Overwatch: Tips on Playing as Mercy

I have played as Mercy a lot in Overwatch. One reason is because random teammates often avoid choosing Support characters and thus I would have to cover the need. The other reason is because I like Mercy's weapon.

Mercy is Dr Angela Ziegler, the German-speaking Swiss. As a medic and scientist, she has done research in nanobiology for the treatment of illnesses and injuries. She is equipped with the Valkyrie swift-response suit for treating battlefield injuries.

Mercy's primary role is as a healer. As a Support character, Mercy's main drawback is that she can only attend to one patient at a time (disregarding her Ultimate Ability). Despite her role, Mercy is equipped with a reliable weapon that is potentially dangerous when wielded correctly.

Below are tips on playing as Mercy. I have also added a few tips on working with Mercy in the team at the end of the article. More will be added to this article as I learn more.
(Last update: 6 July 2016)

Preparation

Before playing a game, put in some practice. A 10-minute session in training (the time of one match) on the Practice Range will allow you time to develop and practice tactics in a stress-free environment. Count the number of shots it takes to defeat a training bot (it has 200 HP). Count the time taken to defeat a training bot. Try headshots, rear shots, body shots, long range shots. Try shooting lateral-moving targets at different distances. Mercy's Caduceus Blaster is powerful but one glaring feature is its medium shot-speed, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. A lot of practice is necessary to compensate for the disadvantage.

Play around with damage amplification with the Caduceus Staff. Note the distance for it to be active. Try looking elsewhere while the Staff is in use.

The main requirement to use Mercy is battlefield awareness. The player must know the state of the other players. To practice that at the Practice Range, try defeating the four wandering Training Bots while simultaneously keeping the two Friendly Bots under fire alive.

Try out different characters to have a rough idea of their abilities. At least note their HP and whether they have shield or armor.

There is not enough time to learn everything in a 10-minute session and it will be incredibly boring to delay real play until you are ready. Instead, practice a little everyday (or each time before you play Overwatch). Each session will allow you to prepare much to try out in the game after.

Learn how to perform triage in Overwatch. Because Mercy can only attend to one patient at a time (unless her Ultimate ability is used), she has to decide whom to attend to first. Learn to recognize which of your patients require urgent attention and which can be left for later. This is an easy enough skill to learn by observing the play of other players and seeing the effect of your actions. By playing lots of games with Mercy, you will get better at determining whom to focus your attention on.

Strategy

Playing as Mercy requires battlefield awareness. You need to know the state of other players at all times.

Beginners usually go with the support strategy where they hang back and actively support the team by taking care of 6 patients (herself included). The player needs to keep track of who is injured and in need of healing, and who is on the offense and can use a damage boost. While attending to one patient, keep an eye on the condition of other patients. Some judgement is required on which patient needs the most attention while keeping Mercy out of harm (she's no good if eliminated). It is also important to note the position of teammates so Mercy can use Guardian Angel to escape in their direction.

A better use of Mercy is a balance between supporting your team and going on the offense. This requires keeping track of 12 patients, with 6 of them requiring the use of a different tool. Mercy's Caduceus Blaster is powerful, reliable and, when used correctly at the right time, can prevent damage by pwning the opposition before they can do further harm to your team. Since the Caduceus Blaster reloads while the Caduceus Staff is active, Mercy can still contribute to the team while waiting for her Blaster to be ready. It requires great judgement to decide when to heal/support the team and when to actively protect your team. Split-second decisions require information, hence the requirement to be aware of the condition of the player's team and the opposition at all times.

In Escort games, Mercy can escort the Payload. She is smaller than a Tank so it is easier for her to hide behind the Payload. Also, she can heal herself. This along with healing from the Payload (only if Mercy is on the attacker's side) can keep her firmly stationed at the Payload. This allows the rest of the team to actively mop up any obstruction to the Payload's advance. Keep moving to avoid from being shot in the foot through the bottom of a Payload that has a high ground clearance.

The Payload can be a mobile base. Teammates who are out clearing the way can return to the Payload for healing (from Mercy and the Payload) before returning to combat. Watch for attacks from the rear.

