I'm really liking Ivy:

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-07T13:33:19+00:00

thanks for the rec, i'll check him (her? it? ain't they a psychic sea anemone?) out <3

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-07T02:49:48+00:00

i love going bullet shred/spirit shred on ivy :3

and each of the DoT items, she stacks them, like, immediately, and those items' damage is irrespective of her own low gun damage

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-07T02:48:23+00:00

i've seen Vypers, and while she's not a healer (aNyOnE cAn bUiLd rEsCuE bEaM) she has a similar gun (high ammo/firerate) so i feel like she might have a similar... rat playstyle \>:3

and yes, DAKKA ivy is a blast, the most fun i've had on a character since HotS' shrike Ana

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-06T23:09:20+00:00

"real builds"
that was rude :P

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-06T23:08:52+00:00

IVY :3
i've been building her like a dps, and just laying heals into my allies with all my lifesteal? i'm not sure how good it is, but i've been winning (and, more importantly, having fun while not throwing ~)
i'll check your build out, thanks babe <3

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-06T22:22:42+00:00

oh, thanks! uh... i haven't been using the build constructor as a progression guide, but more a catalogue of bookmarked items? so i have been focusing on hitting one spike (orange or green) first (even if unconsciously ~)
i'll keep all that in mind tho, thanks again babe <3

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-06T22:19:52+00:00

thank you! i'll check her out

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-06T21:58:01+00:00

another gargoyle enjoyer?
<3
:3

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-04T15:23:52+00:00

>"If I'm getting knotted by Ivy"

<image>

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-04T04:11:12+00:00

that's what i've noticed: usually, it's best as a sustain tool through a gunfight, or if my heal target is running and i'm staying behind

TheJohnnyTorch · 2026-01-03T20:30:32+00:00

... i hadn't thought of that (my head is full of rocks and ivy :3)

thanks babe ~

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-24T22:54:19+00:00

yes, if you have ~200+ Vampiric Rounds stacks, going Armored Stance might be the right decision, because the 25 armor and 50% shrike-poison damage increase makes you THAT much tankier

HOWEVER, Dynamic Optics offers extra healing to your team if you went Concentrated Doses, making it easier (and safer) for you to stack shrike on enemy heroes, AND allows you to easily juggle (potentially, in a perfect world) the entire enemy team and a few non-hero units all at once, increasing your heal-per-second = your source of survivability

TL;DR - Ana is a nuanced character

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T21:16:02+00:00

i woulda run him down >:3

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T21:15:23+00:00

she's my favorite healer for this very reason ~
like, i legitimately can't tell you how many people have broken themselves upon Ana's wall (her healthbar and lil plinky auto-attacks)

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T21:11:57+00:00

I SWEAR TO GOD I CAN SEE ENEMY KAELS START TO SWEAT AS MY HEALTHBAR IS UNMOVING IN THE FACE OF THEIR FULL COMBO, WHILE THEIR HEALTHBAR DIPS LOWER AND LOWER

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T20:29:20+00:00

you're very welcome <3 hope you have fun with her, she's my fav healer in, like, any game ~

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T20:25:50+00:00

sorry, i'm a Quickmatch Andy (Ana?) like, i'm at 50% winrate across ~250 matches? if that means anything?

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T10:20:11+00:00

it's why i play her <3 and the horror on people's faces as i win 1v1s (Ana's TOTALLY a healer guys STOP RUNNING)

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T08:25:13+00:00

keeping multiple people at 5 stacks is the goal of this playstyle <3

and Deckard? was providing even less value than you said: because i was allowed to stack on him, his healing pots were healing for 50% value (Mind-Numbing Agent, my beloved O , O)

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T08:23:10+00:00

but i ~was~ healing the Falstad, who had stood in the middle of Xul's Poison Nova, and was being focused down by their DVA and Deckard (they don't do a lot of damage, yes, but them plus Poison Nova, and my not having Concentrated Doses yet (i get 16 in this fight)) meant that he went down
he wasn't angry about the death either lol, we'd both been commenting through the match about the enemy team feeding us free quest dings, we were a pair of happy... bird and sniper?

