The VITAL Guide to Mercy's Damage Boost

[@Skiesti]

This video took me FOREVER because of technical difficulties so I hope it's helpful! I'd love to hear what you've learned about damage boost :>

[@gustavoheringer]

Dont worry, you always bring to us the best Mercy guides

[@sunandstarskhaleesi]

Your voice is so calming 🥹🩷 I learned the reason why my damage boost has been soo low 🥲 I thought I was doing something wrong!! Felt like I was going crazy! Thank you for all you do, Ski. I hope you have a Merry Christmas ✨️🎄

[@lukasvavra2473]

i got banned from the game until 24 december in the christmas day i have angerproblems and i am autistic, the game kicked me out for abusive chat like spamming racial slurs and being a absolute jerk to everyone ally or enemy tell me how are you always chill and never tilt like others

[@ianguthrie8258]

Great video! Just want to say for anyone reading this to remember that as of a few days ago Ana nade lasts 4 seconds now instead of 3, so keep that in mind when getting ready to heal people after it ends.

[@teemo8247]

Do you need to dmg boost moira before she throws her orb? Or is it like Soujourn where you can DB whenever you want? Thx for the video!

[@morfosak5289]

I main tank but it's always useful to know how your teammates works to adapt with them, I have been watching guides on every support Heroes to make their job a bit easier.

[@Skiesti]

Oh Mercy players are going to love having you as a tank then

[@minhduongnguyen3671]

THANKKK U. ❤❤❤❤ as a support and mercy main. Reins just charge without me and people like u makes my ov2 life still hopefull. And i lov teammated that taxi me or dont play hide and seek

[@sebastianrojo8952]

Just get the habit of looking bsckward every now and then, or just be aware of Los, if your position is bad tou force ys supports tonplay in a bad position to help you, if we can bith get fgood angles they aunt going thru

[@riptaiyo]

Thanks cuz I hate trying to pocket a tank for them to SEE THEIR HEALTH GOING DONE AND GO FUTHER INTO THE FIGHT

[@clxxdxee]

as a mercy main, you're the best

[@kireinaa_4417]

I've said this a million times already but before I actually took the time to learn how to properly damage boost I was hard stuck hold/silver. It really does make a difference just using her kit and working on smaller details of it

[@Skiesti]

I think a lot of Mercy players underestimate how much of an impact DMG boost can make and end up underutilizing it or just not knowing how to use it effectively but once they do, they get so much more value

[@kireinaa_4417]

@@Skiesti Also, as weird as it sounds I feel like I get more damage boost the lower I go. It's just about prioritizing tbh

[@shirley_ruiz]

I love how you are capable of staying in the sky with pharah, I always struggle to follow her around. Your general movement is insane, thank you for the content ♡

[@TheMochan555]

If you are having trouble keeping up with Pharah switch the Guardian Angel proference to "prefer Facing" or "Boost target" (forgot, either works) so that you don't need to look at Pharah when GAing.

[@sealedtugboat9965]

I usually use another ally to super jump up to where I can get line of sight on the pherah(that is situational tho). I use “prefer facing target” GA setting that may change things.

[@silentlyow]

It all comes from experience and when u get good enough game sense. From bout 2020 I’m high masters-gm player as dps and I also was gm mercy just because I knew how her mechanics work and I liked her gameplay (still loved dps more tho) and I was able to climb to gm without even playing her that much.

[@shrillz]

Nothing makes me wanna go play some mercy more than watching Skiesti’s insane movement

[@Skiesti]

💛💛💛

[@bel3961]

Damage boost is still a really underrated part of Mercy's kit, but you've always seen that value - hopefully this will help spread the word! Fantastic work, as always.

[@MechaStorm7]

The thing is it should not be underrated at all. She said it at the beginning of the video : damage boost is Mercy's primary value. In fact, every support's primary value is their utility except Moira who only deals damage.

[@shylogik]

I agree with it being underrated, I dont play competitive, but I play support a lot, and when I play mercy I honestly forget about the damage boost during combat a lot of the times because I’m so busy healing. My minds like, healing for this 20 hp is more important then damage boosting 😅

[@Venticular]

As someone who's been having so much fun on Mercy you've been the biggest help with your amazing videos, I've been getting better at mercy cause of the videos

[@Skiesti]

Aww, thank you so much! There'll be plenty more in the future: :>

[@vanneurrutia1641]

12:52 Blowed my mind, since blizzard doesn't really tells you details on abilities/numbers, thank god we have Skiesti to inform lol, appreciate always your content and thanks to you I can be the best Mercy version I can :D

[@Skiesti]

Yeaaah, unfortunately in the game itself it only gives you a sentence on what an ability does when there's SO MUCH more to it than that. They tend to keep this wiki pretty up to date I believe so you can check here if you're interested in details! overwatch.fandom.com/wiki/Mercy

[@pliinkploonk]

i was inspired to learn mercy recently and your streams/guides have helped so much in my understanding of how to get more value out of her. i’ve noticed i’m dying much less (some games even 0-1 times!!!) or at least recognizing what i did wrong when i do die. she has quickly become my favorite support to play, so thank you for this too!

