The release ofOverwatch 2could not have come fast enough for Mei. Her damage was admittedly below what other DPS heroes are capable of. With two other tanks, her self-tanking and help up front became redundant. Now that games are more like deathmatches and tanking is at a premium, Mei is gaining steam.
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So much so that she’s become an early target of the ire of theOverwatch 2community that fights against her. This is the style of game that Mei was designed for. Veterans that didn’t previously use her are scrambling to figure out Mei’s skill set with the help of some expert advice.
Playstyle
As previously stated, though Mei is listed as a damage dealer, she’s equal parts utility and tanking. She can go immune and immobilized for a few seconds on a relatively low cooldown. During this time, she heals rapidly. This gives the ability to survive in situations that would kill most other heroes on the front line.
Mei’s other talent is utility. This isn’t a support role so much since this move doesn’t heal anybody. But she can cut off escape routes or block off a line of sight versus snipers. Placed in the middle of a team, she can cut off the tanks from their healers and deal a critical blow. By the first season’s end, she’ll this playstyle will have her ranked as one ofthe best DPS heroes in the game.
Endothermic Blaster
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Mei is a great hero to use whileunlocking all of the other heroes. Her standard shooting eliminates is perfect for close-range targets and her secondary fire is a long-range shot with no drop-off with the potential of a fatality with a headshot.
Ice Wall
The difference between the pros and the amateurs is how well they use the Ice Wall. Blocking damage for a long time unless sections are destroyed, Mei can get her team the cover they need or separate the frontlines from the back.
Cryo-Freeze
Mei is one of the best heroes in the game when it comes to locking down a point or escort target. While her life pool might not be on par with Roadhog or Reinhardt, her survivability is about the same. Between the healing and the time when she’s immune, Mei can have the equivalent of a thousand hit points. Snuffed out, healed, and mitigated.
Blizzard
Mei’s ultimate is highly underrated. It charges somewhat quickly and will turn a massive area into a freezing zone. Many heroes can potentially get out of it in time, but that’s beside the point. It clears out opponents nicely if they have to leave, making them vulnerable and freeing up a contested point.
Tips & Tricks
Try to retreat a little before using Cryo-Freeze. If Mei is in the center of the storm when she uses it, she’ll be an easy kill as soon as the immunity expires. Use this to heal and frustrate enemies, not to delay the inevitable. If the situation is bad, prepare an Ice Wall to block off attackers as soon as the shell wears off.
Speaking of the Ice Wall, eventhe best support heroescan’t heal through the ice. Ice Wall is often placed in front or behind enemies to stop an advance or prevent a retreat. Yet consider placing it in the middle, splitting the front and back lines.
Finally, if Mei’s two defensive skills are on cooldown, don’t be afraid to back off for a bit. Her alt fire is deadly, on par with some of the game’s snipers. It’s also effective against flying units. Take care of the skies before charging in on the ground.
Combos
Lining up perfect shots with an arcing bow and arrow is tough stuff. Most of the time, Hanzo is just firing into the group and hoping to hit something. But with Mei, slow targets make this much easier. Additionally, if they can square their ultimates up, opposing teams can get wiped out or completely cut off from the point in overtime.
With Mei on the front lines, tank heroes can suddenly help out from the back. Sigma’s shield can defend Mei from one side as the Ice Wall defends from the other. These two walls reduce the effective angles an enemy team has. Additionally, the stacked ultimates that downrightkilled the firstOverwatchremain just as strong.
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The combination of Lucio and Mei on a point is beyond irritating, it’s game-breaking. Lucio’s healing keeps Mei topped off between Cryo-Freeze cooldowns while Mei can wall off opponents. The Ice Wall allows Lucio to skate alongside it as well.
Genji and Mei have similar attack styles, rotating between long-range and melee at various times. With all the ranges covered between them, Mei’s slow also set up Genji for some easy slashes against nearly stationary targets. Combine the two ultimates and Genji will either kill those caught in the blast or pick off the stragglers as they retreat.
Trapping an enemy team in with a negative energy ball from Moira can result in some quick kills that both have low cooldown times. Mei’s self-healing allows Moira to use more of her damage abilities instead, speeding up the rate of her ultimate and the charges of her healing.
Advantages & Counters
New players to the franchisewill find that Mei works best on escort missions and close quarters. She’s especially effective against tanks that don’t have a shield as her Endothermic Blaster slows them to a crawl. Any map with a corridor that has fighting, Mei is good for a few full-team wipeouts.
Although Mei has some capability against the air, the precise nature of her alt fire makes it so that she’ll want help from other heroes if a Pharah or Echo is on the board. Ana and Junkrat can both do close to fatal harm against a Mei in Cryo-Freeze, even if she leaves the shell at full health. And, as mentioned, if the other team is rocking lots of shields, Mei probably needs to switch to another hero.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch.