Tactics

Mercy's Caduceus Staff is capable of healing or providing a damage boost of 30% (so says the wiki at the time of writing). It takes experience to quickly determine who to heal. Sometimes, it is better to heal a less wounded ally instead of a critical one who may die from the next sniper hit. Some characters can heal themselves so those who cannot should be assigned a higher priority. Sometimes, it is better not to fully heal a character so a critically wounded ally may be attended to. There are no fixed rules, just many considerations. Experience will help you to decide on what to do.

In general, damage boosting should be used on characters with high damage like a sniper or Bastion on Sentry Mode. It is also good on characters who are using their Ultimate Ability like Pharah. Another occasion to use damage boosting is if the battlefield is too dangerous for Mercy to enter. At that time, it may be better to hang back in safety and boost (rather than heal) an ally so they can finish their opponent before more damage is done. A good question to ask often is if it is more effective to boost an ally, or to pull out the Blaster and directly deal damage.

When Zarya uses her ultimate ability, Graviton Surge, it is a good time to boost the damage of someone with area effect damage, someone like Zarya. If Zarya's player is good, she will keep her Energy up before using Graviton Surge to catch multiple opponents. Damage boosting will allow her to deal even more damage with her area-effect alt-fire.

One form of life-preservation is damage prevention, by eliminating sources of damage. As such, sometimes it is better for Mercy to pull out her Blaster instead of trying to heal or give a damage boost.

Mercy's Caduceus Blaster does a good amount of damage, has a large clip and has no deviation in its aim. However, it only has medium bullet-speed, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage. The major disadvantage is that, after firing the Blaster, the target may not be there once the shot reaches. To compensate for this, practice is necessary, especially against laterally-moving targets at a distance. Aim for where the target is going to be, rather than where it is. It takes experience to guess what a target is going to do and practice to determine where to aim.

Note that the Blaster reloads while the Caduceus Staff is active. Mercy can switch to support while replenishing ammo before returning to active damage-dealing.

The features of Mercy's Blaster makes it good against most Tanks. The Blaster's high damage seriously weakens the Tank for teammates to finish off. In addition, the Tank's size makes it easier to hit at a distance. However, Mercy is not as effective against Zarya. Zarya is a smaller target and her Shield automatically recovers from damage. In addition, Zarya can protect herself with her Particle Barrier.

The advantage of the medium bullet-speed is that the Blaster is good for sniping at turrets. At extreme range, Torbjörn's turret only reacts when attacked. Because of the Blaster's medium bullet-speed, Mercy can put a few shots in the air before the turret notices it is under attack. Mercy can then duck back behind cover while her last shots are still in the air.

The Blaster's medium bullet-speed is also good to suppress snipers, especially Widowmaker. Mercy can put bullets in the air towards where a sniper will appear then slip back into cover before that sniper does show up. This allows Mercy to attack without putting herself in danger. Even if Mercy does not eliminate the sniper, having bullets flying around and doing damage is very distracting to all but the calmest of snipers.

If no one needs healing, and there are only targets in the distance, Mercy can draw her Blaster and chip away at the targets' HP to make it easier for allies to defeat them. Another good time to have the Blaster out is to defend yourself from Tracer, especially when there are no (reliable) teammates to help.

An obvious time to use the Blaster is when a teammate is incapacitating a target. While Roadhog is pulling in his target, he cannot attack. While the target is in a predictable position, Mercy can fill the target with bullets. It is similar when Mei is freezing a target. It is also applicable when Reinhardt is charging, though you need to be quick in determining where he will stop. Mercy can also attack the opposing Roadhog or Reinhardt when either is using certain abilities and is predictable.

Also pull your Blaster out when your team's Reinhardt has his Barrier up and is not making any move to get closer to the target. That is, unless someone is in need of medical attention.

Engage Bastion in Sentry Mode from long range and from cover. If you peek out from cover (say, from behind a wall) such that you can only see a tiny part of Bastion, the chances are Bastion can only see a small part of you. At long range, Mercy's Blaster is far more accurate than Bastion's weapon. As such, all of Mercy's shots will hit while some of Bastion's return fire will hit the cover. This situation allows you to do your full damage to Bastion while taking only reduced damage in return. Keep an eye on your health in case Bastion increases its accuracy by firing in intervals or is somehow dealing more damage than expected.

