I don’t think these changes will make her too OP and meta-defining but I think these Cryofreeze buff ideas can improve Mei’s survivability against flankers and ability to secure kills more reliably.
1. Cryofreeze multiple cool downs
Currently it has a 12 second cool down, no matter what, even if canceled early. I think a nice buff would be that when canceled early, it goes on a shorter cool down (like when Sombra and Torbjorn destroy their own Translocator and Turret, respectively, they go on shorter cool downs). I think it should go something like:
1 second (or less)=3 second cool down
2 seconds=6 second cool down
3 seconds=9 second cool down
4 seconds (full duration)=12 second cool down
I think this would create some cool and interesting strategies of using Cryofreeze besides self-healing and stalling.
2. Ammo Reload During Cryofreeze
So many times I 1v1 an enemy, I see myself dying, so I go into Cryofreeze to get a decent amount of health back. I get out, freeze the enemy, then I see my ammo is at 0 and I can’t head shot the frozen enemy and while I’m reloading, they thaw out and kill me.
I think the amount of ammo restored should depend on how long Mei stays in Cryofreeze. Her weapon refills on ice, but in Cryofreeze she is surrounded with ice! It makes no sense to me that she can’t have her weapon reloaded while in Cryofreeze!
1 second=0% restored (0 ammo)
2 seconds=15% restored (30 ammo)
3 seconds=30% restored (60 ammo)
4 seconds=50% restored (100 ammo)
I think for this to work, this is the most balanced.
I think Cryo-Freeze is fine as it is in its current state (other than still using favor-the-shooter instead of favor-the-player like other abilities in the game).
A popular idea that I saw in the past was to have Mei’s Cryo-Freeze works like how it works in Mei’s Yeti Hunt brawl. The healing is increased and the duration has been den decreased. This will makes Mei less a stapler and more an active hero in a team.
I’m a Mei main.
I often use this abilities to bait abilities.
Using it for self healing can be a death sentence for Mei and I usually tends to use it as self healing to get free ult charge. I do use it for stalling though
This is a cool idea, but to be honest, I consider Mei not having auto reload in Cryo-Freeze a fair tradeoff.
Lets compare Mei’s Cryo-Freeze with other invulnerability abilities:
Reaper’s Wraith Form has:
Invulnerability
Cleanse
Movement (+increased speed)
Reload
Mei’s Cryo-Freeze has:
Invulnerability
Cleanse
Is an object (that can break LoS).
Self healing
Moira’s Fade has:
Invulnerability
Cleanse
Movement (+increased speed)
Invisibility
Unlike Reaper and Moira has Mei no invisibility or auto-reload, but self healing instead. (And yes, I know reaper has self healing as well, but that’s his way of having survivability. Mei has Icewall.)
Let’s be real. Reaper needs major buffs. He’s not doing so hot right now.
True true! But she is also a sitting duck for 4 seconds and when she is out with the enemy team surrounding her, she’s screwed with 0% chance to escape
I remember when they fixed Mei’s Cryo-Freeze not removing Ana’s anti-heal and players were all calling it a buff despite it being a bug fix but was left as a bug for so long. The same thing might happen with this bug.
C’mon Blizzard. Make it favor-the-player already like some other abilities. It’s a defensive ability for heaven’s sake.
Definitely.
I mean, he’s a tank buster who isn’t even viable in a tank meta. Instead is a flanker, who is supposed to be weak against tanks, more viable.
Which is why it’s better as a bait ability.
But I do see your point. What point has self healing if you tends to be a sitting duck?
Nothing’s more fun than iceblocking in the enemy backline, having the entire enemy team surround you for a free kill while your own team caps the point. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does…
Or trapping someone in the small mega room at Volskaya B with your iceblock, followed by a wall only to freeze them as the wall comes down.
I don’t play her in comp, but when I play her in other modes, I feel so evil…
You try to kill mei, she just activates it, and recovers all of her health, essentially making her a 400 HP hero. Oh, and NOTHING can stop cryo-freeze while it’s in progress, not even anti-nade.
the only Buffs the community keeps asking for mei’s cryo are 2, and 1 of them isnt really a buff but a fix of a very old bug since OW started:
1.- Buff: maybe give ammo reload while mei is using Cryofreeze, doesnt need be a full clip, but maybe a few ammo.
2.- Fix the dang “Favor the shotter” bug where mei is killed yet when she is using cryofreeze, you see her inside the iceblock, everyone see her inside her iceblock and still dying to bullets, hooked, stunned, etc. and her cooldowns were actived… all us players who play mei, asked for this fix for a long time and still asking for a fix until now… Blizz answer? "We are aware of this bug, we are currently searching for a solution" that was near 3 years ago…
Baiting Mei to use Cryofreeze is part of taking her down. Full duration of Cyrofreeze only gives her at most 150 healing. While yes she is invulnerable, but she is also a sitting duck while using ability. Also it has a long cool down for her to be able to use it consecutively.
