A recent developer livestream focusing on the changes in PvP in Overwatch 2 has revealed some interesting information that is sure to divert the game from its current play style. We had a glimpse into the game before, with BlizzConline earlier this year, but we mostly focused on PvE. Here are some of the biggest changes made to PvP in Overwatch 2 so far.
Top 5 PvP Changes in Overwatch 2
PvP should be 5v5 instead of 6v6
This switch to 5v5 was likely a big shock to current Overwatch regular players as the game has been running as a 6v6 since launch and changing the number of players on each team is no small feat. This is the kind of change that couldn’t actually be implemented into the current game because it’s such a big change. It will be interesting to learn more about balancing and how this format is changing the gaming experience. The new format drops a tank so each team has two supports, two points of damage and one tank. More information about this change and how it could affect the game can be found here.
Tanks to be less passive and more of a brawl
One great thing that emerged from the livestream is that the tank role in Overwatch 2 is much more focused on distributing damage and fighting the enemy team than protecting your team as the tank’s main function. The intent here is likely to even out tank wait times, which is the least common role at the moment, with damage sometimes taking 10 minutes to find a game and tank almost instantly. For example, Reinhardt will now have two fire strikes and Winston will have a new secondary fire laser.
Role passive
Role passives are basically certain skills that players can have depending on their role (damage, support or tank). It appears that damage players move faster than other roles, support players receive slow self-healing (similar to Mercy in the current format), and tanks have less recoil and offer less ultimate charge to players who damage them.
New game modes
In a brand new game mode called “Push”, both teams compete to push a robot that starts in a central area to the other side. Both teams battle for control of this robot, which is in contrast to the payload cards in the current game, in which the teams either defend or push the payload and swap each round. Other game modes are also coming, but we don’t have any information about them yet. It has also been confirmed that the ‘2CP’ (Assault) regular game mode will be removed for competition in Overwatch 2, which will likely be a delight for many regular competitive Overwatch players.
New cards and hero skills
It has been announced that heroes will be receiving new skills or even completely redesigned in preparation for Overwatch 2. This is a really big change, but we don’t have a lot of information yet, which is why this change is being grouped with the new cards. So far we have some information about the upcoming Rio, New York, Toronto and Monte Carlo cards and they definitely look exciting, but it will be difficult to say how these cards will affect the game until players see them experience for yourself.
Overwatch 2 is expected to start no earlier than 2022. Visit the official Overwatch for more information website.