I don’t think this changes anything, you literally only have to stop mouth breathing and spraying the ground in between reloads. She only freezes you 4 times instead of 6 in a row now, hell the extra 2 RMBs is probably a net buff.
1 Like
I think the threat of the freeze is more important than the freeze itself. And it effects the way people interact with her. If she can’t do it in a reasonable time, and it’s fairly easy for Zarya and Supports to deny her value from her freeze, then a lot of her value may be lost.
1 Like
I feel as if it is so.
But like the people who hate her because of freezy gun should like this.
Usually would this be the case, but sometimes when the there is too much negative player feedback about it, can the hero get nerfs as well.
Good examples of this would be Sombra, Dva and Reaper.
Mei wasn’t just ‘viable’ she was a must pick on countless maps and has been meta for months, only recently has she dropped in use PURELY due to hero bans becoming a thing.
This also isn’t a nerf, could even say its a buff. Since they ‘compensated’ with 2 extra right clicks
Experimental gamemode
She’s only been a must pick in the pro scene and that’s not because of her freeze. On ladder she’s merely been viable.
2 Likes
Interesting point, but this would only be the case on objective points, right?
Team battles tends to be midrange where her secondary fire is more reliable.
The reason why Mei is consider a tank counter is primarily because of her wall, which allows her to separate them, and not her freeze.
Mei’s glaring issues are her multi freeze and her wall, (her other benefits such as her shift and 250hp pool just add to the list, they aren’t the key issues)
This change addresses to an extent her capability to multifreeze but it doesn’t do enough to warrant calling this a decent multifreeze nerf. And her wall remains untouched soooo
On ladder people don’t know how to play with and as her. She won’t be any worse with this new change in that regard. Edit: If anything this will just require those on ladder to rely less on freeze and more on hitting their right clicks
She was a must pick because of her wall and her capability to multifreeze.
Her wall has been nerfed before, repeatedly even, and her multi-freeze isn’t exactly great at freezing groups of enemies, unless they are in a straight line. The multi-freeze is mostly helpful for securing a freeze on a single target without someone body blocking it.
So yeah, I do think this is a great change that address the issue most players has with Mei, which is the unfun aspect of her freeze.
2 Likes
I don’t think so. There are a lot of map spots where you can use hardcover and still have the threat of her freeze prevent people pushing in because of the combination of both ice wall and freeze.
I honestly think it’s the combination of ice wall AND the threat of freeze that makes Mei function so well as a tank hybrid. You gotta respect her space. She can freeze everyone that tries to push in if you don’t.
1 Like
Be respectful. “You main X so your opinion doesn’t count” is not conducive, or a valid argument.
6 Likes
Mei main here with 500+ hours played.
So to summarize:
- +20% ammo on icicles (10 shots -> 12 shots)
- -40% ammo on freeze (200 ammo -> 120 ammo).
This shifts her play style over from primarily being a crowd controller over to being a projectile DPS.
I just played her for two matches, and it’s really difficult to get a freeze from a running target now. It’s more tempting to just spam icicles instead. This change just feels like a harsh nerf without thinking too much about the changes in player dynamics. She just feels bland to play. I hope they revert these changes.
If they still want to make her less powerful, they can tone down the ammo overall, like how she was a couple of years ago. That way, the balance between crowd control and projectile DPS is maintained how it is (which feels good imo), while forcing her to reload more frequently.
Edit: corrected mathematics.
11 Likes
Yes. She will. Because ladder relies more on freeze than pros.
That’s a very good point.
I guess we just have to test this experimental change fully if we want to decide if she needs more compensation buffs or not. I think that would be the best course of action right now.
1 Like
Her walls may have been nerfed but it wasn’t and isnt enough. Wall is easily one of the most broken abilities in the game. And honestly I don’t know how blizzard could balance it without gutting the ability entirely
Multifreeze is incredible at freezing groups when the enemy can’t shield especially in chokes. And frankly body blocking freezes isn’t a thing people do in high level play. Freezes are shielded, and those who get frozen are Defense Matrixed
Mei mains are the best. You guys are so cute and harmless until you freeze us and plant a cold one between our eyes.
7 Likes
Whats wrong with increasing the skill ceiling of a hero? It’s not a huge shift mind you, she can still freeze. Not to mention shes already a very forgiving hero at low levels of play with a 250 health pool and a invulnerability + healing on her shift.
1 Like
I like the changes. 6 seconds of freezing instead of 10 seconds.
Maybe Mei’s will have to be smarter with their freezing instead of holding down m1 to mass chain freeze people sometimes.