Mercy's Guardian Angel ability can be used to move to different patients quickly. It can also be used to flee combat. One feature of this ability is that it can be cancelled early by pressing the button to activate the skill again. Do this to stop Mercy short of an ally in the line of fire.

Frequently, it is best to flee battle. Because of Mercy's usefulness in and out of combat, it is best that she remain alive and active at all times. Always look for escape routes in preparation for sudden attacks. Learn to watch (and listen) for sniper fire. Note the position of distant allies so you can use Guardian Angel to fly to them quickly.

Mercy's health regenerates on its own if she does not take damage for a while. As such, it is possible to take a few hits to protect an ally before ducking into cover to 'self-medicate'. Since Mercy does not have to do anything to heal herself other than avoiding damage, this is one situation where she can attend to two patients at once.

One situation where Mercy should take a hit is to save a frozen teammate from Mei. Usually, once Mei freezes an opponent, she would follow up with an icicle to her target's head. By using Guardian Angel, Mercy can fly to the ally as he/she is being frozen, then jump (to avoid getting hit in the head) in front to take the icicle. Keep firing at Mei to chase her off. It takes a bit of practice but it is possible to start shooting while Guardian Angel is moving you to your ally.

Do not try the above against Roadhog. A skilled player of Roadhog can eliminate Mercy quickly if she gets too close.

Mercy and Pharah can form an air force. When Pharah boosts into the air, Mercy can use Guardian Angel to follow and either provide fire support or attend to allies from the air. Being in the air allows Mercy to survey the situation better while avoiding attacks that are weak against flying targets. Using Angelic Descent allows her to maintain height advantage longer. Do watch for anti-aircraft capability on the opposing side before using this tactic and be ready to drop into cover if there is danger, especially if it looks like an opponent is taking careful aim.

Symmetra is very powerful in close-range skirmishes, if she stays alive. Mercy can keep Symmetra active longer or boost her already considerable damage.

Working with Mercy

Working with Mercy in the team requires a few considerations to get the best out of her. The first of which is not to be reckless just because Mercy is in the team. Mercy can only treat one patient at a time and so can easily be overwhelmed with work. When she is not treating an ally, she can deal heavy damage with her Blaster.

Do not rely totally on Mercy. She's good for fixing minor damage and preparing survivors for the next engagement. However, if you have taken major damage, it may be better to step back and look for Health Packs so Mercy can concentrate on allies that can contribute better, who would not die from the next hit. On the other hand, letting Mercy heal you charges her Ultimate Ability faster.

Do not overwhelm Mercy with requests for healing. Triage is an easy skill to learn (Disclaimer: triage in Overwatch, not in real life!) with experience so it is safe to assume most players of Mercy know which patient to prioritize. Trying to influence her decision with repeated requests may bring down the team by denying support to important players. If Mercy does not respond to your request for healing, she must be attending to someone with a greater need or even trying to save a teammate from an opponent. Or she may just be looking the wrong way.

If you are Pharah, check for anti-aircraft capability in the opposition. If it is safe, take to the skies often so Mercy can join and provide air support.

If you are a sniper or someone who hangs back, be somewhere visible to Mercy (if it is safe). That way, she can use Guardian Angel to flee to your position if she is in danger. In addition, she can come to your rescue or attend to your wounds. When on a high position, stand near the edge of the ledge because the ledge can block Mercy from using her Guardian Angel.

'Primum non nocere' is Latin, which means 'First, do no harm'. This is a weird phrase to put in Overwatch, on someone with a powerful weapon.

Overwatch: Tips on Playing as Tracer

I have been playing Overwatch by Blizzard Entertainment. The game is an FPS in a futuristic setting with a large variety of characters, allowing for many, many different styles of play.

One character I had been using was Tracer. She is Lena Oxton, a British lass who was thought lost in a teleporting experiment. She came back with new time-related abilities and then needed technology to control her powers.

Tracer's main abilities are short range teleportation and rewinding time to a recent state. Her weapons are not very powerful but they are accurate with fast bullet speed, high rate of fire and a spread. Since Tracer is very squishy with her low HP, her primary defense is mobility.