[@fernpool]

I love this video! very well made and clear :) I've found that playing Mercy as intended has become easier as I climb through low elo ranks- Plat/diamond teammates understand her role in a team, and don't expect her to heal exclusively. Plus the positioning in general is so much better, your other support understands that you aren't the main healer, and can effectively manage their own target priority. Your tanks and DPS can manage their own resources and know when to disengage and not take unwinnable fights. I understand why some Mercy players may find damage boosting difficult in bronze-gold, if they feel responsible for the whole teams health pool being full at all times. People can be a bit toxic in chat about supports if they feel they aren't getting "enough" healing. BUT- the impact in a fight with damage boost is so much more noticeable in low ranks. If two reinhardts are brawling and each has a mercy beam attached, the damage boosted rein will always win. I was so guilty of being a heal-bot in OW1 back in the day with the double tanks and before moira/bap. It's just so much more fun to damage boost!! from Bronze 1- to plat 1 "Heal me!" shifted to "Damage boost me!" and the experience has already become so much enjoyable

[@izzym1090]

this!!!!

[@wintrygarden]

Love this video as always! The way you structure and present educational content is so effective.

[@RealFaodail]

Thank you so much Skiesti for the mercy guides and tutorials 🙏🙏🙏

[@Skiesti]

No problem! I'm happy to be able to release more guides out to y'all :>

[@lilm0nix3]

thank you so much for this... i've been playing mercy myself at a decently high rank for a long time and refreshers like this still help out a ton

[@Osito-xb2gm]

This is by far the BEST guide I've ever seen for Mercy and I've learned so much. I've got to admit it had been a while since I play OW and coming back I wasn't playing Mercy the way she's meant to be played but I know better now. Thank you so much!

[@Skiesti]

Aw, thank you so much! I'm glad the video has been so helpful with being able to play Mercy how she's supposed to be played :>

[@Leahh_s2]

The last part about dmg boost interaction was awesome! I was looking for it for so long, thank you so much!!!!

[@Skiesti]

A LOT of people don't know how Mercy's DMG boost works with Moira orb and assumes it boosts the DMG when it doesn't actually so I'm glad I could help you find it again!

[@gelatinousfeline]

This guide is AMAZING. When I first started playing Mercy, I... never used my damage boost, because I honestly didn't know any better. I really only started utilizing it regularly within the past year (I know, yikes). This really helps me understand how useful damage boost can be and I can't wait to start applying this new knowledge. Thank you!!

[@Skiesti]

It's okay, a lot of Mercy players when they're first starting out underutilize DMG boost because they're not sure how valuable it really is yet. Good luck with your games and with applying DMG boost more effectively! :>

[@dariusdash8866]

I usually overlook Mercy as a support main. But this video has opened my eyes to how complex Mercy can truly be. I have new respect for the character, and the video was excellent and informative overall. Bravo 👏

[@CupidGaming522]

10:04 "No hate but..." proceeds to say "Bless their hearts"

[@LexiChii]

thank you so much for the change in perspective on the "my dps suck" thing. I've just been pistoling people when my dps are doing poorly, but if i dmg boost them, they can just do the damage for me.

[@GuidedByCompassion]

The section at the end where you talk about what you can and can't damage boost, and the interactions between the abilities was amazing. I feel like that section would probably be one of the main reasons that damage boost finally "clicks" for a new Mercy player.

[@pattongilbert]

This is such a fantastic guide! Definitely going to use a lot of this in my Mercy play. I can’t wait to try it all out later this evening!😊

[@Skiesti]

Thank you and good luck!

[@pixelhotdish]

So much good info, there was a a lot of confusion cleared up for me here. As a new OW2 player, I wasnt always clear on what affect the blue beam was having on certain character abilities, but its nice to see that I was on the right track... and this cleared up a little confusion I had specifically around other players Ult abilities.

