Last year, the majority of popular players and content creators were touting role queue as the saving grace of Overwatch. It was supposedly going to bring all of the old players back who just wanted fair and balanced games. Fast forward to 2020 and a lot of those same people fighting for role queue have quit while the game is at its best balanced state ever. Streamers, OWL players, and Contenders players are all leaving for a new game because they just aren’t happy with Overwatch.
I would argue that there are even less players since role queue because no one wants to wait an hour to play a 10 minute match. Also, just because the “proper” roles are being filled doesn’t mean your quality of games automatically increases.
People could be learning new roles in comp and do more harm than good compared to just playing their main role in an unconventional team comp. This has been said a thousand times but can’t be emphasized enough: DPS is the most popular role. If they lose motivation to play the game, it causes a domino effect to the whole comp queue and slows down everyone’s matchmaking.
1-3-2 is the way to go. It solves multiple problems. Queue times will significantly decrease, tank players have more control over the game, and there’s an added fun factor where anyone can be the hero. The biggest complaint about the tank role is that they’re boring bullet sponges that have to sit and wait for their DPS to make a play. Well, that isn’t the case in 1- 3-2. Reinhardt can be more aggressive with higher damage and a faster regenerating shield, Roadhog can heal his teammates, Zarya has 3 bubbles, and DVA has her classic 4 second defense matrix. Tanks can be more involved in the actual fights instead of being fat distractions.
TLDR: Role queue caused more harm than good. Queue times suck and more people are quitting than ever. 1-3-2 (or a complete removal of role queue) is the best solution.
That was never a stated goal of 2-2-2, this is like the folks who claimed that the reason for 2-2-2 was “better matches” directly, this was not the case either.
It as there specifically to prevent balance issue of 3+ role stacking, and the complexities that open 6-stack brings as you add new characters on a regular basis.
I am a proponent of 2-2-2, that being said, the main issue with DPS queue times is the sheer unwillingness of people to try other roles. That being said, I think the only real solution is a 2-3-2 system in the long run.
No in fact the opposite - if you’re grouped according a role-based SR, you are grouped appropriately with like skilled people in their roles. What throws games under open 6-stack was you are a Silver tank, but Plat DPS. You go oh let me try tanking, then get grouped by a Plat or high-gold grouping level, but play as a high silver… then when it goes South, you flip to your main inevitably to clean up the mess then that is now unbalanced as well because you are playing above. Per role SR totally avoids this issue.
The issue is, now that you constantly get 2/2/2 games in a more coordinated environment and see less chaotic garbage line ups, the cracks in the hero designs started to show.
The things you hate about the game which previously was believed to just be the result of 4 instalock dpses, now comes down to the ACTUAL HERO. how cheese everything is. How annoying things have become.
But you’re basically doing the exact same mistake all over again. Directing the root of all problems to the change instead of the actual cause. The changing to role que wasn’t the problem. What it showed you was there all along. just hidden behind bigger problems.
1-3-2 is too chaotic and it probably will hide some problems and fix que times. but it won’t solve any of the big issues,
Basically, it’s because tanks and supports are used to being able to do whatever they want as long as they don’t make more mistakes than enemies. So anything going towards balance would be considered unacceptable as the habits they have would be distupted, which habits are cultivated during that era they thought was balanced, the era where most people queue into their games are best playing dps and therefore picks dps, therefore shadowing the problem in the roles.
Hey man, I hate Role Queue in general, but if we’re forced to use this tool, then I’d rather have 1-3-2 than 2-2-2. However, I’m all in favor of getting rid of the system in general and giving us freedom back.