#i spend too much time healing and not enough playing rein it's a tragedy

[vorbisx]

Reinhardt Tips

Fair warning, this is gonna be a pretty long post but that means it includes a lot of things which will be helpful, so bear with me.

IMPORTANT: Your shield is by far the most important part of your kit. Even when you are doing other things you always need to keep your shield close to the front of your mind, because it will always be useful.

Communication:

As a main tank, communication is absolutely vital. Voice chat is always best, but if that is not possible use the built-in commands and occasionally text chat to let your team know what you need them to do.

If nobody else is doing it, you need to call out whenever you see a flanker going behind your team, and alert your teammates to the position of any sniper in a threatening position. You should not make them a priority because you need to anchor your team with your shield but calling them out will at the very least make your team aware of threats and ideally they will focus them.

Call out when your shield is at half and quarter health, and when you’re about to put the shield down. This will give your team time to get into cover so they don’t get picked. This is not as vital, but calling when you will use your firestrike will also let your team know they won’t have shield momentarily. Don’t be afraid to call people to get behind your shield if they are walking too far forward, because the magic blue rectangle saves lives.

Being the anchor tank means there’s a good chance you will be the one calling the pushes. If your team makes one or two key picks, or has some other advantage, call out for your team to move in and start walking in yourself. If your team moves all moves in as a unit, there’s a much better chance you’ll win the fight. This also means you need to call for your teammates to fall back and regroup if you’re obviously losing the team fight. This will stop them throwing away precious ults in an attempt to turn around a fight you’ve already lost. It takes time and practice to know when to call your team out of the fight and when it’s worth pushing a bit harder, but you’ll improve over time.

Positioning:

You want to hold either in or just behind choke points most of the time. You are your team’s first line of defense against front-on attacks, so you should be in front of your teammates. The area behind your shield becomes a space where your low mobility teammates will gather, so make sure that it’s up as much as you can have it. It’s also very important to have permanent cover at the edge of your shield, so your teammates can retreat to safety when the shield is down. Setting up at the back of a doorway or choke means your team can easily retreat to safety when your shield goes down.

When you’re playing, always be thinking about what you’re going to do when the shield breaks and the enemy pushes. You need to have an escape plan and ideally you want to have a clear path to the next place you’ll be holding. For the first point on Hollywood, you want to hold to the left of the car so that you can fall back to the point instead of being forced to the right and being cut off from your team.

High ground above a choke can also be effective, particularly at the start of Gibraltar and Dorado defenses, and to a lesser extent Junkertown. If you do this, remember taking cover can be as simple as stepping back from the edge. You also need to drop down quickly with your team when the enemy does push through, and call out that you’re doing that.

When the hold falls apart and it turns into a skirmish on the point, your positioning becomes slightly less vital, but you need to make sure you are still close to your team and you don’t overextend. Never ever lose sight of your healers, they are your lifeline in a team fight and there is nothing worse than a healer who could heal but their team is just slightly out of sight.

It is not your job to take care of flankers, because you have an extremely limited range and your main job is to protect the team from the front. Call out to your team to try to take out the flankers, and don’t let them distract them from your main task. If a Tracer or Genji pokes you and you turn to try to take them on or walk away from the choke, you’re giving the enemy team a huge opening to push in and take out your teammates. Try to only turn your shield when your teammates are in need of shielding from behind, or if the rest of the enemy is not at the choke.

Abilities

Shield

This is Rein’s most valuable ability, and what your gameplay should be focused around. You want to have it up as much as you can. Never let your shield break from chip damage through a choke, you need to take it down when it’s at about 250-100hp, depending on how much damage it’s taking. A broken shield will be unusable for several seconds while it recharges, while even a very low health shield in an emergency can be invaluable. Save the last hp of your shield to block single-damage ults such as D.Va’s bomb or another Rein’s shatter.

Try to recharge your shield in between team fights when there is no danger to your teammates. If this is impossible, call your team back to cover and take cover yourself while it charges back to full.

