Salutations everyone, Konduit here. In the Hero Roster Breakdown, we're going over all 23 heroes on the Overwatch roster and analyzing how each character interacts with (and against) Mercy. In this case, that's you! We'll be contemplating the interactions and notable principles to keep in mind when playing with or against each hero. Buckle up, this is gonna be a fun one. 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

The following analysis is organized by hero, moving from left to right on the in-game hero select screen. Furthermore, each hero's section is split into two subsections, denoted "Allied" and "Enemy", each discussing some of the interactions, synergies, dangers, gameplay principles, etc. when that particular character is on your team or on the enemy team. For the offense heroes, some of the important points to look out for are: modified damage potential with Mercy's damage boost, consistency/reliability of damage output, and positioning/ease of reach with respect to Mercy's own positioning. Without further ado, let's dive right into it:

Genji

Allied: Genji's middle-of-the-road when it comes to synergy with Mercy. He enables some interesting mobility options (if Genji dashes straight up into the air, he can provide you with a pretty nice vertical escape route), but the two don't complement each other greatly. Genji is a flanker, so a good percentage of the time he'll be out of range for Mercy to safely heal him. Genji's damage also doesn't reliably cross "critical thresholds" when damage amp'ed.

What I mean by this is if the character's standard damage output becomes more efficient at taking down 200 hp targets (the vast majority of the roster) or sometimes other targets (I'll mention this if so) when boosted by Mercy's Damage Amplification (30% increase). "Critical threshold" is a phrase I'll use throughout the Hero Roster Breakdown, so take note of it! It's extremely important when examining the impact Mercy's damage amp has on another character's combat potential.

That said, Genji does have a couple notable thresholds, though they don't come up that often. Boosting Genji during his ultimate takes his damage from 120 per swing to 156 per swing. This allows Genji to take out 250 heroes in 2 slashes instead of 3 unaided, which can be quite relevant when fighting both Mei and Reaper. Genji's shurikens do 28 damage each, 84 if you hit all 3. With Dmg Boost, they'll do 109.2 if you hit all 3; this enables two volleys of shurikens to kill 200hp targets. This is somewhat hard to pull off though, but it's good to keep in mind. In general, though all heroes benefit from Mercy's damage amp, the key is learning proper prioritization of who to boost when given options and which heroes' characteristics have great synergy with the damage boost. The former involves positioning (amp'ing targets that are in a good spot/have ultimates and are able to dish out uncontested damage) while the latter involves innate hero characteristics. Both factors play a role in who you decide to amp - neither is more important to the exclusion of the other. In some cases, it is better to amp the Zenyatta who has somehow flanked behind the enemy tanks than the Soldier: 76 who has Tactical Visor active, but is brick-walled by the Reinhardt and D.VA in front of him.

Back to Genji - if you're in proximity, beaming him will certainly help him win any 1v1 (he does pretty good DPS and the damage amp does matter) - don't take this recomendation as saying that you shouldn't beam him! To conclude, Genji does great damage, but he's not a prime target for your dmg boost (as his standard attacks are a little less reliable and boosting his ultimate puts you in close range to the enemy) or pocket healing (he'll often be away from the team, flanking on his own).

Enemy: Genji is an opponent you'll have to get well-acquainted with. His primary role will often be to flank and disrupt the backline (that means you!), and it's critical to be able to recognize his presence and deal with Genji appropriately. Ideally, you'll have some options as to allies to dash towards to avoid him - direct confrontation is difficult. However, if you're stuck in a spot where you must duel him (for a little bit, to stall until a teammate comes closer, or a true 1v1), it is possible to fight him. Be aware of his Deflect (be ready to stop firing at a moments notice), A-D strafe, crouch spam if you'd like, but go for headshots and it's possible to win. To reemphasize, you really MUST go for headshots - aiming for conservative bodyshots likely won't take down a Genji with solid aim quick enough. I've found that most Genjis (most flankers, really) won't always try to A-D strafe to dodge your shots, so you might be able to get a cheeky kill on him.

However, the other option to keep in mind (which I discuss quite a bit in this series, as this applies to basically every enemy encounter - you'll hear about it again) is to fight him briefly, with dashing away to an ally in mind. Your job is not to kill Genji, but rather to stay alive and continuing healing/supporting your team. If you take Genji down that's great, but you can still perform your role by evading him. Fight him briefly to keep him on guard, and look for a teammate to dash away to (call out to your team for support as well).

