Brightwing Abilities and Strategy

• Phase Shift allows Brightwing to split-soak experience very efficiently while also allowing her to join team fights in time.
• Blink Heal can be used to juke enemy Heroes and abilities.
• Arcane Flare's casting range is larger than the shooting range of enemy Towers, Forts, and Keeps. Always follow Polymorph with it; the slow can guarantee the hit.
• Pixie Dust becomes a crucial ability against Assassins like Jaina or Kael'thas to reduce their spell damage potential. Considering Pixie Dust's low cooldown, it is recommended to use it to mitigate spell damage at the start of the fight, because you will still have it available at the end.
• Against dive heroes like Zeratul or Genji, hold Polymorph until they dive towards an ally, since it will greatly reduce their effectiveness. However, it can also be used to guarantee kills of tanks with mobility, like on Muradin before he jumps out or on Anub'arak before he uses Burrow Charge to flee.
• Even though Soothing Mist's range relatively small, try to not be very close to your teammates to heal them. Always stay in a position in which the target you want to heal is close to the edge of your healing range, so you do not get damaged or controlled with them.

Phase Shift is one of the reasons why Brightwing is considered to be a very impactful Healer when it comes to soaking Experience and applying global pressure on the opposing team. Brightwing excels at drawing the attention of at least one enemy Hero to herself while she is clearing and soaking in lane, only to appear at her team's side a few seconds later in order to contest an Objective. This will often result in your own team outnumbering the enemy by one or two players, since most Heroes cannot keep up with the speed of Brightwing's teleport via Phase Shift. However, the tactical advantage of Brightwing being able to globally reunite herself with the rest of her team comes at the cost of not being able to use a Mount. Make sure to always keep an eye on your Phase Shift's cooldown. If it is still recharging, you want to stay close to your team, because without the possibility to mount up, Brightwing's movement across the battlefield is very slow. In general, you should only separate yourself from the rest of your team if Phase Shift is ready to be used.

Arcane Flare is a very tricky Ability that may require some experience to be used efficiently. The projectile of Arcane Flare moves at a moderate speed, which is why you always have to consider your target's movement, and cast it slightly ahead of your target's path. Against immovable objects like Structures, however, Arcane Flare provides a solid sieging tool that is capable of damaging Structures from afar. It is worth mentioning that the casting range of Arcane Flare is greater than the range of Forts and Towers, so feel free to attack enemy Structures even without having allied Minions to tank them for you.

There are very few Abilities in the game that counter mobile enemy Heroes better than Polymorph. Being able to completely shut down a hostile Hero's damage and playmaking potential for a short period of time can single-handedly decide the outcome of a team fight. Polymorph is a very versatile skill: not only does it prevent dangerous Assassins from wreaking havoc in your team's ranks, it can also be used to focus fire enemy Tanks. In the case of durable Heroes, it is done with the help of Critterize at Level 16, which allows your team to burst them down before the use of defensive Abilities.

Pixie Dust fulfils two different roles in Brightwing's arsenal. Firstly, Pixie Dust can be used to protect an allied Hero by increasing its Movement Speed and blocking Spell Damage. This can be extremely useful on teammates who find themselves pursued by one or more enemy Heroes. Secondly, Pixie Dust can be used to increase your own Movement Speed in order to catch up with the rest of your team more quickly. Keep in mind, however, that you should always make sure to have this Ability ready when a team fight is about to begin.

Here we explain how this Heroic Ability works. If you are looking for more information about it, check the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Blink Heal instantly teleports Brightwing to a nearby allied Hero, while also healing it at the same time. This mutual benefit makes Blink Heal an incredibly versatile Heroic Ability, as it will allow you to reposition yourself and heal damaged teammates at the same time. However, Blink Heal also has its downsides, most importantly that its healing amount is quite low compared to other strong heals like Rehgar's Ancestral Healing which restores a huge amount of hit points at once. Consequently, Blink Heal should not mainly be used to heal Warriors in the frontline, but rather to keep your Assassins healthy. Another reason why you should avoid using Blink Heal on Tanks, if possible, is the fact that it will always teleport you directly next to your targeted ally, which could result in Brightwing exposing herself to enemy crowd control Abilities.

One of the most important qualities as a Brightwing player is to remain calm and observant during all stages of the game. Blink Heal allows you to escape many sticky situations which makes a Brightwing a very elusive Hero. Remember that you can use Blink Heal on allied Minions and Mercenaries. This can be very useful when you are quickly looking for a safe location to Blink Heal to.

Here we explain how this Heroic Ability works. If you are looking for more information about it, check the dedicated section in the Talent Build page.

Brightwing's second Heroic Ability, Emerald Wind, is a very effective, yet sometimes situational choice that needs to be used with great caution. There are several requirements that need to be met before you should decide to pick Emerald Wind instead of Blink Heal. Firstly, you should consider if you need a strong disengage Ability to counter enemy dive Heroes like Genji. If the opposing team consists of at least two or more aggressive frontliners, Emerald Wind may indeed become a useful tool to keep them at bay. Secondly, you need to double-check whether your team has another Support or Healer in its lineup. Heroes like Medivh or Zarya can greatly assist Brightwing in keeping her teammates alive, which makes Emerald Wind a valid alternative to Blink Heal.

Soothing Mist is a very useful passive trait that does not require any Mana. This makes Brightwing an exceptionally stable laner during the early stages of the game, as she can continuously bully her laning opponent with the help of Arcane Flare and her Basic Attacks, while at the same time sustaining herself with Soothing Mist. Soothing Mist's activatable component cures nearby allied Heroes from Stuns, Slows, Roots, and Silences. However, keep in mind that the cleansing effect travels in a pulse around Brightwing, so precise timing is of the essence.

It is worth mentioning that Soothing Mist only triggers if there is at least one injured target in its radius (including Brightwing herself). If Soothing Mist is inactive in this way, it will trigger instantly when an injured target enters the radius (or if an existing target takes damage). Always keep an eye on the cooldown of Soothing Mist, and make sure to be close to your allies when it is due to trigger, even if they are only slightly injured.