Continue with Steam Supporting your team means helping an ally complete a useful action: survive an attack, hold a route, reach a target, or escape a lost fight. 
Healing is one way to do that; timely control, 
damage, positioning and utility can matter just as much.
Support is a responsibility rather than a fixed hero class. Your hero’s tools, build and team situation determine what you can offer. A damage-focused player can protect an ally at a critical moment, and a support-oriented player still needs to farm and contribute damage when appropriate. See the roles overview for the wider picture.
Decide who you can actually help
When several allies need attention, do not choose solely by the lowest 
health bar. Check who is reachable, who can act after your help, and whether saving them exposes you to the same threat. An ally who can retreat to cover or continue defending an objective may benefit more than someone already isolated beyond your reach.
| Situation | Support action to consider | Risk to check |
|---|---|---|
| A nearby damage dealer is being dived |
Disrupt or pressure the attacker and give the ally a path out. | Chasing the attacker may expose another teammate. |
| A frontliner is trading near cover | Heal or enable them while they hold a useful approach. | Healing alone may not keep them alive through concentrated burst. |
| An ally is deep behind the enemy team | Signal a retreat and help from a safe position if possible. | Entering alone may turn one loss into two. |
| Allies are preparing an objective | Keep a useful tool ready and communicate the threat you can answer. | Standing too far away can make the save arrive late. |
Choose the next support action
| Check | If favorable | If unfavorable |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | Help from a position your tool can reach. | Move toward cover or help another ally. |
| Threat | Use the response that addresses the attacker. | Avoid entering the same danger without an answer. |
| Next action | Help the ally retreat, defend or continue pressure. | Protect the remaining team or regroup. |
Check who you can reach, what will hurt them next, and where both of you can go afterward. If the save has no safe follow-up, change the plan.
One ally is low behind the enemy team; another is nearby defending an approach. If you cannot reach the first without being caught, help the nearby ally hold or retreat while signaling the danger. Reassess if the first ally finds a safe route back.
This is triage, not a rule to abandon a teammate. If you can safely change the fight, act; if you cannot reach them without losing your own ability to help, protect the remaining team or cover a retreat instead.
Stay close enough to help without grouping tightly
Position where your relevant ability or item can reach an ally and you can move toward cover. Too far away, and a save may arrive after the damage; directly on top of the ally, and one enemy area attack may threaten both of you. The right distance depends on your tools and the opponent, so check their in-game range indicators rather than assuming every support ability works the same way.
Watch the route an attacker would use to reach your ally. If an enemy commits, peel by using available control, damage or positioning to interrupt their pursuit or make it costly. You may need to follow your ally toward safety rather than chase the attacker. If the danger shifts to another teammate, change position rather than standing beside the first ally out of habit.
The independent Deadlock Handbook team-fighting guide discusses keeping saves ready and watching allies. Treat its patch-specific recommendations as dated, and adapt to the tools currently available in your match.
Time a save for the threat, not the health bar alone
An ally losing health may need healing, but immediate burst or control can require a different response. If your heal restores health over time, it may help through sustained damage without preventing a sudden elimination. A control ability that stops an attacker, a defensive tool, or a retreat to cover may be more appropriate if the next hit is the problem.
Prevent damage or restore it?
If an attacker is about to burst an ally, disrupting the attacker or helping the ally reach cover may be more useful than relying only on healing over time. If pressure is sustained and the ally can remain safe, healing can help them continue.
Do not wait indefinitely for a perfect rescue while your teammate takes avoidable damage. On the other hand, spending every save on harmless pressure can leave you without an answer when the enemy commits. Identify the threat your tool is intended to answer, and communicate when it is unavailable.
Dynamo: choose the correct rescue and landing
Dynamo’s 
Quantum Entanglement briefly makes him untargetable while teleporting. Its alternate cast brings nearby allies; a normal cast should not be assumed to carry them. 
Rejuvenating Aurora restores health over time to Dynamo and nearby allies while channeling. The community hero data and ability data snapshots used here were captured October 28, 2026. They are community-maintained game data, not official Valve documentation.
For example, a teammate is retreating toward you while an enemy pursues. If the ally is within the ability’s current indicator, use the alternate cast toward a safer landing when it is available; check that you are not moving both players into another threat. Aurora can help restore health while nearby, but it does not guarantee survival through burst. Check your binding and current tooltip in game.
Do not treat Quantum’s final upgrade as a complete cleanse: Valve’s May 22 update changed it to reduce the duration of non-ultimate debuffs. The Dynamo guide covers his 
abilities and positioning in greater detail.
Farm and buy utility with a purpose
Support does not mean avoiding 
souls. Collect safe waves or nearby resources when you have a window, and move toward the team before a meaningful contest. If you are always roaming without earning, you may arrive unable to afford the utility or survivability you need. If you farm far away while allies must defend, your purchase may arrive after the fight it was meant to help.
Farm toward the next fight
If your team is assembling for an objective, take safe resources on the way and arrive in time to use your tools. If no contest is developing, collect nearby farm and recheck the map before moving farther away.
Choose the next purchase by the recurring problem. If an ally is being caught, consider whether your available control or a suitable defensive option can help. If enemies are recovering through your team’s damage, compare an anti-heal option. If you die before using your tools, a personal defensive choice may enable more support than another team item. Check the defense and control, anti-heal and vitality guides for specific choices.
Utility has an opportunity cost: spending for one problem can delay damage, survivability or another answer. Buy for the match you can see rather than filling a category because it sounds supportive. A defensive item also cannot fix a position where neither you nor the ally can escape.
Communicate a useful plan
Keep the message short: identify the threat, who you can help, and whether your key tool is available. For example: “I can protect the route; fall back toward me,” or “My save is unavailable—play closer to cover.” A ping can direct attention, but check whether the ally actually moves into reach.
After a won fight, help the team choose an achievable objective; after a lost one, cover the retreat if doing so is safe. The objective conversion guide explains how to judge the next play.
Two difficult support decisions
Should I sacrifice myself to save an ally? Only if the likely team benefit justifies the risk. If neither of you can escape or continue the fight, cover a safer retreat or help another teammate instead.
Should support players deal damage? Yes, when it helps without abandoning a critical save. Pressure on an attacker can itself protect an ally; keep the tool needed for the next threat in mind.