Why do people hate role queue so much?

[GreyFalcon-11737]

Name them - people are all opposed but offer no serious tangible solutions.

If you’ll bear in mind that I don’t have any problem with the game as is and would be trying to solve other people’s issues as best I understand them…

• Hero ban / protect system is promoted by several popular pundits
• Enforcing 1 of each role per team is pretty simple
• Straight up just split the playerbase between forced 2-2-2 and flex. This might be better than splitting the playerbase between tanks / supports VS DPS…
• Just show us what the other team is planning to play and let us make counterpicks at the initial Hero Select screen. This requires some kind of timer system so that the longer you wait to lock in your Heroes, the more time the enemy has to respond, vice versa.

And why do you not like LFG, a totally optional system?

I used LFG a bunch, actually, and think I liked and used it more than most and for longer. Main reason I abandoned is because I have a pretty solid friends list and a good sense of who to invite to a group after a well-played match.

But your question misses my point. What I found really unappealing about LFG was enforced roles. Nothing in this game has ever made me or my team feel as helpless as the situation where the solution to a problem presented by the enemy, would have been available except for the fact that we were locked into our roles.

If anyone plays a lot of LFG forced 2-2-2 and loves it, godspeed to you. If you HAVEN’T played a lot of forced 2-2-2, I strongly recommend you try it before you go super strong on recommending that we ALL are forced into that style.

LFG is a fundamentally flawed by design.

The excessive amount of choices fractures the LFG playerbase into small sections.

It gives power to anonymous strangers who will delay the matchmaker, research profile stats forever, or kick, on a whim.

And then it matchmakers you exclusively against six-stacks. Which creates wins that are too easy, or unwinnable losses.

First matchmaker with the group usually takes 5-8 minutes to find a game. Because the matchmaker can’t measure the group synergy.

And after every loss, the group is usually disbanded, and you have to start all over.

[TLiciousX-1125]

And after every loss, the group is usually disbanded, and you have to start all over.

That was another thing, for sure. You put in a bunch of effort getting a team together with a broad skillset, and then one loss and ‘poof’ they all disappear.

I still would strongly recommend people use LFG if they don’t have a strong and well-curated friend list. It’s actually a really great way to build that friend list if you use it right.

My LFG advice - don’t use it to build a 2-2-2 of random players. Not worth your time AT ALL. Better to maybe grab a 3 stack so that you have the bases covered, and then decide after each match if you see a good player that you want to acquire. Set ROLES so that you get the good talent on your group, but once you have done that, unlock the roles so that the team has the flexibility.

I personally will 2, 3, or 4 stack with anyone with mics. I very rarely 5, 6 stack, and only with people that I know and have played with before and have a lot of trust built up with.

[Dysvalence-1915]

Yes it will definitely jump from 1-2 minutes in low ranks (where most of the players are) to let’s say 4-5 minutes in the worst situation possible

Off peak hours, high ranks, and smaller regions already result in queue times over an hour at worst. It’s not that simple.

“Oh well we will lose comps like 5 dps, 4 dps, 3 dps, triple tank, goats” well the question is, are you really gonna miss them?

Yes. A proper 3DPS is fun. It’s like 6DPS but without the dumpster fire. Also fighting bunker cheese is significantly easier with them.

In order to fix this they can make a system where you can request to switch roles with someone else and if he agrees to your request

Would take too long. Swaps like that are most important near overtime. Also if you get two incompetent or unsuitable players in one role, good luck getting one to swap without tilting the entire team in a prolonged argument.

And another thing, I take issue with the idea that you can get away with learning one role, which is what role queue essentially endorses.

[RainFloodIce-1732]

Don’t forget all those dps mains playing tanks and healers like dps effectively making the games worse for teams with those players

[HongKongNo1-3302]

“Swap Genji with me or I throw!”

[Craftoon-1231]

3. Not being able to flex

Maybe to solve this issue, you could request to swap roles with another player mid game and have them accept the request for it to work. This could appear in chat so that it’s less distracting if that is an issue.

[RainFloodIce-1732]

Wouldn’t work on consoles and they can easily ignore you or refuse also the person who is requesting would probably straight up throw if they don’t get their way

[Craftoon-1231]

You’re right. The chat idea wouldn’t work on console. I didn’t think of that. But if it popped up like a group invite does then it would work.

they can easily ignore you or refuse also the person who is requesting would probably straight up throw if they don’t get their way

This isn’t anything that we don’t alreay see in the game though. This doesn’t cause any more problems.

[Yehn-11441]

Yes it will definitely jump from 1-2 minutes in low ranks (where most of the players are) to let’s say 4-5 minutes in the worst situation possible but is 1 minute queue time with a big chance to get in a game where either no one picks supp/ tank or someone is forced to do it but he isn’t that good so you lose anyway worth it?

