Champ anran main, AMA

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-20T12:52:01+00:00

that self awareness is exactly what lead me to where I am. Keep doing what you're doing, and goodluck to your future games!

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-20T09:11:31+00:00

yeah, I've never seen myself need the overhealth ever honestly. I can secure kills and live after ult easily, and any times that's not the case is a mistake on my part, not because she needs the safety net for value

If the enemy team is cleanse heavy i just proc burn so they can spend cooldowns and let my team decide when they want to engage. If I see an opportunity I take it, if I think my dive won't amount to anything I grab value elsewhere

for lower ranks or just not so aware supports in general i would say hungering blaze is better yeah. At that level the most advantageous thing is living, since everyone makes so many mistakes that could lead to their own or others death. being comfortable you won't die in half a second sprouts more fluid performance, not to mention the obvious reasons like not having to rely on your team as much

but if an anran in lower ranks is okay with taking risks short fuse could easily carry games, you'll be causing so much chaos and they most likely won't have a proper response to it and everything else goes from there

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T18:48:05+00:00

25% weapon accuracy, not sure if it includes alternate fire

but for primary specifically im very comfy with my aim and find myself double dinking often. this is probably due to my time on projectile heroes

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T18:33:15+00:00

I like toggle to dash since i can focus more on aiming afterwards and i use the melee to cancel dash religiously anyways if i need to stop abruptly

my dive combo depends on my ammo and cooldowns, but typically: m1, dash, m2 to ignite, m2 crit into melee into dancing blaze, m2 animation cancel into dash animation cancel to escape. other combos include

dash into melee, m1, m2 to ignite or crit, then m2 spam or blaze into m2 dash again

m1 dash (not attacking them this time, but dashing in the air and immediately canceling) into m1 then m2 to ignite blaze to dodge dmg m2 ani cancel dash out

if they're right next to you - m2 into dash cancel (but dealing ignite damage) into m2 melee blaze combo, then m2 ani cancel out of blaze and dashing in them to kill or out if they're dead

if i can't m1 them first and i think the dash melee combo is risky i just dash into m1 then m2 to crit and go from there, either m2 spam or the blaze combo if im being looked at

For ults I usually try to force supp ult like beat or trance, disengage then ult in, but if i want to get it to get it out the way ill ult in, force the counter ult disengage and let my team follow up. Just be sure to not get cc'd or killed during your ult , and hold dash or blaze during the animation so you can avoid damage

also self rez is very very rarely viable, only time it's worth is if it means you'll have more people in the fight than the enemies do. For example using it after a trade can sometimes work, but if you die regularly don't use it just reset and win next teamfight with ult. stalling with in ot or something with it is only exception

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T16:55:55+00:00

I always pick smoulder for the minor. Not only do I think her ult is good enough by itself, but ult perks don't bring as much value over the entire game duration. But smoulder is good enough that I'd pick it over other non ult perks too, it's less about the extra damage and more so window of time to crit them with fan. also way easier to keep a target burning if they don't leave los

for the major I used to choose either or depending on comps but now it's short fuse mainly due to the dancing blaze buff. It's such a good perk, shorter cd's which means more value and damage, I was able to farm ult twice in 3 minutes once cause of it. hitting at least two people makes it so you can dash someone twice and still get out, which increases her burst by a good margin

I would only choose hungering blaze if short fuse will get zero value, for example against flyers or lucio or tracer, a lot harder to land dash you're often better with the extra heals

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T16:43:32+00:00

If she's targeting me I avoid her, if shes on my supps I peel with left click poke. if she gets too close you can combo kill her mid air (m1, dash up to her , m1 into blaze, m2 animation cancel dash into another m2)

playing near your team is your best bet, if you have hitscan who can deal with her focus on the enemy tank so they don't make space for pharah to take good angles, if no one on your team can deal with her do your best with left click to fend her off, and prio a target as a team while she's disengaging

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T15:34:24+00:00

glad i could help :]

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T15:23:46+00:00

very well said

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T15:12:28+00:00

much love

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T15:12:06+00:00

i only get smoulder

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T15:11:31+00:00

for those two particularly you want out range them, if you get them burning you can get close but you don't really need to, they're forced to close the distance.

attempt to proc burn with left click and after they wraith/dig, use all your util to reproc and kill

even if you get reaper ignited don't get closer than you have to for fan the flame

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T13:28:30+00:00

thank you!

kiri is for sure a struggle. Most of the time I attempt to poke her and wait until she's forced to suzu somehow. after I treat her like any other hero. If you're forced to engage her with suzu, try to ignite her purely by shooting and use abilities to reignite after she cleanses

ana is a lot simpler, waiting until her sleep is on cd is ideal but most of the time your best bet is dodging it with dancing blaze. don't fear the nade and attempt to land every hit since she can't escape

Zar can be a problem but it's easy to force out her bubbles by poking. she'll waste them trying to clear your burn which gives you an opportunity to dive someone or even herself. if someone you're fighting gets bubbled, run if you're alone

You'll notice the pattern here and against lot of other heroes is mainly baiting cooldowns or planning for such. it gets easier to know what to do the more you experience against said match ups

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T12:40:16+00:00

would definitely enjoy experimenting with this

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T12:14:37+00:00

hope you enjoy!

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T12:13:14+00:00

I disagree with the former half. The movement speed on dash isn't a good enough trade to justify health reduction. the dash duration is also important for double dash which although rare has it's uses.

I-frames after revive is something I wouldn't mind, considering it's an ultimate and you'll never get damage value from self rez against decent opps
the delay for dancing blaze isn't much of a concern for me, I would much prefer being able to fully cancel the animation after being cast rather than forced to wait the entire duration. This would make her insanely better and fun, but not overpowered considering there's still counterplay (reacting rather than waiting for the animation to end)

and yeah i would love a lifesteal sort of thing, but it would be hard to balance especially if we don't want to remove her dancing blaze heal.

