Mercy can't get any healing buffs without drastic consequences

General Discussion
1

I want Mercy to be a main healer again as much as the next guy, but there’s a massive obstacle in the way: E-Rez.

A main healer with a rez on cooldown is too good not to have. We’ve seen that from the Moth meta, even when they nerfed every other part of Mercy’s kit into the ground she was still a mandatory pick.

… the only reason Mercy is ‘balanced’ now is because she isn’t a main healer anymore.

Mercy can either be a main healer, OR she can have rez as a cooldown ability… But she can’t have both. Not without turning into a must-pick (again).

If Mercy is to get a healing buff that restores her back to “main healer” status, then Rez can’t stay on her E. It takes up too much of her power budget, holding the rest of Mercy’s kit back… like a millstone around her neck.

“then why not delete rez from Mercy’s kit altogether?”

Because the devs have backed themselves into a corner with this thing, that’s why.

The devs have established multiple times that the pillars of Mercy’s design are "her strong healing, her mobility, and rez". Ressurect is featured in many of Mercy’s cosmetics, and most of all it’s featured in nearly all Mercy-themed merchandise - and Mercy is Overwatch’s marketing golden goose.

For better or for worse, Rez is an integral part of Mercy’s character design. It can’t be removed from her kit anymore than Hanzo’s bow can be replaced with a gun.

By process of elimination, that leaves us with only one remaining path forward:

Making Mercy a main healer again means that resurrect would have to be taken off “E” and moved back to Mercy’s ultimate.

There’s no other way for it to be balanced.

47 Likes
2

Just another revert mercy thread, move along everyone nothing of significance or importance here.

30 Likes
3

It’s fine if the thread doesn’t interest you, but completely dismissing it is pretty weak IMO.

It’s a well-reasoned post, which is a rarity around here. I find it hard to disagree with OP’s logic: Mercy does occupy a unique niche right now. Rez is still very powerful, but her healing isn’t quite powerful enough to match heroes like Moira or Ana.

I have a feeling we won’t see rez as an ult ever again, but OP is right to say that Mercy can’t receive buffs to her healing without risking another must-pick Mercy meta.

That said, I think Mercy is well balanced in her current state. She might not match the raw healing output of Moira/Ana, but like I just said… rez is and will always be a very powerful ability. It can very easily save what would spiral into a lost fight. Mercy also has other strengths like absolutely incredible mobility and at least some utility in the form of her damage boost. I don’t think we need any drastic changes, but I agree with OP’s point.

30 Likes
4

In the current meta, yes. But there have been fast TTK metas where Lucio was sufficient as a main healer before and it appears the next patch is headed in that direction. Like I can’t envision the game being in a good state of balance where Zen+Mercy isn’t a viable pairing in some context.

3 Likes
5

I personally find Mercy to be in an excellent state at the moment - fun to play, impactful, and well-balanced

I also feel that she is and always has been a main healer

Since she is already well balanced and a main healer, i dont see a need for any changes for purposes of balancing her and/or making her a main healer

8 Likes
6

I don’t really agree with anything in this post. I still use Mercy as a main healer just fine.

3 Likes
7

As a Zen main, I really hope Mercy comes back into the meta in some capacity. Obviously I don’t want a repeat of her must-pick era, but I still consider Mercy to be one of, if not my absolute favorite support to be paired with.

Mercy’s heals have that added benefit of knowing without a shadow of doubt that you’re being healed thanks to the UI indicator, and that extra confidence is really nice when you’re under pressure. And like pretty much everyone else, I love when a Mercy has confidence in me and sticks around to damage boost and help me build ult faster. I still have this saved highlight from a match on Lijiang (Garden) and both teams were both coming over the bridges and heading to the point at the start of the match. The Mercy is figuring out who to boost for those first opening salvos and she thankfully picks lil ol’ Zen with a full volley ready and aimed. Let it loose and heard a string of headshot dinks and saw the enemy Roadhog get obliterated. The dude just says “ok.” in chat. Good times.

3 Likes
8

Mercy is a main healer as she is right now.

5 Likes
9

Because you decided to use her as an off-healer doesn’t mean she isn’t a main healer anymore. (spoiler alert she is a main healer)

7 Likes
10

I mean, she’s a main healer so… this change is not needed.

7 Likes
11

I think you can still run her as a main healer: just not with the greatest effect in double shield. It looks like dive is going to come back, and I think she’s lined up to be a pretty good pick there. Especially with valk.

It’s totally just my opinion, but I don’t think she needs more healing when her heals are so consistent. Give her tanks that have more mobility and don’t take shots in the face as often and she looks pretty good.

12

55 hps will work, even 60 hps could work since technically speaking she only got that last nerf because she synergised with the grav dragon

I agree but throw a stone and youll find 5 posts from silawatsi about moving rez from E to Ult, theres not interested and than theres spamming the same thing with a different twist

6 Likes
13

Only 5?
That doesn’t sound right

8 Likes
14

I think they should buff her healing, keep valk but make rez only available in valk (just one rez w/ the cast time and everything)

2 Likes
15

(Gasp!)

I am

insulted.

I’ve got waaaaay more than 5 Mercy posts under my belt. I’ve been writing entire essays on this character for years. :grin:

2 Likes
16

And yet pure healing barely affects anything but mercy being being more viable in more variety of team compositions and mercy becoming more viable to run with offhealers too.

10hps doesn’t make mercy break the game ffs. Valkyrie is still an awful ultimate that helps nobody and that thing has 60hps for every player.

Why do people think 60hps mercy is broken because lul she has ress is beyond me. Ana still remains far, far more broken than that and now we got baptiste to compete for the main healer spot.

Mercy’s current 50hps is too weak for her to even be played in main healer spot and that’s a garbage position to be in. As soon as double barrier vanishes, ana jumps back to take mercy and moira’s spots and being damageboost bot for snipers is hardly good or balanced gameplay for hero. Why heal and damageboost when you can heal more and damage more people at the same rate?

Steady 60hps never broke the game. Burst heal does.

12 Likes
17

Wait, when did Mercy stop being a main healer?

What’s that? She didn’t?

People just don’t know how to use her as well as they would like, you say? Intriguing

6 Likes
18

Or rez could be weakened like, target only gets revived with half health?

19

What if they buffed her healing, but made Rez a combined move. I.E., mercy goes for the Rez and the other healer has to interact, adding their ‘healing power’ to it. This could prevent a lot of risky resurrections while still keeping her defining mechanic in the game.

20

I was never good at throwing stones far :frowning: