The Dodo Mercy Rework v1

[Megadodo-11847]

For Option 2, I am having difficulty visualizing how that ability will play out if used on a live teammate. Is it something similar to Brig’s overheal? Help me out if I’m completely off the mark.

by Option 2, to do you mean using Invigorate (or whatever it would be called) on a live teammate?

If that is the case, think of Doomfists meteor strike. The most damage is done at the center of the effect, and the further away one is from the center of impact the less damage one takes.

This is the same, with healing instead of damage, albeit with the potential to have a short duration rather than the instantaneous effect that meteor strike has

I think a lot of folks might like this option specifically because their movement isnt slowed…lots of folks on the forums complain regularly about how her “flow” is interrupted by the slower movement during rez; and/or how a “highly mobile” character should always remain highly mobile.

[Yara-11173]

I would prefer that rez be removed from Mercy altogether

Nope

I dont like my movement being slowed when using Mercy’s cooldown ability

Yep.

I dont find Valkyrie to be engaging enough, it is spectator mode for me

Yep.

I want Mercy to have some form of burst healing

Nope. I’m not fond of giving Mercy burst or AoE, because that’s supposedly Ana and Moira’s way of doing things. I would rather keep their kits as different as possible.

I want Mercy to be able to heal someone at a much higher rate (higher than the current 60) when in Valkyrie mode

That’s a complex one. Assuming no changes whatsoever to current Mercy, then no.

So I’m in the camp of those who agree with 2 and 3, perhaps 5 depending on premisse.

Change 1: #BigMainLittleChains

I like that, a step in the right direction and I would certainly welcome it. However I must say, removing chain beams altogether would be my choice.

[Davey-12135]

I would prefer that rez be removed from Mercy altogether

The devs won’t rework Mercy without rez in her kit. She has sprays and a highlight intro for it, it’s iconic and altogether would make way too many people upset in the process.

dont find Valkyrie to be engaging enough, it is spectator mode for me

I get you on this. It can feel really boring to use sometimes. But I typically highly dislike just going up in the air and healing from a safe spot during Valkyrie. I zip around and take advantage of my 15s of 60hps and actually stay lower to the ground and fly in and out of cover. Feels a lot more engaging than just sitting in what many consider a spectator mode.

I want Mercy to have some form of burst healing

I can also get you on this, but Mercy’s supposed to be a single target healer and I really love that about her. Beam juggling is one of the most fun things about her, aside from GA. But that’s just my opinion and I would honestly be ok if she got a burst heal, but I feel it’s unlikely.

I want Mercy to be able to heal someone at a much higher rate (higher than the current 60) when in Valkyrie mode

I would love for Mercy to have a higher healing rate in Valkyrie with single target beam only. It would make it feel a lot more rewarding. Chain healing goes against her identity, but it does have its uses and encourages your team to stay together, so I’ve come to not mind it as much.

Essentially, in Valkyrie mode only, the main beam from the staff heals (or damage boost) at a greater rate, while the chains heal (or damage boost) at a lower rate

Ngl, this is what I thought Valkyrie did when I first started playing Overwatch so I still beam juggled in Valkyrie. I really like this idea.

I’d like to see targeting for GA to be a bit more forgiving, so one can get to that widow teammate on a high ledge who just wont come to the edge so Mercy can GA to her

This is why communication is key. If I need to get up to our Widow, or even our Ashe or McCree, I say “Hey, x, can you come to the edge please?”. There’s also GA prefers beam target, which I believe if done correctly with it on you can curve around the ledge and get up there. Don’t quote me on that though because I don’t use that setting lol.

Overall, this is a good thread! I can tell you really thought it out. But imo I think Mercy just needs a couple very small buffs and QoL changes. A rework would be nice, but they need to be careful about how they go about it. I think a good rework would be to move rez back to her ultimate, make it charge a bit quicker and make it single target like current rez. No cast time (or maybe a 0.5s cast time if absolutely needed) and no movement penalty. Sort of like Tracer and her pulse bomb work. ^^

(also, sorry for this being so long. I tend to write more than I should :'0)

[Yara-11173]

I think a lot of folks might like this option specifically because their movement isnt slowed…lots of folks on the forums complain regularly about how her “flow” is interrupted by the slower movement during rez; and/or how a “highly mobile” character should always remain highly mobile.

I agree with that complain very much and I think it’s easier to fix than we might think. Just take current Res, increase the range at which Res can finish its animation (not started) then remove the movement penalty and ability lock altogether. Let the player GA-cancel out of the Res and move freely around the “soul” while the animation plays.

Simple WASD control would mean A LOT to Mercy’s gameplay.

[Megadodo-11847]

DesiresCry:

the 5 points that you are replying to are not my stances.

instead - those 5 points are some (not all) of the most common complaints I hear about Mercy, and those 5 complaints are in turn what the Dodo Mercy rework is intended to address

[Megadodo-11847]

Get rid of the beam length extension, it just means she can hide behind a house on the other side of the map.

