EPTHGC Bracket and schedules on Liquipedia
Support heroes made a lasting impression during 2017. Four new heroes were added to the support roster, and each time the same question inevitably rose in the HotS community: will this hero be a solo support?
What is a “solo support”? The archetype spawns from Uther and Rehgar, two of the first healers in the game. Their clutch heals and ally-saving Heroics became the basis for what we know today as a solo support, and since their inception, they have experienced broad epochs as the game’s go-to supports. All roads eventually lead back to Uther and Rehgar.
Unsurprisingly, all eyes were peeled for their reappearance in HGC 2018 following the massive support nerfs at the end of 2017. After all, double support compositions became extinct overnight, and in a world of solo supports, who better fit the bill?
The drafts during opening week of HGC were predictable for assassins and warriors, but supports were more varied. Different supports rose to the forefront in each region, but it was in Korea and China that, as a response to the dive-heavy compositions ruled by the Shimada brothers, Uther first started gaining traction.
Globally, Uther was just a part of the wider picture, but in South Korea, he was as inescapable as any Shimada.
A year ago, we noted that global shifts in the metagame always seemed to begin in Korea and ripple westward to Europe and eventually North America. The same principle applies to Uther; his worldwide prominence was inevitable after appearing in HGC Korea.
In the first week of pro play, Uther was picked a mere five times each in EU and NA, but by the second week, his popularity more than tripled to 18 picks in Europe and 15 picks in North America. Chinese drafts had an astounding involvement of 95 games out of a total 112 games in their absurdly tight spring season schedule.
Uther is everywhere you look now. He’s making plays in the Open Division and featured in every analyst’s infographic. And given his success so far, Uther is going to become even more important in the coming weeks as the unequivocal counter to dive-heavy compositions. Unless a major patch drastically shifts the meta, he will likely also be the definitive hero in the Western Clash.
Playing Uther in 2018
This isn’t the first time Uther has overshadowed the Shimada brothers. The Heroes 2.0 patch that launched Genji also included Uther’s rework, which was initially strong enough to crowd out Genji before both heroes were rebalanced. Since his nerfs, Uther became a stable but unremarkable hero whose weaknesses were well-documented and easy to play around.
But the 2018 Gameplay Update provided answers for Uther’s weaknesses while subtly emphasizing his strengths. The most notable change in 2018 has been the saturation of neutral regeneration globes that can keep the notoriously mana-hungry Paladin topped off in lane. Unlike the rather fragile ranged supports, Uther is incredibly tanky and unafraid to step out into lane to grab an extra regen globe or two. The timing changes and earlier warnings for map objectives also made it significantly easier for Uther to carefully plan out his cooldowns and budget his mana to properly prepare for the 5v5 teamfights he excels in.
Even the changes to minions and mercenaries interact with Uther. Wave of Light can grant armor to an entire minion wave. This interaction is an indirect consequence of the changes that most Uther players might not even notice.
But most importantly, Uther’s familiar kit simply gels with the changed landscape. Point-and-click crowd control isn’t very common, but it excels versus hyper dive heroes. The armor he provides can stack very effectively on heroes like Garrosh or ETC and more than double the effect. He also notably has two saves with Cleanse and Divine Shield and can provide a true second chance for his teammates. Auriel/Tassadar infinite sustain compositions are a thing of the past, and Uther’s longer cooldowns are less of a liability with the game’s current pace.
It’s no surprise that Uther is back. No matter where the support meta goes, Uther always returns as the single most reliable solo support.
Pro Opinions
Zaelia, Team Dignitas
Uther does fairly well either against or with all of the top tier picks right now: Hanzo, Genji, and Greymane. He protects a Hanzo really well from dive and he enables Genji or Greymane to dive onto a Hanzo even better. Also, Uther is the only hero that deals well with the Malf/Tracer combo we're seeing a lot of lately. So he protects well against all the scary things while enabling it for himself at the same time.
I enjoy Uther a bunch, actually. Top 3 character for sure right now, especially if I can run him with Holy Shock. He really screams teamwork, and its super rewarding to make the Divine Shield plays with my team bros...or even just landing a clutch heal feels great sometimes. His cooldowns are so long that you constantly have to decide where you want (and don't want) to spend your resources, so putting them in the right place can feel super rewarding.
I enjoy Uther a bunch, actually. Top 3 character for sure right now, especially if I can run him with Holy Shock. He really screams teamwork, and its super rewarding to make the Divine Shield plays with my team bros...or even just landing a clutch heal feels great sometimes. His cooldowns are so long that you constantly have to decide where you want (and don't want) to spend your resources, so putting them in the right place can feel super rewarding.
Buds, Team Twelve
Uther'ss rise in popularity makes sense. I think he’s a really solid support pick right now. Uther excels in preventing burst damage, which the meta has kind of shifted to recently. Teams have been drafting a lot of chain CC burst compositions, and he does really good into those type of comps with Divine Shield, Cleanse, and his burst healing. He also does really well in those style of compositions. For the most part, it feels pretty good to play him, but it depends. He can be really good, but he can get poked out very easily from his lack of sustain and high cooldowns on his heals. So you want to be pretty aggressive when playing him and drafting aggressive style comps that compliment his play.
KzN, Team Freedom
I think Uther is seeing more competitive play because he is just overall good with and against a lot of heroes that are being played in the current meta. Personally, I like Uther and his kits and I'm happy I can play him more. There is a lot of reasons he is viable right now.
If Uther is picked in a scenario where Q build Divine Storm is viable, he feels like Battle Uther. Super fun to play! Otherwise, he is still okay to play, but he's pretty straight forward.
- His Q build can poke down enemy range heroes with the double support meta falling off
- He is one of the supports that still has Cleanse
- Both is Heroics are good: save a carry or deny the enemy carry
If Uther is picked in a scenario where Q build Divine Storm is viable, he feels like Battle Uther. Super fun to play! Otherwise, he is still okay to play, but he's pretty straight forward.
Splendour, Team Liquid
Uther has the most reliable saving abilities in the game: Cleanse and Divine Shield. In HGC, where even a tank can get one-shot in under a second, having an extra saving button makes a huge difference. While Uther has low healing throughput, the meta revolves around explosive fights with back liners such as Hanzo, Genji and Greymane. When counterpicked with a poke comp, Uther has a hard time in the early game, but Blessed Champion, Benediction, and Redemption make that less of a problem in late game. Most healers are very squishy and vulnerable, but not Uther. He has very high HP, armor, can DShield himself—shh, don't tell Blizzard—and can keep healing when dead.
Fern "Midseasons" Rojas is a Los Angeles-based writer who struggles with a consistent sleep schedule. He's a retired Mythic Holy Paladin who uses Uther to recapture the feeling of being a Beacon of Light. You can follow Fern on Twitter to get live reactions to HGC and Overwatch League.