Watch out for Genji's ultimate. You can evade by letting him Swift Strike to you, then dashing away - he'll usually only be able to get off 1 slash, so you should be fine. This exhausts his mobility, and you should be relatively ok if you flew to a target far enough away and created some distance. The problem arises if you're in range of him before he Swift Strikes (remember that activating Dragonblade resets the cooldown on Swift Strike; the usual play pattern is to Swift Strike->activate Dragonblade->Swift Strike again.) When you're already in range of him before the second Swift Strike, you're in a tough spot. Dashing away to an ally will only be met with Genji's own dash, and you're probably donezo. The best method to play around Genji's Ultimate is to let him engage on someone else - don't be out in the open and become his initial target. Ideally, you'll be relatively hidden or ready to hide and use your Rez on whichever targets he manages to take down with Dragonblade. Finally, remember that your Resurrect now gives you a couple seconds of invulnerability - if Genji's on you during the tail end of his ultimate duration, you can go ahead and pop the Rez, bringing up your fallen allies and surviving through the entire Dragonblade duration. In the general case though, if you're hiding and Genji's taking out your allies, wait for a bit until his ultimate duration has expired, then use your Rez - don't bring your team back alive while Genji's still got Dragonblade! Take your time, keep track of your teammates' death timers, and look for a good Rez.

McCree

Allied: McCree is a great hero to pair with Mercy. He's a 'standard' DPS, sticking with the frontline and dishing out consistent damage - the archetype that Mercy works the best with. His Left-Click damage unfortunately doesn't cross critical thresholds; each left click does 70 per shot before falloff, amp'ed to 91 per shot, which requires 3 shots to kill (and which still doesn't change the headshot-bodyshot kill). However, boosting McCree left clicks vs. 250 HP heroes allows for 3-shot kills (2 shot kills if McCree scores 1 amp'ed headshot), and is still quite effective vs tanks. But vs. tanks, if you're up close, sometimes you've got an even better option...FtH!

That's right, Fan the Hammer goes from 45 per bullet to 58.5, 270 per cylinder (6-Round clip) to 351 per cylinder, and 540 to 702 in the context of the full Flashbang->Right-Click->Combat Roll->Right Click combo (you can also add the additional 32.5 from the flashbang itself, amped up from 25 base). With damage amp, McCree can 100-0 combo any hero in the game (except against heavily armored targets), just like the days of old! Look for opportunities to use this synergy vs large targets, it really brings you back to the early days of Overwatch. McCrees these days have been practicing their Left-Click aim for so long that they've forgotten how fun and effective Fan-the-Hammer is to use (when your combo one-shots people).

McCree's ultimate also has some great interactions with Mercy's damage amp. Damage amplification is always applied when the shot/projectile hits its target; this means that the Deadeye shots (which ramp up in damage over Deadeye's duration, rising at a rate of approximately 170 damage per second for a 6 second total cast time) won't 'lock on' for a kill shot faster as far as the visual indicator goes. However, as McCree, you can pull the trigger early if you're being damage amp'ed. 170~ additional damage a second means that you're now increasing your charge rate to 221 per second, meaning that you can kill 200 hp heroes from full health in a little less than a second, and 600hp heroes (like Roadhog) in a little less than 3 seconds. It seems minor, but knowing that you can release the Deadeye shots a moment or two earlier can secure kills that otherwise you would've missed! As Mercy, damage amp'ing Deadeye is even more excellent because you'll get a MASSIVE chunk of ultimate charge when McCree releases Deadeye. The amount of ultimate charge you get is proportional to the amount of damage you amplify...and Deadeye does a lot of damage, to multiple targets even.

Finally, McCree is unique among the roster in that he can actively peel for Mercy. Flashbang is an invaluable tool for dissuading flankers from getting too close - if they do, they run the risk of getting stunned and taken out. Sticking to and staying in relative proximity of your McCree is a great gameplan when you know flankers are looking for you.

Enemy: On the enemy team, McCree is a hero you want to avoid. Getting in close range just means instant death, as Flashbang into Right-Click will cleanly take you down. From mid to long range, McCree also outdamages you and has immense kill potential with just 2-3 shots. In general, you want to avoid his line of sight and focus, denying him opportunities to close the gap and Flashbang->Right-Click you (be aware that he can suddenly close the gap by rolling in first into Flashbang->Right Click). Against traditional hitscan heroes (Soldier's the same in the regard), you have a lot of counterplay by simply maneuvering around the enemy's sightlines. Mcree has no mobility options - you've got a strong chance of disengaging from any dangerous situations by dashing out to an ally, as he won't be able to follow you.