[@Juniperxo]

Man you were not kidding when you mention like to just focus on what you know works for mercy. I just had a game where we were putting on a lot of pressure and doing well and one of my DPS's kept pinging that they needed healing, and I was going to go to them but they were at like 3/4 full health and I was trying to help our other healer in a 1v1 by damage boosting The DPS started rage chatting about "Blue beam is useless unless you're in top 500" like bro WHAT 😭😭😭

[@ez243]

Very useful ! As a long time Mercy player I still re-learned a lot about damage boosting. It seems some interactions have changed in the last 2 years or with OW2.

[@ZeroSuffers13]

Another great guide to devour haha, thx for the video it really shows the effort put in it

[@SkidzSnake]

Always enjoy these Mercy guides as a support main. Support life is stressful right now.

[@Skiesti]

Thank you! I know support can be stressful but you got this!

[@oreo-sr2pq]

After this video I started doing all the tips and guides you’ve stated and actually feel a lot better with mercy! However today I’ve been having the worst tanks. I’d help heal the whole team, but mainly leave my second supports (who were Ana’s, kirikos, and Moira’s) to help the tank while I pocket my main DPS and heal a bit of the second DPS. But, the tank got so angry at me for saying only pocketing the pharah and not pocketing him, a rein, who would constantly charge into the enemy lines alone and expect me to heal and boost him against solider and sojourn who takes high ground in numbani. Makes me realize how little people know how mercy or supports even work. I wish people realized that your mercy’s or supports in general are not just healbots. Yes, their job is to help keep your team alive, but that’s why they have other unique abilities too for damage. They’re not your healers or called healers. They’re supports and not bots.

[@MooseLip]

16:27 JunkerQueen: " get this bot out my face"

[@bigfudge2031]

I Would love to see a follow-up video about damage break points that are affected/unaffected by damage boosting an ally.

[@DKHurricane14]

YESSSS THANK THE LORD ITS HERE i can’t wait to watch this keep up the fantastic work ski you are the best ☺️

[@Skiesti]

LMAO it took a while but it's finally here :>

[@gotmiilk]

Great video Skiesti! Your guides are extremely helpful. I just started playing overwatch, but with your videos I managed to bring my rank to Plat. Keep up the amazing work. 💕

[@Skiesti]

Aww, thank you! I try to make them as helpful as possible for y'all. I hope you're enjoying Overwatch so far and congrats on Plat! :>

[@gotmiilk]

@@Skiesti tysm! I really am enjoying it, especially when I’m on mercy. 🥹

[@switchingtracks]

Wow! This is literally an AMAZING guide, thank you so much!

[@blahablast3070]

Great video. Here is my take a new Overwatch player who mains Mercy (never played overwatch 1). In bronze (which I am), being Mercy and DB feels wasteful very often. I still do it majority of the time because it's the right thing to do, but I feel there is an inherent problem. If you're on the team that cannot hit targets (worse than the other team), Mercy is pretty useless. Sure you can keep them alive longer, just to die a little bit slower haha. If I switch to a kiriko, something actually gets done. Mercy has the perfect name. She's completely at the mercy of her team not sucking. By far my favorite character and I often just stick with her to get better at GA and my overall movement/decision making. So I feel many people default to healing because they then feel more useful. You do feel useless when you DB and no one is getting kills. But those awful games force me to play even more smart and then my goal is simply not to die as much as they do by being more clever. I watch all your videos because you are excellent and they are very helpful. Mercy can just be a rough go some times haha.

[@Skiesti]

I would really recommend Mercy players that find themselves in that spot to work on using DMG boost more effectively. I mention a lot of ways to do this in the video. Here's an example: If you have two DPS, let's say a Pharah and a Soldier, you're expected to be with Pharah, right? However, if the Soldier is pushing up and the Pharah is hanging out in your own backline, not really getting anything done, and doesn't have good sightlines, a more effective use of your time/DMG boost is to play with Soldier. As long as you wouldn't end up dying with Soldier or smth then you should be with him. You're producing more value there and can go back to Pharah when she's aggressing. It's not about 'my team sucks' it's more about 'how can I make better use of my DMG boost regardless of my teammates behaviors?'

[@dankdilly]

Yes, Mercys independent value comes from heal beam while damage boost is very dependent on who you give it to and if they hit something in the moments you are boosting. I win many fights by just healing constantly and keeping my team in the fight and find that while solo queuing the damage boost just feels way more inconsistent even in masters and stuff. I even hit GM and top 107 this season practically one tricking mercy in open que and playing her mostly to heal in goats and she was a very valuable pick. My stats were like 1k boost per 10 min and over 16k heal per 10 min and I got lot of compliments as her it was a really fun first season of OW2 for me especially since in OW1 my peak was about 3300 in role and open que and I just was never gonna climb on the OG because the matches sucked and felt like coin tosses to me, maybe it was just too hard to carry in 6v6 idk lol.

