Overwatch 2 Hero Guide: Mercy

We discuss the best strategies to carry your team to victory as Overwatch's guardian angel, Mercy.

Anyone Know First Aid?

Angelia Ziegler grew up as a staunch advocate for peace despite living through a tragic event in her past. Still seeing the world for what it could be, she studied and became a medical prodigy, discovering breakthroughs in the field of nanobiotics that made Mercy unmatched in her noble profession.

Mercy is one of the most iconic characters in Overwatch's lore, to say the least. Every Support main knows who this combat medic is. This strong pick may be the most team-dependent, but the substantial impact she brings to every team fight can swing the game's favor your way.

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As the world finds itself on the brink of a new conflict, it'll need an optimistic professional that can keep the world's defenders alive. Read on to learn what makes Mercy such a prominent choice even in higher ranks, and how you can make the most out of your play time as Overwatch's guardian angel.

Heroes Never Die

The classic pocket healer may seem simple at first, but there's a lot more to Dr. Ziegler than meets the eye. Dive into the abilities* that makes Mercy one of the game's must-play heroes.

Ever since Overwatch 2's release, members of the Support roster received the Regeneration passive that lets you heal 22.5 health/second after taking a couple of seconds away from combat.

Angelic Descent – slowly descend from great heights with Mercy's Valkyrie suit
Caduceus Blaster – a projectile pistol that serves as some measure of self-defense on the battlefield. Caduceus Blaster automatically reloads when unequipped for ~2 seconds. The weapon swap time was recently shortened to 0.35 seconds to give the healer more survivability. The ammo capacity was also increased to 25.
Caduceus Staff – Mercy's primary armament can heal 55 HP/second and increase an alt-click increases ally's damage output by +30%.
Guardian Angel – the combat medic propels herself towards imperiled teammates with her signature Valkyrie swift-response suit. Pressing the default bind key (SHIFT) for Guardian Angel on the sprite of a downed ally also lets you fly to them. A momentum meter tells you how far/high the next jump will be.
- Pressing SHIFT + CTRL lets you soar above your targeted ally or “super-jump”. Holding CTRL lets you safely glide down
- Pressing SHIFT + SPACEBAR lets you “slingshot” towards the direction you're moving using WASD
- Pressing SHIFT again cancels Guardian Angel mid-flight
Resurrect – lets you bring a fallen teammate back into the fight. Resurrect is arguably the strongest hero ability in all of Overwatch. In consequence, it is offset by a -75% movement penalty and a considerable 30-second cooldown.
Valkyrie – Mercy's suit unleashes its full potential and heightens all of her skills. Her Regeneration constantly heals her regardless of damage sustained. The range for both Guardian Angel and Caduceus Staff is doubled, and her beam “branches out” of your main target to affect other nearby allies. Her blaster fires at twice its speed and gets unlimited ammo in Valkyrie form. Additionally, Mercy gains the ability to fly.
- SHIFT lets Mercy ascend in Valkyrie form
- CTRL lets Mercy descend in Valkyrie form

I Will Keep You Safe!

Specializing in single-target support, Mercy's abilities allow her to concentrate her healing where it counts. On top of that, keeping allied targets alive also increases your chances since your mobility is staked on active teammates. On the other hand, her damage boost whittles down hostile tanks and helps remove enemy barriers. The correct situational use of her aptly-named Caduceus Staff can determine who wins and who loses.

Whenever you're low on health, find cover to proc Regenerate.

Angelic Descent lets you vary your movement patterns and make yourself a harder target to hit. There's no fall damage in Overwatch, unless you're falling off the map. In that case, Angelic Descent definitely buys you a few more seconds until you're able to Guardian Angel up towards an ally.

Very simple Mercy tip – if you're attacking the second area of Parasio and your team loses a fight, you can fall back behind the roofs like this pic.twitter.com/DSYp50eD6i

— Niandra! (@Niandra_) December 4, 2022

Caduceus Blaster is best used as a last resort since increasing a teammate's damage yields better results. You can also use its empowered form (Valkyrie) to finish off fleeing enemies.

Caduceus Staff beams pass through enemy barriers. Mercy's healing/damage amplification persists if her target is in range and within line of sight. This allows you to routinely look around for flankers and alert your team if need be.