The key to avoiding Deadeye, like any other ultimate, is being conscious of it and aware that it might be incoming (keep track of your ultimate timers). If you're prepared for/expecting an enemy ultimate, it's much easier to play around than if you're caught off guard by it - this applies to any character, not just McCree. Hang around your friendly Reinhardt, keep close to corners, or stick to other sources of cover if you think the enemy Mcree may be looking to ult.

Finally, fighting him 1v1 or from mid-range is tough, but if his Flashbang is down, A-D strafing and going for headshots might be able to net you a kill. That's a lot of 'ifs' though, so try and position such that you don't get into such sticky situations!

Pharah

Allied: Pharah is probably the hero with the highest synergy with Mercy. First and foremost, Pharah's flight mechanics provide extremely powerful vertical mobility options for Mercy; oftentimes you'll find yourself pressured in multiple directions and the best way to escape to fly straight up to an allied Pharah. The fact that Pharah can stay airborne for extended durations of time makes Mercy's life much easier against flankers and divers.

There are some important tricks to keep in mind while flying/hovering alongside Pharah. Certainly, you're a much harder target to hit when you're high up in the air (for most heroes, that is - hitscan characters can still make short work of you with strong aim), but you're not completely invulnerable and may need to take additional evasive maneuvers to avoid being shot down. When you're hovering with Pharah and are taking heat, try and add variations into your flight pattern. Release your hover, free fall for a bit, then GA back up to Pharah, etc. Mix up your movement and hovering/descent to make yourself harder to hit. Focusing Pharah can be more difficult for the enemy team (as you're healing her), so if you're too exposed you can become the focus target in the Pharmercy combo.

Pharah's damage hits some great numbers when damage boosted. The normal rocket damage is 120 for a direct hit (boosted to 156, one-shotting Tracer), 80 on a 'maximum' splash damage (rising to 104). The latter number is especially important, as two non-direct-hit shots can kill a 200 hp hero, an extremely impactful critical threshold to break. Normally, in the absence of direct hits, Phrah requires 3 shots or so to score a kill - shaving that down to just 2 makes a world of difference and allows for far less evasion and counterplay from Pharah's targets.

And, of course, Pharah's Ultimate becomes even more deadly when boosted. However, it's often a better idea to just heal Pharah through her ultimate if it looks likes she's taking any amount of damage - Rocket Barrage leaves her immensely vulnerable, and the base damage of the ability is so high that you'll likely get much more value from keeping Pharah alive through the full duration of her ult rather than boosting the already massive DPS for just a second.

Enemy: Enemy Pharahs are pretty difficult to deal with as Mercy. I've had many feel-bad moments where I get caught in an enclosed space with Pharah, and just get blown away - there's no real countermeasures if she catches you up close, her rocket damage output is highly reliable (A-D strafing is largely ineffective). Fighting her up close or from afar isn't easy; you can throw a few chip shots in here or there (or help out in dealing a finishing blow if Pharah is on low health), but in general, keep your distance and avoid direct interaction. The bright side is that, given some degree of open space and a few nearby teammates, you have the mobility to outmaneuver her and dodge her focus.

One thing to be aware of is the potential for Pharah to boop you of the map with her Concussive Blast (similar to Lucio). The best counterplay to this is to look to be tethered to an ally whenever you're near the edge of the map and being pressured by Pharah; as long asyou've got "Guardian Angel Prefers Beam Target" ON (which you should!), then all you have to do is hit shift if you get knocked off and you'll rejoin your ally.

If the enemy Pharah's airborne, you'll likely want to pay attention to your hitscan teammates and support them - they're the ones that will be contesting her aerial game and eventually take her out. Look to damage boost your Soliders, McCrees, and Widowmakers.

Finally, I'll note that Pharahs will sometimes go for flanks. People generally don't think of Pharah as a flanker, but she has a great deal of flanking potential and kinda flies under the radar in that regard. Be on the lookout for surprise ultimates from behind you.

Reaper

Allied: Reaper is one of my favorite teammates to situationally pocket heal/damage amp. Reaper is an absolute beast in close-range fights and tears up basically every hero within his primary range of influence. Heal-beaming him allows for extremely aggressive plays that catch enemies off guard; with heal/damage amp support I've seen Reapers walk into rooms with 2-3 people and just clear them out - without Death Blossom.