No, Blizzard has actually looked into this. Jeff noted DPS could expect queue times of 29 minutes.

[RainFloodIce-1732]

If it pops up like a group invite you couldn’t do it out of spawn at least on console since it would take a while and you’d die in the process

This isn’t anything that we don’t alreay see in the game though. This doesn’t cause any more problems.

Also if this is going to happen anyway why add it if it has the same result

[Craftoon-1231]

Unlike the group invites, it could be smaller so that it could pop up in a place that doesn’t cover anything (killfeed/ objective) and it would stay up until you respond to it so that you’re not pressured to do so while fighting.

Also if this is going to happen anyway why add it if it has the same result

Because it solves an issue with a system that could fix other problems with the game.

[TallGuy-11913]

I mostly enjoy the idea of role queue for 3 reasons:
A) It would allow for my different roles to have differenting SR rankings, making it easier to find what I’m better with.
B) The removal of the two extremes that is GOATS and 4 dps comps would exist no more. This is something everyone wants, so you can’t really argue this.
C) If i play a certain role in role queue, it would pair me up with players that align with my SR rank. So if i wanna play healer and it was my best class SR wise, then I won’t get braindead players that can’t stay with the team when I’m trying to heal them.

Simply put, i can wait a minute or two extra, if it means that the games would be better overall.

[RainFloodIce-1732]

Unlike the group invites, it could be smaller so that it could pop up in a place that doesn’t cover anything (killfeed/ objective) and it would stay up until you respond to it so that you’re not pressured to do so while fighting.

That’s not how it works. it just pops up and goes away after a couple seconds also you and the person would have to be in spawn at the same time which is unlikely after the beginning on the match unless you get team wiped

Because it solves an issue with a system that could fix other problems with the game.

It still doesn’t fix other problems since lfg still exists and no one uses it

[Dysvalence-1915]

It would allow for my different roles to have differenting SR rankings

If i play a certain role in role queue, it would pair me up with players that align with my SR rank

This assumes the difference between roles is greater than the difference within roles, and that’s not true for everyone. My hitscans and Ana/Zen are fairly close but my projectile DPS are much worse.

[Noth-11288]

to let’s say 4-5 minutes in the worst situation possible

That’s being very very optimistic, it will be like WoW, 1-2 minutes queue for supports and tanks and 10+ (going over 30) minutes for DPS.

In order to fix this they can make a system where you can request to switch roles with someone else and if he agrees to your request, you are gonna switch roles

This is pretty much implementing a complicated feature that isn’t required.

[Noth-11288]

Well, I’m starting to wonder if a Role system would work at all in Quickplay, because of the excess of DPS picks.

They’d have to remove the “Quick” from the name, because queues wont be quick at all, no matter if you’re solo or stacking.

[Noth-11288]

Mostly because :

Not to mention if for some reason you happen to have a bad day playing your role, extreme toxicity is sure to follow, even more than now, since you’re locked on what you’re doing.

[Buffsmith-1345]

Well, I’m starting to wonder if a Role system would work at all in Quickplay, because of the excess of DPS picks.

A role queue would destroy quickplay.

• Back fills would take much longer
• Queues would be longer. It would no longer be “quick”.
• This would remove regular Overwatch as we know it, and eliminate many hero interactions that wouldn’t be possible with Quickplay. This point is subjective, but it would basically be the equivalent of if Overwatch had kept hero stacking for three years, and suddenly got rid of it with no convenient alternative to play it (may be better for long run, but it alienates and drastically changes the game that players have been playing for years).

[Noth-11288]

And yet, it works in other games,

Depends on your definition of “works”, specially if you’re talking WoW, LFG there is horrible to say the least.

because the system has to change

Not necessarily, each person has a different point of view on the matter.

but you have to also provide an alternative to where we are now too

Uh, no? I’m giving a player’s perspective to why such system is a flawed one since its conception, I don’t have to give alternatives, specially since I don’t think the system has to change.

The problem of Overwatch exists since the game was launched and it has NOTHING to do with either matchmaker of hero selection: it’s a team based game that was sold to solo players and that simply cannot be fixed in any possible way.

[Spyder-21382]

first it sounded great but seeing if we only have to pick a 2 2 2 comp and cant flex i got a bit worried for it to be implemented in OW
also what if the team has a leaver(e.g. the main tank) ? do the roles unlock or something for the rest of the team to fill the more important roles ?
with role-queue people will still throw in their role if they decide too , and the 3 class SR’s make it worse since only one of them is important to the player so people will then derank in a specific role on purpose messing the games.

tbh finding a group is much better than this concept