Those keeping up with Overwatch 2 news will surely have heard about some of the many hero changes that will be made in the sequel. With the switch to 5v5, Blizzard has to completely rework Overwatch’s roster of Tank heroes, with the Support class needing to see its healing output lowered. Major changes for Mei, Winston, Bastion, and Sombra have also been shown to the public.

However, while many of the reworks have been talked about openly, others have just been rumored. One such rumor made the rounds earlier this week, and it saw Overwatch 2 fans learning about a potential change to Mercy. If this leaked ability swap does turn out to be accurate, it will be interesting to see how the community responds, as the adjustment is a game changer.

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Why Mercy’s Angelic Blessing Is A Big Deal

A huge part of Mercy’s popularity is tied to how powerful she used to be. When Overwatch first released, the angelic healer was a must-play character, as she had the ability to resurrect an entire team and restart a team fight. Obviously, this was too strong, and Blizzard adjusted her kit so that she could resurrect one player once every 30 seconds. While Mercy is still a reliable character now, and a great entry point for new players, some still miss the days when she was overpowered.

For Overwatch players bothered by the removal of Mercy’s team resurrection that happened a few years back, they could be shocked to learn that her resurrect ability may be leaving altogether in Overwatch 2. Supposedly, the staff-wielding hero will be swapping her current resurrect for a new ability known as “Angelic Blessing.” If true, this will be a big change for Mercy players who have gotten used to positioning for an important resurrection.

Supposedly, Angelic Blessing will see Mercy players sending a soul to their teammates, which can be used by the targeted player to fly back to a teammate. This would see heroes like Genji that dive behind enemy lines being able to move to safety quickly, and it could be used to exfil a Reinhardt after a risky charge. While the flight will go away if not activated in six seconds, giving players a tight window to use the soul Mercy gives them, it certainly sounds interesting.

While some players view the proposed ability as worse than a resurrection, it is stronger in some ways. For starters, there is no mention of a casting animation for Mercy. As such, the ability could be difficult to counter, with it not being clear if players can shoot those that are flying back to safety. At the same time, it requires a lot more coordination to use correctly, as players will have to tell Mercy when they are diving so that she can toss them a soul at the right time. While this ability could lead to some excellent Overwatch plays, it could also be entirely useless in the wrong hands.

Thus far, the Overwatch community seems divided on the soul mechanic. Some feel like it will be overpowered, while others are concerned that it will be useless and believe that resurrection should not be removed. Others are in the middle, waiting for Overwatch 2 gameplay that shows this leaked ability in action before they weigh in. As of now, it is unclear if this change will be good or bad, though it is undeniably a big deal. Mercy will play entirely differently without her signature resurrections, and Angelic Blessing could bring her closer to the meta or pull her further away from it. The new ability’s quality will depend entirely on whether it can be countered easily, and it will be interesting to see how it actually works in-game.

Overwatch 2 is in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.

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