Speaking of damage amp, let's break down the numbers. Damage goes from 7 per pellet to 9.1, 140 per shell to 182. This makes 2-shots a decent bit more reliable (assuming a little over 50% of the pellets hit - not counting potential headshots), and completely shreds tanks. In short, Mercy has pretty good synergy with Reaper. Supporting him is an effective method for enabling Reaper to 2v1, or even 3v1 depending on the opponents and if he gets a good position...he's just got devasting damage at close range.

Reaper's Wraith Form is key when in clustered fights - he can immediately 'disengage' from the battle for 3 seconds, completely avoiding enemy damage and getting healed up, then resume fighting at full strength. Look to heal Reaper during Wraith Form if you can - when the ability comes with a full health restore attached, the enemy team has a real difficult time taking him down.

Damage boosting Death Blossom is of course solid, but it can be tough to pull off - Reaper will often fire off his ult during a flank (which you typically won't be following him on). The situations where I find I'm best able to boost Death Blossom are when I'm on a bridge or ledge above the fight and can look downwards from relative safety and keep the connection going.

Enemy: Enemy Reapers are actually pretty managable from Mercy's perspective, with a couple caveats. You can't really contest him in close range (that's his specialty domain), but again, A-D strafing can help you stall for a few seconds until an ally comes in range to dash out. From mid-range, you can definitely aid your team in taking him down with pistol damage. Reaper is a fairly easy target and doesn't apply much pressure from a distance, so don't be afraid to backpedal and duel him a bit.

The second thing to watch out for are his flanks into Death Blossom. I've been caught in these Death Blossoms (which I'm supposed to be Rezzing up my team from!) enough times to tell you this: if there's an enemy Reaper, make sure you're paying some attention as to his whereabouts. If you can't see him, assume he's going for some kind of flank and prepare accordingly. You've got to be wary and mindful of his positioning. Skilled Reapers will drop down ON YOU first with Death Blossom so you'll have no time to escape. Keep yourself spaced away from your team to avoid getting caught in his ultimate. If he somehow gets a into a position to Death Blossom you, at least he'll have used a big cooldown for a solo kill and your team should be in decent shape for the upcoming fights.

In essence, watch out for close-range duels and keep an eye out for his flanks (with or without ultimate). Otherwise, in most scenarios, you're well equipped to evade his attacks, keep yourself safe, and even pressure him with your own pistol fire.

Soldier: 76

Allied: Soldier is one of the best allies on the hero hoster for Mercy. He's got consistent DPS, is often in and around the tankline, and can drop his biotic field to help you heal if you're taking pressure. He's an excellent pocket target as well in extended skirmishes.

Soldier base damage per bullet is 20, 26 with damage amp. While damage boosted, Soldier can kill 200hp heroes with 8 body shots rather than 10. This may sound small, but the difference in those two shots is absolutely massive - think of all those situations where opponents escape with just a bar or two of health, or get healed just as they're about to get taken out. Those situations go in your favor with damage amp, which can be game-changing. Factor in headshots, and a sharpshooting Soldier can tear the enemy team up. Helix Rockets go from 120 dmg to 156: a Helix Rocket volley and 2 bodyshots will take out 200hp heroes when damage boosted.

And naturally, Mercy's got insane synergy with Tactical Visor. 'Nanovisor' has become quite popular these days, but you've got a potent combo that only relies on 1 ultimate CD. Whenever Solider has his ultimate, you're good to go. The convenience and dynamism of not needing to synchronize two players' ultimates to pull off a teamfight winning combo can't be understated. Let's compare the damage between "Nanovisor" and "Mercy:76" - Nanovisor boosts shots to 30 damage a pop, allowing for 7 shot kills on 200hp targets. As mentioned above, Mercy:76 amplified shots kill 200hp characters in 8 shots. You're giving up 1 additional shot of efficiency (and the damage reduction from Nanoboost, certainly) for the ability to enhance Soldier's Tactical Visor on his ultimate cooldown alone. True, as I mentioned, the difference between even 1 or 2 bullets can influence an entire teamfight, but when considering things solely in the context of Nanoboost vs. Mercy's damage amp, I'd argue that there's more value in being able to fire off an enhanced Soldier ulti more often and with fewer resources expended than in the 1 less bullet takedown threshold.

Mercy's damage boost synergizes extremely well with characters that have consistent, reliable damage output, and Soldier's bascially the posterchild for this archetype. Partnering up with Soldier in a skirmish can result in a extremely difficult to kill, extremely threatening two man squad.

