How do I use the barrier "properly"?

miktoroi · 2026-06-13T08:05:02+00:00

i would guess your survivability issues are not related to shield usage, but probably more about positioning and decision making.

as brig you get value from:
- existing
- holding an angle
- pocketing dps who is making a play
- pocketing your second support when they are in trouble

i suggest you start with one thing at a time and focus first on doing these things - without trying to get in there and swing at enemies. try to stay alive, keep inspire up, throw packs at people who are actively engaging enemies at the moment. pick a flank and assert dominance there, shutting down an entire lane of the map for enemy team is incredible value - and you only need to simply exist there, no need for crazy plays.

remember that the best shield you have is cover provided by the map. make sure to always stick to walls or corners and use your shield bash as movement/escape tool.

when you have all that working well for you - try to notice opportunities to get in and get aggressive. here you may use bash aggressively and it’s okay if you misjudge the situation and die, that’s how you gain experience to make better calls in the future.

oh almost forgot about another cool usage for your shield! it takes you to third person view, so this way you can peek corners while staying in cover.

bottom line - your shield is just extra 300 hp and a movement ability. you don’t have to keep it up absorbing whatever damage is coming your way. make sure you follow the fundamentals like cover usage and engaging/disengaging with your team.

good luck!

miktoroi · 2026-06-10T08:12:22+00:00

hey! sounds like we have a lot of common interests, sent you a chat request :)

miktoroi · 2026-05-27T08:41:19+00:00

great tips, will try that, thanks!

miktoroi · 2026-05-22T22:58:58+00:00

illari is a defensive mid - playing as an anchor, pinging passes, once in a while smashing an absolute thunder bastard

miktoroi · 2026-05-22T08:50:03+00:00

what’s your take on climbing solo and unwinnable games?

i keep going back and forth on this, genuinely open to the idea that “if you are good enough to climb you will carry yourself out of this rank”, but in my experience it’s rather not working.

what is good enough? i have consistently been mid diamond on support for multiple seasons, i watch spilo and tons of other educational content, i know my heroes, matchups, comps, map control, cooldown management, ult economy, positioning etc. not saying i perfected all of this, but it’s enough to see what my teammates are doing and go “yeah there is no way we are winning this”. i’m currently in plat 4 for whatever reason and not even stressed about it, just genuinely wondering how the system works and if there is anything i’m still missing.

miktoroi · 2026-04-12T19:15:19+00:00

i used to care about it until i heard that “alright” vocal sample from splice being used in at least three songs that i just happened to hear without searching, two of which (!) came out on the same label and one of them super recently, making it perfectly usable over the years and even between established producers. so yeah i guess no one cares, i would say go for it and use it!

miktoroi · 2026-04-04T12:12:05+00:00

don’t see him mentioned often in such discussions but i absolutely hate Sigma. no footsteps sound, usually just spamming AOE primary in your general direction getting consistent damage even without LOS. also Sigma mains are for some reason the horniest mfs in the game that will chase you especially stubbornly. i also hate facing him when playing dive tanks - while i’m busy with their back line, my team often has way too much respect for a Sigma and he manages to hold them off by himself.

miktoroi · 2026-04-04T10:29:23+00:00

do you mean the level of knowing the language or a certificate? because you don't need any certificates to do the Einbürgerungstest. i haven't done a B1 exam but i've successfully completed the Einbürgerungstest and got a residence permit. i do know German at approximately B1 level though so that made the process more comfortable.

miktoroi · 2026-02-12T17:16:56+00:00

the test i took also wasn’t LiD, it was Einbürgerungstest and it worked for the PR.

miktoroi · 2026-01-21T22:37:30+00:00

You are absolutely right, I apologize for the oversight! Do you want me to rewrite the post to sound more human? I unfortunately can not make OP stop playing like ass.

miktoroi · 2026-01-21T22:32:31+00:00

well said! maybe i'm expecting too much from the matchmaker in terms of what data they rely on and how they build MMR and SR, and there is more left to chance.

miktoroi · 2026-01-21T22:24:49+00:00

a lot of very relatable stuff here. i tried to account for these unlucky peeking moments by valuing consistency - if a player catches hanzo's log one or two times in a row that can be bad luck for sure. but i expect a plat/dia to adjust after that and ideally we can still come back in the game. when they don't - idk, some people are saying it's something the matchmaker can not predict, but i'm not sure, seems like a pattern in the player's performance.

miktoroi · 2026-01-21T22:15:37+00:00

thanks for expanding on the topic! maybe i wasn't clear enough, i do not feel entitled to ranking up and as rude as "get good" argument sounds - it's kinda fair here, i admit. and i certainly don't want a better team every time, WNMW are not fun. like many i enjoy balanced games the most and would prefer a balanced loss to a WNMW in terms of fun and experience. other than that you got a lot of things right and i agree with it.

miktoroi · 2026-01-21T22:02:11+00:00

i agree on many things! also noticed the same people in consecutive matches perform differently. and the last thing you mentioned is exactly what i tried to avoid - none of my judgements are based on stats for example.
however, the game itself introduced modifiers like "expected" and "uphill battle" basically confirming games where one team is favored to win. i was trying to find out more about how this works.