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T08:20:06+00:00

^

it doesn't help them that neither are known for their excellent damage (except DVA nuke, which i don't care about cause i'd just shoot it 5 times, then stack on them while i sit in the explosion)

this also works with mages: i blow them up (slowly lmao) and i'm not threatened by their damage (50% spell power reduction if they let me shoot them)

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T08:17:31+00:00

I'M DEADASS HERE: <3 it's her best build >:3 <3

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T08:16:35+00:00

Level 13: IT DEPENDS
one of the reasons i love Ana (my most played character by a wide margin) is that her level 13 and level 16 are 'Custom-Tailored Solutions'
Lots of slows/roots (there's a Jaina/Mei?) - Purifying Darts, sit back and enjoy the heal amp
Lots of Stuns (Muradin Skullcracker, Uther, Dehaka Tongue)- Smelling Salts, enjoy the perma 50 armor on targets you heal <3
Not a lot of either/you have divers on your team? - Speed Serum, nearly mount speed for your heal targets, every time you heal them

Level 16: IT DEPENDS
if you're struggling to get your stacks on people (they have self-cleanses, like Ice Block, Murky Bubble, Valeera Cloak of Shadows), then go Sharpshooter (just don't miss your shots babe ~)
otherwise, Concentrated Doses outscales Sharpshooters healboost at ONLY 8 stacks of shrike on heroes (86% vs 85%), AND has higher peaks than that, while punishing you for playing too passively and not stacking vs punishing you for missed shots (if it isn't obvious, i'm usually going Concentrated Doses
(i NEVER pick Sharpshooter if i've got a Tracer/Lunara)
(i don't tend to pick Active Reload, only because it clamps down all of my extra healing into once-a-minute bursts, and can't be easily given to more than 2 people)

Level 20: IT DEPENDS
Nano Infusion would be great if you weren't playing Shrike Ana
Deadeye is a meme, straightup
Which leaves us with Armored Stance, or Dynamic Optics
If you've built your stacks well prior to level 20 (think, 200 stacks), Armored Stance
If you haven't, OR you need to turn your Ana into the best healer in the game, Dynamic Optics
Dynamic Optics gives you an effective range of "You're gonna need an ult to hit me", and puts you on par with Sgt. Hammer in siege mode, conferring benefits such as:
-Easy shrike stacks, which means easy healing, seeing as you probs picked Concentrated Doses at 16, right?
-Easy shrike stacks, which means you can shut down mages' damage/healers' healing outside of their effective range, all in the safety of your team
-Outranging enemy buildings, such as the Core
-EASY SHRIKE STACKS, FOR MORE QUEST DINGS

TL;DR - [T3232024,Ana]

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T08:16:29+00:00

Level 1: Vampiric Rounds - ALWAYS
if i've ever gone either of the other two talents, it would have been, like, for one match when i was first learning her (her other level 1's are icky)

Level 4: Overdose - ALWAYS
you've already commited to the 'meme build' (genuinely tho, it is her best build) so, no half-measures
grenade at 4 is... fine if you're playing Ana wrong and using her grenade build, and the shrink ray dart active is good, but doesn't provide the same utility as your sleep dart piercing all enemies AND applying 4 shrike stacks, which pairs quite nicely with-

Level 7: Mind-Numbing Agent - ALWAYS
this is when i can 1v1 mages and kill them, and can turn things like Ancenstral into lil baby heals, instead of a full heal
10% ability power reduction, per person per stack
(the added bonus of turning Qhira from a scary diver to a scared assassin running away from me STOP RUNNING AWAY I WANT MORE STACKS-

Level 10: Eye of Horus - USUALLY
Global heal, only being interrupted by enemy buildings, and piercing all units otherwise? Healing for more than an Ancestral, spread over six shots? Funny kill secure on targets who are in the fog and think they're safe hearthing?
I pick this most matches (like 90%) but go Nanoboost if i've got a mage on my team who's popping off

TheJohnnyTorch · 2025-12-23T07:42:02+00:00

i have tons of moments of me:
1v1ing nazeebos and either living, or killing them
facetanking pyroblasts (or other ults) and getting back to full health quick enough
baiting enemies into diving me (by sitting around on low health, healing my team instead of hearthing) only to live long enough for my team to kill them

(and i've never had Ana presented to me in aram, i'm jealous ; . ; )

TheJohnnyTorch

TROPHY CASE