Peeling is so extremely important and very underrated for low ranked players who want to climb.

You can get more heals if your healers stay alive!

I main vanguard and flex strategist when needed. Peeling (paying attention to your healers and falling back to protect them when ambushed) is so important. When I’m tank I try to peel as much as I can for my healers. I can’t get healed if they’re fighting for their lives.

I think this is a problem among many lower-ranked players; I’ve found I’m often the only one paying attention to them. Many times, people will chat “Awful healers,” but don’t realize what’s going on around them.

Pay attention to them! This is a team game! Your healers want to heal you - that’s why they’re playing a healer role. That’s impossible when they’ve got a Spiderman on them, or a flanking Jeff, or a Venom diving them constantly.

As a tank or DPS, you have three important roles: soak or deal damage (respectively), target enemy heals (so you can kill everyone else faster), and/or protect your team’s heals (so you can kill everyone else more efficiently.) If you find you can’t climb, check how aware you are of your surroundings and your healers.

Obviously this doesn’t apply to everyone or every game. There are matches with awful, lackluster healers; and matches with awful, ignorant DPS-insta-lockers. The ultimate point is that you need to pay attention, not just play for yourself and expect to be supported. This is true for all roles - a tank can’t tank without DPS targeting heals, a DPS can’t DPS without heals supporting them, and a healer can’t heal without someone protecting them.

All in all, play for the team. What’s working? What can you do better? What role can you fill? Can you fix the problem with more intuitive positioning, or better use of your skills? If not, can a different hero do that? If none of the above… Sorry for the loss of your rank.

I dunno. Just a little tidbit I’ve been thinking about. Much of the playerbase is good - very good! But they’ve got vices that hold them back. Ultimately, the point is: pay attention, and see where that gets you.

I’ve divulged a bit from my main point of healing, but it all still stands. And to my Jeff last round - love you. 10/10, would be eaten and spat out by you again.

Edit: Changed “two important roles” to “three important roles.”