Big Changes Coming to Overwatch’s Mercy and D. Va in New Update

Blizzard Entertainment, News, Originals, Overwatch, PC, Platforms, PS4, Trailers, Xbox One


Blizzard Entertainment has announced via a Developer Update video that two heroes in Overwatch will receive certain balancing tweaks in the near future.

In what will probably be considered the most notable part of this update, Mercy is getting some huge changes. First off, due to certain abuse by players, Mercy’s ultimate ability will no longer be Resurrect. Instead, players will now be able to use a new Ultimate named Valkerie, which will not only enhance everything that Mercy does in terms of damage and range, but it will also allow her to fly around the map. Resurrect will be Mercy’s secondary ability, and will be restricted to a single target; however, it will now be on a fairly substantial cooldown to curb abuse.

In addition to that, the character D. Va will also be receiving some changes in the form of a new ability called Micro Missles, which fires a large number of small rockets towards an enemy. D. Va’s Defense Matrix will also now deplete twice as fast as it did before.

Both of these character tweaks are available to try out right now in the Public Test Region, which allows PC players to check out upcoming features before they are released to everyone else. You can check out some of the other minor changes to the PTR below:

HERO UPDATES

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 CommentsD.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.

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 active
  • Valkyrie (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 damage

Developer CommentsWhile 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.

Reinhardt

  • Barrier Field
    • Holding primary fire while your shield is active now allows you to rotate the camera

Developer CommentsThis change gives Reinhardt more situational awareness while using his shield, allowing him to keep an eye on the battlefield while still protecting his team.

USER INTERFACE

  • Added an “Outline Opacity” option under the custom reticle settings (found under Controls > Options > Advanced), which allows players to control the opacity of the black outline surrounding the reticule

BUG FIXES

General

  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from automatically joining Match Chat, even when the option was enabled
  • Fixed a bug that prevented players from receiving the Perfect Round indicator after an Elimination game if they received a temporary health boost from an ability (e.g. Lúcio’s Sound Barrier)

Heroes

  • Fixed a bug that occasionally caused the heroes’ “sigh” voice line to play when respawning
  • Fixed a bug that interrupted the animation on Ana’s eye during the Beach Ball emote with her Captain Amari skin equipped
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Doomfist from being knocked back when his Rocket Punch ability was being used
  • Fixed a bug that allowed Doomfist’s Rocket Punch to hit players through the taxi on King’s Row
  • Fixed a bug that caused a pair of pink fuzzy dice to mysteriously float onto the screen when viewing D.Va’s weapon in the Hero Gallery if her Cruiser skin was equipped
  • Fixed an issue that caused the golden tint of Junkrat’s weapon to appear dull when his Firework skin was equipped
  • Fixed a bug that caused Mei’s Ultimate to appear friendly (it failed to change from blue to red) after being reflected by Genji

Maps

  • Fixed a bug that prevented reflections from appearing on weapons while standing in certain areas on Ilios
  • Fixed a lighting issue that caused some items on the last point of Route 66 to take on a pinkish hue when players used low video settings
  • Fixed an issue that caused reflections to appear overly dark while players were standing in areas of The Cave Inn on Route 66
  • Fixed an issue that caused excessive camera zoom and flashing lights when players loaded into the tutorial map
  • Fixed a bug that prevented plated railings from being properly destroyed by weapons fire on Volskaya Industries

Two weeks ago it was announced that Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch would be added to the game in the near future.

Overwatch was originally released on May 24th, 2016, and is available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC. Check out the developer update video below:



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