Thought Process and Usage Reward:
Remember when the cast time was placed on Resurrect and how a lot of players responded with “Now Mercy mains will have to think before using Resurrect”?
Do you also remember that this is how I introduced this section the past two times I made this thread? I’m bringing this up again because I thoroughly enjoy irony.
Anyway, there is a very clear difference between the complexity of using Resurrect now, and the complexity of using Resurrect prior to the rework. Stemming from that difference in complexity, there is a big difference in the thought processes for the two abilities… namely that ult-rez had one, and E-rez doesn’t.
Before delving into the thought processes, I’ll go over the differences in complexity.
Currently, Resurrect has a restrictive numerical value, allowing for only six possible combinations of Resurrect targets:
- Solo-rezzing allies 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. 5 combinations.
- Not using Resurrect. 1 combination.
Ult-rez, on the other hand, had far more possible combinations of Resurrect targets:
- Solo-rezzing allies 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5. 5 combinations.
- Duo-rezzing allies 1 through 5. 10 combinations (5 choose 2, for you math freaks out there).
- Trio-rezzing allies 1 through 5. 10 combinations.
- Mass-rezzing (four-man) allies 1 through 5. 5 combinations.
- Team-rezzing all allies. 1 combination.
- Not using Resurrect. 1 combination.
That is thirty-two possible combinations of Resurrect from Mercy 1.x, making it more than five times as complex as the current iteration of Resurrect, and that’s from a numerical perspective alone.
Resurrect currently has a 5 meter radius, a 1.75 second cast time, and a 75% movement speed reduction, narrowing the parameters in which it can be safely used. It is less flexible due to safety concerns.
Resurrect used to have a 15 meter radius, no cast time, and post-rez invulnerability, allowing it to be used in a variety of situations. It was very flexible.
Resurrect currently is not an ultimate ability. It is on a 30 second cooldown, making its availability predictable and reliable. On top of this, its limited power range does not allow it to contest other ultimates.
Resurrect used to be an ultimate ability. It had no guarantee as to when it would be available again, making it more difficult to gauge when it could next be used. It was not only an ultimate, but a support ultimate, rendering it a scarce resource. It was capable of matching the power of other ultimates, and its expense counted as an ultimate expense.
As a result of lower numerical complexity, usage inflexibility, downtime predictability, and a basic-ability status, E-Resurrect also has a consistent optimal use scenario. That optimal time of use is always to reverse the first pick prior to a teamfight. This is the case for several reasons…
First, there is safety. With Resurrect’s incapacitation upon cast, it is clear that Mercy could use all the help and protection she can get while casting; she already has the biggest target in the game on her head. The more living allies nearby to protect the Mercy in the first place, the more likely it is that using Resurrect will result in a successful Resurrection and a living Mercy. Using the ability when there are only two allies to protect the Mercy is typically suicide.
Second, the realistic impact of Resurrect is greater the earlier it is used. Its numerical value remains the same (one person), but that numerical value means much more when used earlier in the fight rather than later. This is because of how teamfights typically snowball.
Both teams start out facing each other at a dividing point in the map. Six players on each side. One team gets a pick (or a first kill that grants an advantage and a prompt to engage), and then pushes into the opposing team. The team of five players is at a one-man disadvantage, a weakness their enemies capitalize on with their engagement. The team of five loses another player, dropping them down to four. Then they lose another. Somewhere in there, they may have gotten a kill, bringing to fight to a 3v5, but it doesn’t matter. The team that got the first pick has too much momentum and too great of a numbers advantage for the losing team to fight back with any success. The team of now three players crumbles, and the last three living players are killed off.
What point in that fight would be the best time to use Resurrect?
Using Resurrect when it’s a 3v5 or worse would probably mean not being able to get Resurrect off in the first place… but let’s cast that aside (no pun intended) and say that the player somehow manages it anyway. Okay, great! You got that ally back, and chances are that another ally is in critical condition from the damage they sustained over the past 1.75 seconds of you not healing them. That is, assuming they didn’t just die in that time.
But you know what? Let’s ignore that second flaw too. Let’s suppose that miraculously, Mercy pulled off the Resurrection and every other ally that was still alive was left unscathed during that 1.75 second cast time… It’s still a 4v5. Mercy’s team is still at a huge disadvantage.
Okay, let’s try using Resurrect earlier… How about on the first pick?
When trying to revive that first dead ally, four other teammates are there to cover for the Mercy; she has a good chance of getting Resurrect off, so that’s a good start.
What about Mercy’s other allies? Well, the enemy doesn’t have much momentum yet and there are four allies to spread damage among rather than only two, greatly reducing the chance of more allied deaths or even the chance of them dropping to critical condition. Both flaws presented in the late-fight Resurrection are heavily mitigated when using the ability earlier.
Not only that, but a successful Resurrection means the fight is back to a 6v6; the enemy no longer has the numbers advantage, and has likely backed off because of that. Teams typically want to engage with an advantage.
It is easier to stop a snowball before it starts than it is to try to stop it once it is rolling. Rather than using Resurrect to little or no effect later in the fight, it is best to prevent the scales from tipping in the enemy’s favor in the first place. Therefore, using Resurrect as early into the fight as possible is always the best option.
Resurrect during Mercy’s 1.x versions, however, was a different story. It had greater numerical complexity, it was more flexible in how it was used because it had no activation safety restrictions, its next use was unpredictable, and it was contending with other ultimates. As a result, it never had a consistent optimal execution. Its best-case scenario varied from fight to fight.
