Blizzard have now released the latest build of the game that they are hoping to eventually launch on all platforms, via the Overwatch PTR.
PTR updates are released so that new character tweaks can be playtested by fans before they are deployed on PC, PS4 and Xbox One servers.
And the latest Overwatch patch notes confirm that more changes are being made to hero healer, Mercy.
It’s been a long road for the character, who has seen a lot of updates over the past few months.
Trying to balance her resurrecting skills has become a major mission for the Blizzard team, and a bit of a headache for players.
This latest Overwatch PTR update sees changes made to Mercy’s Valkyrie abilities.
This includes:
- No longer making Resurrect instant
- No longer granting a bonus charge of Resurrect
- The speed boost that Guardian Angel receives has been decreased by 50%
- Duration reduced from 20 seconds to 15 seconds
As you can imagine, these are pretty big tweaks, and come with the usuall developer explanation.
“Mercy’s recent Resurrect changes have helped in allowing enemies to have more counter play in dealing with her, but she was able to use Resurrect through Valkyrie enough to largely mitigate the impact of the previous changes,” the patch notes confirm.
“Additionally, we’re toning back the amount of mobility Valkyrie provides through Guardian Angel and reducing its duration to overall reduce the power of this ability.
“We will likely be iterating on these changes in the coming weeks.”
Feedback from fans has been quick and to the point, some of which you can find below:
“I understand where the need to change Mercy’s kit is coming from, and the reduced time is a good idea, but the lack of second charge and cast time now during the ultimate make it feel unsatisfying to use. Please reconsider the changes.”
“Hmmm…. I would say the Valk nerfs are a bit too much, I know this is PTR, but maybe keep either the insta rez or the second charge? Everything else seems reasonable.”
“This seems like it just nerfs Mercy’s usefulness, which if you want her to be a simple hero to play while not being in the must pick category, this will do it, but I’d rather she also be fun. I don’t think I’d ever play her in the state she’s in on the PTR.”
Mercy wasn’t the only hero seeing some fine-tuning on the PTR today, with Junkrat also getting one major change, which can be found below:
“Concussion Mine will now deal less damage to targets farther away from the explosion’s center.”
“Junkrat has been enjoying the flexibility his double-charge Concussion Mine provides, but it has now become a bit too easy to throw out huge bursts damage in a large area.
“With this change he can still dish out similar damage but he must now be more accurate with his tosses.”
With a new event arriving soon, it seems possible that we will see these changes, or others like them, deployed in the coming weeks.
Daily Express :: Entertainment Feed
