Overwatch's Mercy: Two Critical Level-Ups for your Mercy Game

Hey everyone, Konduit here - today I've got a quick but juicy article lined up for you. Before we get into the thick of things, if you're interested in learning more about Mercy and Mercy Strategy, check out the previous articles in my "Overwatch's Mercy" series below:

1. A Conceptual Primer
2. Positioning/Evasion Notes and Tips
3. A Resurrect Primer
4. Settings, Mechanics, and Techniques
5. The Hero Roster Breakdown: Offense, Defense, Tanks, Supports
6. Communication, Coordination, and Callouts

If you've been following my previous articles on Mercy (or on League of Legends) here on Team Dignitas, you might recall that my preferred strategy/mantra with regards to improving at the game (any game!) is in the art of being self-critical. Focus on your own gameplay and don't let mistakes slide by without noting them down. That's not to say that you should beat yourself over every error, rather that you should allocate some time for self-reflection and review. And, as you get more and more experienced, you'll be able to more accurately determine which areas of the game you could've affected more and which were out of your control. Be compassionate towards your mistakes (i.e. don't beat yourself up), but be strict in identifying them, not letting even "errors that didn't affect the game's outcome" slip by (as those errors may in fact later make the difference!). This is particularly important in the early stages of the improvement process - if you note down each area/play in which you could've done better, you'll grow by leaps and bounds... and in this process of self-improvement, you'll often discover level-ups on your own or by asking/reading about others' insights during your journey.

Two Important Skills to Practice as Mercy

I'm sure you'll agree that "level-up moments" are immensely satisfying in any realm. For example, when I found out that Captain Falcon's F-Air in SSBM was one of the strongest moves in his arsenal, I had a level-up (I'm still bad at the game though). When I realized that not cleaning out the lint-collector thing on the dryer before throwing my clothes in was the reason the clothes would sometimes still be wet, I had a huge laundry level-up. When I discovered the relish is the best hot dog topping in existence (conclusively determined), I had a huge hot dog level-up.

Below you'll find 2 level-up moments I experienced while playing Mercy: two skills, which, if you practice hard, I can almost guarantee will boost your game. And even if you've heard of these concepts before (I've mentioned them in my previous articles, but not in this manner), you likely haven't taken them to the extreme (what I advocate), which will help you really refine and understand the proper applications and use-cases of these skills and calls.

1. Tempo Rezzing

For the uninitiated, a "Tempo Rez" is a Mercy Ultimate that picks up just a few players in order to sustain a push and create a numbers advantage for an ongoing/upcoming push. Though you may only be up 1 or 2 members after a Tempo Rez, that is still an absolute numbers advantage, and in most circumstances you're heavily favored to win the ensuing fight.

Every Mercy player knows how great it feels to pull off a massive Rez, but the lesser recognized/less flashy but extremely effective Tempo Rez can be just as, if not more influential and impactful on the game's outcome. Learn when to Tempo Rez and when to hold it for a larger number of allies, and you will see an improvement in your game.

For now though, here's my proposed training method. Do not hold Rez for any extended duration of time: instead, simply use Resurrect to create a numbers advantage at every given opportunity. Every time both teams trade 1-for-1, use your Resurrect. In any situation where you can get a numbers advantage, even if you don't get max value out of your ultimate, just go ahead and pop Rez. Don't worry, you have my approval.

From my observation/what I've heard, the vast majority of Mercy players (myself included) haven't truly mastered this mindset - a key mistake is not Tempo Rezzing enough. Experience in how teamfights play out and previous awkward Rezzes are the main impediments to correct Tempo Rez usage, from my own self-reflection. There have been many occasions where I lament Rezzing just a bit too early, as another teammate went down immediately after I used the ability. After having experienced this, the mentality becomes: "Gotta wait as long as I can to get maximum value out of this Rez, don't want to miss someone going down." While this line of thinking isn't intrinsically incorrect, there's a very fine line between examining which teammates are in immediate danger of going down (and thus holding Rez for a second or two longer becomes good idea) and holding your ultimate for an extended duration, after which the enemy team is regrouping/taking over the fight and a slightly bigger Rez (if you can even manage to set it up) won't have the impact you want. More concretely, when both team's trade 1-for-1 at the very start of a fight - do you Rez immediately for a 6v5 advantage in the teamfight, or hold it for aftermath of the 5v5 teamfight? The answer is of course that it is situational, depending on some important factors (who's gone down on each side, ultimate availabilities, game type, etc.). This is all in the realm of 'beginning/mid-teamfight tempo rezzes' though, which are perhaps a secondary concern to this next discussion (as with some practice, you'll get a feel for when you should hold rez to get more people vs. fire it off to get people back into the teamfight).

