The Jan. 25 Overwatch live patch almost entirely focuses on the 2022 Lunar New Year event. But the developers snuck in an important buff for Mercy that focuses on reducing environmental eliminations for allies.
Mercy’s Resurrect ability, which can bring allies back after elimination, is one of the most important abilities in the entire game. Normally, Mercy can only use Resurrect on the glowing “souls” of allies she can physically reach.
Today’s update adds a new way for Mercy to help allies who have perished in “environmental death pits,” as the developers call them in the patch notes.
Allied resurrection markers will now freeze at the edge of these environmental hazards after an elimination so Mercy has a chance to “catch” the marker before it falls into the pit or cliff. If Resurrect is on cooldown, holding the button will keep the resurrection marker in place until the ability is available.
If a Lúcio player sends you flying into Ilios Well as your team takes over the point, for example, a Mercy player could now bring you back into the fight if they have time to complete the Resurrect. The same idea would apply for maps like Nepal Sanctum, with its massive drop-offs, or Eichenwalde’s precarious bridge.
While this is a buff for Mercy players and allies who may not be watching their footing around giant pits of death, it’s not overwhelmingly powerful. Completing a full Resurrect at the edge of an environmental hazard—especially if the ability is on cooldown and a Mercy player has to wait—will still be an incredibly risky move.
