News:: Age of Empires: Definitive Edition has been delayed to Spring 2018

Age of Empires: Definitive Edition, which was slated to release Oct. 19, has been delayed into the tentative window of early 2018. The news was announced by the development team through a blog post on their website.

In the post, the developers cite a need to rework and modernize the gameplay before they feel comfortable with the final product. To achieve that goal, they, "will instead be inviting thousands more players from the community into our closed beta between now and launch to allow for more in-depth testing across single player campaign, multiplayer balance, fine-tuning the lobby, etc."

The team didn't share when the final release would fall, besides their goal of putting the game out by early 2018.

It looks like Microsoft may have jumped the gun in an effort to expedite the release of this game. AoE: DE was announced out of the blue at E3 2017, and received a release date mere months after that. The game probably needs a little more time in the oven, which seems implied in the developer post.

Sure, giving lots of players access to the closed beta might seem like a consolation prize, but given the development team's language concerning gameplay, they may actually need to fine-tune mechanics until they feel comfortable with the final product.

Hopefully all goes well, and players can get their hands on the game soon. 

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News:: Rocket League's letting players open crates for free with the help of candy corn

When we talked with Rocket League creative director Corey Davis in September, one of the things he mentioned was how Psyonix planned to put more emphasis on events. Halloween's the first major holiday and now we have a lot better idea of how this is going to work.

Psyonix detailed its Halloween event and candy corn is going to be a major part of it. Candy corn will act as an earnable currency that makes the entire economy work. It's dropped at the end of games, and then players use it to buy stuff that they want.

Here are some of the things candy corn is used for: It can simply buy limited-time Halloween items. It can buy a decryptor which allows players to open up one of any crate they want. Or, it can buy a special Halloween crate; these crates also drop on their own at the end of matches.

Another nuance is that any item that's opened with a decryptor can't be traded. Normal paid keys can be used on Halloween crates and those items are tradeable. It's kind of confusing to see it all written out in one place, but it makes more sense take a minute to think about it.

It's not long before we get to see candy corn in action. The Halloween event goes live 15 minutes after this article's posting. It'll run through the morning of November 6 (and then candy corn expires a week later). Here's to hoping those crates have more treats than tricks for you.

Haunted Hallows Event Starts October 16! [Rocket League]

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News:: Rocksteady says next project will cause people to 'lose their minds'

A lot of fans are twitching with anticipation to see what UK developers Rocksteady have planned for their next release, following the excellent Batman: Arkham trilogy. There has been no news forthcoming, but that doesn't mean something awesome isn't on the table.

Speaking on twitter, Rocksteady marketing manager Gaz Deaves asked fans to be patient and enjoy the silence, safe in the knowledge than when world of the next Rocksteady game finally emerges "people are going lose their minds."

Ok, I get it, he's a marketing manager. He is actually paid to drive up hype, but it's hard not to get in a tizzy. The Arkham games were received so well, and told a really great, immersive and sometimes truly shocking story, backed up with fantastic voice acting, a good script, great fourth-wall breaking moments and some stunning visuals. Surely whatever the team turn their hands to will have the same attention bestowed upon it.

Who knows what's next from the Rocksteady crew? but consider my mind prepped to be lost. What would you like to see the team embark upon as their next venture?

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News:: PUBG's desert map won't be fully available until the game properly launches later this year

It's the most successful Early Access game of all time, but PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is barreling toward an actual final release. Developer Bluehole says that its plans are still to launch the 1.0 version on PC and the Game Preview version on Xbox before the end of the year.

In a timeline-heavy post on Steam, Bluehole reiterates how it's nearly stopping with tweaks and patches in order to get the final version ready. That means this week's update (which changes some granular spawn stuff and fixes a few animation and UI bugs) will be one of the last for the short-term.

However, Bluehole still needs to test some things. There two most notable additions to PUBG between now and release will be the desert map and vaulting/climbing. Those are both scheduled to launch right alongside the final product. That means they will be first deployed on the test server in three phases: vaulting and climbing take priority in phase one and two; the desert map and all other content will be part of the third phase.