Below are some tips on playing as Tracer. I shall add to this article if I learn more.
(Last update: 18 July 2016)

Preparation

Before playing in an actual game with Tracer, some preparations should be made. The first of which is to put some time into practice. A 10-minute session in training (the time of 1 match) on the practice range will allow you time to develop and practice tactics in a stress-free environment. Count the number of shots it takes to defeat a Training Bot (it has 200 HP, the amount many characters have). Count the time taken to defeat a training bot. Try headshots, rear shots, body shots, long-range shots. Try shooting laterally-moving targets at different distances. In short, learn the limits of Tracer's Pulse Pistols. After that learn the limits of her other abilities. Do not forget to check the damage on her melee hit.

Try out other characters to have a rough idea of their abilities. At least note down their HP and if they have shield or armor. There is not enough time to learn everything in a 10-minute session and it will be incredibly boring to delay real play until you are ready. Instead, practice a little everyday (or each time you start Overwatch). Each session will allow you to learn a little more.

If you are lazy to do the maths homework, someone had already done it here (beware that the numbers may be outdated, especially the one for melee).

Know the maps, though this shall have to be learned during games. Use the time during preparation on defense to scout out some of the area. Learn more each time you play the map. On maps with no defense, you shall have to explore as you play. You can also use the time waiting for players when the game allows you to play around the map.

Check the side paths of each map, note the location of Health Packs. Look for alternate directions to approach targets and routes to likely sniper perches. Check the likely paths that the reinforcements of the opposing team will take. Look for places where Tracer can make a long jump with her Blink ability.

Strategy

Tracer's main strategy is to be a pain in the rear to the opposition. Literally. Seek out weak targets hiding deep behind enemy lines. Harass their reinforcement. Scout out and foil ambushes.

Harass the objective. Make the opposition turn from the front line to protect the objective instead of playing with your teammates who are trying to reach the objective. Your efforts are less likely to be noticed by your team, especially since your work is unlikely to show on the post-game statistics. However, your opponents will definitely take notice and curse your presence (or absence if they know you're around but can't find you).

Use Tracer to hunt snipers, who are usually hiding somewhere 'safe' at the back. Get behind support heroes and stop them from supporting. Find and take out Symmetra's Sentry Turrets and Teleporter. Attack Bastion's weak spot - with Tracer's speed, it is easy to get to the weak spot behind the robot when it is on Sentry mode.

Tracer can attack and delay their reinforcements. Most inexperienced players would just rush back to the front lines without expecting an ambush at their front door.

Hunt Tracers on the opposing side. Knowing how annoying Tracer can be, protect your teammates from her.

In an Escort map, while the main party groups together, Tracer can scout ahead and on parallel routes for traps and ambushes. If the opposing team is away from the Payload, engaging Tracer's team members, Tracer can speed around the main fight to the Payload to get it moving. That will distract some of the opposing team members, who may turn from the fight to defend the Payload.

An alternative escort strategy with Tracer is to have her escort the Payload. Under normal circumstances, most of the team escorts the Payload while most of the defense team directly tries to interfere. However, there is a defense strategy where the defenders hang back and snipe at the guards of the Payload. This is where Tracer comes in. She is small, fast and therefore hard to hit at a distance. By hiding behind the Payload, she can keep the mission going. Just keep moving to make it harder to be sniped on the foot through the bottom of the Payload (for Payloads that levitate a good height above the ground). Meanwhile, the rest of the team can attack the defenders directly, perhaps from the side.

When attacking an Assault map, when (or while) Objective A is (being) captured, Tracer can rush to Objective B and attempt to capture it. This will distract the defenders, allowing the rest of the team to attack Objective B before the defenders can set up defenses.

While Tracer's main role is as a flanker, do not restrict her to this. There are times when she should stand with the team. For example, during a nail-biting last stand scenario when time is running out and everyone from both sides come together for one final fight to achieve victory or delay defeat. Don't bite your nails during this situation.

