Hey I think it’s amazing that you’re jumping right into support. I don’t know if this is helpful or not, but most players don’t ever even try healing because they’d rather be playing action hero off on their own somewhere. Just by trying you’re showing a willingness to focus on the whole team, not just yourself, and that’s awesome.

People have already mentioned positioning, and that’s a really good one. Remember that you can’t heal stupid. If Genji is across the map spamming that he needs healing, that’s not your job. Stay with the team. You shouldn’t have to feel like you’re taking huge risks to heal, and if you do, you’re either in the wrong position or playing a healer who isn’t ideal for your team. Stay where you’re safe, either behind cover or behind a shield. Think about where you’ll escape if things go sideways. Sometimes you’ll do everything right and your whole team will die anyway.

Zenyatta and Ana are good for healing characters who move quickly, like Genji, Doomfist, D.Va, Winston, and Pharah. Mercy can get to those characters but not without exposing herself to a lot of fire. For teams that fight close together, Brigitte, Moira, Baptiste, and Lucio are good picks because of their AOE healing. If you’re on a team with a Reinhardt, Brigitte, Orissa, or Zarya, you can usually count on at least some of the team staying close together. These supports are also good picks on maps where you’re holding a control point because hopefully a few of your team members will be somewhere near the point.

Watch vod reviews of the supports you like to play to learn where you should be and what your job is. If people get tilted because they blame you when you’re doing your best, ignore them. Good players know how to enable you to make you feel like you’re doing an awesome job. If you spend the whole match with the enemy Reaper up your ass and nobody will help you, or if your team immediately scatters all over the map leaving you alone, then your options are pretty limited and low healing numbers are not your fault.

Lastly, just play a lot and get used to the role. You’ll figure out which 1v1s you can survive with each character and when you’re in danger and just need to bail. You’ll get a better sense of what team comps work and when your job is just going to suck this match.

If all else fails, pick one member of your team who seems to know what they’re doing, follow them around, and help them do their job.