Enemy: You'll often find yourself tangoing with enemy Soldiers. He's a potent mid-range threat, and it's imperative that you stay out of open sightlines against him for anything more than a second or two, similar to dealing with Mcree. On the bright side, he's standard fare in terms of maneuvering around him and playing around aggression. Use your superior mobility to reposition yourself if you're ever feeling threatened. If you're anywhere close to cover, Soldier doesn't have much ability to attack you or finish you off (watch out for the splash damage from Helix Rockets though).

One thing to watch out for when Soldier uses his ultimate is to not Resurrect your allies too early. One common pitfall is to revive your allies as soon as they go down - do this too soon and Soldier's Tactical Visor Duration will still be active, and your teammates have a good chance of just being mowed down again. Instead, wait for a bit until important cooldowns/channeled abilities/etc. have expired, then pop Rez. This same principle holds true for many other ultimates - don't rush Rez if you don't have to (i.e. a teammate's about to respawn back at base, the match timer is almost up, etc.), take your time and look for the right moment.

If you're caught in a 1v1, it's sometimes possible to duel him...but only if his Helix Rocket and Biotic Field are down. While A-D strafing, go for headshots and you might be able to get a kill. I'll take this moment to reemphasize that in many of these 1v1 situations vs. the various heroes that I've been discussing, you're going to be disadvantaged; however, the alternative is just running away predictably toward the nearest ally and getting taken down cleanly! If you're stuck in a 1v1 duel with no allies around, the former (standing your ground and fighting) has a small chance of succes, while the latter (running away on foot) will more often than not result in just getting chased down. You've got to play to win and fight! However, remember that there are two things you are playing towards when taking on a 1v1 vs. a flanker or opponent who randomly catches you out - either winning the duel, or stalling for those precious seconds and maneuvering towards an ally for a getaway. Keep both in mind, stay calm and collected, and look for opportunites to finish the duel or back out to an ally.

Sombra

Allied: Sombra has decent synergy with Mercy as a consistent DPS, able to make continuous use of Mercy's Damage amp (time damage amp'ed to actual damage output is quite high). Boosting Sombra as she's taking down tanks is basically as good as Soldier - there's just tons of damage output. 480 damage per clip goes up to 624 - if Sombra is managing her spread and hitting shots, she's a great damage amp target. In theory Sombra can 1-clip a Roadhog when damage boosted, not even counting headshots. Even with her large spread, damage boosting Sombra enables her to cleanly take out 200hp targets in 1 clip, where that was sometimes difficult before.

Most of the time though, Sombra will be off doing her own thing and you won't be interacting with her very much - she's similar to Genji and Tracer in this way. However, don't let this dissuade you from supporting her damage in a teamfight. No pattern is set in stone, there are always situations that will change your evaluations and it's important not to close yourself off to them - keep an open mind. If Sombra's got a sick position behind the enemy tankline, and you can fly over to her and boost her damage, she'll shred through the enemy team.

Finally, it's good to know that healing/damage amp'ing Sombra while she is stealthed will not show the beam tether - Sombra still preserves her invisibilty. The only giveaway is that Mercy's staff tip will glow; I wouldn't worry too much about revealing Sombra while she's stealthed, but just keep in mind that your staff and movements can give her prescence away against a perceptive team.

Enemy: Sombra is an interesting enemy to fight against, mainly because 1v1 duels are sometimes quite winnable. Let's start there - dueling Sombra is actually possible. Because of her spread, A-D strafing and juking her shots often results in you taking less damage and able to tango with her in an extended fight. You can present a difficult target (throwing off her tracking), and do comparable damage if you're going for headshots.

Getting hacked is not a huge problem if you're in a decent position. Hack really only turns off Guardian Angel, and so as long as you're in a decent position (behind or around your team, isolated from the teamfight etc.) you'll likely just have to fight the Sombra 1 on 1. This is a prime example of the pattern I described in the Soldier: 76 section, except perhaps a bit more in your favor: you'll fight, looking to escape to an ally while keeping the option open to take your opponent down. Hack takes down your GA for 6 seconds - duel Sombra for six seconds, all the while gauging how the fight is going. If it's not going great, look to position yourself in a spot where you can immediately dash to an ally when the hack wears off.

A quick note on playing against EMP: EMP isn't significantly more dangerous than a normal hack, but problems can arise when you want to Resurrect your team (who is probably being taken down, as your allies can't use abilities) but you're cut off from Guardian Angel and have no mobility options. In these situations, remember that your allies have a full 10 seconds worth of death timers, so don't be afraid to wait it out and swoop in later. The priority is surviving and doing what you can until the EMP wears off, don't compromise your position to be in 'the right place' for a Rez, as you'll likely get taken down before the 6 second hack wears off. Bide your time while being as productive as you can (healing/pistoling), then go in when your mobility options are ready.

