As a Mercy Main, I’m Already Mourning Overwatch 2’s Next Midseason Patch

While I’m a flex player in Overwatch 2, and have a pretty deadly Reinhardt and Reaper in my arsenal, Support is the role I find myself most comfortable in — and it’s all because of Mercy. The pressure of being at the top of my game as a Tank or Damage can get to be too much sometimes, especially since Overwatch 2 is just one of many games in my rotation, and I’m often out of practice when I do hop on a few times a week to play. With Mercy, though, I can do well even if I’m rusty, as movement like superjumps and good rez positioning are things permanently engraved into my brain. Yet with over 500 hours on the angelic hero, I’m fully aware that she’s in need of a change — a change that Season 19 is unlikely to provide.

What’s Wrong With Overwatch 2’s Mercy?

While Mercy has been showered in stellar skins as of late (seriously, my poor wallet needs a break Blizzard), I can’t say that it’s felt great to play her. Mercy has always struggled at higher ranks because her kit is simple on purpose; she’s the game’s “starter” Support, much like Soldier: 76 is the go-to DPS for newcomers. Playing Mercy is always a risk because there’s only so much a Mercy can do to sway a fight. You’re always gambling on having a solid damage-dealer worth Damage Boosting, as though a Battle Mercy can wreak havoc for a time, it’s very rare for that play style to win games at Diamond and above. As a true support, Mercy is viewed as a hero that lacks value and isn’t worth having on the team — something that has directly contributed to me playing her less.

While Sombra remains the primary target of Overwatch 2’s hero bans, there is a fairly large portion of players that insta-ban Mercy even if they see that someone like myself has pre-selected her. Some of these bans come from frustration due to how much Mercy can enable a cheater or smurf through pocketing them. In my experience, though, more of the bans come from players who have decided that Mercy is always a bad pick because she lacks play-making potential, which makes it harder for Mercy mains to enjoy competitive mode. While I’m fortunate enough to play other Supports like Illari and Kiriko, Mercy is one of the most common one-trick characters, meaning that several players are getting locked out of the only hero they play. This feels counterproductive, as Mercy haters are essentially saying they’d rather have a Mercy main play a meta hero they have no experience with than a character they know how to get value with.

Unfortunately, as much as I adore playing Mercy due to her addictive movement and being able to survey the battlefield for my team, I can’t deny that she does lack play-making potential. Sure, her hilariously re-named “Barbie Blaster” can be surprisingly effective in one-on-one fights, but in team-fights all she really does is hold a beam on an ally and hope for the best. Mercy needs something extra, with the most common suggestion being to make her Flash Heal perk a permanent ability, with another unlockable power filling its place. With a strong new perk and flash heal being a permanent part of her kit, Mercy could have that extra bit of oomph that changes the perception around her and stops people from insta-banning the character. Sadly, though, I don’t see that kind of change coming in the next few weeks.

Why Mercy is Unlikely to Change For the Better in Season 19’s Upcoming Patch

Overwatch 2’s Mercy has had a rough go of it in the last few updates. She received no changes in the Season 19 launch update in either regular play or Stadium, with no adjustments coming in the smaller patches that followed, either. The month prior was a similar story. With two very quiet months for Mercy from a gameplay perspective, there’s little reason to believe that November will be any different. That’s truly a shame, though, as she’s in need of some proper changes. Then again, this drought may have been preferable to something like what happened in August, as that is when Mercy lost access to her best Stadium build.

While it’s true that Crespular Circle was used by virtually everyone, meaning that Mercy lacked build variety while still appearing in nearly every match of Stadium, fully removing it and pushing some less enjoyable builds was a questionable decision. In my eyes, the Crespular Circle build was exactly what Mercy needed. It gave her constant bursts of fighting potential in between her usual gameplay, as every Ultimate activation boosted allies’ damage and healed them while Mercy was free to fly and shoot at her enemies. Simply put, this was a lot of fun, and it made Mercy a valued teammate as opposed to a character teammates balked at. And while Stadium may have had one kind of playstyle for Mercy, said style was the complete opposite of her usual gameplay, meaning that those who play both core modes of Overwatch 2 got to enjoy two very different versions of the same hero.

Since Mercy’s Stadium change, I’ve gone from happily grinding to All-Star to getting bored as soon as I hit Elite, while in regular competitive matches I’m only able to play her 50% of the time due to the insta-bans from my team. It’s just not a fun time to be a Mercy main at the moment, as I either have to swap to a character I don’t want to or trust myself and accept that my teammates will be judging me before the match begins. And even if I play my best, I have to come to terms with the idea that it might not be enough, as I can’t sway fights on Mercy like I can on another Support. My team shouldn’t have to put up with me playing a weaker hero, but said hero shouldn’t be so outclassed in the first place. Hopefully, Overwatch 2’s midseason update will give Mercy love in something other than the skin department, though it’s hard to be optimistic since Blizzard hasn’t changed her for several weeks now.

Released

August 10, 2023

ESRB

T For Teen // Blood, Mild Language, Use of Tobacco, Violence