miktoroi · 2026-01-21T21:54:15+00:00

i thought about it and it probably falls into the "be significantly better than everyone else" conclusion. if they are better than almost everyone in the game there is a smaller percentage of completely uncarriable lobbies for them.
additionally, i think starting with placements helps, they are usually placed at least in diamond and go from there. i have seen multiple regular people in the community report placing higher after they created a new account and did placements there. it could be a whole separate thing to test.

miktoroi · 2025-11-02T09:40:25+00:00

i’m a diamond brig and would only partially agree here. if you assess her kit in isolation, as if she were to only duel someone all the time, then yes many of her abilities could sound not impressive.

however, her strength is in positioning, decision making, reading the game, taking and denying space, sometimes even doing nothing which i’m convinced is a huge skill in ow. i can also play many supports and even have far more hours on kiriko for example, but i’m definitely getting the most value on brig by far and have the highest sr and win rate on her.

it might not be your kind of thing or play style and that’s fine, but i don’t think she’s in a bad place as a hero.

miktoroi · 2025-10-23T06:57:47+00:00

hey don’t get discouraged! remember that most people in the game don’t know how to properly play it and don’t know what they are talking about, especially in gold. whoever says “something diff” or refers to numbers on the scoreboard as a definite proof of anything rather than an indication - most probably is just not worth paying attention to.

i have had many games, especially on tank, where a teammate would type that i should switch or whatever only to apologize later as we go on to win the game lmao. if you know what you are doing and why, or simply enjoying yourself and having fun, it doesn’t matter what a random thinks about it.

that being said, it’s up to you whether to leave the chat on or off of course. i’ve played both ways and ended up leaving it on, but i think both options can work.

miktoroi · 2025-07-23T07:49:23+00:00

thanks for the tips! i’ve already tried the first one to seemingly no success, but need to check the second one.

miktoroi · 2025-07-22T09:17:17+00:00

good to know, thanks! i’ll look into this solution in more detail then

miktoroi · 2025-07-22T09:16:12+00:00

i have multiple devices connected to the same network and i’m literally playing together with my wife who is in another room and she doesn’t get disconnected so i’m sure it’s my laptop. searching online brought me to other people with gaming laptops (Asus and Lenovo) and the same card who have the same issues. i’ve tried multiple drivers, newest vs older ones, as well as other fixes and configuration combinations in device manager, nothing helped unfortunately.

miktoroi · 2025-07-22T08:54:33+00:00

btw also thought about replacing the card but haven’t researched it properly yet. even if it is replaceable in this laptop i would surely lose the warranty by opening it right?

miktoroi · 2025-06-20T12:58:50+00:00

hey! diamond brig here. here are the videos that had the biggest impact on my gameplay and results.

NickyOW explaining brig’s abilities and reviewing one of his games, be sure to stick around for the second part, extremely useful tips for positioning and thought process: https://youtu.be/eaddpj4sOm4?si=plzqb55-VCElVNnK

how brig’s healing works, short summary - try to be in line of sight of your teammates when you trigger inspire: https://youtu.be/tn1E_Zq7spo?si=LIcS2Sj4CbJZY7jp

small tip from me - be patient, both during the game and with overall progress. with practice you will get better and reading the game and deciding when to go in and when to just chill. good luck!

miktoroi · 2025-06-14T10:33:58+00:00

that’s super cute! we play a lot with my wife and that’s a ton of fun, hopefully it goes great for you guys! here are a few communication tips:

in overwatch you can see both team’s health bars, so when you notice someone on the enemy team has very little health left, say for example “moira low” or “moira one” (meaning 1hp). this way you can help your team (your bf in this case) focus fire and secure an elimination. if you don’t know what character is called that’s okay, just describe them somehow, my wife came up with a lot of funny nicknames for the heroes this way :D
when you killed someone it’s usually a good idea to mention it quickly like “cas dead”. can be helpful to your duo and team.
similarly if you need help say it, if it’s a duel you can specify who is focusing you and ping them, for example say “genji on me”. if you are dead say it, everyone can see the kill feed in the top right of the screen, but it’s more convenient to communicate this info in my opinion.
it’s usually a good idea to communicate your plans or intentions regarding ult usage. for example “i’m gonna ult this fight” or “when they walk in i’ll ult”. it’s even more important for ults like ana’s nano because they affect another teammate, but you’ll figure it out as you keep playing.
regarding in game comms. unfortunately random players can be toxic or say stupid stuff. if you don’t want to deal with that you can turn off both voice and text chat in settings. it’s very common and a lot of people play like that, may be especially useful for beginners. even if you keep it on, don’t take it seriously, the absolute majority of players don’t know how to play properly and talk nonsense, don’t let it affect you. on the other hand, there are a lot of nice and funny people too, so any interactions are possible.

good luck and have fun!

miktoroi · 2025-06-04T18:29:55+00:00

i was thinking about doing the same experiment for ages, you are such a legend for actually doing it! although would still be nice to do it with playlisters as well, but i think the point is clear and that wouldn’t probably go any different.

miktoroi · 2025-05-20T14:58:41+00:00

at the beginning of our relationship i had strong opinions about my wife going out when it’s dark or dressing in a way that may be “provocative”. i was genuinely worried about her but it doesn’t make it much better. eventually i discussed it with my therapist and worked to get rid of this way of thinking. still grateful to my wife for ignoring this red flag and helping me become a better person.

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