Tracer

Allied: Allied Tracers are great boost targets...but you'll not often be in range to interact with them. Tracer puts out 240 damage per clip, amp'ed to 312. This allows Tracer to 1-clip 250 hp characters and 2-clip Roadhog with a little bit of leeway to give. However, most of the time, Tracer will be far from the tankline/backline (your standard base of operations) flanking the enemy and picking up health packs for sustain. You shouldn't go out of your way to heal her - let Tracer do her thing and support her when the opportunity presents itself (a la Sombra/Genji).

Keep in mind that you can damage amp Pulse Bomb, raising it's damage to 520 from 400; there won't be many opportunities to do so, but if your team is looking to combo ultimates with a Tracer Bomb finish, you can boost her before she goes in - it might make the difference between immediately killing a tank or not.

Notably, Tracer's a good partner to get back into the fight with after you respawn. Communicate with her, and if you're respawning at roughly the same time, have her wait a bit and let you dash to her to get out of base more quickly. This honestly goes for any of your allies, but Tracer's one of the best in this regard.

Enemy: Tracer is one of your primary nemeses, as she's often looking to flank around and pressure the backline. She's an interesting oppponent to fight, and there's a lot of play and counterplay on both sides.

First off, let's establish that skilled Tracers are very dfficult to duel - she's hard to hit (can move around quickly) and can reset her health if she feels she's taking pressure. That's one of the key points to keep in mind when fighting flankers: they have the ability to chase you down if they feel they can win the fight, as well as the luxury to disengage if they're feeling pressured. From your perspective, it's difficult to chase and take them down if you're doing well in the 1v1, and disengaging is a little less reliable as your mobility options can be situationally weaker than your opponent's.

That being said, fighting Tracer isn't an unwinnable proposition. 4 headshots (each doing 40 damage) can score a kill. And, with tight play, you can duel her a bit and then dash away to a teammate. Again, a lot of these 1v1 duels are not necessarily to the death - while you're fighting, be on the lookout for allies coming into range/LoS, evaluate how the fight is going, and you can start moving towards your escape route or be aggressive and finish off your foe if the fight's going your way. It's not your job to kill the Tracer - your role is to support your team. The Tracer's job is to take you down, so if you can deny that (whether by winning a 1v1, or perhaps more often by disengaging) then it's a win for you.

It's often the case that you simply want to create distance between yourself and Tracer. There are two keys to remember when trying to outmaneuver her: the first is that she's limited to horizontal mobility. By jumping up to allies on higher ground, you more often than not just completely disengage from a Tracer flank. She's got no way to reach you except by going up the stairs the 'fair' way. If you've got an allied Winston/Pharah/Genji/Dva, they can help you get vertical mobility even in the middle of chaotic fights, or in open aeras. They can pop up into the air, giving you can jump beacon to disengage from a Tracer flank. The second key to keep in mind is that her gun has a very predictable pattern of fire. Tracer unloads her gun for one second, then reloads for one second - it's a steady rhythm. When jumping away from Tracer, time your Guardian Angel such that you dash when she's just finished reloading/started firing. In this way, you can exhaust her clip firing for a moment and keep her off balance - as soon as she starts firing, you're already in motion and flying away. It's a minor micro interaction, but by dashing away as she's firing and not during her reload, you can disrupt the rhythm of her DPS cycle and earn a second or two of suboptimal DPS from Tracer.

Finally, one trick to keep in mind is that you can survive Tracer's Pulse Bomb by Resurrecting a nearby fallen ally (triggering your invulnerability); it's a bit situational (you have to be near a teammate who's recently gone down), but keep mind that you have this play available to you now.

That's it for the offense heroes. The big takeaway from this first section is that Mercy works quite well with characters have that have consistent/reliable DPS, reach critical thresholds when damage amp'ed, or can excel when given damage amp and are in the right position to take advantage of it. Additionally, when playing against opposing heroes that are trying to take you down, judge quickly whether it's best to escape or to fight (or bide your time to dash away, or continue with the 1v1 duel). Keep your mind and your options open! Hopefully the knowledge of these tactics and synergies bolsters your success on Mercy.

Here are the links to the rest of the articles in the Hero Roster Breakdown series:

Defense

Tanks

Supports

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 (with a zero instead of an 'o') and I'll get back to you.