Overwatch changing up Mercy and Junkrat

In a move that’s definitely upsetting a lot of Mercy players (…again), Mercy’s Ultimate is being altered. Also, in a much asked for edit, Junkrat’s concussive mines are getting changed! (Thank you). Both of these changes are being met with mixed reviews on the forums.

In the offical PTR Hero Change page, the changes listed for Mercy are as follows:

• Valkyrie
  • No longer makes Resurrect instant
  • No longer grants 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

It’s been met with mixed reviews in the comments. Some feel that Mercy has been messed with far too much, with others complaining she’s still too overpowered and not fun to play against. It’s looking to be like it’s impossible to balance the Resurrect ability so that the other supports are still useful.

The Developers comments say much the same:

“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. 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.”

So if you’re really worried about the changes, get on the test forum and let them know! They’re iterating so maybe we’ll get to settle on one Mercy playstyle for more than a few months.

Junkrat’s offical changes are a fair bit smaller:

• Concussion Mine
  • Will now deal less damage to targets farther away from the explosion’s center

So, stick to throwing concussion mines directly at your target, rather than just accidentally nuking the whole party with a single mine. The Developers notes  recognise the enormous bombing potential of the mines, so hopefully it’s all been fixed now.

“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.”

The reviews are a bit harder to find on this choice though, since everyone’s shouting about Mercy, but it seems to be regarded as a good idea since no one’s kicking up a huge fuss (except maybe Junkrat mains.)

There you have it. If you’re interested in testing out these changes, they’ll be on the PTR server for an unspecified amount of time. To keep up to date with Mercy’s playstyle, it might be in your best interest to check it out.