During the 6 years that the first Overwatch was online for, there were many overhauls to the way queueing and team composition worked in the hero shooter. In 2019, Blizzard introduced Role Queue – which would become the de facto way to play Competitive Overwatch. Role Queue in the original made players to queue up by first picking which of the three classes they wanted to play (Tank, Damage, or Support) and then choosing from only those characters once the match begins. This allowed Blizzard to control the team composition and each team was set to a “balanced” two of each class.
In Overwatch 2, you have the choice between Open Queue and Role Queue, but only after you unlock the latter. Role Queue works the same way as in the game’s predecessor, only the team breakdown is now two Damage, two Support, and one Tank due to the tweaked player count and the now standard 5v5 matches.
Compared to the only other option at the start — Open Queue — Role Queue gives you a greater chance of playing a balanced match with players who care about team composition but haven’t yet unlocked access to competitive play.
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How to Unlock Role Queue in Overwatch 2
When you first boot up Overwatch 2, Role Queue will not be unlocked. First you will have to play 5 Open Queue quick play matches. Once you complete these matches in either unranked battles or in training modes against bots Role Queue will be unlocked for all your team balancing needs.
Once Role Queue is open you will be able to queue into a match as either Tank, Damage, or Support class heroes. You can also choose the fourth option to fill in whatever a team needs. This is the way to join a match as quickly as possible, especially if you are willing to try out all the roles Overwatch 2 has to offer.
