Yesterday, Blizzard gave us all a glimpse into Overwatch 2 and the many ways it would differ—and stay the same—as the first game.
This includes reworked character models, new maps and a fun-sounding new mode called Push, where two teams clash over a robot that starts in a central location and must be “pushed” toward the enemy team’s base.
One of the biggest—and most interesting—changes is to team size itself. Overwatch 2 abandons the 6v6 format in favor of 5v5. This is a curious and compelling number, actually.
In other competitive games I play there are often 4v4 and 6v6 modes. Destiny 2 has competitive modes that are 4v4 and casual modes that are 6v6. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has normal 6v6 multiplayer but also 2v2 Gunfight and 4v4 competitive League play. Apex Legends has a new arena mode that’s 3v3.
5v5 is a lot less common in my experience, but it makes a ton of sense for Overwatch 2. Some in the gaming community claim that this is all about saving money for Overwatch League (OWL) but I’m not so sure I buy that. When you think about the nature of a hero-based shooter like this, 5v5 actually makes sense. This leaves each team with:
- 2 Assault/Damage characters
- 2 Support characters
- 1 Tank
The general flow of Overwatch goes like this: Damage characters out front dealing damage, support characters in the rear offering support (healing, ammo, shields, but also dealing damage, just not as directly) and tanks to rally around that can provide cover along with both support and damage. It makes sense to have one tank for all four of the othere players to stick to rather than two. It’s sort of like basketball, which is also teams of 5 vs 5.
The only other game in recent memory that I played with a 5v5 format was actually Black Ops 4. That game, unlike Cold War, was more of a hero shooter in the same vein as Overwatch. Operators could pick their own loadouts, but had specific special powers that were unique to each character much like Overwatch does. 5 v 5 made a lot of sense for that game also, and I admit I kind of wish that MP in Cold War was also 5 v 5 at least on smaller maps.
In any case, this is a big, but very welcome, change to Overwatch 2 that I think will help with the overall flow of the game, and a better understanding of each player’s role in the team. This is a game that’s built around team work and I think this will make that easier and more streamlined.
There’s still no word on when Overwatch 2 will release, but I can’t wait. I’ll be honest: I haven’t been a fan of all the different changes to Overwatch since it launched, so my hype for the sequel is a bit muted by my disappointment in how Overwatch has evolved, but I still love the game and miss the days when you could find matches in a reasonable amount of time and didn’t have to pick your role ahead of time.
What are your thoughts on Overwatch 2?
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