Most Sweeping Update to Overwatch (on the ptr)

This is the most changes that has ever happened in Overwatch thus far. Take note that all these changes are only the ptr (public test region servers) and not the regular base game.

Mei
Blizzard
-The Blizzard projectile now pierces barriers
-Radius has been increased from 8 meters to 10 meters
Developer Comments: Mei has an interesting toolkit, but her ultimate often felt like it was too difficult to use effectively. Consequently, it felt weak compared to many other ultimate abilities. The freeze effect has been piercing barriers for some time now, but the projectile would still be blocked. Now, you can throw it down exactly where you want it, so it’s much easier to utilize the full radius effectively.
Mercy
Caduceus Staff
-Healing Beam
-Healing-per-second has been increased by 20%
Resurrect
-Resurrected allies will be able to maneuver after 2.25 seconds (reduced from 3 seconds)
Developer Comments: Resurrection now allows teammates to jump back into the fight more quickly, which should help Mercy survive after activating her ultimate. Mercy’s healing is also getting a boost to solidify her role as a strong, single-target healer.
Genji
Double jump no longer resets when wall climbing
Dash
-No longer deals damage to traps like Widowmaker’s Venom Mine or Junkrat’s Steel Trap
-No longer bypasses Junkrat’s Steel Trap
Swift Strike
-No longer interrupts quick melee attacks
Dragonblade
-Duration of Genji’s ultimate has been reduced from 8 seconds to 6 seconds
Developer Comments: Genji was a little too difficult to pin down, and these changes will balance his speed. Swift Strike no longer cancels the recovery time from a quick melee attack, so players will no longer be able to get a free melee attack before using Swift Strike. Lastly, Dragonblade’s duration was long enough that it often felt too difficult to reasonably counter.
Zenyatta
Orb of Discord
-The amount of damage amplified by a target with Orb of Discord has been decreased from 50% to 30%
Orb of Destruction
-Damage has been increased from 40 to 46
Developer Comments: Zenyatta is in a far better place since the last update, but the strength of Orb of Discord has turned him into an almost mandatory pick. These changes reduce Orb of Discord’s effectiveness, but his damage-dealing potential has been increased. The amount of damage that he delivers should feel largely unaffected by the change.

D.Va, Hanzo, McCree, Lucio, and Roadhog also received tweaks, albeit less massive ones.

• There’s now an option for all characters to see allies’ health bars.
• Blizzard says they “reverted a recent change to reduce size of heroes’ projectiles,” which might mean hitboxes are uncomfortably large again. Blizzard explained, “Altering the size of projectiles in flight had too many unintended side effects to keep in the game, at least in its current form. We will continue watching this and make additional changes if necessary.”
• Watchpoint: Gibraltar’s first checkpoint has been removed. Guess it’s not necessary after some other balance passes.
• Lucio goes less fast now. 

Okay so where to start! First of all Mercy is a must pick S-tier hero again with the strongest single target healing in the game. Ana still has higher healing but you have to never miss a shot for that work. I can probably pull it off though XD. I think that Mercy is so strong right now that she probably will get nerfed a bit before these changes hit the base game. I'm a huge Mercy fan because I love healing teams and resurrecting allies so this makes me very happy! This is the best thing Blizzard could've done for Mercy.

Next, the nerf to Zenyatta's discord orb makes me a little sad. But 'cmon it was too strong! The fact that it gave your entire team 50% increased damage to a target was just insane. Honestly I'm surprised Blizzard let Zenyatta stay that strong for that long. He was super strong in the Season one Lucio Zenyatta meta. Even though he got nerfed I still think he's a healing murder machine.

The nerf to Genji makes me sad. Although I can't play him too well I always love playing him in casual Quick Match (when I got tired of competitive). The fact that his double jump doesn't reset when he climbs up walls is just dumb. What I can understand is that his Dragonblade ultimate only lasts 6 seconds instead of 8. Now, you can counter Genji's ultimate with Zenyatta's invulnerable ultimate because they both last 6 seconds. Before Genji would have an extra 2 seconds to mess you up. So that's good. As a supports player I get tired of getting swiped to death by Genjis.

I'm also glad to see Mei get some love. The fact that her Blizzard ultimate now pierces through shields (Reinhardt's shield too) and has a bigger radius means that we might start to see more Mei's in competitive. I used to play her a lot in competitive when other people picked supports before me but honestly not too many people ever play Mei. I think she's super rare even at the highest levels of gameplay as well. Hopefully these buffs bring a resurgence of Mei players to the forefront.

Lastly, Lucio goes less fast. His speed boost was nerfed. However, I don't think this will change how often he gets picked. He's been a must pick for the entire first period of the game (Season one competitive). Mercy has a chance of replacing him but perhaps we can enter the old meta (at least from the pro scene) where we have teams with both Lucio and Mercy? That would be the perfect support team for me. I'd even be down for Ana Mercy comps too.

All these changes aren't final and are subject to change. The future of Overwatch looks bright with these changes. Blizzard is really taking the players' opinions and feedback to heart. I don't think all these sweeping changes will make it to the base game but I do hope that Mercy stays buff.

Keep reading, keep gaming.