There aren't any exact dates for any of this yet. Bluehole just says that it's starting in late October at the earliest and that everything will need to be tested for two to four weeks. But these are some of the identifiable major hurdles between the beta and the final game. They grow up so quickly.

Update: Road to Launch, Patch Notes for This Week [Steam]

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News:: Review: Divinity: Original Sin 2

It feels weird to have a consistent stream of "CRPGs" today. I thought Pillars of Eternity was pretty great, though I never got around to finishing it or delving into its expansion. Tyranny was a wonderful surprise and is my go-to recommendation for people asking for new games to play in a genre they used to love. I barely even got to start Torment: Tides of Numenera, despite being a Kickstarter backer.

Enter Divinity: Original Sin 2. I thought the first game was great but certainly had its flaws, and I didn't keep up much with the sequel. In a way, I'm glad I didn't, because going in fresh to what has become one of my favorite games of the year was an awesome experience.

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News:: Have RTS your way with Petroglyph's Forged Battalion

Today, the veterans at Petroglyph Games announced Forged Battalion, a '90s-centric RTS that hopes to evolve the classic formula. On the surface, you don't get much more Command & Conquer-style than Forged Battalion's trailer - even the music evokes tracks like "Hell March."

The main twist is that you aren't just the faction commander, you're also the faction's engineer. You can customize every unit's armaments, armor, and form of locomotion. There's also a tidbit, if not visual evidence, that superweapons will be in the game.

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News:: PC players can start pre-loading Destiny 2 on Wednesday

There are a few things to keep in mind if you're looking to get Destiny 2 for PC at launch.

First off, while release day is happening next Tuesday, October 24, the servers won't go live until 10:00am Pacific. Thankfully, Bungie will begin to offer pre-loading starting this Wednesday, October 18.

That should be plenty of time to get yourself situated. You'll need 68GB of storage space.

Destiny 2 will be available for preload for the PC starting on 10/18. http://pic.twitter.com/8SIMS1q3dE

— Bungie (@Bungie) October 16, 2017

I'm still working on my second of three characters on PS4 so, yeah, can't say I'm dying to go through the campaign yet again. That said, the PC version is so remarkably smooth that I won't mind too much.

Bungie [Twitter]

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News:: Microsoft delays its 'Age of Empires' remaster to 2018

Were you planning your gaming calendar around Age of Empires: Definitive Edition's release on October 19th? You'll... need to find an alternative. Microsoft has pushed back the launch of the remastered real-time strategy collection at the last minute, anticipating a launch sometime in early 2018. The developers pin the sudden delay to a desire to tweak the game as much as possible. They want to invite "thousands" more people into the closed beta to adjust everything from the multiplayer balance to the lobby system.

Via: Windows Central

Source: Age of Empires

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News:: Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite is getting a $30 costume pass

Along with additional characters Black Panther, Sigma, and Monster Hunter, 18 premium costumes will be available for purchase tomorrow. 

They'll run $3.99 USD individually, $11.99 for a specialized six pack, and $29.99 for the "Premium Costume Pass," which includes all 18. Some of these may be neat pulls like Hulk's Joe Fixit outfit and the DmC version of Dante, but the price is admittedly a bit too steep for my blood. But if you're interested, here's how they break down into six packs:

Avenging Army: Iron Man, Hawkeye, Thor, Dante, Spencer, and Arthur

World Warriors: Captain America, Captain Marvel, Hulk, Chris, Ryu, Chun-Li

Mystic Masters: Doctor Strange, Dormammu, Ghost Rider, Morrigan, Firebrand, Nemesis

According to the post on Capcom-Unity, the remaining characters should receive costumes before the end of the year. 

