As a Mercy Main in Overwatch, I’d Like to Personally…

The Overwatch Spotlight blew the expectations of most fans — including my own — out of the water. Many expected to see three more heroes for 2026 revealed, and some were even optimistic about a triple hero drop for the next Season following all the teasers. However, Blizzard shocked everyone by not only announcing that there will be five new Overwatch heroes added with a Season 1 relaunch on February 10, but there will be 10 new heroes in total introduced throughout 2026. Add on the return of animated shorts, bolder events, yearly stories that unfold and connect across Seasons, the return of post-match hero cards, and more, and there’s so much for fans to be excited about. As always, though, there are a couple of lingering complaints.

Unfortunately, my go-to Support hero, Mercy, is at the heart of the latest controversy, and I feel like even the biggest fan of the angelic healer would agree that the criticism is fair. In addition to complaints about Anran’s in-game face not matching her look in Wuyang’s teasers, and the new menu UI being too mobile-like for some players, a significant portion of the community is annoyed that Mercy is getting a second Mythic skin. A large chunk of the hero roster doesn’t even have one Mythic yet, including heroes like Ramattra and, ESPECIALLY, Lucio, who have been desperate to get a Mythic for a long time now. Yet as annoyed as these Overwatch players understandably are, I can’t help but be excited about Mercy’s upcoming skin, so I’d like to apologize for that.

On the bright side, Ramattra is finally getting his dance emote, and Lucio is getting a Kerropi skin in the upcoming Hello Kitty collab. Still, these likely just feel like consolation prizes for fans of these heroes when Mercy is drowning in skins (like her own Hello Kitty collab outfit based on Pompompurin).

Why Lucio Mains Are Particularly Devastated About the Season 1 Mythic News

It’s one thing to not see a Mythic skin for your hero of choice after hoping it’d finally be your turn, but the issue with Lucio is that it feels like Blizzard has been deliberately trolling his fans. Instances include:

Prior to Lifeweaver’s Mythic being revealed for Overwatch 2 Season 19, the social media accounts made several references to Lucio, which ultimately led to nothing.
Lucio was clearly the inspiration for the latest Overwatch competitive drives, leading many to hope that he’d finally be next in line for a Mythic.
An official short video from Blizzard showing off Mercy’s new skin sees Lucio watching on in disgust, saying, “you believe that? I don’t even know what to tell you…” before walking off in disgust.

Clearly, Blizzard is in tune with the Overwatch community’s desire for a Lucio Mythic, but for whatever reason, it has yet to pull the trigger. And unfortunately for Lucio mains, it doesn’t seem like it will be doing so for several months. During the Spotlight stream, not only was Mei confirmed as the midseason Mythic for Season 1, but the next three Mythic skins were announced. They’ll be going to Soldier: 76, Illari, and Mauga, meaning that Lucio’s next chance at a Mythic of his own will be in the middle of Season 3. He’s also out of luck when it comes to Overwatch’s Mythic weapons, as the next four are going to Juno, Genji, Hanzo, and Sojourn.

What makes everything more strange is that Lucio is an Overwatch OG, with 12/21 characters from the classic launch roster having Mythics (and Soldier: 76/Mei set to make that 14/21 very soon). Of the final 1/3 of original cast members that still need a mythic—Lucio, Pharah, Roadhog, Bastion, Torbjorn, Symmetra, and Winston—the music-loving support is arguably the most popular, with only Winston and Pharah coming close. There’s a passionate community of Lucio mains full of skilled players like Frogger that regularly share their best boops and flank routes, and said fan base is truly desperate for a Mythic. And it’s one thing for newer characters like Lifeweaver or Illari to get Mythics before older heroes, but another thing entirely for one of Blizzard’s favorites to be spoiled with a second Mythic.

As a Mercy Main, I’m Both Guilty and Excited For Season 1

I won’t blame any Lucio main that feels the need to sneak around my team and gun me down in Overwatch Season 1, because it has to be sad seeing Mercy get so much extra love. Yes, she’s undoubtedly a big skin-seller, which is why she continues to be spoiled, but certain characters like Baptiste and Winston regularly feel neglected in the process. Now, Mercy’s reign of terror has spread to Mythic skins, and those who don’t play her are understandably rolling their eyes. I totally get this disgust… and yet, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t planning to grind through the battle pass at an extreme pace just to get Mercy’s latest Mythic.

Called Celestial Guardian, Mercy’s new mythic is flat out gorgeous. It sees Angela Ziegler donning a shiny outfit with massive fluffy wings that are drastically different from her typical futuristic wings, and her hero select intro even sees her emerging from behind them. These wings can be swapped out for similarly bold, feathery looks at Tier 2. She has a smaller pair of wings behind her head in addition to a glowing halo, with two recolors available at Tier 3 that give her a light blue or red aesthetic. The weapon VFX and resurrect animations are appropriately sparkly, and players can spot glowing feathers falling around her, alongside other small touches, at max level.

overwatch-mercy-mythic-in-game (1) — In-game image of overwatch mercy mythic 2

I personally liked Mercy’s original Mythic, which made her an angel of death and showed how she’d look as a villain, but I’m aware it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea. This skin is a boon for any Mercy player that loves pretty skins, and given a majority of her wardrobe, I’d imagine there are tons of players who do. If I had to score the skin, I’d give it a 9/10, as I’m not a huge fan of the hairpiece and would have loved some alternate hairstyles, but it’s beautiful overall. I can’t wait to add it to my shamefully big Mercy skin collection, and this unwavering hype is where my guilt comes in. Do I think other heroes deserve the Season 1 Mythic more? Absolutely. Would I give this skin up now that it exists? Nope.

Blizzard outright trolling with the new Mercy skin video is funny, sure, but only if it results in a Mythic skin for Lucio soon. Two Mythics per gero can’t become the norm, at least until the rest of the original roster has at least one Mythic to their name. There’s now a real fear that Kiriko, the other skin glutton, will also get a second Mythic soon, and it’s hard to imagine that being any less controversial than this. Hopefully, Celestial Guardian Mercy was just a one-off after Team 4 had a particularly great skin idea, because I don’t know if Lucio mains can survive waiting any longer for their overdue turn in the spotlight. As a Mercy main who has gotten used to being spoiled, I certainly know I couldn’t cope with that kind of treatment.