Among all the changes in the move from Overwatch to Overwatch 2, the biggest (and most controversial) was the move from 6v6 to 5v5 matches. Earlier this year, Blizzard indicated that a return to 6v6 wasn't completely out of the question, and now the developers are laying out some concrete plans to decide what that return would look like.
Season 14 will see the launch of two different 6v6 trial modes. A week into the season, Blizzard is launching what it calls “Min 1, Max 3,” where each team must have at least one, but no more than three, of a given role type. The idea here is to experiment with a format that finds a “middle ground” between the role queue and the open queue. A more traditional 2-2-2 test will take place during the “season 14 mid-cycle.”
These tests will have some unique balance changes, as the developers explain in the announcement blog. “Tank power and survivability will decrease in these 6v6 formats, and we'll see if we need many of the passives we've added in Overwatch 2.”
Before those tests, Season 13 will see some experiments with the current 5v5 format. “We are planning a Quick Play: Hacked coming soon, which we will call 'Limit 2'. It will be 5v5, with the maximum number of each role limited to two. This includes tanks, but they. willpower Be tuned to the Open Queue balance, which means they will have less health. You can freely switch heroes and roles as long as the new role doesn't already have two players.” The mid-cycle experiment will bring another variation of Limit 2 called Kingmaker, in which the player in the solo role gets a bonus.
“In the world where a wave of players join this mode and play it continuously, then we have the signal that we need to do more with it,” the blog notes. “I think what that 'more' is depends on the level of excitement. Is there a world where 5v5 and 6v6 permanently exist in Overwatch 2? If you had asked me a few months ago I would have said no. As we discuss the future of Overwatch 2 a “In the light of making the game our players want to play, we know our players may want more of an experience, and it would be something we would have to consider moving forward.”
So far, the response to the potential of these experiments has been cautiously optimistic. The move to 5v5 remains controversial even now, two years after Overwatch 2's early access release and a year after its proper release, particularly considering how powerful tanks have had to become in the current meta. Will any of these ways solve the problem? That remains to be seen, but at the very least the experiments are opening the door to the best of both worlds.
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