Overwatch has recently undergone a significant change in the meta. One of the main reasons: Mercy has been changed and is now much stronger. This did not sit well with many players. Jeff Kaplan and his team are now responding.
Since the last major change in Overwatch, things have been stirring. A new meta is slowly settling in, replacing the old dive meta. Team fights are now significantly different. Even the tier list has undergone major changes.
Mercy is being nerfed!
The reason: the Swiss Angela Ziegler, also known as Mercy. Due to her rework a few weeks ago, she has not only become much more popular but also significantly stronger. Many players are now saying: she is too strong.
This is now confirmed by a blue post from the official Overwatch forums. Lead developer Jeff Kaplan has personally spoken out and addressed the criticisms of the players. His statement:
“We have discussed the current status of Mercy for a long time and listened to the feedback. Overall, we think that playing is significantly better for both Mercy players and non-Mercy players. However, we feel she is a bit too dominant.”
Particularly her resurrection is too strong. At the moment, the team is experimenting with some weakened versions of the ability. It should now feel more like an ability from her repertoire, rather than an ultimate as it used to be.
However, Mercy is not the only problem that Kaplan addresses. The second point on his list is competitive play. It has been heard from the community that ranked games rarely feel fair and balanced – and the higher the rank, the greater the difference.
The planned changes are supposed to address exactly these issues. However, instead of coming in one major update, the improvements are all to be implemented as quickly as possible. The ranking system will not receive an absolute overhaul that could upset players again, but will be adjusted gradually.
The third and final point is the increasing toxicity. Kaplan can and wants to say no more on this topic than that players should continue to have “faith” in the system. It works and should continue to be used. Only through (proper) usage can it be improved.
The colleagues from “My Overwatch” even go so far as to say that an improvement of the ranked system will lead to an improvement in player behavior. They currently see Mercy as well, suggesting that only minor adjustments will be necessary to bring her completely into balance.
Benedict says: These changes sound exactly like what Overwatch needs right now. I find the promised changes to competitive play to be significantly more important than the other adjustments, similar to “My Overwatch”. I am looking forward to what is to come and hope it brings fresh air to Overwatch!