Battle in style with these new Premium Costumes available on October 17 in Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite! [Capcom-Unity]

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News:: Snag the Borderlands series for cheap on Humble Bundle

Psst, hey kid. You want some video games? Well you're in luck. As apart of the Endless Humble RPG Lands Bundle, players can pick up the entire Borderlands series for as little as $10 on Humble Bundle.

The bundle include Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition, Borderlands 2, and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. This a good series of shooters, and if you've got a buddy or two who're down for co-op, this franchise can be a heap of fun. This deal will last until Oct. 24 at 2:00 pm EST, so you'll have to decide relatively soon if this is the deal for you. 

Mayhem awaits! Get Borderlands, Borderlands 2, and The Pre-Sequel as part of the Endless Humble RPG Lands Bundle https://t.co/J42AdVxtUQ http://pic.twitter.com/DcgMRuZDzU

— Borderlands (@Borderlands) October 16, 2017

Just be warned that while you'll get all three games, you won't be receiving all of the DLC for Borderlands 2 or Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel! That's a shame, because Borderlands 2 in particular has troves of fun, zany DLC that Gearbox developed in the years following its release. Still, if you want a fun FPS series to blast through with a friend, $10 isn't a bad deal for what's on offer. 

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News:: WWE 2K18 on Switch will take up 32GB of MicroSD and 1GB of internal space

It's getting to the point where you might not have much room left on your Nintendo Switch if you're mostly going digital, and didn't opt to pick up a hefty memory card yet.

Now that more studios like Bethesda and 2K are getting into the Switch game file sizes are going to increase, as are massive mandatory installs that go beyond the scope of the MicroSD cards that house the retail games. Case and point -- on top of the 1GB you'll need for internal storage for WWE2K18 when it hits on Switch, you'll also need a whopping 32GB of MicroSD storage if you go digital. Well, at least this one has content parity.

While that's to be expected of a system that doesn't use disc-based media, it's ramping up real quickly. Think of this as a PSA of sorts so you don't pick up your shiny new game on launch day only to be met with a "not enough storage space" prompt. 

WWE 2K18 [Nintendo]

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News:: Look for a new Home and Guide in today's big Xbox One update

After a testing period, the Xbox One fall update is now ready for the masses.

These sorts of console updates tend to blur together in my mind and today's is no different. Microsoft is bringing out a lot of incremental changes, as exhaustively detailed in this eight-minute walkthrough video, but there are a few standout elements here. Namely, the Home screen sports a new look with more customizable layout options, and the Guide has been reworked for ease of use and speed.

A few other bullet points:

• You can have up to 40 pins. Is that enough for you?
• There's a dark, light, and high-contrast theme (selectable from the Settings menu).
• GameDVR support for 4K/HDR screenshot and video capture. If you own an external drive, you'll be able to tell the system to automatically save your footage there instead.

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News:: Doom's Switch port will be taking Hell on the road this November

Doom for Switch is pretty much the port that should not be. How is it possible that one of the largest games of 2016 (for a storage perspective) can even fit on a system with such limited capacity, not to mention on a retail cartridge? Aren't Switch's not even powerful enough to run Doom? Somehow, someway, Bethesda and Panic Button (this port's developer) made the dream come true.

Doom on Switch will be launching on November 10. Even if you have no interest, this is monumental for being the first first-person shooter on Nintendo's new platform. It may also be the most violent game on Nintendo's hybrid, which is neat.

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News:: We'll find out what happened to Tidus between Final Fantasy X and X-2

Square Enix is known for weird publicity stunts and Final Fantasy story-bending, and this is no exception. According to the publisher, by way of a tie-in event for Mobius Final Fantasy, they're gong to explain what happened to Tidus between the events of Final Fantasy X and X-2.

This little clip gives you a quick look at the crossover, and expands upon the Yuna-centric Eternal Calm to give us more of Tidus. Much of the same development team from X is participating, and the event itself will run starting this week in Japan.