With apologies, this seems to be a bit of an exaggeration.

As I said earlier, I dont want the play of this character to change much if these changes are implemented for those who already enjoy playing her in her current state

As such, I am not in favor of changing the length of the beam or the chains

That said - may I ask what you felt about this rework suggestion as a whole?

Does it for example resolve any of your concerns, and if so, which ones?

For another, would you prefer to play the existing version of Mercy or this one?

[kongajinken-1805]

Big main little chains was a step in the right direction, invigorate is eh.

[Megadodo-11847]

Big main little chains was a step in the right direction, invigorate is eh.

Hmm, ok, is it then fair to say you dont want burst healing and/or you dont feel the speed reduction when using the current version of rez is a problem?

(Sorry, there are a lot of folks who want different things from Mercy and I struggle to keep track…)

[Megadodo-11847]

I’d agree with those changes if they remove the slowdown and counter it with maybe, 1.5x (45 secs) cooldown time for invigorate.

Tho your feedback is appreciated, I am not sure I understand it

The Dodo Mercy Rework DOES remove the slowdown effect…IF…you target a living being rather than a dead one

It retains the slowdown ONLY if one uses it on a dead target, ie same as current rez, which (though renamed) remains exactly the same for players who already like playing Mercy as she is

I am trying to keep the cooldown the same, so that both the user and the enemy can know that one of these two effects are coming (or rather can occur) every 30 seconds. In this fashion, the game play remains the same as much as possible while ameliorating the specific problems that this change attempts to address, like the slower movement during rez

[Megadodo-11847]

Overall I actually really like these changes.

I do have a question about Invigorate though. When used on a living target, would it still have its current cast time?

Thanks for your feedback

Short answer: yes

Detailed answer: In this rework, I am trying to keep as much as possible of the current design as it is. I fully realize that if there is a cast time, Mercy doesn’t benefit quite as much from this ability as she could, because during that 2 seconds or so casting Invigorate, she could be using her normal healing instead for roughly 100 HP potential (50HPs/s times 2 seconds) - but - this is as I am recommending it 2-3 times that amount on the targeted individual plus even more healing (tho i havent worked out the numbers, I figure thats for Blizzard) if any other teammates are within the radius of the “healing explosion” effect. I think the numbers can (and will) be such that the ~2 seconds spent casting it will be well worth it

[FFirebrandd-1844]

That could be problematic. The people most in need of a burst heal are those at low health. With a sizeable cast time, there’s a very high chance of your target dying before the heal arrives. It’s bad enough when it happens to Brig’s Armor pack and that thing just has travel time and only a 6s cd.

I guess the next logical question is… if your target dies during the cast time, what happens?

[Megadodo-11847]

That could be problematic. The people most in need of a burst heal are those at low health. With a sizeable cast time, there’s a very high chance of your target dying before the heal arrives. It’s bad enough when it happens to Brig’s Armor pack and that thing just has travel time and only a 6s cd.

I guess the next logical question is… if your target dies during the cast time, what happens?

this is an excellent point, one I hadn’t thought of

thank you.

My knee jerk reaction is that it wouldnt make sense to have it rez the now-dead target, as that could potentially be abused to rez someone without having the movement penalty

Taking away the cast time would seem to make the most sense - but - this would mean the power (numbers) would have to drop a bit as well

Another option would be to keep the cast time but have the explosion go off regardless, centered on the deal soul rather than the living target, but I can see that being very disappointing to the Mercy player since they may only be targeting the one player

Bottom line is - gonna need to think on it, but I am leaning towards no cast time and slightly reduced numbers

[FFirebrandd-1844]

My knee jerk reaction is that it wouldnt make sense to have it rez the now-dead target, as that could potentially be abused to rez someone with having the movement penalty

I would agree with you there.

but I can see that being very disappointing to the Mercy player since they may only be targeting the one player

Agree on that too.

I have 2 suggestions if you are open to them.

Firstly 100 burst heal, instant, puts Res/Invigorate on a 15s cool down.

Secondly keep the cast time and 200-300 heal, but instead of being just a burst heal, it applies a buff that heals for 20 HP/s for long enough to heal for whatever part of the burst wasn’t used. Though now I’m having second thoughts because on the smaller side of the burst heal end, Mercy would be able to give out a 10 second long 20 HPs buff… that might be too much? Maybe make the heal over time stronger to better reward good timing. I’m not sure.

[KucingIsCat-1260]

Short answer: i just want the slowdown removed, whatever it takes.

Long answer:
The slowdown is literally what makes me come to this forum to complain. I never visit the forum before the patch. I just want the slowdown removed, whatever it takes.

a. Slowdown removed by reverting mercy? Fine by me.
b. Slowdown removed by deleting res and replacing it with another ability? That’s fine too.
c. Slowdown removed and res is downtuned to compensate? I have no problem with it.