Do take a break occasionally. Tracer is so fast that you can get dizzy playing her. Take time between matches to rest your eyes and stretch, maybe get a drink during a long break. Do not bring the drink to the computer/console to encourage yourself to get up and walk, and to prevent liquid-spilling accidents.

Tactics

Keep moving! Speed is life! Tracer is low on HP so she relies more on avoiding damage than bearing with it. Keep the opposition guessing where she is. Add in the use of her Blink and Recall abilities for confusion. Note that Blink moves Tracer in the direction she is moving, not the direction she is facing (unless she is stationary).

Recall takes a short moment to complete. During this time, Tracer is invulnerable. Timed properly, Tracer can use Recall to protect herself from momentary danger such as from D.Va's Self-Destruct and her own (or another Tracer's) Pulse Bomb.

Sometimes Tracer's mere presence is a threat such as when she is at an undefended Payload or Objective. During this time, it is better to stay alive as long as possible rather than to score kills. Use the Payload in Escort missions as cover.

Note that each shot of Tracer's Pulse Pistols does puny damage and as such deal puny (as little as 50%) damage against armored targets (represented by the yellow HP bar). On the plus side, the bullets travel fast with a spread so there is no need to lead your shots though the spread means that Tracer will do less damage at long range.

Even if you cannot eliminate anyone, harass as much of the opposition as possible. Every second you distract someone is one second less that they contribute to the team. However, since Tracer has low HP, be cautious and do not take unnecessary risks.

Keep Tracer's HP up. Take a few extra seconds to collect a Health Pack. Collect Torbjörn’s Armor Pack and convince Symmetra to give you a Photon Shield. These will boost Tracer's weak HP.

Since Tracer is fast, she can run back to the action in a shorter amount of time if she is eliminated. Thus, do not be overly cautious that the opposition regards her with a "Meh, it's just Tracer!"

Lúcio and Tracer make a good team on the offense. Lúcio can speed people up and heal. Tracer can scout ahead for trouble and provide firepower with her Pulse Bomb.

While with teammates, say during a last stand, stay behind cover or tanks. Take potshots at weak opponents. Attack Reinhardt's Barrier if there are no other targets.

Master the trick of rushing into the middle of an enemy formation, attaching the Pulse Bomb to someone and then Recall-ing to safety. Remember that the Pulse Bomb damages Tracer too, though her allies are safe.

The Pulse Bomb has a small blast area and is powerful enough to eliminate any target except tank heroes, Bastion on Tank mode and Torbjörn (and his turret) when his Molten Core is active. There are also a few other exceptional circumstances when a target may survive a Pulse Bomb such as when Lúcio activates his Sound Barrier.

Watch Lúcio as he escorts a Payload in an Escort game. Lúcio is hard to hit and can heal himself (the Payload also heals him if he is on the Attack team). Inexperienced players may skate around the Payload in one direction. If Lúcio is doing this, consider planting a Pulse Bomb at an unseen corner of the Payload while Lúcio is on the other side (don't forget to run!). When Lúcio comes around, he may just notice the bomb a moment before it blows. It may be a waste of a Pulse Bomb but you'll not get a new one unless you use the one you have.

Master the trick of engaging weak targets twice. Rush in, do some damage, then Recall, which removes recent damage and reloads the Pulse Pistols. Return again, maybe from a different direction, and finish the job.

Despite Tracer's personality, do not showboat. With Tracer, it is easy to sneak up behind people while they are looking the other direction. It is tempting to melee Widowmaker in the back while she is busy scoping out handsome men. If the opponent is any decent player, she would immediately react to a threat and dodge. If she dodges out of Tracer's view, things get really complicated. Instead, attack from a few paces away. Be close enough to hit the head despite the spread of the Pulse Pistol's shots, and far enough to see wherever the target will dodge. If you fail to defeat the target with after emptying Tracer's Pulse Pistols (your aim sucks) seriously consider running away, or at least dodging. Later, put in some time on the practice range.

Bastion is a target. In Sentry form, Bastion has a weak glowing spot at the back. If Tracer can sneak up behind Bastion, she can easily take out the robot with only her Pulse Pistols. Beware if there is a healer nearby. It would take too long to defeat Bastion if it is being healed. Alternatively, a Pulse Bomb may be used for instant destruction.