Eventually the west will probably get this Dream within a Dream update too, and if you're at all curious about what's up with Tidus, odds are you'll be able to catch a YouTube video or read a fan recap at some point. As a reminder, Mobius Final Fantasy was a 2015 mobile-only game that eventually made the trip to PC in 2017.

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News:: Tekken producer claims that fighting game fans don't use tutorials

Tutorials have been experimented with in a wild fashion the last several years or so. Skullgirls really set the bar when it came to how to do a welcoming, but substantial tutorial right, followed by a few other releases like Guilty Gear Xrd Rev 2. But according to rock star Tekken producer Katsuhro Harada, people don't use them.

Speaking to PCGamesN, Harada explained that according to Bandai Namco's data, Tekken players don't use the tutorial, so they opted to ignore it for Tekken 7. Harada explains, "You hear a lot of people say this game is great because it has a tutorial but when we look at the data, not many people play these tutorial modes. This is the same when you buy something new, you take it home and you don’t read the manual. It’s a positive for your product if you can say you have a tutorial but when you take a closer look you notice that people aren’t really playing it."

Instead, Harada wanted people to learn naturally through the campaign, which, having played it, I can confirm provides explicit tutorial-ey type instructions. To me, this makes a lot of sense...for Harada, a producer of a fairly hardcore series. If they have data that the vast majority of their playerbase don't use tutorials, so be it -- incorporating them in a new or more organic way is cool.

But they still definitely have a place in gaming in general -- as I know quite a few people who loved repeating Skullgirls' tutorial to learn about the art of fighting, and have become more competitive players as a result of that low key, low stakes approach.

Tekken has dropped tutorials because players don't use them [PCGamesN]

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News:: Why didn't you see Blade Runner 2049?

The Groundhog Day derivative Happy Death Day ruled the weekend box office with a total of $26.5M, absolutely wrecking Blade Runner 2049 in its second weekend. If you're Blade Runner, this is a continued problem as you still cost $150M to make and still had an abysmal opening weekend one week ago.

Speaking of Happy Death Day, I'd be totally OK with this movie (and whatever success it achieves) if the ending were a twist wherein it was revealed Bill Murray had never escaped his repeating day all those years ago and now, out of boredom, murders the same college coed who happens to matriculate in Punxsutawney.

Maybe Blade Runner 2049 was just positioned poorly--maybe this film should have aimed for a summer release. Maybe Friday the 13th in early October was just prime positioning for a playful horror movie. Maybe sci-fi really is dead--but then again, the Star Trek franchise endures (yes--its recent iteration has seen diminishing returns, but is still largely profitable); Dr. Who still rules British television; and Star Wars is still Star Wars.

Is it the absence of a franchise or recent history (and thus fan base) that doomed Blade Runner 2049, a sequel that took 35 years to deliver? Perhaps they should have played up the Ridley Scott 'universe' connection to Alien.

So why didn't you see Blade Runner 2049? It's a beautiful movie and worth the big screen experience, but audiences aren't biting--what kept you away?

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News:: Review: The Evil Within 2

In one of The Evil Within 2's early chapters, Sebastian Castellanos stumbles onto a familiar scene. As he wanders through darkened corridors, chasing leads in desperate hope of recovering his missing daughter, the former detective enters a room that's best described as a stand-in for Twin Peak's Red Room. Rich, velvety curtains hang in front of him. Black and white patterned tiling spills out beneath his feet, not unlike the Room's chevron flooring. This location is a far cry from his previous surroundings. It's a transient place, existing somewhere between Sebastian's waking world and the shared reality created by connected minds at the center of The Evil Within's fiction.

This allusion defines one aspect of The Evil Within 2. Like its predecessor, the survival horror game can't resist nodding and emulating elements of other franchises. Its DNA is muddy, mixing gameplay systems and tonal stylings with abandon. If you examine it from one angle, The Evil Within 2 is a strange mashup of horror's greatest hits held together by a leash of semi-open exploration. From another, it's a remarkable mood piece that draws players in with familiarity only to subtly shift attention towards something altogether new. There aren't many games like this one, even though it sometimes feels like it's all been done before.

