Vol'jin looks to be a staple in Shadow teams, inflicting damage, slowing, and applying Shadow Weakness for nuking enemies from orbit. My one concern, however, is that I personally believe focus-firing to be the ideal strategy for Mercenaries: removing threats one at a time, preferably before they get to act with their best abilities. Blasting everyone for a ton of damage is cool, but unless someone was low already you haven't removed a threat from the game (yet). They could heal, or counterattack. Vol'jin's sheer output potential might get around that philosophy, but I don't know for sure.
All-in-all, I like Vol'jin a lot, but I would have to see him in action to know how effective he'll be.
Varden is an interesting combination of disruption and damage, but they don't appear strong in either category. The randomness of Flurry hurts the ability a lot, in my opinion, and you cannot guarantee that you'll disrupt the enemy that needs it. At least the number of targets increase as you level the ability. Cold Snap is pretty low-output for an AoE, especially one that requires a Deathblow to be most effective. And Ice Lance has to choose between disruption or damage; it doesn't get to do both simultaneously. It's the only targetable Freezing ability that exists, though, and the damage is high, so maybe I'm underestimating it.
All-in-all, I think Varden could go either way: great or terrible. If everything goes right Varden could be a real nuisance.
Uther is an unusual choice for a Caster (as opposed to, say, a Protector), but I can dig it. Blessing of Protection is a weird ability for him, pushing the responsibility of Taunting on to an ally; it's not bad, just seems out of character. Could pair well with a Protector who can heal like Cairne or a Fighter who likes to pump up their Attack value, such as Illidan. Those characters do not have Holy abilities, though, which will buck against what Uther wants out of Avenging Wrath. Ironically, I don't know if he's a good match with Cariel or Cornelius, characters who actually want Taunt and have Holy abilities, as they can already mitigate damage and/or heal. Seems like needless overlap.
All-in-all, I don't mind Uther, but I wonder where he'll find a home.
Tamsin has a good variety to her abilities, something I appreciate. Summoning a Taunt can help protect the team without risking one of them, and denying enemies the ability to heal could be bonkers with the right timing. Both abilities can allow for a ramp up that'll make Tamsin a major threat. She's not reliant on other Shadow characters, but they would definitely benefit from her presence.
All-in-all, I like Tamsin quite a bit. Not bad at all for a Rare.
Velen is a damage-dealer for Holy comps, a school usually reserved for healing and protection. You need some kind of output, though, so Velen could be a welcome member to the team. I'm not personally a fan of the "Solar Beam" nature of Velen's Blessing, where you have to essentially wait a turn before you can fire off your best ability, but that's more personal preference than anything.
All-in-all, Velen seems fine, even if he's not really for me.
I assume Benediction restores Health to all allies, as a reflection of her Anathema ability. Natalie is pretty straightforward, though, even with the swapping-power gimmick: do you want to heal, or do you want to damage? If yes, Natalie can be there for you. She provides no disruption, but I see her being used best as a counter-point for certain team comps: on top of their base synergies, Holy comps might want her Shadow damage, and Shadow comps might want her Holy healing. This gives Natalie a flexibility in her team placement.
All-in-all, I like Natalie the more I think about her.
There are 3 total Murloc characters in the game from the jump, and I imagine you'll have to run all of them together if you want to be successful with them. That makes the whole group niche and one-note, in my opinion, not very flexible and you have to like them as a group warts-and-all. That said, I despise Murlocs in general, so...yeah.
Millhouse is very straightforward: damage, damage, damage. When he works he'll be great, when more utility or disruption is required he will suffer. Not much to say, really. There aren't too many Arcane users right now, but that can improve with time.
All-in-all, Millhouse is not what I'm personally looking for in a Merc, even if he can perform his job well. And yeah, Ley Line Wand is OP.
There are only two other people in the game who can Freeze enemies, currently, but at least Jaina can generate more on her own. The Water Elementals provide Taunt, as well, protecting her and the team while opening up opportunities for Icicle. Ice Floes only benefits herself and Varden, IIRC, but there's potential for more Frost characters down the line.
All-in-all, I like Jaina, and I could see her power-level increase as more characters with Freeze and Frost abilities are added to the game.
