Overwatch devs reveal new Mei healing “bug” is actually intentional

Michael Gwilliam
Overwatch devs say Mei isn't bugged

Overwatch players confused about new interactions with Mei were surprised to find out they’re not all “bugs” as they’d been initially inclined to believe.

Mei’s existence has been one of the strangest in Overwatch, with her Wall and Cryo-Freeze abilities receiving many changes over the years.

Originally, teammates were unable to heal her when she entered Cryo-Freeze, but later the developers made it so that they could. Now, on the latest version of the game, that’s once again no longer the case.

This was thought to be a bug and posted about on the PTR feedback forums where developer Josh Nash chimed in with a refutation: “It is intended that Mei’s Cryo-Freeze makes her untargetable by friendly abilities.”

Working as intended

“This was implemented on May 19 with the note, ‘now behaves like Mei’s Ice Wall when it comes to interactions. Cryo-Freeze will block line of sight and collision in much the same way,’” he explained.

This was all to make her Cryo-Freeze behave more like her Ice Wall, but it seems to have gotten lost in translation.

While the lack of healing was intentional, not all of the “bugs” were. For instance, in the game, Mei’s blaster is requiring an extra “tick” to freeze an enemy, something that Nash says the team will be taking a look at.

Finally, a really awkward bug involving her and Reinhardt or Wrecking Ball, where Charge or Grapple will through Cryo-Freeze, is also apparently not intended.

“We will take a look at Mei not stopping Reinhardt’s Charge,” Nash wrote. “Mei’s Cryo-Freeze is intended to serve as an immovable object (once planted on the ground) and disrupt the line of sight.”

There’s no indication as to when these bugs will be patched, but one thing is for sure: Mei is not supposed to be receiving healing from allies anymore when she’s in her ice block form.

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam