Mercy's Problematic Design
Overwatch 2
Mercy was designed as a Gateway character into the First-Person-Shooter (FPS) genre, allowing even newcomers to video games, or FPS in general, to have an impact in a multiplayer match. Amoung the more difficult heros to play, there are easier alterantives so even the average (or below) can still join the community and have fun playing the game. This becomes problematic when low-skill heros output more value than high-skill heros, afterall why play a more difficult hero if you cannot get more value than an easier hero?
Mercy
How do you market a gateway character into the FPS genre?
Designed to be as easy as possible to pickup and get value immedietly without needing mechanical skill, Mercy boasts the ability for anyone to have an impact regardless of previous FPS experience.
Preception
This perception of Mercy being designed as a hero easy to: pickup, learn, get value out of, etc; perpetuates a stigmatism toward Mercy players and is extended toward other supports as well. Mercy's percieved ability to obtain value without a connection to traditional skill requirements asks a question. Should support heros be relient on skill to heal their teammates? The Overwatch Developer team has answered this question with multiple support heros that can potentially obtain more value than Mercy through the traditional mechanical skill of FPS games. When a support player starts to underperform, their teammates will bully them. Forcing them onto an easier hero such as Mercy, and if that player continues to underperform then they will be bullied even harder for being a detriment to their team even on the "easiest hero in the game."
Different playstyles
Dinner Dash
Pocket Mercy
This is the most hated playstyle of Mercy. Widely considered unfun to play and unfair to play against, a Pocket Mercy playstyle details an abandoning of your own team and focusing all your resources into a single ally. The pocketed hero has essentially a permenant 30% damage boost when undamaged, a 55hps health restoration after taking damage or reaching critical, and two (or more) lives. Gameplay of this playstyle consists of staring at your dps while standing, or crouching behind a wall. Depending on the hero and their position, Mercy may also be permenently airborne while attached to their pocketed target typically in the open and away from cover. Spectator Mercy, because the player is simply playing as a floating camera just watching the fight instead of participating.
Battle Mercy
Mercy Issues
Pocketing
Playing against a hero pocketed by a friendly support, essentially a 2v1, is neigh impossible. With most other supports there is a skill check for continued healing, a cap on the max amount of time, or just low base healing.
Power Boost Oppression
Damage amplification in Overwatch 2