Fel Bolt is hella slow, but the damage output ramps considerably and requires nothing but the time invested. I also appreciate the Lifesteal-nature of Siphon Life, increasing as the damage goes up. Healing Orcs and Demons could be seen as weird, but I get it. There are 4 other Mercs with Fel abilities, and they're all outside of the Caster Role, so there will be some coverage if you decide to go all-in on Fel synergy. Not a fan of Staff of Chaos requiring an Orc to die, though: your best combination seems to be with Demons for the Fel combos, not with Orcs. Plus you'd rather not have your party die at all...
All-in-all, Gul'dan seems like a powerful unit, just not my preferred brand of Caster.
Guff is all about those Nature abilities, but he goes about it in a weird way. He Attacks, buffs and Taunts like a Protector would, but then he has Living Brambles which is just straight damage. He has to compete with Brightwing in the bench-buffing aspect, but at least his is not random or single-target, and he affects the current battlefield as well. He needs other Nature users to be truly effective, though.
All-in-all, I like him, I just wonder if there's an identity-crisis going on with his Role.
Bru'kan is mostly damage, but he can certainly help pump out a lot of it. Ramp with Lightning Bolt before you spam Chain Lightning, or focus-fire with Muddy Footing to keep one particular enemy from ever going quickly. From what I understand adding Nature Damage and the like increases the output o your allies as well, if your party supports multiple people using the same school, so that's nice.
All-in-all, Bru'kan is a decent hitter with just enough utility to keep my interest.
Ugh, Brightwing. I hate this little shit, in Mercenaries or otherwise. Faerie Breath + Phase Shift seems like they're meant to go together, buffing up your bench before you swap with one to finish the fight. On brand for this nuisance of a character, but wouldn't you rather just bring a more impactful character to begin with? I don't think a grindy playstyle will be super effective, but there's certainly enough Mercs with that mentality in mind so maybe I'm wrong.
All-in-all, I sincerely hope I do not pull Brightwing, but I just know that I will.
Blink Fox looks like a "combo" character, and not just because of the Arcane Combo on Arcane Fling. Mana Blink allows for some crazy stuff, double-tapping enemies with your best abilities. The Speed bonus is certainly appreciated, as well. It'll take some timing to get it all off correctly, but when you do...watch out. Beyond that, Mind Thief seems like a lot of fun, allowing for things that are simply not possible otherwise (like using boss abilities).
All-in-all, I don't know if I'll use Blink Fox myself, but they seem intriguing and fun for those who like that sort of thing.
As I said in my Antonidas post, there are currently 4 Mercs with multiple Fire abilities, but a couple more with a one-off Fire ability (like Voone, Tavish, etc.). You'll want some to set off the Fire Combo, and I wonder if Heating Up will count for other characters as well. If it does, Geddon will become a staple in Fire parties. Outside of that possibility he's just more damage and lacks disruption; something of a pattern for Fire characters, it seems.
All-in-all, Geddon has potential, but I'm not personally a fan.
Not including Antonidas himself, there appear to be 4 four Mercs with multiple Fire abilities, and a couple more who have a one-off Fire ability. That's not bad, and they're covered across the Role spectrum so you have coverage when you need it. You could go cross-synergy with Voone and Dragons if you want to field a nearly-full Fire party.
All-in-all, he seems fine. Antonidas lack utility and disruption, but there's plenty of damage here.
There are nine Human characters at present, which is roughly a fifth of the total pool. However, they're not spread out evenly among the Roles, with only 1 Fighter and 3 Protectors. This could lead to a problem for Anduin: either he doesn't go full-Human comp (which makes Penance easier to land on who you want, but hits the effectiveness of his Holy Word by a lot), or you're going to end up with limited Role coverage (because you have to run more Casters than anything else).
Certainly possible, but Frozen keeping them from acting at all seems incredibly strong and sort of bucks against what Freeze normally does (which is just stopping attacks). I guess we'll have to wait and see.
For what it's worth, I would not be against what you're suggesting to be the case; I just don't know if that's true or not. I feel the safer bet is that they are functionally identical.
PvP appears to be for those who want it, although there will also be rewards for playing (first wins of the day, perhaps, and end-of-Season stuff). You can still earn rewards by just playing PvE bounties, though, so I wouldn't deem it "essential".
