New ‘Overwatch’ PTR Update Revamps Mercy’s Abilities, D.Va Changes Hit

Overwatch received a new Public Test Region (PTR) update Thursday that brings some mighty big changes to Mercy and D.Va. PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC fans should expect these two heroes to play quite different when Blizzard Entertainment officially releases the next update to the hit shooter.

D.Va Changes

The D.Va changes were first covered earlier this week. Blizzard’s version of woman and machine in Overwatch is getting an overhaul to make her more aggressive and less dependent on the Defense Matrix ability.

The Defense Matrix ability’s resource meter will now deplete twice as quickly. To compensate, D.Va can now fire her Fusion Cannons while flying and she gains a new Micro Missiles ability. This fires a barrage of small rockets that deal damage in a limited area around the target.

“D.Va’s Defense Matrix uptime has proven to be too strong, but simply reducing it without making other changes would make her too weak (and far less interesting to play). Instead, we’re adding a new ability, and giving her the ability to fire while flying. These changes give D.Va a lot of new options while maintaining Defense Matrix’s ability to shut down big enemy attacks.”

Mercy Changes

The favored healer in Overwatch will no longer be able to resurrect her entire team. Resurrect has been moved from her ultimate ability to a standard ability that targets a single player. It currently has a cooldown of 30 seconds and will not grant the character invulnerability while it is active.

Mercy’s new ultimate is Valkyrie and will allow the Overwatch character to fly around the map at high speed while enhancing her weapons and abilities for 20 seconds. For example, the Caduceus Blaster is granted infinite ammo with bonus damage and an increased rate of fire. Meanwhile, the healing beam of the Caduceus Staff will affect all allies near the targeted teammate and its range has been extended. The Resurrect ability is boosted as well with an instant reset when the ultimate is cast and only a 10-second cooldown after the ability is used.

“While resurrecting downed allies is a core part of Mercy’s gameplay, the way her Ultimate functioned was causing a number of problems. It was frustrating to play against, and it incentivized Mercy players to hide away from important battles, instead of taking part in them. This version turns Resurrect into a single target ability. It’s still an important part of Mercy’s kit, but plays much better for both Mercy players and her enemies. Valkyrie, her new Ultimate, gives her the opportunity to make big game-making plays and opens a number of new options for her.”

Small Reinhardt Change

Reinhardt is also given a minor buff with this Overwatch PTR update. Players will now be able to rotate the camera around by holding down the primary fire button. This is intended to give greater situational awareness while protecting teammates.

There is no official timeline on when these changes will be released officially to Overwatch on the PC plus PS4 and Xbox One. PTR updates typically run a week or two. The Summer Games event will end Monday, so it is possible these changes could arrive not long after the event concludes.

[Featured Image by Blizzard Entertainment]