Mercy is causing problems once again in Overwatch. Many players think: The hero shooter has never been this bad!
In the nearly 17 months since the launch of Overwatch, the game has experienced many ups and downs. Problems with balancing have continually caused frustration and bad mood. For a long time, the chunky Roadhog was a thorn in the players’ side. But after dethroning the king of duels, attention turned to another problem: Mercy.
Mercy’s long journey with no end in sight
Mercy used to have one of the most powerful ultimates in the game. The mass resurrection, which could bring back up to 5 fallen allies simultaneously, was a real game changer. Matches were often turned around at the last second because of it.
The problem: It was neither exciting for the opposing team nor for their own team – not even for the Mercy player. Mercy simply waited behind a corner until all her teammates were dead, then jumped in and initiated the resurrection. Fun and skill look different.
Blizzard was then forced to revise Mercy. The mass resurrection was turned into a regular ability with a long cooldown. Mercy’s ultimate, the mass resurrection, was replaced by “Valkyrie,” allowing Mercy to fly and be more effective for 20 seconds.
Time and again, smaller changes were made that fiddled with the cooldown and effectiveness of the single resurrection. But finding common ground with the community has become impossible.
Fans find Mercy matches boring
In recent weeks, numerous fans have been complaining on Reddit. Overwatch has always been difficult as an eSport due to poor viewer functions. But with the revisions to Mercy, watching has become even more boring, as every match now plays out the same way.
This is also evident in the absurdly high pick rate Mercy has, which no other hero can reach.
At the APAC tournament, which took place just after the latest patch, it was particularly bad. Here, two teams were primarily dueling with their respective Widowmakers, who were repeatedly resurrected by Mercy.
Basically, every game now revolves around who can quickly take out the opposing Mercy when she doesn’t have her Valkyrie ready. Mercy is, according to accusations, virtually unkillable in the pro scene during Valkyrie if one doesn’t have a tactical visor (Soldier: 76) or gunslinger (McCree) available.
Some fans are even calling for Mercy to simply be given back “her old ultimate” – the complete team resurrection. Although that was also annoying, its effect only occurred a few times per match, so the frustration was limited.
Many players believe that resurrection simply cannot be balanced. They suggest completely abandoning this concept and coming up with something entirely new for Mercy. Or, if one wants a simple solution: ban Mercy in pro tournaments until Blizzard comes up with a good solution.
What do you think of Mercy and the healer’s problems? Should Mercy be completely revised again? Or is she just right as she is now?
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