Overwatch’s most famous role is under the microscope in the upcoming sequel.
Following over a year of talking about co-op manners in Overwatch 2, Blizzard has finally revealed a number of the major changes coming into its principal PvP mode. By far the most radical change on how is a shift from 6v6 into 5v5, a change that game manager Aaron Keller says”simplifies what” about Overwatch’s often-chaotic firefights.
As a result of the reduction, Overwatch 2’s team compositions will be limited to 2 DPS heroes, two Supports, and only a single Tank. Early responses from fans about the participant count shift are all over the map, but I have noticed a different uncertainty regarding the future of this Tank role.
Like… the toxicity of never choosing a tank. Ugh,” said Reddit user Revoldt in reaction to this 1-2-2 news. User ImHully responded with a similar question:”As a D.va primary I’m wondering: Can I change to another person or just switch to some other game?”
They are incorrect –the inherent usefulness of protects in Overwatch has long demanded that each group have a minumum of one shield tank (such as Reinhardt, Sigma, or Orisa) to triumph.
Now with just room for a single Tank on each group, players are concerned these offtank rolls will not have any place on a team. Blizzard might hope to tackle it by reworking Tanks into a more competitive, DPS-lite role. We watched some of the in today’s livestream. Zarya currently has two bubble fees that she can use on teammates or herself individually, meaning she could choose to double bubble herself or lend extra assistance to a teammate. Winston has an entirely new alt-fire capability that allows him fire bursts of lightning at range.
It seems clear from the exterior that something must change about the current shield meta if every Tank is still viable at Overwatch two (unless every Tank just suddenly got a Reinhardt protector, but that’d be silly). Aaron Keller took some time during the livestream to address the”jarring” Tank changes and encouraged players to keep an open mind.
1 response from Reddit consumer Tipakee with over 100 upvotes feels painfully correct. “Why balance the roster supply once you’re able to just launch more DPS heroes, and kill off half the tank players,” they said.
The feeling appears to be that Blizzard is taking the easy way out by shrinking the Tank role, but that has not been my personal reaction as a de facto Tank principal. Tanks are wildly popular in Overwatch. The vast majority of players favor DPS and Support, meaning you occasionally have to wait for five to seven minutes for a match unless somebody in your group bites the bullet and selects Tank. That guy is nearly always me. Taking away one of these slots feels to be an indirect acknowledgement of the status quo from Blizzard.
As a mostly casual player, it could help queue times and the Tank changes can encourage my DPS-focused buddies to give Winston a shot.
5v5 also means devoted 6-player Overwatch buddy groups are left with an uncomfortable headcount choice to make. Who gets to be the 1 tank and that gets benched? Professional Overwatch League gamers specifically must be feeling some pressure. At least one player will surely be benched when Overwatch two comes about, and several might lose their positions altogether.
I am definitely interested in what the Overwatch player base at large thinks of this Tank varies, but I am most worried about the opinion of the most important Overwatch participant in my entire life: my partner, who appears to be the best Mercy main I know. She’s also pretty optimistic about 1-2-2 by the perspective of a Service mother who hates to see her Tank children die. “I think that it’ll be a wonderful reset for Supports as they don’t have to reevaluate two Tanks, but additionally, it will put a whole lot more pressure on the two DPS players to organize and remain aware.”
It is 1 thing to watch a few streamed matches and another thing to actually play the sport, so we’ll have to see how these meta changes play when Overwatch 2 finally launches (maybe hopefully) in 2022.