Vol'jin looks to be a staple in Shadow teams, inflicting damage, slowing, and applying Shadow Weakness for nuking enemies from orbit. My one concern, however, is that I personally believe focus-firing to be the ideal strategy for Mercenaries: removing threats one at a time, preferably before they get to act with their best abilities. Blasting everyone for a ton of damage is cool, but unless someone was low already you haven't removed a threat from the game (yet). They could heal, or counterattack. Vol'jin's sheer output potential might get around that philosophy, but I don't know for sure.
All-in-all, I like Vol'jin a lot, but I would have to see him in action to know how effective he'll be.
Varden is an interesting combination of disruption and damage, but they don't appear strong in either category. The randomness of Flurry hurts the ability a lot, in my opinion, and you cannot guarantee that you'll disrupt the enemy that needs it. At least the number of targets increase as you level the ability. Cold Snap is pretty low-output for an AoE, especially one that requires a Deathblow to be most effective. And Ice Lance has to choose between disruption or damage; it doesn't get to do both simultaneously. It's the only targetable Freezing ability that exists, though, and the damage is high, so maybe I'm underestimating it.
All-in-all, I think Varden could go either way: great or terrible. If everything goes right Varden could be a real nuisance.
Uther is an unusual choice for a Caster (as opposed to, say, a Protector), but I can dig it. Blessing of Protection is a weird ability for him, pushing the responsibility of Taunting on to an ally; it's not bad, just seems out of character. Could pair well with a Protector who can heal like Cairne or a Fighter who likes to pump up their Attack value, such as Illidan. Those characters do not have Holy abilities, though, which will buck against what Uther wants out of Avenging Wrath. Ironically, I don't know if he's a good match with Cariel or Cornelius, characters who actually want Taunt and have Holy abilities, as they can already mitigate damage and/or heal. Seems like needless overlap.
All-in-all, I don't mind Uther, but I wonder where he'll find a home.
Tamsin has a good variety to her abilities, something I appreciate. Summoning a Taunt can help protect the team without risking one of them, and denying enemies the ability to heal could be bonkers with the right timing. Both abilities can allow for a ramp up that'll make Tamsin a major threat. She's not reliant on other Shadow characters, but they would definitely benefit from her presence.
All-in-all, I like Tamsin quite a bit. Not bad at all for a Rare.
Velen is a damage-dealer for Holy comps, a school usually reserved for healing and protection. You need some kind of output, though, so Velen could be a welcome member to the team. I'm not personally a fan of the "Solar Beam" nature of Velen's Blessing, where you have to essentially wait a turn before you can fire off your best ability, but that's more personal preference than anything.
All-in-all, Velen seems fine, even if he's not really for me.
The improvement is in the Speed of the ability, going from 6 to 5 to 4.
I assume Benediction restores Health to all allies, as a reflection of her Anathema ability. Natalie is pretty straightforward, though, even with the swapping-power gimmick: do you want to heal, or do you want to damage? If yes, Natalie can be there for you. She provides no disruption, but I see her being used best as a counter-point for certain team comps: on top of their base synergies, Holy comps might want her Shadow damage, and Shadow comps might want her Holy healing. This gives Natalie a flexibility in her team placement.
All-in-all, I like Natalie the more I think about her.
There are 3 total Murloc characters in the game from the jump, and I imagine you'll have to run all of them together if you want to be successful with them. That makes the whole group niche and one-note, in my opinion, not very flexible and you have to like them as a group warts-and-all. That said, I despise Murlocs in general, so...yeah.
All-in-all, I don't see myself using Morgl ever.
Millhouse is very straightforward: damage, damage, damage. When he works he'll be great, when more utility or disruption is required he will suffer. Not much to say, really. There aren't too many Arcane users right now, but that can improve with time.
All-in-all, Millhouse is not what I'm personally looking for in a Merc, even if he can perform his job well. And yeah, Ley Line Wand is OP.
There are only two other people in the game who can Freeze enemies, currently, but at least Jaina can generate more on her own. The Water Elementals provide Taunt, as well, protecting her and the team while opening up opportunities for Icicle. Ice Floes only benefits herself and Varden, IIRC, but there's potential for more Frost characters down the line.
All-in-all, I like Jaina, and I could see her power-level increase as more characters with Freeze and Frost abilities are added to the game.