[@Skiesti]

@@dankdilly If you applied DMG boost based on the advice here, I'm sure you would see an even higher climb than that ^^ Her biggest independent value really isn't from her healing, I promise you.

[@sesleri]

@@dankdilly This is not correct. Her value does not come from healing beam at all. DMG boost is how you climb.

[@ossifiedtoad798]

@@Skiesti When I was learning Mercy, I found that it was helpful to focus first on learning to identify and safely access allies who were being aggressive. Even following the simple heuristic of healing when they were missing HP and damage-boosting when they weren’t, my damage amp numbers and win rate went up. (At least, after I got through the phase of limit-testing how far I could push the aggressive pocketing. I died a lot during that phase 😅.) Once I felt more comfortable keeping track of who was in a good position and getting to them/staying with them safely, then it was a lot easier to work on pushing the blue beam harder, because I was getting really clear feedback. It also became easier to anticipate damage! Turns out, if you’re pocketing the current biggest threat, there’s a good chance that any damage cooldowns you hear fired are aimed at them. So even if you can’t see who is shooting your pocket, you can flick to heal and see if it hits them and go back if it doesn’t.

[@RedWolfe]

Thanks Ski. This was good info and anyone who plays Mercy needs to see this!

[@zeeegeee]

That was a great video thank you. I love it when information is laid out so comprehensibly.

[@Skiesti]

Thank you so much! I try my best to organize it so it's easy to follow and understand!

[@kushhbabiie]

im so close to diamond for mercy, im primarily a dps main (masters) but this has been helping me climb so much! i appreciate the tips

[@jclspice]

Such a great video. More people need to see this. So I don't loose my mind when I see an ally mercy healing a topped ally.

[@artful_alicat]

As much as I tried game after game I was only hitting like 1k or at the worst like 300 damage amplified a game. Really needed a guide like this, thank you!

[@Skiesti]

No problem! I hope the guide is able to help you DMG boost more effectively :>

[@drewhaas5213]

This is such an impressively comprehensive video!

[@20ecupirate13]

I was looking at a 6 year old post on reddit about keybinds for Zenyatta and saw your post linking this video :)

[@sojuuu21]

As a mercy main you explain things in such an easy and Conscise way! Thank u

[@nathanielcollier]

Your movement is incredible, really like this video, I tend to play mercy to keep the whole team up, I love it but it feels not worth it in ow2, other healers outheal me and have a bigger impact, going to try pocketing more

[@Skiesti]

Thank you! I would definitely urge you to try pushing DMG boost and pocketing more. Since individual contribution and damage output matters so much more in OW2, it's even more important to help your DPS find more value via pocketing ^^

[@p3achybobas]

another day another skiesti slay

[@winter1angelz]

Love Love LOVE your explanations! Its super easy to follow and understand and I cant wait to implement these in my own mercy games! ❤️😊

[@CheeseOfString]

Currently climbing from bronze with mercy. The frustrating thing is that a lot of mercy's utility is lost on teammates that aren't in comms, especially the second support. Pinging is great, but it's not enough in bronze-gold. It's best paired with vc.

[@Buns_To_Your_Hun]

I’m new to OW myself, and when I first picked up Mercy, I was mainly a heal bot. Once I learned about how much damage boost works, I try to use it as much as possible. Unfortunately, there are games where everyone is constantly low and it feels real difficult to maintain damage boost. However, most of the time I try to pocket the dps and only help with the tank if I notice they’re low for a while. I guess I was mainly worried about my healing number, but I learned that sometimes the damage boost works hand in hand in keeping your team alive if used correctly. I started playing maybe 2 weeks ago and hit platinum, hoping to build on that with the advice.

[@Comet1653]

I main sig and I try to get into the play style of my team supports but I can't really understand most things but your guide helped me play better with other mercy players so thanks for that

[@ComradeChyrk]

I was always wondering if you had to hold the damage boost for projectiles all the way until they hit, thanks for clearing that up

[@kindawarm8624]

the only time i think hard pocketing is acceptable is if you have a pharah and a really good support partner. I love the idea of getting more mercy’s damage boosting and thinking carefully about where they put their resources, but stuff like what you said at 7:54 is infinitely more important than just chosing one person and never letting go of them. The optimal person to damage boost can change literally any second of the game

[@Skiesti]

Hard pocketing and the type of pocketing I'm talking about in the guide are not really the same. You should have someone that you play with mainly and someone you default to that gets the most value from DMG boost but that's different than ONLY ever being on one person the ENTIRE game

[@nxfrvr]

What a lovely guide, thanks so much!