Jumping

When you’ve got your shield up, you will move slowly. Jumping and then putting your shield up will allow you to cover valuable ground while moving at full speed in the air. This is especially useful around corners. Jump around a corner and put your shield up, so you’ll end up in the right position to hold much faster. That way your shield also won’t start taking damage until you’re in a good position to shield the team.

Firestrike

This is how you will gain most of your ult charge. Try to use it pretty much as soon as it’s off cooldown, but keep your shield up and wait if your teammates are at very low hp. You need to exploit the firestrike’s ability to travel through enemies when you use it, so try to fire at dense groups of enemies, or wherever gives you the best chance of hitting multiple times. For example, this line on hollywood almost always hits 2 or 3 enemies. With enough practice you’ll start seeing good lines for firestrikes in a lot of chokes.

The Firestrike puts out 100 damage (130 damage boosted), which means it’s great for finishing off low hp targets. Low mobility heroes are easiest to hit but with enough practice you can predict where low health flankers will go and take them out a surprising amount of the time.

Charge

Your charge is very effective, but also very risky. Before you charge, think to yourself “what will happen if I miss”. There’s a good chance your target can avoid your charge and you want to be able to recover from that without losing the fight. This means you DO NOT charge straight through a choke at the enemy team. Ideally, you want your target close in front of you and a wall not far behind them. When you’re defending a choke, wait until a tank or support has walked through the choke and then charge sideways across the choke at them. This way when your charge ends you are still in the defending side of the choke and you will survive.

DO NOT charge off a cliff, it’s almost never worth it. You will most likely kill the enemy when they hit a wall anyway, or at least damage them enough that your team can finish them off.

Try to avoid charging onto the point as initiation unless you have teammates there who can support you. The last thing you want is to be separated from your team.

That said, charge is an extremely powerful tool because it has the ability to open a team right up by picking a key hero right out of the middle of the team. If you do have support, by all means charge aggressively onto the point, because even if you miss the charge you’ll send the whole enemy team back to the point to defend it. With enough practice, you’ll eventually get a feeling of when it is good to charge and when you need to walk forward with your shield instead.

Target Selection

You’re most likely to pin tanks because they are slow moving and have large hitboxes, but supports - especially mercy - are also valuable picks so choose whichever is likely to have the best results with the least chance of catastrophic failure.

When you’re attacking, targets such as rein and Orisa are good targets, but watch out for Orisa’s fortify - make sure it’s been used before you charge. While bastion is a stationary target and easy to hit, you are quickly melted by the damage, so unless the bastion is immobilised by a shatter or you have a Zarya shield, or the bastion is distracted by your team, avoid charging at a bastion.

Earthshatter

This is great as an initiator ult for a team fight, so try to use it when there are two or more enemies in the area of effect. Be very aware of what blocks your ult. Rein, Orisa and Winston shields stop it dead in it’s tracks, while a Zarya shield will save their target AND anyone standing behind them. Mei walls will also block the effect. Try to use your team to bait out or break these before you shatter. A great opportunity to use shatter is when the enemy Rein is using fire strike since they can’t put their shield up to block, but you have to be quick if you do decide to go. Tell your team when you’re going to ult so they don’t blow extra ults (grav) and so they can get ready to take out the stunned enemies. After a good shatter, you can often gain as much as 70% of your next ult just from the damage you do. You won't get ult from enemies who are stunned but once they get up, you're already in the middle of them and doing damage. Firestrike and charge the ulted enemies and then start swinging.

Hammer

When you’re swinging your hammer your shield is down and your team is vulnerable so you have to pick your moments. In very close chokes such as Hanamura or Hollywood 1st, get in close, make a single swing, and then quickly put your shield up again. This minimises the time your team is left exposed.

When the team is on the point and all hell breaks loose, it’s a different story. Swing that hammer at low hp enemies to finish them off, or at groups of enemies to exploit the fact that your hammer hits everyone in its arc. Always remember your shield though, and alternating between shield and swing is important. You want about a 60/40 split of hammer/shield, with more shield if you’re taking a lot of damage.  Your ult can charge surprisingly fast like this, so be sure to use your shatter if there is a good opportunity to do so.