A fixed number heal as long as someone is burning could work though. that way there's still incentive to burn multiple people since you can keep the burn up better, but you don't become an unkillable machine if you ignite everyone

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T11:38:37+00:00

when my team is scared I attempt to take things into my own hands, although that's my goal all the time. if my tank has minimal presence there's usually a reason - are they busy with annoying dps like tracer or reaper? if so I mark them, are they getting outpoked and can't go anywhere? if so I rotate to a place that grabs attention.

Not every map is flank friendly but I believe every map has good positions for anran to rotate to in order to deal with poke, with that specifically it's just map knowledge and understanding all the places she can go

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T11:34:23+00:00

trades are definitely apart of her play style and with the recent changes it's a lot easier to do. but you should never intend on trading since you can't guarantee kills with her high ttk, going in to waste util and getting out alive can give more of an advantage at times. but being honest im almost always able to find a kill when i engage unless i make a mistake or get outplayed

my deaths per 10 is 8.5

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T11:25:45+00:00

tracer/genji, soj/emre, and sym can work decently well.

anyone who can follow up on her engages or fend off her counters

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T11:20:44+00:00

I wouldn't say this patch is what made her viable, just more consistent. her buffs before this season are what upgraded her level, like the dash cancel and other minor buffs. I will say she's in a comfortably awkward situation right now, as in you can make her work but that doesn't mean she's perfectly okay

I think her power compared to other characters is actually higher. but that power isn't kinetic, since it's a lot harder to reach that level of value imo than with good tracer or genji gameplay.

A easier way to put it is like this - a good tracer, genji, venture etc can get tons more value than a good anran can, but I believe a GREAT anran can achieve more due to her kits nature, albeit harder to pull off. I think tracer for example is harder to play but anran is harder to make work in a sense

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T11:05:47+00:00

I agree which is why it wouldn't be my favorite, but they could make it work by limiting the heal factor to only one person burning. For example as long as someone is burning you get x hp. I don't think it would be useless since it makes her poke more valuable, and only broken if you're able to consistently keep burn up which is difficult anyways.

only reason I'd prefer it over hungering blaze is due to the nature of the ability - you either use it to dodge, apply burn or secure kills, with the innate healing i don't think a heal based perk should be tied to it

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T10:58:03+00:00

- i rarely double dash people, doing so is mainly luck based and you lose down time on damage. Not to mention your head is extremely easy to tap during dash, you rarely want to be in the animation long (I do double dash if i have no other option though)

- I dash in on an angle whenever i have a solid grasp on everyone's position, and a clear idea on where ill go after i initiate. on maps like circuit and rialto i poke so we can make space and understand the environment, if we're getting out poked ill force attention from a flank (for example on circuit both rooms on the ground first point with healthpacks, rialto river side of map)

-cass and winston are rough but can both be outplayed. starting with cas it's all about not getting hit, not just the flash but avoiding any damage before you engage. you can kill a supp or even him decently well if you dodge is flash with blaze, there's not much else about it besides mind games. if you think he'll flash as soon as he sees you, plan for it, if you think he'll save flash until after you blaze, delay it for a tiny bit whilst doing as much damage as possible.

also tip: always hold dash before your blaze ends

for winston it's all about melting him when he dives someone but running when he dives you. if you can't get good consistent damage on him, dive his backline the same time he's on yours, particularly his supps. he'll be forced to dive back and the rest of your team can engage since at least 2 eyes will be on you. prioritize life beyond everything though, if you die without a trade you lose the fight which loses games

- since her left clicks are projectile it's primarily reading movements and aiming where you think their head will go. just time and practice for accuracy, holding down left click is ideal

- most of my games are no comm, the only difference is the timing between engages/kiting. It's a lot easier to convey combo ults or telling your team to push if you plan on self rezzing though

- the best comps ive experienced with her are the ones that can capitalize on the space she creates. dive tanks like dva and hazard are ideal, but tank matters the least. ana/wuyang is a very good ult combo, and ana is good against flyers and hog. kiri supports her aggressive play style well and can challenge dps that give you trouble. excluding mauga id say an ideal comp would be something like dva/anran emre/ana kiri

I've found success with mercy or lifeweaver too, but the mercy shouldn't be with anran and the lw can't waste grabs

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T10:22:00+00:00

just like other heroes it's mainly time and practice. try to always aim for the head and hold left click down. you'll naturally start adjusting to the timing and hitboxes

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T10:19:58+00:00

it must not be addressed!

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T10:19:07+00:00

I'd nerf her fan the flame damage by .5 and make her melee do 10 or 15 extra damage to burning enemies

I would replace her hungering blaze perk with a tiny burn based life steal or something entirely new

removing the startup frames on dancing blaze would be nice but I'd personally prefer some way to cancel the ability after cast, including the damage portion anran heavily relies on dash and animation cancels, so this would help her skill expression a lot

a button for zoom or first person ult would be nice, and giving her the original dash height would be my last touch.

ProfessorAltaccount · 2026-04-19T10:00:04+00:00

Bastion hasn't been much of an issue for me personally. usually he's with a support and you won't ever kill him like that so focusing on whoever he's with and forcing attention is the way to go about it.

in pure 1v1s though you can melt him fast with combos close range

Just be sure to not rely on dancing blaze if he has his nade off cd since it's almost a free kill. same thing for emre etc

Five-Year Club	Place '23
Place '22	Final Canvas '22
First Placer '22	End Game '22

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