Today Blizzard released a detailed Overwatch2 Director’s interpretation and addresses the elephant in the room that is as big as Reinhardt: whether or not the sequel should return to the 6v6 format of the original game. The extensive blog post was written by Game Director Aaron Keller and goes back to Watch 1 and the major changes made over time, right down to the switch to 5v5 for the sequel, which explains Blizzard’s thought process behind the franchise’s biggest adjustments. But by the end of the nearly 4,000-word blog post, it’s clear that the team is still struggling to define Overwatch2which brings us back to the question: Why does it exist at all?
Overwatch2 was originally supposed to exist parallel to the original game and offer new PvE elements and a shared multiplayer ecosystem for both titles. That changed quite drastically before the launch in October 2022, so much so that Watch 1 was completely discontinued and replaced by the sequel. The The promised PvE modes have been slimmed down and became something far less interesting which we may never see again anywaybut the biggest controversy was the switch to a 5-on-5 team composition instead of the 6-on-6 structure that characterized the game for six years.
The Overwatch2 problem
As Keller explains in his blog post, Overwatch has undergone three major gameplay changes since its launch in 2016: Hero Limits, where only one player could play as a single hero instead of being able to assemble a team of six Genjis; Role Queue, which helped balance games by forcing a 2-2-2 format (two tanks, two DPS, two support) and reducing queue times; and 5v5. All of these changes have led to where we are today, a point that many find stagnant and unenjoyable.
Role Queue ensures that you don’t play competitive games without a healer (which was incredibly frustrating in the original game), but Keller admits that this consistency Overwatch “feel the same.” I have played hundreds of hours of competitive games Overwatch2and so many of my similarities have blurred into a strip of sameness. “Could there be an intermediate version that mitigates the original problems without completely solving them, and that is also not quite as reactive as our current role queue system?” Keller wonders.
Unfortunately, the switch to 5v5 has also flattened out a bit Overwatch2‘s gameplay. “The world of 6v6 could have really high highs but really deep lows,” Keller wrote. “One of the design goals of 5v5 was to try to raise that level, even if it came at the expense of some of those high moments.” The 5v5 change removed the secondary tank role, which helps prevent games from being locked and drastically reduces queue times, but also fundamentally changes the way each individual role is played.
Support players, no longer having to keep two huge tanks afloat, have to be more aggressive and add their damage to an already high damage pool that exists thanks to characters with double DPS. And instead of having a second or off-tank to support, the tank is now the biggest hero on the field and the one most likely to bear the brunt of every enemy player’s damage and resources. Tanks now play to exist, to stay alive, rather than to be playmakers.
“Two [tanks] “allowed one to focus on protecting his back line while the other held the position or advanced into the opposing team,” Keller writes about 6v6. “The tank role required a lot of understanding of how to work with the other tank on the team.” And as Overwatch As players have pointed out, many of the tanks’ existing kits are tailored to 6v6 play, which all too often renders off-tank options like Wrecking Ball completely useless, especially in competitive play.
The battle for tank balance for 5v5 games has been going on for almost two years. In June Blizzard admitted that Tanks were miserable to play after a Damage Hero passive weakened the healing and made them feel like they were made of glass, and a subsequent Tank-focused patch heavily overcorrectedwhich makes them far too powerful.
“The last year and a half has shown us that there are problems with balancing tanks for 5v5. [as 6v6]”, the blog post says. No bullshit.
Five against six
The core of what many players believe to be the problem with 5v5 swapping is that the majority of Overwatch2Characters, maps and modes were designed for 6v6 play. Some say that instead of making major changes like nerfing shields (which has been problematic Watch 1 Metas like pirate ship useless), the team simply removed the second tank. Removing that second tank takes away the freedom of choice for tank players and robs us of the variety of playstyles and approaches that come from finding the perfect balance between two tanks.
It also increases the pressure on support players to keep the lone tank afloat, while ensuring that DPS players have to pick specific heroes to counter the lone, souped-up enemy tank. Not to mention the burden that the lone tank player has to bear – if they can’t keep up with the enemy tank, the games are absolutely no fun for them and their squad.
Warring team composition factions within the Overwatch The community is split almost exactly down the middle, as shown by a March poll by former OWL esports player Jake Lyon, in which 51.9% of players said they preferred 5v5, while original 6v6 supporters were 48.1%. This almost even split tells me one thing: This is more about personal preference than what is objectively better, as both formats have drawbacks. As Keller writes in the blog, “Our players have different opinions and preferences regarding the ideal number of players in a Overwatch game, and that also applies to our team.”
For more flexible top-down players, 5v5 is a perfectly fine experience as they can easily switch between all the characters in their role to ensure the game is a success. For people like me, a former Moira one-trick who has expanded her support roster to about five solid picks, 5v5 can feel incredibly limiting – and therefore frustrating. As Keller and others have made clear, there are pros and cons to both versions of OverwatchCore multiplayer mode. There is no easy solution to this problem that Blizzard inadvertently created.
What now?
Keller’s blog post is clear: Blizzard is “focused on making 5v5 the best experience possible.” But the team is also “open to revisiting our decisions based on your actions and feedback.” As we’ve seen over the past year or so, Blizzard has been very cautious with gameplay changes in its Quick Play: Hacked Modeincluding increasing the speed of target acquisition and charge movement (a change that was ultimately retained in the game). An upcoming Quick Play: Hacked will experiment with team compositions in a way “that’s not quite as rigid as set compositions, but also not as loose as open queue.” But what about 6v6?
“We are planning a series of events to try out different formats for the composition of core teams. Overwatch2”, promises Keller. He does not elaborate on what these events will be or what they will involve, but I do not envy Blizzard the work it has to do if it plans to implement 6v6 in any form. As much as I and other annoyed Overwatch While players like to believe that offering both 6v6 and 5v5 quick play and competitive modes is so easy, there’s a lot going on under the hood that could go wrong.
Overwatch2The updated UI and improved graphics might groan and stutter with the addition of two more heroes in each match, and changes to hero kits might feel either perfectly balanced or completely off depending on whether you’re in a 5v5 or 6v6 match. And Keller expresses concern that “Pandora’s box is being opened” when it comes to wait times, which will likely increase when an additional player is added to your team. “The team hasn’t been able to solve this problem before,” he admits. But would 6v6 devotees even mind having to wait longer for their preferred game mode?
This latest director’s take promises that “this is not the last time [Blizzard will] 5v5 or 6v6″, so I’m sure the debate will continue for many months to come. I just want to get out of gold support please.
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