Hero matchups

Rein

Playing against another good Rein is one of the great joys in the game. Your main job is to protect your team, but you also play a big part in ensuring the enemy Rein can’t do their job.

The enemy team will be gathered behind the shield and Rein moves slowly so he’s a great target for firestrikes. Try to jump out of the way of the enemy firestrikes if you can. Sometimes dropping your shield for faster movement is worth it to deny the enemy rein ult charge.

Rein, and tanks in general, are good charge targets.

Shatter when the enemy Rein doesn’t have their shield up, after it’s been broken or while they’re firestriking. Try to bait out the enemy ult by momentarily dropping your shield when you know the rein has ult and pretending to use firestrike, but instead bring the shield up again to block the shatter.

Try to figure out when an enemy rein has ult by looking at how they position themselves and how they act. Some players are very eager to use ult and baiting them can draw it out pretty easily if they have it.

D.Va

D.Va’s Defense Matrix can delete your firestrike, so try to strike when it’s on cooldown. Sometimes, coordinating a firestrike just before a Zarya, Hanzo or Mei ult can ensure DM is on cooldown so the ult won’t get eaten.

Roadhog

Your shield blocks his hook, so keeping it up will save your team from being picked. When you firestrike you are vulnerable to hooks yourself so try to stay out of range or be somewhere the hook will break. Close range he is dangerous but also an easy charge target, but beware of being hooked after the charge.

Pharah

There’s not much you can do against a free roaming Pharah apart from asking your team for assistance. Try not to be too distracted by the Pharah and keep your shield focused on where the other enemies are unless your teammates are very low.

Bastion/Junk/High damage heroes

These heroes melt your shields very quickly. Use map cover as much as you can, But if your shield isn’t staying up long enough to be useful, consider switching to Orisa or Zarya.

Snipers (fight toe to toe you cowards)

You’re the team’s main protection against these threats, and you have to rely on your team to take them out. Call out sniper positions and keep your shield up as much as possible.

Attacking and Defending

When you’re attacking, you want to play more aggressively. Your firestrike becomes a valuable tool for making opening picks or taking out a torb turret, and your charge is a good way of peeling open the enemy defense. If you have a lot of heals, you can afford to play very aggressively but make sure you don’t overextend. Your shatter is a great way to secure the win in a team fight. Even taking out a support and one other player with a shatter can really turn the tide of a battle. Exploit the fact that your ult starts charging the second you use your ult and do as much damage as you can while the enemy is down.

When you’re defending, play a lot more conservatively. Use your charge to punish enemies who push too far into your team, and use your firestrike to do damage to key targets like tanks and supports. Your shatter can shut down a push completely and it’s a great way of stopping the enemy from reaching the point in overtime.

How do I get better?

The only way you’re going to get better is by practice and perseverance. Spend time playing Rein and try to think about what you’re doing and where you’re positioned. When you die, or lose a push, or miss a shatter, don’t get upset. Instead, try to think what you could of done differently to improve your play. Losses are always going to happen no matter how well you play so be gracious in defeat, because if you’re angry or bitter you’ll learn nothing about how to play better next time.

[curiousconch]

Rose-colored Glass 

Chapter 11 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: As winter began its rein in Boston, Heather finds a way to cope with her trauma, discovering the truth while remembering her past. 

Pairing: Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 1.8k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / emotional trauma, death

Author's Notes: This week has been hard for me, and writing this chapter was unimaginably difficult because of it. Thankfully, like Heather, I found a way to cope, and people to help me get through with it. So instead of moping around, I finished this, inspired by the hauntingly beautiful classic song La Vie En Rose (I listened to this particular version on repeat). So, this is for you Nina, rest well in heaven. 

Thank you so much for taking time to read this series. Please let me know if you want me to include/remove you in the tags list. Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song. I also do not claim ownership over the lyrics of La Vie en Rose embedded in this chapter.

Heather's discharge went smoothly, contrary to the time she spent in recovery. Her friends needed to stay behind to complete their shifts, and although Kyra offered to take her home, she refused. She needed to do something first. Heather did agree to let her bring her things back to the apartment, with one exception.

