i think the most important thing is we have to PLAY THE GAME. long queue times suck so role queue is that culprit
YEA there are problems with open queue but hey i rather have those problems then the waiting problem. dps will always be the most popular role and understandably so. people want to do tons of damage. yea you have those few that like protecting and healing but they are too few
only other option for role queue would be FORCED ROLE QUEUE and i would love that as well… role queue with your three roles but no wait times. drawback is people are all flex and are force to play a role they may not want to…
no matter what you do there is a drawback but i think the most important thing is… getting in the game QUICKLY
I think that’s you reading that into it. I read it as the discussion with them (as discussions usually work).
So far it has been people shouting at a wall, now they’re shouting at actual people who might answer (though I’d prefer if they didn’t shout, talking is just fine).
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Just to throw an idea out there without much thought behind it - Can we get a 4th role maybe divide Tanks between tanks and off Tanks for 6v6?
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If you read the blog post you’ll understand better.
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Another issue, and one that still gives me anxiety about opening this Pandora’s Box, is what to do with queue times if enough players prefer 6v6 to keep some form of it around. The team was not able to solve this issue previously.
this is my main concern; even if it’s just a low-moderate population Arcade mode, the most ardent players of it will probably be tank players who struggle without back up, but tank players none the less. This will be felt disproportionately in Role Queue modes, whereas Open Queue players are mostly just premades (who, being premades, don’t have as much effect on queues anyways) who like GOATs and DPS players.
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Time for 1-1-1-1-2
Main Tank Off-Tank Offense Defense Supports
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Tanks have always been “fairly balanced”? Are you crazy? Since DAY 1, Hog, Orisa, and Zarya were absolutely ruining the experience for everyone. Once Hog was FINALLY tackled after several seasons, Rammatra was released and was WILDLY op with his ult that never ended. I don’t even need to talk about Mauga… Tanks have NEVER been balanced in this iteration of the game, and ignoring your failures is absurd.
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Pretty good article and pretty much went exactly as I’d outlined in a reply earlier to someone else. I know I’m in the minority for enjoying both role que and 5v5, but I am open to changing role que limits (i.e something aside from 2/2/1)
It would be great if we could bring 6v6 back as a perma side and unranked mode that gets balance support whilst keeping something close to what we have today as the main OW experience.
That’s the best path forward imo. 5v5 and the current game feels great to me for two reasons, the first being as a support I’m not forced into being a heal bot just for playing support.
And second there is no “meta” focus on needing ultimates to break through parts of maps. Ow2 still has resource management and CD tracking, but it doesn’t lean into it so hard like OW1 did.
Sadly I just don’t see how 6v6 could come back and both of my issues wouldn’t exist. So I can’t see myself ever enjoying OW again if that’s the path we take.
Don’t do it. Stick to 5v5. 6v6 was a mess and impossible to do right.
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They know the day it reverts to 6v6
The community will know there was literally no reason for overwatch “2” and the content drought for years,
OW2 already fixed all the major gameplay issues.
Let that sink in.
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ctrl + f
“queue time”
20 matches
I don’t know what I mean by typing this lol
I believe many of you who say “i would wait longer queues for better matches or 6v6” are a solid minority and blizz knows this
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Just finished reading this and im excited to see 6v6 come back! THANK YOU FINALLLLYYYY!!! I know you guys got this thank you againnnnnn
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So the answer, unsurprisingly, is q times…but this was directly related to their insane balancing schedule that left heroes in problematic states for months even without mentioning maintenance mode. This has only happened once in OW2 and it was the Mauga release and they suffered similarly for it.
And Counterwatch is possible to do right?
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I’ve said it once and I’ve said it multiple times.
5v5 or 6v6 isn’t going to fix the fundamental problem with the game at the moment.
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Lucio for example is a must pick in any form especially at higher elos and organised play taking away a support spot because speed boost is so beneficial. This already limits the variety of play hence why it’s so samey.
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The tank role at the moment isn’t really sure what it wants to be. Is it bulwark? Is it big chonky dps? Is it something else entirely? The tank role itself needs to be reassessed and some work spent over 1-2 seasons fixing this role specifically and trying to understand what it is meant to be cos right now it’s more lost than a fart in a storm cloud.
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The DPS passive is making life miserable. Supports hate it, tanks hate it. DPS get to go brrr but they also hate it as well because it just makes play even worse. It just aggrevates the vicious cycle repeatly of it’s X role’s fault. We survived overwatch 1 without passives we don’t need them in OW2.
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Mauga. Mauga broke everything and needs a serious removal back to the farm where he can be reassessed as well and brought back into whatever he is be it tank or dps.
I’ve been a player since 2016, and have seen all of the “versions” of the game since it’s release come and go. I’m also primarily a tank player - a rare breed, apparently - and while I have missed Tank synergies to a degree (open queue and no-limits do exist in the arcade modes if I really wanted to play Rein and Zarya like the good old days), I also have to take the time to appreciate the time and effort Aaron has undertaken in order to address this hot topic, and to the team for considering a future for Overwatch that includes 5v5 AND 6v6 alongside it. I don’t know how game development works but I now feel like I understand just enough behind the curtain in order to say that the changes made to Overwatch with the implementation of 5v5 and the current 1-2-2 format have made the game more accessible, impactful and engaging at the loss of “some” synergies that did, at times, bog the game down into a slow and methodical strategy game.
Some people didn’t mind this because it gave them more of a chance to breathe, and as a Tank player I can speak from experience that having someone else willing to take the brunt of damage and space was a breath of fresh air - I can only be one place at a time, and while I want to protect my team, It’s also harder to both protect my team and secure space and other important aspects of any given engagement.
I personally feel that, with some more love and attention - as well as LOTS of communication between the company and the community - Overwatch can be where it stood when it first came out.
Along with this, I hope that this blog is not a unique case, and that Blizzard will take the time to address the other elephant in the room that is PvE. As someone who’s more interested in the story than the pure competitive-ness of Overwatch as a franchise, I would personally love to see another blog of this nature arrive to address what the future might be for the story of Overwatch, whether that means a potential return to PvE, or more animated shorts, etc.
Nerf Mauga though, hate that guy.
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Time to just take one from hots and introduce the bruiser role as a substitute option for a dps slot or something. Any tank can be a bruiser but they get reduced health and maybe more damage potential. Idk
I dont think Aaron’s intending to suggest that 6v6 is not possible in the current engine, but that they need to be weary about how it will impact people on the lower end of the hardware spectrum. People with high end computer are probably not going to care as much when their framerates drop from 400 to 350, but the person who is already barely struggling to hit 60 might care a lot more when they start dipping into 40s and 50s.
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This is a relevant and reasonable explanation on the process and thinking behind it. So thanks for that.
Mostly, I just want to say that I’m very appreciative of the Devs’ willingness to push some experimental stuff out for the broad player base to mess around with. I think that’s very healthy for the game long-term.
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Yet it has more players now then ever.
Yes it lots of lot of old players, but it gained new.
In a magical bubble of a world, you go back to 6v6, keep all the new players and all the old player come dancing back.
That isn’t likely though.