Blizzard’s live stream on Thursday outlined some of the ways Overwatch 2 will be different from the first game. While this includes character changes (particularly to Bastion), the biggest change is that PvP will now only be 5v5.
In the original Overwatch, PvP was always 6v6 in standard mode. And eventually Blizzard introduced a class balancing feature that forced players to queue per role so that each match had exactly two tank characters, two damage characters, and two support characters.
Overwatch 2 is changing that by reducing PvP to 5v5 and requiring only one tank character per match. If not, the existing balance remains – games will need to have two damage characters and two support characters.
Why the big change? The short answer is that Blizzard wants games to be faster and more frenetic than before. As the company states in the video, “This shift from focusing on protecting your team to direct battle is expected to impact the flow and pace of the PvP experience.”
What are the changes players can expect? In terms of roles, the different character classes will all have minor changes. According to Blizzard, “In its current iteration, these new passive abilities will have harmful heroes moving slightly faster than other roles, will support heroes that automatically regenerate health after being out of combat for a short time, and tanks will suffer a reduced kickback and will provide less final charge to opponents who damage them (compared to other roles). “
Specific characters will also see big changes. For example, Mei’s iconic endothermic blaster can damage and slow other players but no longer freeze them. Meanwhile, Blizzard cryptically promises that Bastion will be reworked “from scratch”.
Blizzard hopes all of these changes result in a faster paced, balanced and fun game. And while the game doesn’t have a release date yet, it looks like progress is going well.
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