 Her slimmed fingers tightly gripped on the straps of the small bag she was carrying. The sunglasses she brought along tucked on the collar of her salmon sweater, not needing it anymore due to the cluster of clouds that blocked out the sun. Although it was almost noon, the chilly weather provided some semblance of shade as the heels of her boots thumped softly against the soft white snow-covered ground. 

Her gray coat was sprinkled small flakes of snow, as she navigated herself easily amongst the unmarked path, that if a spectator observed, they would readily know that she visited this place often. 

Heather's steps halted as she neared a willow tree, standing in front of a moss-colored headstone, aged by the almost seven years of Boston rain. 

Despite the gloom of her surroundings, Heather's lips curled into a smile, as she kneeled down to gently place the bouquet of pink roses she bought along the way. 

"Hi mom," she said, as the tips of her fingers skimmed the name carved in stone. "I'm sorry it took me so long to visit again. Things have been a little rough." 

She went still for a moment, relishing the poignant silence in remembrance. 

More than her ambition of being trained by America's top diagnostician, this was the reason why she chose Edenbrook. To be near her, to be in her mother's home city, it somehow filled the emptiness of missing her so much. To walk on the same pavements, to spend time in the same parks and places she's been to brought Heather nothing but the strength and determination to make something out of her once miserable life. Whenever she doubted herself, or when she was about to give up, the thought of her mom fighting a sickness no one should endure, gave Heather the much needed relief and energy to get back up again. 

And that's the reason she stood there that cold winter morning. She needed her mom to come through her once again. 

Heather closed her eyes momentarily, letting the rush of the nauseating trauma of the past few weeks resurface. Her whole being has run out dry, weakening her knees. She just felt so numb inside. 

So without inhibitions, she recalled the recent events that turned her life upside down. She told about the threats over her life, and how close she was to her own death. She spoke about Raf and their recent fallout, how heartbreaking it was but relieving at the same time. She brought up Bryce last. 

"This man, mom... I can't even begin to explain how I feel about him," Heather said as she rubbed a hand over her temple. "There's something about him that I just couldn't describe. It's been there since I've first met him, and it's still here until now..." 

Her head dropped low in between her shoulders, as she remembered with fondness the emotions that Bryce stirred within her the first time they met, leading up to their frustrating confrontation. Heather irked as the thought of her failure came. 

"But somehow, I messed it up. I picked someone else, because I was too afraid..." she revealed. She knew what she felt around him, but did her best to bury it. "Although I often wondered of what we could be, or what we could have been, the deep-seated fears of heartbreak, of what you and dad went through... I just couldn't act on it." she admitted. 

"Yet when I was faced with the choice between life or death, all I had was his words, no one else's," she paused, recalling how she soldiered on towards her own escape, empowered by the same declaration during their day out in the trampolines. 

"But now I'm afraid I'm too late, mom. I may have missed out on something great... Your daughter is a coward," she bit her lip, her eyes glistening. "Am I really too late?" 

The question felt like a cliffhanger, never to be answered. 

Sighing deeply, she collected her remaining energy to unzip the small bag she brought with her. She wrapped her hands around the neck of the instrument, pulling out a mahogany-stained ukelele. It was the last gift that she received from her mom, the very same she used to play her songs during their rare downtime.

She tucked its body between her arm and chest, as she tightened its strings with the tuners. With one satisfied strum, she began to sing the song that she and her mom always sang during the roughest period of their lives. 

Hold me close and hold me fast

The magic spell you cast

This is la vie en rose

When you kiss me heaven sighs, 

And though I close my eyes 

I see la vie en rose

In a rush, those simple words tingled her sensations in reminiscence from flashes of her adolescence - the late night talks, the bonding over ramen noodles, her alcoholic initiation by soju, those times that they saw a movie together, the smell of pancakes and eggs in the morning. 

In the few short years they were given, Heather treasured each memory more than anything in her life. Even the tragedy of watching her mom deteriorate because of her sickness, of those last months spent in a cramped hospital ward, she wouldn't trade it even for a pot of gold. Though in pain, her mother would whisper promises that she'll always be there for her, no matter what. Until her last breath, she held her daughter's hand. Those were priceless, shared souvenirs of a life well-lived. Of a life Heather hoped she could lead. 

