The Overwatch 2 beta is officially live, and players are finally getting their hands on the long anticipated sequel. First announced all the way back in 2019, outside of the repeating events and bug fixes, Blizzard have all but dropped support for the original Overwatch in an effort to focus development on Overwatch 2. So, after three long years of waiting, is Overwatch 2 worthy of being called a sequel? Or is it more of an Overwatch 1.5, as has become a running joke in the community due to the lack of perceived changes. Let’s dive in, talk about what’s changed, and see if it lives up to the hype.
Thanks to Blizzard, we managed to get some hands-on time with the Overwatch 2 PvP beta. and instead of just talking about our impressions of it, we poured our focus on talking about the major differences from the first game to the sequel.
Prepare for 5v5
The first, and perhaps biggest change to the game is the switch to 5v5. This was done partially to lower queue times, and partially to address one of the biggest complaints from the original Overwatch — the sheer amount of shield spam in the game. Naturally, the Tank role is the one that got cut and Damage and Support will still have two players per team. On surface, it looks like all they did is remove a tank, but in reality this one change completely changes how the game feels to play.
Obviously, one less tank means less protection for your team. What this results in is a much heavier focus on positioning, using cover, and securing kills. Without as many shields, it is pretty much open season for heroes like Soldier 76 and the newly released Sojourn with their full-auto assault rifles. They can pepper people with their assault rifles freely – but they’re also more vulnerable so it’s essential to get in out of cover quickly.
Blizzard have also made a concerted effort to reduce the amount of stun and CC (crowd control) abilities in the game. This means flankers have a lot more freedom to harass the back line without any worry of stuns or flashbangs. Heroes like Genji and Sombra have seen huge indirect buffs thanks to this and protecting your Support players has become even more important.
With only one tank, there’s a lot more pressure on each team’s tank player to stay alive and protect their team. Although they don’t have as many shield abilities now, Blizzard have added other ways for tanks to block damage and protect their team. Doomfist for example, who is now a tank, can use his gauntlet to block projectiles and reduce 90% of the damage. This in turn powers up his Rocket Punch, causing it to do more damage and knock enemies back further. Abilities like these still offer ways to tank for your team, but without strictly relying on barriers.
The switch to 5v5 leads to Overwatch 2 having a more chaotic, almost deathmatch-like quality to it. There is still a teamplay element, but flanking and hitting your shots is a lot more important. Ultimate ability charge has been lowered across the board, so there’s more importance placed on the neutral game rather than just stacking ultimates. If team fights in the original Overwatch were a battle of attrition, team fights in Overwatch 2 are mostly a battle of who can frag out the hardest.
New Heroes
Blizzard have added one new hero in the Overwatch 2 beta, in addition to complete reworks to several other heroes, and balance changes pretty much across the board.
Meet “Sojourn”
Sojourn, a captain of the original Overwatch team in the lore, sports a full auto assault rifle that doubles as a railgun. She also has a slide ability that allows her to leap across the battlefield and quickly get around. Sojourn plays like a counterpart to Soldier 76. While Soldier plays more of a supportive role, Sojourn’s playstyle is to chase down as many kills as possible. Doing damage with the assault rifle charges up her railgun, which can one-shot lower health heroes once it’s charged up. It’s a playstyle almost akin to something like Apex Legends, and she can be quite powerful (if you possess the good aim to maximize her potential).
Hero Reworks:
Several heroes have also seen major reworks. Here’s a brief rundown.
Orisa:
- Primary fire – Now has infinite ammo with an overheat mechanic.
- Energy Javelin – New ability where Orisa throws a spear forward, dealing damage and knocking enemies back.
- Javelin Spin – New ability where Orisa rapidly spins her spear in front of her, destroying projectiles and knocking back any enemies she comes in contact with.
- Terra Surge – New Ultimate ability where Orisa pulls in nearby enemies and charges up an energy wave that deals damage.
Doomfist:
- Moved to Tank role.
- Rocket Punch damage has been significantly reduced, but it now has added knockback.
- Seismic Slam now launches Doomfist high into the air, slamming the ground when he comes in contact with it.
- Power Block – New ability that blocks projectiles, causing Doomfist’s gauntlet to become supercharged for added damage and travel distance.
Bastion:
- Self-Repair ability removed.
- A-36 Tactical Grenade – New ability which launches a sticky grenade that sticks to players or walls.
- Configuration: Assault – Can now switch to tank mode on cooldown. Bastion can move in this form now and has infinite ammo. Ability lasts 6 seconds.
- Configuration: Artillery – New Ultimate Ability that turns Bastion into an artillery launcher.
