Overwatch 2’s Invasion update releasing next week is a big one for the game, not just in the content it will add but in its importance for getting players to return.
The update will add co-op content, along with a new support hero, an all-new game mode, and changes to several heroes in the game, namely multiple other support heroes who need buffs or nerfs, according to the developers.
In a new Director’s Take blog today going over some hero balance changes coming in Invasion, game director Aaron Keller called out Mercy specifically as one of the heroes receiving a change.
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“We are planning tweaks for several of our other Support heroes, but the last one I’ll go over here is a reduction in Mercy’s damage boost,” Keller said. “It won’t be a lot – we’ll be reducing it from 30 percent to 25 percent. At this value, we feel that the ability will still feel effective while giving us room to rein in certain damage spikes.”
Keller sounds like he is already prepared for backlash with this change, ready to protect himself from an onslaught of Mercy mains upset with the tweak to her damage buff.
“We’re aware this is a contentious topic and are doing our best to be receptive to the various community opinions,” Keller said.
Mercy has been a point of contention since the first Overwatch game but has recently once again become an issue thanks to her ability to enable things like Soldier: 76’s oppressiveness in recent months. Mercy’s ability to make DPS heroes feel overpowered was even turned into a meme.
And as always, Mercy’s ability to completely take over a game while pocketing a Pharah is still a point of conversation, a whole seven years after the original game launched, and it’s been happening ever since.
Mercy’s two-sided kit, as a support hero able to heal teammates as well as help them deal out massive damage, makes her a common pick across all skill levels. It remains to be seen if this new change will bring her in line with the rest of the roster.
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Overwatch 2: Invasion releases on Aug. 10.
