The newest update for Overwatch 2 has made it harder to play as Mercy. On February 7, the third season of the first-person shooter sequel was released, introducing various changes to the Mercy hero (via PC Gamer). These are: Guardian Angel cooldown increased from 1.5 to 2.5 seconds; Holding the backwards directional input and cancelling the ability with Jump now moves 20% slower; Caduceus Staff healing-per-second reduced from 55 to 45; Healing is increased by 50% for allies under half health; Regeneration Passive removed (she retains the support one though); and a new Passive: “Sympathetic Recovery” in which she heals herself for 25% of healing done with the Caduceus Staff. Blizzard states that the changes will “empower Mercy even more as a triage healer and enable her to more often save low health allies”.
In addition, season three sees supports on the rise. Lucio, Zen, and Brigitte have been slightly buffed, with Lucio and Moira having their ults up faster to save their allies more often. Zen has five more shots to fire at enemies, and Brigitte’s Repair Pack can instantly heal allies for 25 health and its HoT component. Furthermore, Junkrat’s Concussion Mine has had its damage decreased by 20 to make one-shot combos with his grenade more difficult to achieve. Reinhardt’s Earthshatter ult has had its damage reduced and stun duration increased, while Widowmaker is down from 200 health to 175.
Overwatch 2 director Aaron Keller recently outlined the numerous season three changes, which include “more clarity” for players looking to determine their ranked skill. He also spoke to NME about the challenges behind balancing heroes in Overwatch 2, and teased several upcoming game modes, revealing that the shooter’s next two heroes will be supports.