I’ll even accept current valkyrie and that 50hps healing if they just removed the slowdown from mercy kit (point b or c).

[Davey-12135]

Uhhh? Did you even read my reply? I provided information to help you make your rework better. I also did not reply to points, I replied to parts in your post, there is a difference. Not everyone will agree with you and I was just trying to help out.

[N7Warrior-1327]

will add that I see rez in a sense as a huge burst heal - you were at 0 HP, now you’re at full

Sorry. I forgot to reply after your edit.

Burst heal is a lot more applicable to different situations Imo. It’s why ana and Moira and brig have such value despite being less consistent. It’s how Rez interacts with the game.
It’s not that rez is always worse than burst heal, but that burst heal is more applicable and safe for and from healers. This was why inconsistent healers get burst heals versus consistent ones. Moira gets a half heal burst because her healing is kind of half consistent. But ana and brig aren’t consistent with ana having a condition of aim and brig needing to do dmg for base healing. But Lucio and zen dont have burst nor has mercy because of them being consistent . Having a burst means you are getting a pro from ana or brig without the cons. And that just doesn’t sit well with me.

Again, I understand I. The context of the post adding it. I just don’t agree with the concept of Mercy having a burst heal overall. I think her only tools for midfight to allies should be what she currently has.

[Megadodo-11847]

I would rather, of course, remove resurrection entirely.

You’re certainly not alone in wanting that, but on the other hand there are many players who like having rez as a part of her kit

I see invigorate as a compromise position, wherein someone who wants to Rez still can do so, while someone who wants it gone as you do can choose not to use it, thus eliminating it from their game specifically, without in turn losing power otherwise wasted

[Megadodo-11847]

• I would prefer that rez be removed from Mercy altogether
• I dont like my movement being slowed when using Mercy’s cooldown ability
• I dont find Valkyrie to be engaging enough, it is spectator mode for me
• I want Mercy to have some form of burst healing
• I want Mercy to be able to heal someone at a much higher rate (higher than the current 60) when in Valkyrie mode

i agree

You have all 5 of these issues with Mercy in her current state? Wow.

[Minty-11551]

yes all of em!
idk if i mentioned this but i broke a mouse because i wasn’t healing enough…

[Hige-1101]

Change 1: #BigMainLittleChains

I have said this many times but this seems to be the change that most Mercy players agree with however I think there are some downsides and quite a bit of instances to consider

1. All beams equal means more safety for mercy, for example when you take cover behind a wall and you have clear sight of one teammate but no sight on the rest. In this case you resort to using your only target who happens to be close to the team or he might even get closer in order for the chains to connect but with weaker chains this interaction has its effectiveness reduced, not like it’s a bad or unfair thing but it’s something to keep it in mind

2. if the chains become too weak we might as well just remove them… take it as my opinion but if a lot of people feel like 50 hps is worthless, you can bet your sweet behind that they’ll feel like 40 hps on the chains is nearly nothing. Removing the chains in order to further increase Mercy’s single target healing would make her even riskier to play but I’d say that a constant 12 second 80 hps healing is more than worth the risk and we could even increase the passive health regen to compensate

Change 2: Invigorate

I have explored a similar skill myself and my biggest hurdle came to the cooldown of said skill… my findings were as follows

1. If the cooldown is shared between invigorate and rez then you’ll be punished more often than not for using one or the other, say you invigorate a Reaper who was at 25 health, he’s now at 250 and he happens to be headshotted by widow inmediately after, now your rez is on cooldown and you pretty much fudged it

Same goes for the opposite case, if you rez someone then you cannot invigorate them and even if the cooldown is reduced, rez demands a high cd either way so you’d be out of action for quite a bit

2. If cooldown isn’t shared then… the opposite happens, you can keep almost anyone alive for way too long, say if you invigorate your reaper and he dies, then you can rez him and invigorate again…

Furthermore, the cooldown on invigorate is… muddy, if it’s 300 hp as you said, cooldown should be pretty high but if it’s like 100 then cooldown can be low-ish but again… combo-ing it with rez seems like a bit too much

My solution to this was to make “invigorate” more of a regen effect that can be stacked with your regular beam for a fake valk-ish healing, say if you apply it and the target starts regenerating at a rate of 30 hps for 3 seconds, then you would be healing that specific person for a total of 80 hps briefly, however the cooldown on this skill could be barely 8 seconds or so, so your healing increases tenfold throughout the match and considering that valk would have no chains…

I think you have seen my suggestion but I’m glad our views sort of align, just wanted to give you a bit of my thought process on the whole Mercy rework thing in order to see if you could come up with different solutions to the ones I have reached! thanks for making this thread!