Although Mercy is a target, do not underestimate her. Mercy has more hit points and, if she does not need to reload, has more damage potential. One clip of Mercy's Caduceus Blaster has enough ammo to take out Tracer twice (so one use of Recall is not enough); five times if Mercy's player is good with headshots. The drawback of the Blaster is that its shots take time to travel. At medium range, it is hard to aim at Tracer if she moves laterally. If Mercy has her Blaster out and aimed in Tracer's direction, Tracer is in a bad position. Consider running away and returning from another direction. It is a whole different story if Mercy has her Caduceus Staff out and is looking the other way.

Beware of Torbjörn’s auto-targeting turret. That thing instantly spots and shoots at Tracer with better reflexes and accuracy than a pro-gamer. Try to face the turret at close range (to maximize the damage of the Pulse Pistols). Use Recall after taking a few hits to heal up and go at the turret again. Do it fast enough and Torbjörn won't have time to fix the turret. Alternatively, just use the Pulse Bomb. Remember to Recall to safety or Blink away fast.

Hanzo's Sonic Arrow reveals Tracer's position. This allows him to prepare for Tracer's arrival, giving them the advantage. It is best to run away or switch to playing defensively until the arrow wears off.

Be careful when moving into Hanzo's field of view, like when chasing him around a corner. Hanza may use his Sonic Arrow and then have an arrow ready to eliminate Tracer with a headshot when she shows up. Master players do not even need to use the Sonic Arrow. Use Blink when bursting from cover or approach from another direction.

Beware of McCree's Flashbang and Roadhog's Chain Hook. These abilities can stun Tracer for a brief moment. Dodge before your opponent thinks to use either of these abilities. Even if caught, there is a chance the opponent misses his chance to eliminate Tracer, allowing a split second for Tracer to save herself. Use this time to Blink past the opponent to confuse the him of your position. Then either counter or run away and look for Health Packs.

Watch out for Junkrat's Steel Trap. The trap will neutralize Tracer's main advantage and defense: her mobility. If Junkrat is in the game, keep an eye out for the trap. Consider avoiding, rather than destroying, the trap since doing the latter warns the opposing player of your position. Always remember that Junkrat drops explosives on death. Blink away immediately after defeating Junkrat at close range.

Similarly, watch out for Widowmaker's Venom Mine. The mine of your opponent will clearly be red in color. And as with Junkrat, destroying the mine warns Widowmaker's player of your location. She may be ready for your arrival.

Learn to skirmish. Get up in-your-face close and Blink past the opponent. Most inexperienced players will get confused and spin around, trying to hit Tracer. The objective is not always to defeat the opponent. Sometimes, it is to occupy his/her time. Skirmishing is good against reinforcements, especially key players like a tank. Blink up and through an opponent. Dodge one random side and hope he/she'll turn the wrong direction. Be prepared to run past your opponent again if he/she does choose the right direction. In a major battle, skirmish to draw attention away from teammates who have better weapons.

Certain Payloads in an Escort game are low enough for Tracer to jump onto. That presents an additional direction of movement other than the two around the Payload. Inexperienced opponents may not consider this. From the top of the Payload, Tracer can see the direction her opponent is moving and act accordingly.

Most characters have a counter to skirmishing. Thus, if you cannot defeat your opponent in a short time, consider running away. Reaper has high short range damage and is dangerous if he can aim at Tracer. If McCree even thinks to drop a Flashbang at his feet, there'll be trouble.

Symmetra is a very dangerous opponent in skirmishes. Her weapon automatically locks on its target and her damage increases with time. Consider backing off to medium-range when up against her.

D.Va's Meka is very bad at skirmishes. If you can get behind her, you can dance around to confuse the pilot. Beware that Tracer will still be an easy target for D.Va's teammates.

Use what you have learned when engaging other Tracers. Inexperienced players will usually run rather than face a 'fair' fight. They likely do not have experience fighting Tracer and will stick to the standard tactics. However, by practicing with Tracer, you will know how annoying she can be and what she will likely do. Use that knowledge and your experience in skirmishing to hunt other Tracers and protect your teammates.