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Heroes8 years agoGosu "GosuGamers" Gamers

Brightwing phase shifts her way back into the competitive meta

Brightwing has made a major resurgence in competitive Heroes recently – unexpected to some. Here we take a look at the pros and cons of using this unique support.?

Brightwing – the cute, fun loving, and slightly insane faerie dragon of the Nexus. During her peak in the competitive scene, she dominated the support lineup, providing both staggering healing numbers, vast utility, and global map presence. Her kit was too powerful all around, and she was given a talent rework because of it. With the tables turned, Brightwing quickly became the laughing stock of the pro scene, thought of as a “jack-of-all-trades, master of none”. She only really saw play post-nerfs when two or three other supports were banned. However, Brightwing seems to be coming back - in a very big way. Pros have figured out the ins and outs of Brightwing’s new kit, utilizing her best talents to output unexpected healing numbers. Her global presence is a very powerful quality as well, unique to the support lineup.

In the HTC Heroes Brawl Playoffs, Brightwing boasted a 57% contention rate, and a 66.6% win rate over 6 games. She was also picked in the Korean HOT6 Super League finals, the European Championship finals, and the Americas Championship. But why play Brightwing over the numerous other support options? Let’s take a more in-depth look at this interesting healer and see what has brought her back to the meta.

Brightwing's Best Qualities

Sustained AoE Healing

Brightwing’s trait, Soothing Mist, heals all nearby allies for a moderate amount every 4 seconds. This ability, while appearing underwhelming, is actually extremely powerful. AoE healing is always nice, but add a miniscule cooldown and lack of mana cost, and we have ourselves a powerful trait.

At level 7, Brightwing gains another healing option in the Phase Shield talent. This makes her Phase Shift grant a sizeable shield on the teleported ally. At level 10, Brightwing gains a third healing option in Blink Heal. This burst healing option rounds out Brightwing’s healing, and on a 10 second cooldown, it is useable more than once in a fight.

Targetable Hard CC

Do you have a Sonya wrecking your back-line? Did an ETC land a Mosh Pit on 3 of your allies? Is the enemy Valla channeling Strafe and going to town on your team? Brightwing has got you covered. Her W, Polymorph, is one of the best targetable hard CC skills in the game. Effectively a ranged version of Uther’s Hammer of Justice, Polymorph’s 1.5 second duration and relatively quick cooldown (15 seconds) makes it a versatile ability for teamfights.

Unparalleled Mobility

Brightwing’s mobility options is what really separates her from other supports. Instead of mounting, Brightwing gains the ability Phase Shift, teleporting her to an allied hero after a short channel. An Abathur hat that heals you and CCs enemies?! Sign me up! This ability gives Brightwing numerous options in assisting her team. One of the most effective ways that this ability can be utilized is in soaking experience. Similar to Abathur being able to body soak during tribute fights or temple spawns, Brightwing is able to push a lane and soak experience before a fight starts. If your team has strong poke options, such as a Kael’Thas or Zagara, you can stall out fights and whittle enemies down, letting Brightwing soak for you in the meantime. When the real action begins, Brightwing is over in a flash.

Her Blink Heal ability at level 10 also helps her in darting in and out of combat. This Blink is useable on all allies, allowing skilled Brightwings a great option for dodging skillshots, landing clutch kills, and playing mindgames with her opponents.

Brightwing goes from soaking to helping in a fight in a matter of seconds.

The “Surprise Factor”

While not nearly as powerful as it once was, it is still worth mentioning. Most teams scrim with and against more standards supports, such as Uther, Kharazim, and Malfurion. They know the ins and outs of facing these heroes, and adopt the mindset of playing against the “normal supports”. However, playing against a Brightwing is not as familiar. With her relatively low pick rate in the past months, teams are not as used to dealing with a Brightwing’s kit as they are, say, an Uther’s. This “surprise factor” will catch opponents off guard and can open opportunities for plays they do not expect.

(With Brightwing’s resurgence in the pro scene, this is not as relevant. However, it’s certainly relevant for Hero League. Many players do not see Brightwing often, and thus do not know how to deal with her.)

Brightwing's Shortcomings

Weak Early Game

Brightwing is a very talent dependent hero. While her kit is versatile, it doesn’t do any one thing spectacularly. This “jack of all trades, master of none” state for Brightwing is especially noticeable in the early game. Before level 7, Brightwing doesn’t have any burst healing options. Her Soothing Mist is very light in comparison to the capabilities of an Uther or Rehgar’s AoE healing. Your team will have a very tough time against mages or burst assassins at the beginning of a game.