Aside from these major reworks, most heroes have seen some slight changes here or there. The tanks have all had their health pools increased to account for the fact that there’s only one per team now. Sombra’s hack now works differently and can be triggered while she’s invisible. Mei can no longer completely freeze enemies – her spray ability only slows them down but deals more damage to account for it. And heroes like McCree and Brigitte have had their flashbang and stun abilities removed in an effort to reduce the amount of CC abilities in the game.
All in all, the wide roster of characters have mostly been changed in one way or another. If you’ve played the original Overwatch, it’s going to take some time to completely re-learn the abilities.
New Maps and Modes
In total, four new maps have been added in the Overwatch 2 beta. Two of them are reserved for the all new ‘Push’ mode, a tug-of-war style mode where each team fights to escort a robot farther than their opponent. All of the Overwatch 1 maps return as well, and most of them have seen some changes. For some, it’s a simple cosmetic reworks like changing the time of day. Although it’s small, this does a lot to change the feel of the map. Blizzard have also added new pieces of cover to certain maps to account for the fact that there’s one less tank per team now.
Colloseo (Push):
Set in Rome, this Push map features tons of flanking routes along with one main corridor for fighting over the robot.
New Queen Street (Push):
The second Push map New Queen Street is set in Toronto. It has a more sparse layout with many different angles of attack.
Circuit Royal (Escort):
This is a more traditional Escort map and one that’s visually striking with the bright lights of futuristic Monte Carlo at night.
Midtown (Hybrid):
The New York City map has a capture zone for the first point, followed by a payload escort. Point 1 features sweeping skyscrapers while the escort route is set in an NYC subway station.
New Scoreboard and UI and Ping Feature
Finally, the UI has seen some modifications including a completely revamped scoreboard. The original Overwatch was arguably one of the games that popularized the hiding of a player’s K/D in favor of a more general overview of their performance. Blizzard have done away with that in the Overwatch 2 beta and now include a more traditional scoreboard.
The UI as a whole looks a bit cleaner and more modern now too.
Ping system
The final major new addition in the Overwatch 2 beta is the new ping system. You can tag an enemy’s location for your entire team to see, as well as coordinate things like attacking and defending if you don’t have a mic.
Audio and Visual Upgrades
Overwatch 2 also has seen some graphical and sound upgrades. While relatively minor, the lighting and shadows have definitely improved thanks to the updated engine. Some of the heroes have seen cosmetic changes as well.
The audio engine has seen some big improvements as well. Heroes like Soldier 76 and Widowmaker have boomier, more realistic sounding weapons with echo now. Here’s an example:
Final Impressions:
So, is Overwatch 2 more like Overwatch 1.5? In its current state.. yes. However, it’s important to note though that a huge pillar of the sequel is still unreleased in the PvE campaign mode. And there will almost certainly be more new multiplayer content like heroes, maps, and modes in the final release, or in future betas. At its core though, right now this feels like a huge reset button on the original Overwatch.
The new 5v5 format definitely takes some getting used to and leads to a faster-paced, more damage-focused style of gameplay. Flanking is heavily rewarded and can make a Support player’s life a living hell if they aren’t getting any backup. On the other hand, playing as a damage hero is a lot more engaging and a good DPS player can easily carry a game. As a tank player, there’s a lot more riding on your success given that there are no other tanks to back you up. Orisa’s rework feels great and is a lot of fun to play, but it feels like heroes like Reinhardt and Winston have been left behind in this new faster paced meta. There is definitely more balancing to be done across the board and I’m sure Blizzard is hard at work with it as we speak.
Hardcore Overwatch fans have long asked Blizzard to address the amount of shields and stun abilities in the game, and the Overwatch team have definitely succeeded on that front. There is now significantly less time spent shooting at shields, and more time spent dueling other players. As a result though, it feels like some of the strategy and teamplay that made Overwatch unique has been lost. On the other hand, I think many people will prefer the more chaotic style of gameplay.
I think the true test of Overwatch 2’s success will be how well Blizzard supports it after launch. After a three-year drought, Blizzard have promised a faster cadence of new content and balance patches. There are also rumors of a battle pass system or free-to-play model being introduced for the multiplayer. Thankfully, Blizzard have already confirmed that the PvP component will be free to all owners of the original Overwatch. Going completely free-to-play would do a lot to bring in new players though, and could be the huge influx of players Overwatch needs after such a long break.
In the end, if you weren’t a fan of the original, the gameplay changes in Overwatch 2 probably won’t do enough to change your mind. Most of these changes seem specifically geared to address some of the criticisms from the pro scene and longtime players. Do these changes make for a better gameplay experience? Yes and no. But after such a long drought it feels good to have any new Overwatch content at all. There are still some lingering issues Blizzard will have to address, such as the excruciatingly long queue times – but with all of this new content and more, Blizzard will have to win back the trust of the Overwatch community first.
Overwatch 2 beta access provided by Activision for preview purposes. Played on PC.
