In ranked mode of Overwatch support players draw the short straw – they receive fewer rank points than their colleagues.
No mercy points for Mercy in ranked Overwatch
Winning a ranked game in Overwatch without having a support character in the team is quite difficult. Therefore, every team should be glad if someone decides to play Mercy, Lúcio, or Zenyatta. However, it now seems that playing support is also punished.
As numerous users report on Reddit, the rank changes very slowly when playing a support class. Since the ranking system takes into account how “well” a player has performed, and this is also a factor for rank gains and losses, most players assume that “performance” in all categories plays a role (for which the medals exist).
And that’s exactly where support players have a problem: While they usually have no trouble being number 1 in healing (unless a Roadhog is specifically trying to contest), support players often have no chance in other categories. While Lúcio and Zenyatta can still deal decent damage, Mercy has to temporarily forgo her healing, which is why hardly any player switches to the pistol in the heat of battle.
A statement from Blizzard on this issue is still pending – however, reports from frustrated Mercy players who would rather switch to a DPS role to be able to rank up are increasing.
Mein-MMO says: Support players currently have a tough situation in Overwatch. Especially in random groups, there are many people who like to blame the support for their team’s failures. Being disadvantaged in the ranked system does not necessarily enhance the enjoyment of these characters. Fortunately, the current season is only a “trial season” with a shortened duration, during which Blizzard aims to identify such irregularities. It can thus be expected that at the latest with the start of the autumn season, support players will be treated differently than the remaining heroes and can therefore experience a similar gain/loss in skill rating.
Still interested in a support player? Then check out our guides on Mercy, Lúcio and Symmetra !
