Overwatch is rebalancing a couple of its heroes, Mercy and D.Va, with the current builds available on the PTR right now. The specific patch notes for the changes can be read below, and Blizzard have put out an accompanying video explaining some of the alterations.
Mercy no longer has Resurrect as her Ultimate. Blizzard felt that Resurrect was “frustrating” to go up against and it encouraged people playing as Mercy to hide, rather than get involved in important battles; she now has Valkyrie instead (allows free flight, extends range of Guardian Angel and beams, plus several other things detailed in the notes). Resurrect is still present in her ability set, but it’s single-target (rather than a radius) and has a 30 second cooldown.
D.Va meanwhile has a new Micro Missiles ability that can be fired off at any time. Her Defense Matrix resource meter will now deplete twice as fast as before. Reinhardt can also freelook while using his shield.
Here are the patch notes from the Overwatch PTR. Below those, you can find the developer update video.
Mercy
Resurrect (formerly Mercy’s Ultimate ability)
Ability now targets a single player, instead of every player within a radius
Radius reduced to 5 meters
Ability cooldown is 30 seconds
Mercy is no longer granted invulnerability while Resurrect is activeValkyrie (New Ultimate Ability)
Valkyrie unleashes the full power of Mercy’s Valkyrie Suit, enhancing her weapons and abilities for 20 seconds:
Caduceus Staff: Mercy’s healing and damage boost beams now affect all allies near the targeted teammate, and the staff’s effective range has been extended
Caduceus Blaster: Granted infinite ammo, while simultaneously increasing damage and fire rate
Guardian Angel: Increased range and movement speed
Resurrect: Cooldown is instantly reset when Valkyrie is activated and reduced to 10s after the initial cast
Hover: Mercy gains the ability to fly freely, at increased movement speed
Regeneration (Passive): No longer interrupted when Mercy takes damageDeveloper Comments: While resurrecting downed allies is a core part of Mercy’s gameplay, the way her Ultimate functioned was causing a number of problems. It was frustrating to play against, and it incentivized Mercy players to hide away from important battles, instead of taking part in them. This version turns Resurrect into a single target ability. It’s still an important part of Mercy’s kit, but plays much better for both Mercy players and her enemies. Valkyrie, her new Ultimate, gives her the opportunity to make big game-making plays and opens a number of new options for her.
D.Va
Micro Missiles (New Ability)
D.Va fires a barrage of small rockets that detonate on impact, dealing damage in a limited radius around each explosion. These can be fired while D.Va is using any other ability or firing her Fusion Cannons
Defense Matrix
Defense Matrix’s resource meter will now deplete twice as quickly
Boosters
Fusion Cannons can now be fired while flying
Developer Comments: D.Va’s Defense Matrix uptime has proven to be too strong, but simply reducing it without making other changes would make her too weak (and far less interesting to play). Instead, we’re adding a new ability, and giving her the ability to fire while flying. These changes give D.Va a lot of new options while maintaining Defense Matrix’s ability to shut down big enemy attacks.