[@purpleman8619]

This was super super helpful. Thanks a ton!

[@loganozselcuk6702]

Due to your advice, I get comments like “ ily mercy “ at ends of games now, never thought ide see that in OW chat. Thank you!

[@flakeybflakes9282]

Thank you for this info i just started playing recently and this only reiterated what i thought how to play this character ive had friends tell me to never damage boost and just heal to rank up better

[@Skiesti]

PLEASE I am begging you to not listen to your friends about that. Mercy's DMG boost is so incredibly valuable (also welcome to Overwatch/playing Mercy!)

[@jelly7178]

love this so much!! good to know what you can and cant dmg boost in ow2

[@Skiesti]

No problem! DMG boost has some pretty neat interactions so I'm glad to be able to help y'all navigate them :>

[@kumo860]

Great explanation, this helps a lot

[@remingtonsteele007]

Thank you for confirming that Bastion's ult is boostable! I was never quite sure and will now be doing that more often when I can!

[@Skiesti]

No problem! Since it's new a lot of people are still unsure about that one

[@xyurothe1st873]

you and kiriko slayed at 11:10

[@wes5459]

Thanx for the video, didn't realize I had to keep bosting JQ for it to wook.

[@Skiesti]

No problem! Since she's relatively new still a lot of people aren't sure how it works yet :>

[@Starman71000]

10:46 This whole segment sounds like advice from a doctor. I just find that funny

[@AgentZ46]

Man, this vid was super helpful in showing stuff I didn't know. For instance I've been thinking dmg boost works at point of impact but it's the opposite! I've been boosting Bastion AFTER he fire thinking it was more efficient. And with Cassidy I just healed him during his ult since my logic was it was more useful to make sure he doesn't get killed since his ult is an instant kill but nope, I could've made it go faster. Awesome vid, Skietsi and very helpful!

[@Skiesti]

I'm glad I was able to show you things you didn't know yet! Good luck in your games, you're gonna be much more effective :>

[@timothyjupiter5748]

Yaay the mercy guide I'm waiting for is here

[@Skiesti]

I'm so so glad to finally be able to get this guide out :>

[@jamesstrickland8696]

Great guide, I learned quite a bit about how certain mechanics worked that I wasn't aware of. Definitely subscribing. My questions that hopefully someone can give me some insight on: Are there specific characters that should not have priority for damage boost? Like, are there characters that naturally get little value out of damage boost that would otherwise be more effective on others (aside from other supports of course)? For example, I have tried pocketing tracers before and get lots of ticks from her, but my overall damage amplified is still low compared to pocketing soldiers or bastions. How effective is damage boost with allies that deal gradual consistent damage over time like winston, moira, mei, etc?

[@kevingriffith6011]

Part of it is character knowledge and understanding where each hero is most effective. With tracer, I'd say your best option is to really only damage boost her when she goes in, unless she's really close to ult and you want to help her get that last bit of pulse bomb before a fight starts... she does basically no damage at long range. For winston? Be aware of who he is shooting, If he's sort of passively zapping a tank then he's not a great damage boost target, but if he's diving deep to get a pick on a support then he's absolutely a *great* damage boost target. My general rule of thumb is that the best damage boost targets are the ones who are actively making a play, followed by people who are having plays made against them, followed by people who are close to an ultimate, followed by characters who are good at long range passive poking like snipers, soldier, sigma or cassidy... and then everybody else.

[@bartholomewthethird5543]

This is so good! The only issue I have is that I feel obligated to having to heal people the moment I see them being critical, or if they even need heals in general. I struggle a bit with sticking to one person because the rest of the team needing help :(

[@tleva]

You'll see in higher ranks when you have a good other support they do most of the healing, so that's why when you're playing something like moira and your teammate is on mercy you have to heal your teammates more than mercy does. You probably know what flex supports and main supports are, but if not, for example; Mercy's top priority is damage boost, so she should focus on that. A character like ana/moira can only heal/damage, so they should focus on doing that, mainly healing because mercy isn't meant to heal. Hope that helps!

