Overwatch 2 players claim it’s no longer possible to ‘one-trick’ Mercy in season 9

The controversial season nine update in Overwatch 2 has shifted the meta in big ways, and some players are fed up with one big hero issue.

One-tricking has always been an issue in Overwatch, but some seem to think that playing Mercy only has been magnified as an issue with season nine’s widespread changes to hero health and projectiles, specifically. The discussion took off in a Reddit thread on Feb. 26, and many chimed in with their own opinions about the hero.

“Every game I’ve had with a ‘one-trick’ Mercy has ended in defeat,” the Redditor said. “The other team just wipes us everytime and the Mercy will refuse to switch no matter what hero we need to counter the enemy comp. I’ve had more stubborn Widows and Genjis willing to make DPS changes than our other support.”

The Mercy issue seems to have been magnified by the hero health pools and passive self-healing abilities since Mercy can’t keep up with other support heroes when it comes to dealing damage. The changes have made supports like Zenyatta and Moira feel very strong thanks to their ability to deal damage, so a team can no longer viably deal with a Mercy that won’t switch if it’s not working out.

“As the other support that has to pick up the slack, it’s downright frustrating,” they continued. “Not to say you can’t play Mercy, but please know when it’s not working and adjust. That’s all we’re asking.”

Switching heroes when something isn’t working out is a general rule in Overwatch, but the Mercy one-trick issue has been a topic of discussion ever since the first game’s original release in 2016.

“I’m of the opinion that a lot of Mercy one-tricks don’t play Mercy cause they like her, but because they are downright awful at any ‘real’ FPS characters that actually have to aim and do stuff, instead of floating around a person and make them do the work for you,” another player said.

Mercy players and the hero herself may be taking some unfair heat here because one-tricking any hero is a recipe for disaster. But as ever, in a live-service game where characters are buffed and nerfed frequently, it’s important to play what works best for the team to the best of your abilities.