A Mercy change I could potentially get behind #BigMainLittleChains

I like Mercy as she is in her current state, and do not want her to be reworked/reverted

That said, I have been discussing some changes that wouldnt (as I see it) change how Mercy is played very much while potentially making some other/additional folks happier. Not necessarily totally happy, but closer to happy than they are now.

I will not consider the results to be official or proving anything to anyone, but after I present the change, I invite you the reader to choose a single response to categorize your feelings on the set of changes I am outlining below.

Valkyrie:
Healing changed to 80 on the main beam and 40 on the chains
Damage Boosting changed to +35% on the main beam and +25% on the chains

All else remains the same

Reasoning:
I dont think this changes the playstyle of players who like Mercy as she is now, but for those who want to be more engaged while in Valkyrie as well as those who want to gain some advantage using their beam juggling skills, this will be a good thing. This change would also be easy for the devs to implement and test - no animations or functional changes, just pure number change

Nerf or Buff?:
The overall numbers are sort of a nerf and a buff at the same time One might call it a wash overall, purely by numbers. If you’re healing just one person, your numbers improve over existing by +20HPs/s, but if you are lucky enough to get everyone on the beam and chains, your healing drops by (5x60) - (80+(4x40)) = 60 compared to existing Valkyrie functionality. That said, for a top end Mercy who knows the proper prioritization of healing and how to juggle beams, I believe they’d see this as a significant buff, despite the lower total potential healing per second. Such a player would know teammate X needs the more healing right now, while Y and Z can get by with less, with the situation then potentially changing by the second, requiring closer monitoring of teammates condition and little to no spectating. More or less the same on the damage boost side, albeit with smaller numerical differences

Question to you:

Which of the following best describes how you feel about this suggested change?

A. I am happy with Mercy as she is and this change would make me less happy

B. I am happy with Mercy as she is but this change would make me either happier or just as happy as I am now

C. I am unhappy with Mercy as she is and I’d prefer her with this change applied to her over her current state

D. I am unhappy with Mercy as she is but I’d prefer her current state over her with this change applied or have no preference between the two

If you have no opinion on the matter, no need to reply; though as always all are free to reply

If this doesnt address your concerns with Mercy at all, like those who are focused on rez and/or Valkyrie going away entirely, the right selection is D

I will try to update this original post with totals sporadically. My position at this time is B.

A - 0
B - 14
C - 11
D - 2

(up to and including Qwazi’s vote)

(all edits you see on this post are solely to update the voting totals, unless noted otherwise)

edit: updated thread tile with amusing (to me) hashtag

15 Likes

C
I like giving Mercy some choice in her valk beyond just her pistol .

3 Likes

I guess I’d fit into C?

I really dislike Valk, but I do feel this change, or a similar one, would at least partially improve her as it keeps more of the aspects I love about base Mercy intact instead of axing them.
It’s not my ideal scenario, but I’d certainly be far happier than I am now.

1 Like

C

While these changes wouldn’t even come close to what I really want done with Mercy, the change to her healing output would make target choice matter so much more during Valkyrie, make it more powerful when played well, less powerful when played poorly, and as a result increase the skill ceiling slightly.

Damage boost change, however, I would rather remain the same than have this particular version. While healing numbers can be adjusted in a somewhat arbitrary way without causing too many problems, TTK breakpoints are extremely sensitive to damage boost numbers. We currently play with 30% and 50% damage boosts in the game and many heroes have weapon damage numbers balanced around those two percentages. Just making the main target of the beam have a 50% boost would be a straight buff, but Mercy still has room for a slight buff in her kit right now.

I see your point, but with the intention of ensuring that the Mercy players that prefer damage boost over healing (they may be fewer in number, but they remain Mercy players) are similarly engaged and/or “juggling”, I’d like to keep the same “bigger main, smaller chain” concept in place for that as well

1 Like

C I guess?

It doesn’t fix most of the problems with Mercy, but its a start to fixing Valk a bit and having to actually get back to beam juggling, but it feels like its still going to be 15 long seconds of floating and holding down a “do everything for me button” unless you battle Mercy.

Personally Ive always been for get rez off e, and turn her back into a solo healer without a chain beam ult. :man_shrugging:

50% on the main beam and 30% on the others accomplishes that.

I understand

however, as I said, this suggestion isnt about solving every problem for every person, but instead seeing if an incremental change can be made that would lessen the overall state of unhappiness with this character.

less unhappiness is more better. or something like that.

1 Like

50% is definitely going to be too high imho, if you think a nano’d Genji is bad with the 50% increase can you imagine the push that can happen with a flying Mercy healing him for 80hps and easily switching to 50% damage boost? That and it becomes a nano that essentially lasts 15 seconds, but instead of reduced damage its healing through damage

well, that’d be a pure buff, since it is 30/30 now.

the second 30 has to go down when the first 30 goes up, to more or less even things up, balance-wise

I would prefer option E.

E. I am unhappy with Mercy as she is, don’t think that number tweaking alone will fix the current issues with her impact, engagement, or rewarding playstyle, and I’d prefer a Rework / Revert + Tweaks while still being balanced. :blush:


~Sincerely Yours xoxo,
a Lover of True, Fair, and Fun Balance.
xavvypls
:blue_heart:

4 Likes

There is no option E, and I still dont understand the relevance of the blush emoticon

1 Like

I think damage boost could be as high as 50% for the main beam.

This is me.

You don’t think 80 hps on the main beam is impactful, engaging, or rewarding?

There are those who, as I understand it, want healing rates that fully offset other ults

Example: Mercy hears Dva shout Nerf This! so Mercy valks and her healing in Valk leaves her teammates unharmed by the blast

There are also those who, as I understand it, want healing rates that offset one or more DPs players focus-firing at the teammate they are healing

There are also those who, as I understand it, want to simply ressurrect all dead teammates after all the enemy ults and focus fire have been completed, to essentially offset all of that.

I think it helps her become more viable. Impactful? Perhaps. More engaging and rewarding? For me? Ehhhhh Not really.

I think Just More Healing™ is nice for a short term solution, but not a long term solution to Mercy’s current problem and with ults in general. Specifically, in addressing the issues with power creep. I think we need to be a bit more careful and think a bit more ahead with regards to how much healing we add to supports.


~Sincerely Yours xoxo,
a Lover of True, Fair, and Fun Balance.
xavvypls
:blue_heart:

The problem with Nanoblade isn’t the damage it deals, it’s how hard it is to kill Genji. If Mercy had a 50% damage boost during her ult, she could use it to give Genji the same damage as nano does, but she cannot simultaneously provide a 50% damage resistance. Without that damage resistance, Genji would still be scary but could just get gibbed by a hog hook, flashbang, etc. A corpse deals zero damage.

2 Likes

It’s a B for me.

Yes, I acknowledged that already when I mentioned the idea, and justified it by noting that Mercy statistically could still get a small buff without making her overpowered.

a fair point, but I wouldnt want this to be a buff overall, or at least, not much of one. With the ability to juggle the main beam to get the biggest healing to the optimal recipient, I think most players will see this as a buff already, even though maximum potential healing per second actually drops by 60