The Overwatch PTR has some nerfs in store for both Mercy & Junkrat according to a post from Principal Designer Geoff Goodman on the game’s official forums.
The changes were announced a couple of hours prior to the patch by Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan and they solely focus on making some tweaks to Mercy & Junkrat. Junkrat’s Concussion Mine has had a damage falloff added to it, meaning that you’ll have to be more accurate in timing your detonation relative to reap the benefits of its explosion.
Mercy, in comparison, has had a substantial number of changes to her Valkyrie Ultimate:
- Valkyrie no longer makes Resurrect Instant.
- Valkyrie no longer grants a bonus charge of Resurrect for the duration of the Ultimate.
- Guardian Angel’s speed boost during Valkyrie has been reduced by 50%.
- The duration of Valkyrie has been reduced from 20 seconds to 15 seconds.
Reception to the changes on /r/Overwatch has been mixed to say the least, with some players deriding the changes as going a bit too far. Some have wondered if players would risk using Resurrect during a Valkyrie at all considering the greater amount of vulnerability that players face when using the ability.
The Mercy & Junkrat changes are live on the Overwatch PTR right now. You can test them out for yourself by changing your region to “Public Test Realm” in the Blizzard Battle.net client.
What do you think of the changes made to Junkrat & Mercy on the Overwatch PTR? Do you think the Mercy changes are just right or have Blizzard gone overboard with the nerfs? Let us know in the comments below!
