If we didn’t all know it already, Marvel Rivals has certainly proved that Mercy mains are some of Overwatch 2’s most diehard fans in the game.
Marvel Rivals has been noticeably siphoning players from Overwatch 2 with its fresh take on the hero shooter genre. While Overwatch 2 is still hanging on strong with events like the Avatar: The Last Airbender collab, the 6v6 playtest, and Hazard’s release, Overwatch 2 finally has a competitor within the genre.
However, despite Marvel Rivals’ strong performance, there is a player base within Overwatch 2 that remains loyal at large. The Mercy nation remains strong, with play rates higher than ever despite the game’s overall loss of players.
Marvel Rivals lacks a strong counterpart to Mercy
Mercy is an incredibly unique champion and allows for players without strong FPS fundamentals to excel in an FPS game. Her heals and utility don’t require any sense of aiming at all, but instead reward overall game sense and mastery of her unique movement tech. Her special kit has created a hero that, despite some dips in strength, remains one of Overwatch 2’s most popular.
According to Overbuff, since the latest patch and Marvel Rivals’ release, Mercy has enjoyed a decent uptick in play rate. On Console, her win rate increased by around 1% in the last few months, and saw similar gains on PC, which is a relatively significant stat considering each team must have two support players.
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Additionally, Marvel Rivals’ generally lacks a counterpart to Mercy that emulates her unique movement tech. While Marvel Rivals’ has some accessible healers, such as Cloak & Dagger and Luna Snow, there’s nothing in the game that can truly match Mercy’s gameplay.
Adam Warlock and Cloak & Dagger are characters that don’t require strong aim to output high heals, but both lack the survivability and verticality that Mercy’s movement abilities provide. There’s no support outside of Rocket Raccoon that has unique movement tech to keep them alive, and his wallrunning is finnicky at best.
Mercy’s increase in play rate has been noticed by the community, and her dominance as one of the most played supports will likely stay in place for some time. If you see a Mercy in your future comp games, maybe you can thank Marvel Rivals’ in part for that.
