Blizzard has gone up with the latest build of Overwatch in its Public Test Realm, where new hero adjustments have brought yet another nerf for Mercy and one for Junkrat.
Based on the latest PTR update, the biggest change is a nerf to Mercy’s Valkyrie Ultimate ability. Its duration has gone from 20 to 15 seconds, it no longer grants an extra Resurrect charge nor an instant Ressurect, and the speed boost that comes with Guardian Angel has been decreased by 50%.
This adjustment to Mercy’s Ultimate comes not so long after Blizzard nerfed her Resurrect ability to allow enemies to have more counter play in dealing with her, but players were still able to take advantage of her Resurrect enough through Valkyrie which canceled out some of the impact from the previous nerfs.
As for Junkrat, his Concussion Mine ability will now deal less damage to enemies that are farther away from the explosion’s center. So basically they’ve lowered the splash damage for the attack, which has been dishing out plenty of extra damage since its change to a double charge.
Here are the notes from the latest PTR update:
Junkrat
- Concussion Mine
- Will now deal less damage to targets farther away from the explosion’s center
Developer Comments: Junkrat has been enjoying the flexibility his double-charge Concussion Mine provides, but it has now become a bit too easy to throw out huge bursts damage in a large area. With this change he can still dish out similar damage but he must now be more accurate with his tosses.
Mercy
- Valkyrie
- No longer makes Resurrect instant
- No longer grants a bonus charge of Resurrect
- The speed boost that Guardian Angel receives has been decreased by 50%
- Duration reduced from 20 seconds to 15 seconds
Developer Comments: Mercy’s recent Resurrect changes have helped in allowing enemies to have more counter play in dealing with her, but she was able to use Resurrect through Valkyrie enough to largely mitigate the impact of the previous changes. Additionally, we’re toning back the amount of mobility Valkyrie provides through Guardian Angel and reducing its duration to overall reduce the power of this ability.
We will likely be iterating on these changes in the coming weeks.
Overwatch is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