When you press me to your heart

I'm in a world apart, a world where roses bloom

And when you speak, angels sing from above

Everyday words seem to turn into love songs

Give your heart and soul to me

And life will always be

La vie en rose

Within those short verses contained the life lesson her mom taught her over and over again - to see life through rose colored glasses. Singing it reminded her that even if she was long gone, the memory of her will be embedded within, whispering that no matter what, there's a reason to continue living. 

Smiling through her tears, her head tilted up to the heavens, praying that the divine could carry her thanks to her mom. For once again, in the most difficult time of her life, she did follow through. 

As a sense of peace weaved itself through her, she opened her eyes and felt the clouds dissipate. With it were the frayed edges of the shadows of fear, regret and anger. And although she knew that it will still haunt her, she was content that healing has at least begun. 

After a few more moments of silence, she placed the ukelele back into the bag and glanced endearingly upon the headstone. She skimmed her fingers over her mother's name, vowing to come back soon. 

She swiveled herself to the opposite direction and began the path back to the cemetery gates, when her hazel orbs fell upon a pair of familiar leather shoes and gray slacks, making her stop in her tracks.

When she titled her head to see the face she expected to see, a pair of amber eyes met hers that made her breath hitch. They were filled with warmth and affection that heated the cold air and melted her inside.

"You're not too late," Bryce finally said, breaking into the quiet. His mouth formed a lopsided smile, his hands shoved into the pockets of his black coat which edges reached to his knees. 

"Seems like it," Heather replied, snapping out of the daze that suddenly came over her, lips curving. "Wait, you heard everything?" 

Bryce couldn't stifle a chuckle as he nodded, the adrenaline that rushed through him earlier as he tried to track her down slowly draining from him. A new and overwhelming feeling took its place as he planted the soles of his shoes on the soft snow, bridging the gap between them. 

Once he was near enough, he gently wrapped an arm around Heather's waist, pulling her close. The knuckles of his other hand brushed her jawline until his thumb grazed her chin. His gaze lingered down on hers, completely magnetized by the depths of the windows of her soul, begging for her consent. 

Heather's palms settled onto the nape of his neck, her lips parting to grant him permission. 

In a heartbeat, Bryce tenderly pressed his lips upon hers, releasing the long-running yearning they buried so well. Unspoken words no longer need to be said aloud, clarity dawning in them both as their mouths crashed. Soft moans escaped from them as they deepened their passionate kiss, unrestrained in expressing their newfound freedom. 

When at last they stopped to catch their breaths, Bryce leaned his forehead on hers, understanding that his unrequited love was never unanswered, only delayed. That after a year of pining, here she was, standing in front of him, a realization of a dream that for so many times he willed to come true. After all the nights of hoping and hurting, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed by the sight of her in his arms. A thought poked into his mind as he started to recall where they were. 

"Well this is awkward..." the young lawyer muttered,  with a sudden shift in his voice. 

"Hm?" Heather's eyes snapped open, dumbfounded. 

"I know I always wanted to kiss you," he grinned as he paused, before continuing, "but never in a million years did I think that the first time I did is in front of your mom."

At first her brows furrowed, but seeing Bryce's mischievous expression, Heather couldn't keep herself from laughing. 

Inspired by the music of her genuine laughter, Bryce joined in. The sound of their giggles echoing through the poignant space around them. 

Heather can't remember the last time when she laughed this hard. There were so many things that hung over her head that she almost forgot how to do it. But with Bryce, it came so easily. A sense of joy began to bloom in her, and when she saw the same glint in his eyes, she knew he felt exactly the same. 

With their fingers intertwined and arms around each other's, they walked the path that only earlier they trudged separately. And now with their hearts finally out in the open, their tracks carved into the thin sheet of snow, unveiling the lush greens of the grass hidden beneath, eager to leaving what's behind, together.

Tags: @eleanorbloom @ramsey-lahela @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics