It’s a real test of skill that encourages aggressive play, placing more importance on 1v1 encounters than ever before. On the one hand it’s exciting, a spark of life and, crucially, something big to differentiate Overwatch 2 from its predecessor. It’s much more challenging, and often the play of your solo tank will be a crucial factor on whether you’re greeted with a victory or defeat screen. While damage and support players will largely be operating in the same ways, a lot more importance is placed on that single tank to spearhead the team, rather than protect. It really does change your whole mindset when playing as a tank hero now. Alongside Orisa, no one embodies that brawler aspect more than the punch-hungry Doomfist - who is no longer considered a damage character, but a tank - further emphasising that impetus for every tank to be a damage dealer rather than damage sponge. From my experience in the beta, these roadblocks seem to be a thing of the past.įrom what I’ve played so far, there’s just a much more frantic pace – in an already fast game. That tedium thankfully feels a distant memory in Overwatch 2 so far. Veterans will have Volskaya war flashbacks to a Bastion and a Torbjorn turret sitting comfortably behind seemingly endless layers of shields, which, when you inevitably break through, sees a Symmetra ultimate summoned out of nowhere, halting your progress yet again. That impetus for every tank to be a damage dealer rather than damage sponge.įrustrations with shield-heavy metas in Overwatch grew as more and more barrier-wielders were added over the years, but these initial changes to Overwatch 2 aim to combat this. Of course, the biggest change to Orisa’s list of abilities is the removal of her Protective Barrier shield. It’s in stark contrast to the way many utilise Orisa in the original Overwatch - sitting further back and providing an anchor point for others to fire on the enemy team from behind. The swirling Javelin Spin increases movement speed and encourages driving towards enemies to deal maximum damage with a revamped primary fire that inflicts greater damage the closer you get. Her sharp transition from sturdy anchor in the original to mobile damage-dealer in the sequel can be seen from just a glance at her new skillset, but felt all the more on the battlefield.
The rework of just one of those tank heroes encapsulates the sweeping change in philosophy to how Overwatch 2 is designed to be played for tank players - Orisa. That line appears to be blurring with the arrival of Overwatch 2 though, with all tanks set for a more active place in the fight from my experience in the closed beta so far. In the original, tank heroes could be broadly split into main tanks (like Orisa and Reinhardt, who can act as walls between you and your aggressors) and off-tanks (such as Roadhog and D.Va, whose job is to be more aggressive and deal as much damage as they soak up). If this were Overwatch 1, I’d feel guilty picking her as the sole tank due to the lack of protection I’d offer my teammates. My Overwatch tank of choice is undoubtedly D.Va, the Korean teenager in a mobile, rocket-powered mech. Naturally this means a lot more responsibility is placed on the broad shoulders of that single tank player. The most obvious difference from its predecessor is that Overwatch 2 is now a 5v5 game, not 6v6 – and it’s a tank slot that’s been removed from the team line-up. It doesn’t just change the game for tank players – it changes Overwatch 2 as a whole. But that simply can’t be said for the nine tank members of the roster, for whom Overwatch 2 has made sweeping changes that allow for a more action-packed experience. On the surface, Overwatch 2 may not look that different from its predecessor – and in truth, when playing as many of the 33 assembled heroes, it doesn’t feel too different to play either.
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