Fel Bolt is hella slow, but the damage output ramps considerably and requires nothing but the time invested. I also appreciate the Lifesteal-nature of Siphon Life, increasing as the damage goes up. Healing Orcs and Demons could be seen as weird, but I get it. There are 4 other Mercs with Fel abilities, and they're all outside of the Caster Role, so there will be some coverage if you decide to go all-in on Fel synergy. Not a fan of Staff of Chaos requiring an Orc to die, though: your best combination seems to be with Demons for the Fel combos, not with Orcs. Plus you'd rather not have your party die at all...
All-in-all, Gul'dan seems like a powerful unit, just not my preferred brand of Caster.
Guff is all about those Nature abilities, but he goes about it in a weird way. He Attacks, buffs and Taunts like a Protector would, but then he has Living Brambles which is just straight damage. He has to compete with Brightwing in the bench-buffing aspect, but at least his is not random or single-target, and he affects the current battlefield as well. He needs other Nature users to be truly effective, though.
All-in-all, I like him, I just wonder if there's an identity-crisis going on with his Role.
Bru'kan is mostly damage, but he can certainly help pump out a lot of it. Ramp with Lightning Bolt before you spam Chain Lightning, or focus-fire with Muddy Footing to keep one particular enemy from ever going quickly. From what I understand adding Nature Damage and the like increases the output o your allies as well, if your party supports multiple people using the same school, so that's nice.
All-in-all, Bru'kan is a decent hitter with just enough utility to keep my interest.
Ugh, Brightwing. I hate this little shit, in Mercenaries or otherwise. Faerie Breath + Phase Shift seems like they're meant to go together, buffing up your bench before you swap with one to finish the fight. On brand for this nuisance of a character, but wouldn't you rather just bring a more impactful character to begin with? I don't think a grindy playstyle will be super effective, but there's certainly enough Mercs with that mentality in mind so maybe I'm wrong.
All-in-all, I sincerely hope I do not pull Brightwing, but I just know that I will.
Blink Fox looks like a "combo" character, and not just because of the Arcane Combo on Arcane Fling. Mana Blink allows for some crazy stuff, double-tapping enemies with your best abilities. The Speed bonus is certainly appreciated, as well. It'll take some timing to get it all off correctly, but when you do...watch out. Beyond that, Mind Thief seems like a lot of fun, allowing for things that are simply not possible otherwise (like using boss abilities).
All-in-all, I don't know if I'll use Blink Fox myself, but they seem intriguing and fun for those who like that sort of thing.
As I said in my Antonidas post, there are currently 4 Mercs with multiple Fire abilities, but a couple more with a one-off Fire ability (like Voone, Tavish, etc.). You'll want some to set off the Fire Combo, and I wonder if Heating Up will count for other characters as well. If it does, Geddon will become a staple in Fire parties. Outside of that possibility he's just more damage and lacks disruption; something of a pattern for Fire characters, it seems.
All-in-all, Geddon has potential, but I'm not personally a fan.
Not including Antonidas himself, there appear to be 4 four Mercs with multiple Fire abilities, and a couple more who have a one-off Fire ability. That's not bad, and they're covered across the Role spectrum so you have coverage when you need it. You could go cross-synergy with Voone and Dragons if you want to field a nearly-full Fire party.
All-in-all, he seems fine. Antonidas lack utility and disruption, but there's plenty of damage here.
There are nine Human characters at present, which is roughly a fifth of the total pool. However, they're not spread out evenly among the Roles, with only 1 Fighter and 3 Protectors. This could lead to a problem for Anduin: either he doesn't go full-Human comp (which makes Penance easier to land on who you want, but hits the effectiveness of his Holy Word by a lot), or you're going to end up with limited Role coverage (because you have to run more Casters than anything else).
All-in-all, I'm not sold on him.
Certainly possible, but Frozen keeping them from acting at all seems incredibly strong and sort of bucks against what Freeze normally does (which is just stopping attacks). I guess we'll have to wait and see.
For what it's worth, I would not be against what you're suggesting to be the case; I just don't know if that's true or not. I feel the safer bet is that they are functionally identical.
PvP appears to be for those who want it, although there will also be rewards for playing (first wins of the day, perhaps, and end-of-Season stuff). You can still earn rewards by just playing PvE bounties, though, so I wouldn't deem it "essential".