Precise Positioning Required

To fully utilize Brightwing’s Soothing Mist, you need to be located very close to other members of your team. Most supports tend to stick in the back line in order to avoid focus fire from the enemy team, but most times Brightwing does not have this luxury. This requires Brightwing players to make a lot more important decisions regarding positioning in a fight. Is it worth it to Blink Heal an ally in the front line, at the risk of CC/burst against me? Or should I stay in the back, minimize my healing numbers, but stay safe? What position in the front line is the safest for me while still maximizing my healing throughput? These types of questions shape a great Brightwing player.

Lack of a “real” Heroic ability

Most Brightwing players pick the Blink Heal ability at level 10 as their heroic. This gives Brightwing a real burst healing option. However, Blink Heal feels more like a basic ability than a heroic. Other supports have big heroics that have the potential to shape teamfights, such as Divine Shield, Ancestral Healing, Divine Palm, and Tranquility. This makes Brightwing more capable in a sustained fight, but makes it harder for her to perform in quick, bursty fights.

Where Brightwing Shines in Teamcomps

While Brightwing is a capable solo support, she really excels when paired with a Tyrande or Tassadar. This allows her to provide sustained healing in the early game while the team still has a burst heal option in Plasma Shield/Light of Elune. Brightwing also is powerful when paired with a melee assassin, such as an Illidan or a Butcher. Her E, Pixie Dust, gives an assassin a nice movement speed boost, while her Polymorph will help lock down targets. Combine that with her ability to teleport to her assassin, and it makes a pick much more devastating for the enemy team.

An excellent team comp for Brightwing's strengths & minimizing her weaknesses.

Brightwing's "Standard" talent choices

Earlier I mentioned that Brightwing is a very talent dependent hero. So what talents help strengthen Brightwing? Here are the standard talent choices most Brightwings have been going with in recent matches. You can see stats about these talents, as well as other heroes' talents, in our Enter the Stats for the HTC Heroes Brawl.
 

Level 1Level 4Level 7Level 10Level 13Level 16Level 20
Hyper ShiftManic PixiePhase ShieldBlink HealShield DustGreater PolymorphRewind


 

  • Level 1: Hyper Shift. Phase Shift is an incredibly powerful ability. However, reducing its cooldown every time Soothing Mist heals makes it even stronger. Reducing the 45 second cooldown by potentially half can be very helpful in a pinch.
  • Level 4: While I’ve mostly seen Manic Pixie used, Peekaboo! and Unstable Anomaly have also seen play. Peekaboo! shines against a Zeratul or Nova, and Unstable Anomaly can help increase the burst of your team. However, Manic Pixie is the go-to choice. This talent makes Soothing Mist also apply a heal-over-time on any targets that have Pixie Dust on them.
  • Level 7: Phase Shield. This is Brightwing’s first burst healing option. Phase Shift gives its target a sizeable shield with a 20 second duration. When combined with Hyper Shift at level 1, it makes Phase Shift both a teleport and a healing ability.
  • Level 10: Blink Heal. Two charges with a 10 second cooldown each, Blink Heal is a strong mobility tool and burst healing option.
  • Level 13: Shield Dust. Pixie Dust also applies a spell shield?! That’s nuts! With Pixie Dust being on only a 10 second cooldown, this is a devastating talent against ability-heavy comps.
  • Level 16: Greater Polymorph. While Bouncy Dust has great synergy with Shield Dust (two Pixie Dusts with each cast!), Greater Polymorph turns Polymorph from a strong cc to one of the most potent ccs in the game. A 2.5 second hard CC on a 15 second cooldown is incredibly powerful.
  • Level 20: Rewind. Polymorph and Pixie Dust are some of the cruxes of Brightwings kit, but their cooldowns aren’t very quick. This allows Brightwing to bring a lot more utility than she already does in teamfights. Two Polymorphs back to back on a target will completely lock them out of a fight.
     

Want to become a beast with the adorable faerie dragon? Check out these vods of some recent stellar Brightwing play.

Dignitas vs. Na'Vi in the European Championship | Murloc Geniuses vs. Team Blaze in the HTC Heroes Brawl | Team DK vs. MVP Black in the Korean Championship

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