Overwatch 2 beta update will address Mercy's controversial changes

Blizzard has confirmed that it's making changes to Overwatch 2's Mercy following fan feedback during the beta test.

As we explained at the time the beta went live, fans over on the Overwatch and Mercy Mains subreddits complained that the healer now feels clunky and awkward to play. 

One of the main parts of Mercy’s kit targeted was her Guardian Angel ability, which allows her to fly over 30 meters to a companion swiftly. Since the changes came in, however, you’ll automatically be launched upwards if you float the entire distance, and an animation cancel that you could use for a big vertical boost has been canned.

Turns out the changes weren't quite what the team had in mind, however, not least because Mercy's super jump was "completely unintentional" in the first place.

“Guardian Angel gives Mercy important mobility that is key to her survivability," Blizzard explained in the post. "Over time, players learned that if you jump during the ability at a specific time, you could launch Mercy up into the air. This is super cool; however, it was completely unintentional. Mercy’s ‘super jump’ was the result of a bug that occurred during Guardian Angel, but players made it a part of her utility."

However, Blizzard soon realized that this change had "some issues" during the first week of the beta, and has now decided it will be "changing up the ability in the mid-cycle patch" and give players more control over Guardian Angel.

“We liked the idea of a bug turned into a feature, so the changes to Mercy in this beta were meant to make the super jump more reliable and consistent," the blog explained.

Instead of launching Mercy immediately into the air, players will now see a meter that charges when the ability is active and when canceling Guardian Angel with Jump, Mercy will "now be launched into the direction she is facing". The more charged the meter, the more momentum she'll get during her jump.

Mercy wasn't the only hero to get a tweak, either. Symmetra "didn’t quite fit into the play space Overwatch 2’s changes were defining" and whilst the team had hoped the tweaks made to her Teleporter and secondary fire projectile speed would make up for some of this, Blizzard admits it "overshadowed these with other nerfs".

Consequently, Symmetra will now have her secondary fire projectile size reverted to as it was before, and the charge time reduced to one second. Her Teleporter cooldown has been cut by 25 per cent, too, so it now takes 12 seconds, not 16.

Last but definitely not least, the update confirmed that tank queue times have now improved as players rushed to try the new hero, but as she's still early in the testing phase, Blizzard is "going to continue to watch how she performs in the beta to prepare her for our launch".

"The first week of the Overwatch 2 Beta is behind us - time flies when you’re having fun!" the studio added. "The team has been hard at work compiling player feedback, squashing bugs, and gearing up for the mid-cycle patch.

"There are some other heroes we are watching, like Zenyatta and Sojourn, who may need to be tuned down a little prior to launch. We like the direction of Roadhog’s ultimate changes in the beta, and we’re now working on making it feel more intuitive and polished."

Fancy getting involved? Here’s how to get into the Overwatch 2 beta.