Mercy’s Resurrect is nerfed again and Ana gets a damage boost in Overwatch’s latest update

Overwatch’s latest update hit the live servers today, and while its main feature is the new support hero Moira, two other healers have received some changes that could have major implications for their usage.

Will Mercy continue to be a must-pick? Will Ana find her way back into team compositions? Let’s check out the changes that were made.

Ana

• Biotic Rifle

-Damage increased from 60 to 70

Ana’s damage receives a slight buff, but it’s an important one, because she will now be able to three-shot a number of heroes again. As many of the cast have 200 HP, Ana will be able to defend herself much more quickly if she lands her shots in succession.

Mercy

• Caduceus Staff

-Increased visual readability of Mercy’s healing and damage boosting beams

• Resurrect

-Cast time increased from 0 seconds to 1.75 seconds

-Mercy’s movement speed is now reduced by 75 percent while casting

-Can now be interrupted when Mercy is knocked back, stunned, or hacked

• Valkyrie

-While active, Resurrect no longer has a cast time

-While active, casting Resurrect does not reduce Mercy’s movement speed

Mercy has received yet another overhaul, as Blizzard can’t quite seem to find a good spot for her. With the huge change to her Ultimate over the summer, Mercy became a must-pick in basically every level of play, from Bronze all the way up to professional.

Now, while her Resurrect is still available, the 1.75 second casting time means that she will be in much more danger when she pushes in for a revival. Mercy can no longer fly in, Resurrect, and fly out without having to stop and finish off the animation. The animation can also be interrupted by any ability that can stun.

Valkyrie becomes more powerful now, though, as the casting time disappears whenever she triggers her Ultimate, meaning that she will still be formidable as a healer. These changes should make Valkyrie feel more like an Ultimate than before.

Lúcio

-Lúcio now has an effect above his head to indicate which song he’s playing in spectator mode

This minor change goes a long way in helping out Overwatch as a spectator esport, as viewers will be able to tell immediately whether Lúcio is using Speed Boost or Healing Boost.

Winston

• Barrier Projector

-Now displays a health bar

This small quality of life change will be helpful to Winston players, who can now relay to their teammates when their protective bubble is about to break. It works in the same way that Reinhardt and Orisa’s shields have their own health bars.