I didn’t care much when Overwatch 2 launched. I fell off the original game a while ago, and it seemed like switching to a sequel when the game functioned perfectly in the live-service space was not only a bad idea, but downright irritating to players who needed to transfer over their data, own the correct type of phone, not to mention that the original version was shut down forever. Despite all that, I’ve been hooked back in like a Roadhog victim, but I’m not sure how much longer that can last. I think I’m ready for the single-player campaign now, ple

It’s going to take awhile before we really understand what all of the changes in Overwatch 2 add up to. Even as someone with more than 600 hours played, I’m still trying to figure out what the transition to 5v5 actually means. Right away it was clear that Overwatch 2 is a much faster game. Fewer shields and abilities that CC means more movement, more big plays, and more snowballs. Skilled players have a much better chance of carrying games now, which means heroes with low TTK are even more valuable than ever before. This is the sense I got right away, but what solidified this belief was the design of the three new characters. Sojourn, Junker Queen, and especially Kiriko represent a commitment Overwatch 2 has to independence and personal performance. I’m still undecided on whether that will be better or worse for the game in the long run, but it’s clear Blizzard has rebuilt the game with a focus on the individual over the t

Roles still exist and good team compositions will still give you an advantage, but we’re seeing a big shift towards individuality. With Kiriko and Junker Queen, as well as the big viability changes that lots of Tanks and Supports received, it is possible for good players to carry in any role now, not just DPS. I have had more than one game where I out-damaged my DPS players as Kiriko or Baptiste, and I almost always outperform my DPS teammates as Junker Queen. In the original Overwatch this almost always meant your DPS players weren’t pulling their weight, but now there are characters in every role who can dish out just as much dam

Online shooters aren’t usually my thing. Overwatch having set heroes takes away from the meta and the stress of having to care about loadouts, and means you can pick to a certain extent based on personality. The reason I play as Ashe is as much because I love westerns and wry cowgirls as it is her gameplay abilities. Overwatch’s aesthetic, low barrier to entry, and quick, varied matches means it’s keeping my interest longer than other online games do. TheGamer is going to have its own Overwatch 2 tank guide|https://overwatch2Tactics.com/ showdown soon too, so I need to keep up even if I won’t dominate the way I did on Tekken nig

Junker Queen also has some ‘all-rounder’ qualities. Though she’s classified as a Tank, she doesn’t have the bulk of heroes like Reinhardt and Orisa, and her shotgun deals damage like a DPS. Her commanding shout is an AoE that heals allies around her - something no other tank can do - and her Carnage and Rampage abilities that apply debuffs on enemies just like Ana, who is a supp

On payload and other defend-and-attack maps, shield-based tanks are now the best bet, leaving other picks less viable. It’s much harder to defend your team with a hook and some healing juice, but that’s no fault of tanks like Roadhog - they’re not meant to be the defenders, they’re there to draw aggro and punish lone wolves. It can still work playing offense-based tanks with the right player, but it takes a lot of skill, and that means lower-ranked matches are a headache. You have to know how to push, stay alive, and defend the team all at once, and failing that brings everyone down. Throw in a damage-focused healer and you have a constant stream of marching into the line of fire and then sitting in spectate waiting to respawn. There’s a reason team kills have become frequent enough to warrant their own challen

Overwatch 2 was supposed to be the same game as Overwatch, only with a battle pass, but it’s not Overwatch without Mei for me. She’s always been my best girl, but things just aren’t the same now. And it’s not me, it’s

My old mains just aren’t fun anymore. Playing Mercy with well over 15,000 healing in lower ranks, keeping the team alive, resurrecting vital players, and helping push the payload, all while avoiding the focus of the entire enemy team, only to get a Cassidy spamming "I need healing" halfway across the map, is annoying ; __ Lucio is fun but doesn’t always work on defence maps, and Bridgette depends on the synergy with the rest of your squad. Kiriko, however, lets me stand on my own two legs in fights, easily jump to my allies with her teleport ability so I can catch Cassidy being a prick and save him, and heal as standard. The versatility is unlike any other hea

That was always the draw with the sequel anyway for me. I didn’t see the need to give us a whole new game and I won’t be working towards nor investing in the battle pass. I’m already irritated at the obnoxiously long time it takes to earn enough to buy a single skin. The thought of being able to play a story mode was a major appeal, and even though that was dampened by the news it wouldn’t be ready for launch, all things considered it was enough to hook me back in, at least temporar