Mercy was nerfed a few weeks ago on the live servers of Overwatch. However, the changes to her have not yet applied to the Overwatch League. Only with the start of the second phase on February 22 will Mercy also be weaker in the Overwatch League.
With the patch from January 30 for Overwatch, Blizzard heavily nerfed the healer Mercy. Her ultimate Valkyrie is no longer as strong as it was before the nerf. Valkyrie lasts 5 seconds shorter, among other changes, and resurrection can no longer be used without delay.
These changes took effect in the middle of the first phase of the Overwatch League. However, to maintain fairness for all teams, the patch has not yet been applied to the tournament servers.
This will change on February 22. With the start of the second phase of the Overwatch League, the changes to Mercy will also be implemented, and the servers will be brought up to the current state of the live servers.
What does the Mercy nerf mean for the Overwatch League?
Mercy has previously been one of the most important heroes in Overwatch League matches. She was present in almost every round of the first phase, mostly for both teams, and her ultimate often determined the course of a fight.
Many teams have therefore assigned a support player specifically to play Mercy – even if their main is not Mercy or they have little expertise with the healer. Other teams have hired players specifically to complement the team with their skills with Mercy.
With the changes to the Swiss, these players will now likely give other supports the chance to prove themselves. Mercy will not become irrelevant, but she will no longer be the focus of every match.
Will Mercy players be sorted out now?
Teams will probably have to show more flexibility from now on. For the players themselves, it does not mean that they will immediately become unimportant and possibly be put on the bench. This only means that they will now have to share their spot with others.
This has already been the case for DPS players. Many teams had specific lineups for control point maps. In some cases, 4 players were swapped out just for one map. Only the supports often remained the same.
This will likely be different now. Since certain compositions are very strong on certain maps, teams are now required to adapt. On certain maps, there will probably be more frequent changes of players showcasing different strengths.
Who actually benefits from this?
Especially the stronger teams have relied heavily on a game with Mercy. New York Excelsior and LA Valiant were able to win many matches thanks to their particularly strong Mercy players.
However, with the Mercy nerf, there are also some teams that can draw great advantages from it. Weaker teams like Dallas Fuel or Florida Mayhem currently do not have a dedicated Mercy player in their roster. Without the “requirement” to play her, there is also no necessity for such a player, giving them the chance to prove themselves with a new meta. Bani, one of the supports of the Houston Outlaws, even tweeted that he welcomes the warm embrace of permanent death.
I welcome the warm embrace of permanent death in Overwatch once again.
— Chris Benell (@BaniOW) January 30, 2018
It will be particularly interesting to observe the Houston Outlaws. They have played with unconventional methods before and finished the phase in third place. They also do not have a Mercy player, making them a promising team for the future.