Perhaps the most critical habit to overcome is holding Rez after your team has won a skirmish/teamfight and is somewhat close to grabbing an objective, overemphasizing value (the number of people Rez'ed) rather than tempo (time saved/creating temporary advantage) for your Resurrect; the logic is of course, that there's no need to Rez, as you've already won the fight - you can save your ultimate and Rez for the next fight. The key point to realize though, is that Overwatch is all about objectives, not necessarily winning individual teamfights. Winning teamfights will often lead to getting objectives, but you have to win them with the right timing and with sufficient forces to take the objective through enemy respawns. A numbers advantage exerting pressure is often what you need to secure an objective, and a Tempo Rez facilitates just that. As you'll see in the below example, there are situations (frequently occurring situations, in fact) in which it is a good idea to Rez even though you've come out ahead in a skirmish or teamfight - all for the sake of more reliably securing the objective or checkpoint.

The textbook example of a great Tempo Rez is during a payload teamfight when your team has won a teamfight/skirmish but doesn't have complete control, having taken down/driven off 3-4 members of the enemy team and lost 2-3 of your own members. Technically, you're at a higher fighting strength than the enemy team, but winning the next fight over the upcoming checkpoint isn't guaranteed, particularly when considering the possibility of enemy respawns - all of whom are no doubt rushing back from base. In this situation, it's basically always correct to Tempo Rez your fallen allies, ensure that as many people as possible are present, and you have an essentially insurmountable advantage for the checkpoint fight. By Tempo Rezzing, you eliminate the possibility that your fallen allies won't make it in time for the fight (and leaving you potentially outnumbered for a bit, especially if the opponents make it back from their spawn faster), as well the need to wait for them to get back to have an even fight. Mercy's Resurrect shifts the death timers/respawn walk in your team's favor and generates massive tempo, essentially making it such that you lost no members in the initial skirmish.

Returning to the practice plan - yes, Tempo Rez at (basically) every given opportunity, unless you know for certain you can hold it for whatever reason. You'll make some misplays, sometimes things won't work out, maybe miss some opportunities for great Rezzes, etc... but in this process, you'll learn two things: which circumstances are conducive to effective Tempo Rezzes, and which circumstances are not. There are ton of different variables and situations that influence your decision making for Tempo Rezzes (what ultimates your team has, what members your team has, the same for the enemy team, the type of game mode you're playing: 2cp vs. KotH, etc.), too many to list here, and even more details within those considerations (positioning is a big one). However, with practice, you'll pick up the intuition and develop heuristics to quickly determine when you should Rez. Instead of looking for bigger Rezzes, keep your eye out for the small ones - play to the other extreme, then slowly work your way to a more middle ground. People practice executing big Resurrects often - now focus on practicing the smaller ones. You'll find that by looking for Tempo Rezzes more proactively, you'll have leveled up.

2. When Things Look to be Calm, Plan Your Getaway!

Use the calm before the storm wisely - it's the best time to prepare for the actual storm (i.e. Genji diving on you with Dragonblade or a Soldier 76 ultimate).

In the moments before a teamfight breaks out, there's often poke being exchanged, tanks posturing, etc. If you're in an awkward position when the fight breaks out, you're likely donezo against any flankers (or even just traditional DPS) gunning for you. The reality is, you can't avoid the Genji diving on you reliably if you just reacting to his movements as he pressures you. Sometimes you'll be able to get away... and often you'll be taken out while you're panicking and looking for an escape route. The key is predicting when your assailants are incoming and already being prepared to move (credit again to my buddy Brent for introducing me to this principle long ago) or, in some cases, prepared to whip out your pistol and fight. Predicting the enemy's plays is a big level-up for your Mercy game.

What I really want to emphasize to you today, in terms of a concrete skill to practice, is with respect to one specific situation: pre-teamfight posturing. During this period, try practicing the following steps:

1. Recognize who's on the enemy team

2. Identify which members of the enemy team can pressure you and where they currently are positioned (i.e. Where are the flankers?)

3. Understand their ability usage/the typical pattern for how they will pressure you (ultimates, basic abilities, chase potential, etc.)

4. Briefly scan your team's positioning to identify your escape route when put in danger, keeping in mind your current positioning.

This might sound like a lot of work, but in reality the first three steps will happen very quickly - as you'll already have thought about them as soon as you become aware of the enemy team's comp. The fourth step is the most intricate, which might require a few seconds of thinking. Use the time given to you - when you are not under pressure - to plan out how you're going to react when you are under pressure. As you get more experienced, and when the variables in the teamfight are static enough (sometimes against strong pursuers), you can even plan multiple steps ahead, determining how to escape to another location when you get to your first escape location.

I highly encourage you to work with your team if at all possible during this process; putting a Widowmaker up on the high ground as an escape beacon for you can make all the difference. From a broad perspective, the skill you want to develop is the art of planning ahead and predicting the enemy's movements and play patterns before they enact them. By focusing on the pre-teamfight posturing situation (the situation which you have the most time to think, about the opponents' plays and your own), you can develop this habit of thinking ahead, rather than playing purely reactively. As you get more and more experienced, try and start thinking ahead even when you're in the heat of battle.

That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed the article. If you'd like to discuss anything Mercy, have comments/feedback on this article, or just want to say hi, feel free to tweet me @k0nduit and I'll get back to you.

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