PharMercy dead? The Pharah rework coming at the start of Overwatch 2 Season 9 sees a radical change in play for the aerial bombardier.
Long a menace of the skies, the truth about Pharah is more complicated. Frustrating to deal with due to her aerial maneuvering, that hasn't necessarily made her a good choice. That all looks to change with Overwatch Season 9 bringing about a massive gameplay overhaul. That includes a full Pharah rework in Overwatch 2 that feels like it finally brings the DPS Hero up to date.
Now more about speedily lateral movement and less about hanging in the air, Pharah plays differently than her past iteration. What's new and what do you need to know? Let's take a look at the Pharah rework coming to Overwatch 2 tomorrow with the start of Season 9.
Pharah rework, Overwatch 2 Season 9
First, let's look at the patch notes changes in full.
Pharah
- Health increased from 200 to 250.
Rocket Launcher
- Recovery reduced from 0.85 to 0.80 seconds.
- Projectile speed increased from 35 to 40 meters per second.
- Explosion self-damage reduced from 50% to 25%.
Jet Dash
- New Secondary Fire Ability.
- Provides a quick horizontal boost in the direction Pharah is moving.
- 8-second cooldown.
- Added a setting to activate Jet Dash on Double Jump instead.
Jump Jet
- Now restores 50% of Hover Jets fuel and can briefly overfill the maximum fuel amount.
- Vertical boost height reduced by 20%.
- Cooldown increased from 10 to 14 seconds.
Concussive Blast
- Cooldown decreased from 9 to 7 seconds.
- Explosion now deals 30 damage to enemy targets.
- Explosion radius reduced from 8 to 6 meters.
- Knockback reduced by 10%.
Barrage
- Now instantly refills Hover Jets fuel.
Hover Jets
- Speed boost increased from 20% to 40%.
- Now requires landing to recharge fuel.
- Can now be activated without fuel to slow your descent.
The biggest change for Pharah in her Overwatch 2 rework for this season comes from her new ability, Jet Dash. Essentially a Tracer Blink without the invulnerability, this is going to change Pharah's game in a number of ways. No longer will she be able to hover above fights and force enemy teams to look up. Instead, the goal is going to be side flanking and fast, lateral dashes to get in and out of position.
What about Mercy?
For all intents and purposes it appears PharMercy is dead. Why? It boils down to Mercy not being able to keep up with Pharah while also staying safe and keeping in range with the rest of the team. In the past, a Mercy would be able to just drop from the sky to get back into position.
Now? A mercy will have to risk following a Pharah away from the team or objective to keep pace. It's simply not sustainable, which was the intended purpose of the Pharah rework for Overwatch 2 Season 9. And if we're being honest, it's for the best. If the best version of your Hero is only when a specific healer is on your team then it's not a good design.
Check out the Pharah rework for yourself when Overwatch 2 Season 9 drops tomorrow, Feb. 13.
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