[@bartholomewthethird5543]

@@tleva ahh, thank you! i actually managed to get past this issue since I was able to make it to gm 2 🥹 thank u for bringing me back to this comment though lol the improvement was crazy

[@tleva]

@@bartholomewthethird5543 good job! I did assume that you would've gotten past this because the original comment was 6 months ago, but i still figured i might aswell help!

[@amaanasif7819]

Helpful video thanks

[@LadyVineXIII]

Not going to lie, the psychological benefit alone to most Widows is worth pocketing. I often judge who I pocket based on the kill feed and usually start on a hero such as widow who has the most benefit from psychological backing.

[@anamamaris]

I sometimes play Mercy & ngl, I tend to focus on healing only. But! I will definitely do more of both from now on. Thanks sm for this video 👍 I learned new information. Especially the later part when you go over what can/cant be dmg boosted on heroes.

[@osamahamid6534]

As a junk and a rein main you are the best mercy thank you i hope every mercy lern from you

[@runeyugi]

I saw it and i said WOW what a great guide.

[@aidenzorn8322]

I’d love to see some document which compares dps between using the pistol and damage boosting each hero. I think it would be very funny and therefore a good idea

[@ArtsyHumanbean]

Gosh I wish I could clip this my partner plays junker queen and I’m so glad I can boost her bleed!

[@Skiesti]

Send them this timestamp really quickly :> kzbin.info/www/bejne/n3magaWleNKSo7M

[@davidsabillon5182]

Straight up 🔥. Thank you

[@dagnabbitwabbit]

Great content!

[@Poifix]

At the moment my goal as a Mercy main is to reduce the amount of deaths in my games. I'd say I usually don't get more than 5 deaths. But of course there are games where they are all coming for that Mercy booty and you end up with like 8+ deaths. Anyway. Just wanted to say that your guides has helped this dude (me) to take Mercy to another level.

[@GaoLiOnTheRocks]

It answered the questions I had, I was unsure if you can boost Hanzo's dragon

[@casdean]

i finally reached plat maining mercy in ow2!! thank you and bless skiesti our mercy savior

[@karwinia]

Great video! I will try every tip ❤

[@Skiesti]

Good luck! I hope they work out well for you! :>

[@nutellaluvr]

my bf and i are stuck in silver atm, and ive been maining mercy as of late and its super fun to dmg boost him !! hes really good at widow somehow so he always gets hella picks, and thanks to my dmg boost he can one shot people he normally wouldnt have been able to before. its so satisfying when someone u dmg boost gets kills. i love that in the short while ive played mercy, my awareness in game has gone up so much ! i actually pay attention to what my team is doing and dmg boost them accordingly and it feels so good to help my team get kills and win fights. yeah it feels good to shit on the other team as moira and do hella dmg, but i feel even more satisfaction even when i have 0 dmg, because in return i have 10+ people saved, 40+ assists, etc. sometimes it causes me grief when i feel like i cant do anything because we're just getting shit on, but i feel like the good outweighs the bad. and if it gets TOO bad, ik i can just swap and do something different, its never the end of the world

[@Miz_amie]

This video really helped thankies😊👌🏾

[@wcozi]

we love u ski ❤

[@Skiesti]

💛💛💛

[@Muzick]

Well done Skiesti! Thanks for all your hard work here.

[@swisscheeese]

this was very useful thank you very much

[@Lucky_T]

Here's another tip from a current mercy main and a support main in many other games: The minimum amount of HP anyone (including you) needs to have is 1. T

[@AngyRoar]

Really good video :) I would say though, if you have a decent Winston on your team, do pocket him. If he knows how to play properly (meaning he knows how to jump and melee cancel) it will result in him doing massive aoe damage, having ult pretty much every fight and you getting a lot of value since everything he does is AOE. His main combo is jump/melee which does an instant 80 burst damage, this will make it deal 104 damage, you're also making his primary go from 60 to 78 (do keep it mind, it is also aoe) and his secondary goes from 50 to 65. Overall, it's a lot of value. Zarya is also a very decent good Pocket target as said in the video, her beam deals a LOT of damage and if there's no shields against your team she should be prioritized a lot of the time (having grav more often is extremely good). And full charge she does over 200 dps, so yeah it is valuable. Those two are at the top of my pocket list, especially if they know how to play. Junker Queen is probably the last tank you could theoretically pocket and get good value from, but she's quite weak at the moment, she does ok damage but not enough to justify you pocketing her and she takes a LOT of damage so you'd have to heal her pretty much all the time. Oh and while i do not recommend doing this seriously, you can try pocketing a Moira if you're playing in lower levels, it is quite fun to see the fear in the ennemy team's eyes when they see a pocket Moira running at them. Same with Brig tbh

[@aethrai]

Love these tips!!

