Mercy nerfed, Ana buffed in the latest Overwatch PTR

Blizzard is testing some changes to two of Overwatch's healers: Mercy—currently regarded as overpowered and a must-pick in all situations—is getting nerfed, while the healing sniper Ana is getting a small buff. Here's what's changing:

Mercy's Resurrect is the focus of her changes. The ability now has a cast time of 1.75 seconds (up from 0 seconds), and can be interrupted by knockbacks, stuns, and Sombra's hack. In addition, Mercy's movement speed is reduced by 75 percent while casting Resurrect. To slightly offset the nerf, Resurrect's cast time is removed while Mercy's ultimate, Valkyrie, is active.

"We feel that Mercy’s recent rework has been successful, but her Resurrect ability still feels too strong and frustrating to play against," read the developer comments. "Now that it has a cast time, there is more room for enemies to counter the ability. However, casting Resurrect happens instantly when Valkyrie is active. This should make her feel powerful when she transforms on the battlefield."

Ana also received a small buff: the damage of her Biotic Rifle (primary attack) has been increased from 60 to 70.

"Ana has been outshined by other support heroes lately. Boosting her damage will help her defend herself and make her more threatening to the enemy team," Blizzard said. With the change, Ana can now kill a 200-HP hero like Pharah or Mercy in three shots instead of four.

The changes are now available for testing on the Overwatch PTR. As always, they are subject to change before being pushed to the live servers.

As the former head of PC Gamer's hardware coverage, Bo was in charge of helping readers better understand and use PC hardware. He also headed up the buying guides, picking the best peripherals and components to spend your hard-earned money on. He can usually be found playing Overwatch, Apex Legends, or more likely, with his cats. He is now IGN's resident tech editor and PC hardware expert.