, the instinctive knowledge of skill cooldowns, the familiarity with all of his voice lines.

I’m not mad because I rarely play other heroes. I have a lot of fun playing Moira, inflicting pain on my enemies… for the betterment of my team, of course. If you’re primarily a DPS player but want to get into a match quickly, go with Moira. Test it. I’m sure he’s just as satisfying. But maybe try to heal from time to time.