[@windfarer4497]

Thank you Skiesty!!!

[@victorchen547]

Damage boost is so helpful in open queue to help kill the infinite tanks, so knowing how to better use it is actually very helpful

[@ossifiedtoad798]

Regarding the “my low rank DPS can’t hit anything!” argument, I think it often comes down to a lack of awareness of who actually has sightlines. So, for example, your an Ashe might be set up to shoot into a choke, but the Rein is stuffing the choke or even pushing past it, so the Ashe has no one to shoot. A Mercy pocketing the Ashe in that moment isn’t contributing anything! She would get more done by pocketing the Rein or anyone else who can see enemies, and then Mercy can return to Ashe when she actually establishes LoS. Same deal if the Soldier dropped off of high ground and is sprinting for the stairs to retake it, there’s no point in following him-just beam someone else and then join him when he’s in position. I know you explicitly mentioned sightlines and effective range as something to consider for who to pocket, but I think in low rank, Mercy needs to switch off of her default beam target more often simply because their low-rank teammates spend so much time doing nothing of value. It’s kind of a beggars-can’t-be-choosers situation. In high rank, everyone is going to have high uptime and be outputting pretty consistent value, so you have the freedom to choose the hero who can do the most with your beam. In low rank, you take what you can get, even if it’s a Moira or something.

[@Skiesti]

Everything I mentioned in the video applies to any rank so the things I explicitly stated that you're mentioning aren't targeted to high ranks but lower ranks as well ^^

[@ossifiedtoad798]

@@Skiesti I agree! Sorry, I think I phrased things poorly. I was trying to say that I think the sightlines/effective range factors end up having higher importance in deciding who to pocket in a low-rank context, because there tend to be fewer teammates who have good sightlines at any given time. Like, the considered factors are the same, but the decision results look different in a different context. IMO, I think that can be a big part of the disconnect for low-rank players trying to learn how to get more damage-boost value, in addition to just having overly-high expectations like you said in the video. Choosing a default beam target in spawn is a pretty simple decision, but so often in low rank that default pocket doesn’t have sightlines, or the other support doesn’t have sightlines, so Mercy needs to adjust. Of course, that happens in high rank too, but since everyone has good positioning, I think Mercy gets to stick to her default choice more often. That can make it _appear_ that the decision-making process is simply “hard-pocket Ashe”, even though it’s a lot more complex than that. And when low-rank players try to superficially replicate that, they end up capping their uptime to that of the chosen pocket, and then it feels like it just doesn’t work in that rank unless the pocket is having a really good game. But the issue isn’t that prioritizing DPS is bad, it’s they’re missing the chances to increase their uptime by temporarily pocketing someone else. Anyway, I hope that made some kinda sense. Sorry to be so wordy. I have a lot of opinions on this topic, because I’ve seen so many low-rank players who feel like they can’t play Mercy in their rank, and it’s reinforced by a lot of the stuff the community says. I’m very thankful to you for putting together such a comprehensive guide that addresses so much of the nuance that is usually missing in this conversation!

[@FrogPondering]

11:35 does damage amp goal factor in the previously mentioned "b-but my dps suck"?

[@aethrai]

It's going to be lower if they miss shots, but as you improve you will climb, and so will your amp'd damage

[@Skiesti]

The damage amp goal is still the same but, again, break it into gradual goals. The biggest thing is that you have to get more creative with using DMG boost effectively such as focusing beam on allies who: pushed up, have better sightlines, being aggressive, taking angles, using abilities/ultimates, have better range, etc.

[@jakubiscooler911]

Great video Ski! I’m curious why Mercy and Lucio don’t have good synergy? Damage boost and speed boost together sound like a great combination on paper.

[@Skiesti]

I mention it a bit in their Mercy / Lucio section and will probably go into it in a synergy video eventually. Mercy / Lucio isn't a lot of healing. This means that Mercy normally has to supplement heals to her team instead of DMG boosting as much. If you play very fast then it can work (as I mention) but it's not as optimal for Mercy's DMG boost value

[@kevingriffith6011]

For a bit of context, mercy and lucio together can heal a single target for about 60 heals per second without spending cooldowns. Kiriko, Ana, Moira and Baptiste all heal over 70 heals per second without spending cooldowns... by themselves. It essentially means that your strategy is going to have be "force a hard, fast fight that ends before your lack of healing becomes a catastrophic problem." Mercy wants to damage boost and Lucio wants to speed boost, and both heroes would really love if they had a main healer to pick up the slack. (For the curious, Mercy/Zen is 74 Heals per second, and Mercy/Brig is 59 heals per second, and none of these account for healing multiple teammates at the same time, so Brig and Lucio heal a lot more than 15 and 16 health per second respectively.)

