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Brightwing: Global Support

by - 8 years ago

Brightwing is one of my favorite heroes to play as and she finally fell back into the meta so it was time to update her build. If you need to see the basics on Brightwing check out the hero page here

Basic Abilities

Phase Shift – (Z) Brightwing doesn’t have access to a mount but instead can teleport to an allies position anywhere on the map. This effect has a 45 second cooldown so try to get the most out of it. This is the main thing that makes Brightwing unique. The ability to be global is a big deal and to get the most out of it you must keep your eye on mini map and coordinate ganks with teammates.

Soothing Mist – (Passive) Heals everyone in a radius around Brightwing. Positioning is important to maximize the effect of Soothing Mist. You must get used to it’s radius so that the bulk of your teammates are getting heals during big team fights.

Arcane Flare – (Q) This ability is good wave clear and can provide decent harass during the laning phase. Never over extend to hit this on enemy heroes though unless its a guaranteed kill because the damage isn’t worth the risk most of the time.

Polymorph – (W) The second most important tool in Brightwing’s arsenal. Polymorph shuts down people who rely on melee attacks to sustain such as Butcher, Thrall, or Sonya. It’s also great for removing the healer from the equation during critical moments of a team fight. Use this skill with care and don’t throw it out needlessly as it has a large cooldown and does next to nothing if the team can’t follow up.

Pixie Dust – (E) A strong shield-esque that can be buffed in a couple ways through this talent build. Try and practice using this like any other shield keeping in mind its not a panic button but more of an ability that is used when you anticipate a teammate will need damage mitigation .

Heroic Abilities

Blink Heal – (R) This gives Brightwing a short range teleport along with a strong heal to the ally she teleports to. It’s a great ultimate and I take it almost all of the time.

Emerald Wind – (R) The only time I will take this is in quick match if there are two supports and I need to be the damage. Then I will go Q build Brightwing along with this skill. Emerald Wind is a strong skill because of its decent damage and displacement but it falls very short when compared to Blink Heal.

The Build

Level 1

Unfurling Spray – This can really up your healing numbers and allow you to heal both the front and back line with ease during team fights. This skill is always needed though, especially if the enemies aren’t diving your backline, so the alternate talent is Hyper Shift. Sometimes Hyper Shift is needed even more especially on maps with a lot of rotations, such as Dragon Shire.

Level 4

Manic Pixie – This is a must have because it makes your damage mitigation tool improve your heal. The thought behind this talent is that you use Pixie Dust to soften the blow of damage an ally is about to receive so it is likely that they will need some quick healing as well.

Level 7

Phase Shift – This is more damage mitigation and can often save allies who got caught in a bad engagement. The shield is fairly substantial and scales well into the late game. During late teamfights its not wrong to teleport to a close by ally just to get a big shield on them if you think they will need it.

Level 10

Blink Heal – see the heroic abilities section.

Level 13

Shield Dust – This is probably the most important talent for Pixie Dust since it turns into a very versatile tool covering both auto attack and ability damage. If the enemy team is full auto attack and focusing their fire on you take Ice block. If they are full auto but not focusing you take Pixie Boost for the movespeed.

Level 16

Bouncy Dust – We’ve been talking about how important proper use of Pixie Dust is and having the ability for it to bounce to a second close-by target makes it that much better. Odd’s are if its close enough to bounce then both targets will need some form of damage mitigation.

Level 20

Revitalizing Mist – If your positioning is  on point then Revitalizing Mist can really ramp up your numbers and frustrate the enemies as they will have a hard time putting lasting damage on your allies especially, if the enemies are failing to focus fire.

The Strategy

Brightwing lost a lot of her auto attack damage when the scaling changes took place but she is still a very strong early lane support with the ability to do decent damage with autos, wave clear/damage with Q, and retreat to fill up and teleport right back into the fight. I generally play Brightwing a bit aggressive early and look to teleport to allies who might need Polymorph to kill someone off. Coordinate with your team and watch the minimap to get the most out the early phase of the game so that it can be leveraged into a win.

Once the mid-game rolls around it’s time to take your place in the back lines so that you can provide support to your team. Pixie Dust, Blink Heal, and your passive will be the main keys to this. Never dive too deep in hopes of getting a Polymorph off because Brightwing has a hard time surviving focus fire after some coordinated stuns. Polymorph is great for cleaning up and extra kill in a team fight you won so its best to use it that way and focus on support once the fight breaks out. Now, if a Thrall, Sonya, Butcher or other melee hero dives into your team to deep feel free to take away there chance to do damage with Polymorph as it will often result in their death.

Late game just stick to your team like glue. If you find yourself alone you should probably teleport to someone or safely make your way to that teammate. Your job is to support with a constant stream of passive heals and damage mitigation.


JR Cook

JR has been writing for fan sites since 2000 and has been involved with Blizzard Exclusive fansites since 2003. JR was also a co-host for 6 years on the Hearthstone podcast Well Met! He helped co-found BlizzPro in 2013.


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