For example, if the Mercy waits to use Resurrect on four or more players every time, she’s reviving her team into an uphill battle every time; the enemy has the momentum, the positioning advantage, and the first shot. Furthermore, waiting to revive a bunch of players at once runs the risk of staggered deaths, risking a numbers disadvantage on top of those other disadvantages.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, using Resurrect to revive 1-2 players every time ran the risk of blowing Resurrect without depleting enemy ultimates first. Considering that “Helden sterben nicht!” was practically a green light for the enemy team to start activating ultimates, using Resurrect early in the fight against a loaded team without a plan B wasn’t really a good idea.
How was the best execution of the old Resurrect determined? That is where the difference in thought process between the two ability versions begins. The optimal time of use is predetermined for the current Resurrect, while the optimal use of the old Resurrect needed to be discovered on the fly for each individual scenario.
As for how the best execution of old Resurrect was determined… It depended upon a lot of variables. For starters, here are some variables and questions considered before the engagement begins:
- Living allies prior to the teamfight. Are we a full team, or are some allies dead/walking back from spawn?
- Living enemies prior to the teamfight. Does this put us at a numbers advantage/disadvantage? Is it possible that additional enemies will join the fight late?
- Ultimates held by present allies. Are there any allies I should prioritize when it comes time to Resurrect because of their ultimates?
- Ultimates held by present enemies. How many ultimates does the enemy team have at the ready? Does this put us at an advantage/disadvantage in primed ultimates? Are there any ultimates I should be weary of in particular?
- Missing enemies. Are there any enemies I cannot see/have not accounted for? Are they flanking? Where might they attack from? Am I their target?
- Allied positions. When things get hot, who can I fly to for safety? Will I still be able to heal the frontline from there, or will healing the tanks require another reposition?
- Mercy’s position. How can I place myself in a way that still allows me to support the team, but minimizes the enemy’s ability to shoot at me? If I am directly attacked, could a reach a position that gives me an advantage in that fight? Are there nearby healthpacks that I could take advantage of?
- Engagement patterns. Will the enemy get a pick and then engage, or will they fly through that choke point, ultimates blazing? If we are the team initiating, which pattern will we follow?
During the engagement, here are some of the variables the player might consider in the heat of battle:
- Midfight numbers. Are we at an advantage/disadvantage in this category? Will Resurrect give us a numbers advantage? Is Resurrect even necessary to win the fight?
- Enemy activity. How aggressive are they playing? Are they slowly gaining an upper hand, or has all hell broken loose? How aggressive is each one playing? Do the aggressive ones have their ultimates ready? Are they prepared for me to use Resurrect, or are they too blinded by their tunnel vision to realize I’m still here?
- Death locations. Are my allies close enough to one another to be revived in a single use of Resurrect? Is there a specific position I should attempt to reach to revive them all? Would reviving a particular ally provide our team with an advantage due to their location in relation to the enemy?
- Midfight ultimates. What ultimates are active? What ultimates do we still have? What ultimates does the enemy still have? How can I bait out those ultimates? What ultimates do our dead allies have? Are they in a position to use them?
- Respawn timers. Will more allies die before that first ally respawns? Should I revive that first ally now, or should I hold onto resurrect until more allies are down?
- Resurrect priorities. If I am forced to choose between reviving one ally or the other, which do I choose, based upon their hero, skill, and ultimate status?
- Enemy positions. Where is each living enemy? Are any flanking around in an attempt to kill me? Am I in the sights of any enemies?
- Safety/practicality limits. Is it too dangerous for me to have a presence in the fight anymore? Would healing my team even be useful at this point? Is it time for me to pull back and supplement healing with pistol fire?
- Post-rez outcome. Given all of the above variables, what are the chances that my team will win the fight after I resurrect them? If the chances are not in our favor, how can I tip them in our favor? Who should I try to finish off with my pistol while taking advantage of the invulnerability frames? If the post-rez fight will not be in our favor, should I bother using Resurrect at all?
There was a mind game that centralized around defining the best way to use Resurrect. It was a mental puzzle in a race against time. The mind game brought an additional layer of player engagement to a mechanically basic hero.
In contrast, Resurrect currently has a static optimal execution. The only real thought that goes into the ability’s use is safety, and its optimal execution serves to mitigate its hazards anyway. Rather than a series of questions, hypotheticals, and planning that require close attention to the fight, quick thinking, and refined awareness skills, Resurrect now only requires a check for a few specific parameters based upon the positions of visible allies and enemies.
“Will doing this get me killed?”
If the answer to that question is “no”, then it is clear to use Resurrect.
Analogy time! Who’s ready for an analogy that I totally haven’t used before?
Go outside and stand in front of (what I am assuming is) your friendly suburban neighborhood street. Now cross it, but don’t be an idiot about it. Be safe. Do what your parents drilled into you twelve-thousand times: Look both ways before crossing the street.
Look left. Are there any cars coming?
Now look right. Are there any cars coming?
If the answer to both of these questions is “no”, you may cross the street. Otherwise, you should wait for those cars to pass before crossing. Simple, isn’t it? The most difficult part of this entire “mental exercise” is remembering to check both ways in the first place, and that isn’t a concern anyway; it’s common sense.
Are you able to do this on a regular basis? Yes? Congratulations! You have mastered the art of not getting yourself killed while using Mercy 2.x’s Resurrect. The train of thought and mental demand between the two scenarios are the same.
Resurrect’s complexity was lost through the rework, removing its mind game and a layer of engagement. Resurrect hardly requires any thought to use anymore, and there isn’t any variation in how it should be used.
Players used to claim and complain that Mercy was a Resurrect bot… Mercy became more of a Resurrect bot because of the rework. Resurrect has been reduced to nothing more than a bot-like function.
Titanium… just quoted me. And just said “THIS”.