[@cherrybomb3499]

super helpful! thank you

[@valkyrie_592]

I think decently informed mercy's also try to keep in mind the 2K per 10 dmg boost ratio. I can say that in high gold, i can damage boost 70% of the time and barely readching 1500. So the 2k per 10 is something more as a golden standard spoken in masters and gm. Maybe this might lead to the thought that dps dont hit their shots

[@Skiesti]

Tbh I'm a LITTLE doubtful that the majority of Mercy players are actually getting 2k / 10 anymore. It was the default in OW1 (even tho you would tend to get higher than that in GM) but because of the reasons I mentioned in this video, I'm quite sure it's less than that now which is why I said between 1.7k - 2k

[@valkyrie_592]

@@Skiesti if only i had waited a few minutes before i heard you talk about it haha

[@DokuDoki]

I think you're misunderstanding the whole "but my DPS sucks" complaint. It's not about "my DPS isn't worth boosting so I might as well stick to healing tank", it's about the incapability to recognize what your teammates are doing and adapt to it. Every, EVERY single damage boost guide recommends which heroes are more boostworthy than the other. What then happens is Mercy dutifully sticks to Cassidy because that's what the guide recommended and she's unable to realize the poor cowboy doesn't even have enemy sightlines. Ever since I ditched the recommended priority lists and instead started to focus on who's currently doing damage against whom, regardless of the hero, the entire "my DPS sucks" mentality almost vanished despite the fact I still mostly focus on our DPS.

[@Skiesti]

I don't believe I've misunderstood it. My guide in general is addressing how you can effectively use DMG boost, I just didn't repeat the advantages during the 'my DPS suck' section because I had just gone over it previously and didn't want to be redundant so I offered an example instead and some other things that are related to how you benefit by playing with your DPS ^^

[@bitofaworry]

Great video, thanks 👍

[@LorikQuinn]

When dps are shit and sometimes straight up feeding i just boost the tank and the other sup, especially if they are Ana or Rein, Rein's ult is INSANE when boosted

[@Everest111]

The only thing I find really tricky abt damage boosting is that often times, my second support doesn’t pick up the healing deficit left behind and we all end up dying. Gotta love silver

[@murlocow2996]

Amazing video! I agree that tracer and sombra aren’t ideal dmg boost targets but there are definitely cases where it’s worth it to flick your beam onto them For example if your tracer is about to go in for a quick one-clip or a pulse bomb you can simply sit in place and hold damage boost on her (since it takes 2 seconds for the beam to break) and she’ll have the damage boost for that short time

[@Skiesti]

They're not ideal pocket targets but I didn't mention never flicking your beam onto them or anything. I believe I make mentions in the video that would have indicated that briefly DMG boosting some allies even though they're not *ideal* can be valuable ^^

[@murlocow2996]

@@Skiesti you’re right. Amazing points!

[@petehuebner8996]

A helpful video for all mercy players. Maybe you should make a video on how to prioritize heals and dmg boosting, like who's ult to boost at what time, who should you fly across the fight to, and how much you should heal your tank (or anyone) before the other support can cap them off.

[@Skiesti]

I feel like the video covers a lot of that or at least subtly suggests things related to what you mention. A lot of things about Mercy are quite situational and sometimes comes down to a judgement call based on knowledge/reasoning so it's hard to give very specific tips such as how much you should heal someone before you other support can heal them because that relies on knowing things like what your other supp sightline is and how much DMG the ally is taking which is situational

[@petehuebner8996]

@@Skiesti Thank you, Ski! That answered my question magnificently! I really appreciate the time and effort you put into your content and helping people. You deserve way more recognition, in my opinion. Thanks!

[@sophuwu4586]

what if your second support isn’t picking a main healer/support so the rest of the team doesn’t have enough heals ? you can’t constantly play mercy at least in diamond. even if i want to pocket my duo that’s getting value, if my second supp is zen or kiri or brig the others don’t get many heals. what to do then?

[@OnyxNemesis]

I always damage boost Moira Ult and I was never sure if I was being stupid… thank you haha

[@jotave49]

I love these overwatch channels!