“Overwatch” hero Mercy has gone through a recent change in the game, and many players are concerned about where she stands. Before her rework, she was basically known as the hide-and-heal character would run away from combat during rough team fights. If her team didn’t manage to defeat their enemies, she’d swoop in for a rez and give her allies another chance.
However, the main problem here is that it wasn’t fair for the enemy team as they would have used most, if not all, of their ultimate abilities. Many fans have been insulting Mercy mains as one-trick players who were merely boosted to their status.
Having said this, are the Mercy changes really that bad?
In retrospect
The “Overwatch” support hero is arguably the easiest character to use in the game in terms of controls and input. In the paper, Mercy only needs to keep her auto-targeted healing/damage boosting beam on an ally and fly around with Guardian Angel when needed. However, it’s actually pretty hectic as a healer as enemies will be swarming all around you. Moreover, Mercy mains actually need game sense to win fights as they need to learn about positioning and when to hide.
While it isn’t as complicated as other heroes, Mercy mains also have their fair share of troubles. Most players, even professional ones, have trouble taking down the enemy team a second time around if Mercy saves them with her rez.
This has been a long standing issue with her Kit, and Blizzard has changed how she plays.
A more active role
The “Overwatch” support hero’s rez is now her second skill while her ultimate ability is now an amped up version of all her skills + flight. Mercy has lost her invulnerability when bringing back dead characters, and she can only bring heroes back one at a time.
Many believe that Mercy lost her strongest asset and that she’s now useless. However, these changes actually make Mercy more of a sustainer in battle: someone who keeps the fight going. Despite its long cooldown, the support hero can keep her allies alive for longer engagements, especially with her ultimate ability.
Similarly, these players won’t have to depend on hiding during a team fight, as they will have to actually do their main role: healing.
This slight rework might have made Mercy something like a new hero, but in essence, she’s still the same. There will be a slight learning curve, but overall, this change has made Mercy fit into her original role: a healer.