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News:: E3 has a new logo and it's automatically better than the old one

The Electronic Entertainment Expo is the long-reigning title holder for worst logo in video games. It manages to skirt by year in and year out because no one cares about something that innocuous when E3 rolls around. Everyone's so punch drunk at the idea of huge announcements that picking apart a logo is super low on their list of priorities.

But the logo is bad and it has always been bad! It's like clip art from Microsoft Word '97 levels of bad. Just look at this abomination:

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News:: Redbox to start offering Switch game rentals in the U.S.

Those of you who remember renting games for your Super Nintendo back in the 90's are about to get a blast from the past. Redbox, the automated rental kiosks that one can find littering the U.S. are starting to offer Switch titles for the public to take out for a few fun nights in.

For now, the scheme is only live in Portland, San Antonio and Washington, where you can rent out either Pokken Tournament, Splatoon 2, Just Dance 2018, LEGO Ninjago, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle or NBA 2K18 for around three bucks a night. Not too shabby. This is in alignment with games for other consoles, such as PS4, which the company have been renting out for some time now.

Should the Switch titles prove popular, then it's likely Redbox will branch out to encompass more cities and games. All I remember of the dawn of game rental was all the best games being permanently out. I learned how to settle for the worst in life from spending many a morning attempting to come home with Mortal Kombat II, or Rock n Roll Racing, and instead returning with frikkin' Time Trax.

Redbox kiosks to include Switch titles [Redbox]

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News:: Microsoft's redesigned Xbox dashboard is now available to all

Microsoft's next big update to the Xbox dashboard is now ready for public consumption. The first "Fluid Design" interface comes with a redesigned Home page, which is all about simplicity and customisation. The top-level section has four shortcuts (your current game, two personalised suggestions, and a deal from the Microsoft store) and a horizontal carousel underneath. The biggest change, however, is the new "Content Blocks" that sit below this screen. Scroll down and you'll find a series of large, visual panels dedicated to games and friends. These are completely customisable and act like miniature hubs for your favorite titles and communities.

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News:: Banner Saga 3 sure looks pretty

Oh, right! Banner Saga 3 is happening. That tidbit slipped my mind in the months since the Kickstarter wrapped up, but today's video -- a key art trailer -- is a pleasant reminder of what's to come.

Well, maybe pleasant isn't the right word. No surprise: this won't be a feel-good game.

Along with the video, Stoic is letting certain backers check out its first playable Alpha Battle, "single-serving battles where you get a first look at new features and may help us tune them and tweak them."

The studio would prefer folks to not share video or screens of this stuff, noting, "A lot of this work will be updated and polished before the game launches." If you contributed to Banner Saga 3's Kickstarter at the Banner Bearer tier or higher, though, dig in. "The goal here is to show you a new feature (in this case, the new 'Battle Waves' system) so we can hear what you think," according to Stoic.

The first Alpha Battle is here! New Art Reveal! [Kickstarter]

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News:: As the Miiverse prepares to die, official Nintendo accounts say goodbye

As a reminder, the Miiverse will be completely dead on November 8.

I mean, it's kind of on life support this very moment, as the only channel that's open is the "Everybody's Message Community," which is allowing players and developers alike to say goodbye before the door is shut for good. Yes, even developers are taking the opportunity to thank players for playing their games and using the Miiverse, as a number of Mario Maker, Zelda, and Captain Toad team members (among others) are posting on the channel one last time.

You can freely browse the community yourself online, without having to boot up your Wii U or 3DS, by simply clicking on its link. It's all so bittersweet, but at least they got the go-ahead to have one last stand before it's taken offline.

Everybody's Message Community [Miiverse]

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News:: Resident Evil 7's new DLC is just what I wanted

Capcom is lining up two Resident Evil 7 add-ons for December and I cannot wait.

