Overwatch2‘S The tank role has been in a predicament since the sequel removed one of them from the game. While the role once prioritized team-wide defense, Overwatch2 has built and reworked tanks to be used as frontline fighters. Since then, the role has been in constant flux as Blizzard has tried to better define it. In recent seasons, it has struggled greatly as changes such as the Damage hero passive that weakens healing have turned some tanks into giant glass cannons. After months of complaints, Blizzard is now actively acknowledging the problem.
In a new Blog post “Director’s Take”Game Director Aaron Keller said the team’s data confirms that tank characters are currently struggling. He says much of the problem stems from the characters not feeling “tanky” enough, and support heroes need to focus all of their healing on them to last a fight. This means that support players are somewhat locked into tanks, leaving two out of three roles struggling while damage heroes handle everyone else.
As a result, the team has started using a new internal metric for “tankiness,” which measures the number of hero deaths a tank character experiences compared to the number they “should experience.” Keller says he can’t get into the details of what an expected death rate entails, but says players’ issues with the tank role are backed up by the data Blizzard uses internally. Some of this was intentional and a result of recent changes, but the survivability of most tanks (except Wrecking Ball) has dropped “much further” compared to other roles. Reducing headshot damage for tanks has helped, but it’s not yet where the team wants it to be.
After identifying the problem, Keller says the team is trying to solve it, both with sweeping changes across the game and targeted adjustments for different heroes. Some of the ideas mentioned in the blog post include reducing the impact of the passive damage roll and allowing Reinhardt’s shields some buffs
Ultimately, balance in video games is in a constant state of flux and it’s rare that everyone is happy, but it’s at least good to see a widely reported issue get the attention it deserves. I’ve pretty much stopped playing tank in my free time, and while that’s partly because I prefer to play my damage and support characters most days, the role could use an overhaul if I’m to play Orisa again and Ramattra.
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