Both of them take place after the main story. Not a Hero will send players after Lucas Baker, so expect plenty of traps and taunting. It'll also let us punch the shit out of the Molded. That's real good.

Meanwhile, End of Zoe introduces a new character, Joe, who Capcom calls a "mysterious outdoorsman." The trailer itself implies much more than that, but I'll leave you to it. (On that note, maybe don't watch this if you need to beat RE7 still...) I really liked Zoe and it's nice to know her story isn't over yet.

End of Zoe is priced at $14.99/€14.99/£11.99 on its own and will be included as part of the season pass and Gold Edition of Resident Evil 7. December 12, 2017 will also see the free release of Not a Hero.

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News:: 'Doom' arrives on Nintendo Switch November 10th

Turns out that you won't have to wait too long to raze some Hell on your Nintendo Switch. That's because Doom will be released this November 10th, only a few short weeks from now. How's it look? Based on the video below, good and it seems to play just as fast, but it's a little soft/hazy compared to the PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions. That's to be expected though, because the Switch is running on a standard NVIDIA Tegra X1 chip versus the PS4's and Xbox One's AMD Radeon processors. What's impressive is that the game's fancy lighting tricks appear to be intact. However, the video doesn't indicate if the game footage was captured during handheld mode or in TV mode.

Source: Nintendo (YouTube)

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News:: Street Fighter V's Zeku is looking pretty complex in this character guide

Yesterday saw the announcement of the final season two DLC character for Capcom's Street Fighter V. It was of little surprise that it was, in fact, predicted character Zeku, master of Bushinryu and the tutor of Final Fight/Street Fighter star Guy.

What was surprising is that Zeku's V-Trigger appears to have de-aging properties, allowing old-man Zeku to bust out his youthful angst and fist-flying attacks. Many of these target combos are reminiscent of his student Guy's attack in previous Street Fighter titles, but having a fighter revitalize his look, attack patterns and moveset is quite a specific gimmick, one that would likely require intrinsic training.

To help prospective Zeku players prepare, Capcom have added a guide to better explain the "Two characters in one" mechanic that Zeku is rocking, allowing for a better understanding of the tools and properties available to the ninja master, in both of his forms.

Season two has seen a lot of gimmick characters join the roster. Menat and her puppet projectiles, screen-tall Abigail and his ridiculous damage, even Kolin and her chill skils and ice-based combo-enders. They kind of leave some of the original roster kicking in the dirt, option-wise, and while Killer Instinct did a great job of balancing out tens of different gimmicks, that doesn't mean the same trickery will inherently work in other fighting games.

Once season two completes, Street Fighter V will head into 2018 and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition. The game needs to take a page from its own launch motto and "Rise Up", because next year may be do or die for the divisive slugfest.

Zeku Guide [Official Site]

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News:: Overwatch players, at all levels of skill, seem to be favoring Mercy right now

OmnicMeta, among other data aggregate sites, have done a great job of collecting Overwatch data over the past year and a half or so.

While most of these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt (tier lists, if you believe in the concept at all, shouldn't be derived solely from winrates), they can be very useful in seeing where certain characters stand in the meta. As I always say when it comes to competitive play, "perception is reality," and if one character in particular is being chosen nearly every game (or conversely, another is never picked) it can make for some boring sessions.

That seems to be the case with Mercy after her rework, which sees her "all-resurrect" ultimate turned into a single-res ability, and her ultimate warped into a general purpose Valkyrie boost. Players are really taking to her, as her usage rate is nearly 100% in Grandmaster, Master, and Diamond. In Platinum and Gold she sees a roughly 95% pickrate, with 89% in Silver and 87% in Bronze.

Whether or not Mercy is balanced is another conversation -- she's dominating the meta right now, with a sharp decrease in usage from every other support, especially in Master and Grandmaster games, where heroes like Ana have plummeted. With BlizzCon just a month away many players are awaiting changes -- one of which is in the PTR right now.

Overwatch Hero Meta Report [OmnicMeta]

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