Fresh from yesterday’s patch notes that saw some interesting nerf choices, Blizzard has shared some new thoughts on the current state of things in Overwatch 2. A new developer blog from the game’s new executive producer Jared Neuss has shed some light on a couple of notable issues. Namely, the fact that options for those who enjoy playing support roles are somewhat limited at the moment.
On the whole, the update is fairly positive stuff, particularly in terms of the influx in player numbers since Overwatch 2 moved to a free-to-play model. Neuss has however taken some time to address some current concerns around the hero shooter, both from the perspective of the development team and from player feedback. It’s clear that there’s still a lot of room for improvement for Overwatch 2, which is currently well into its inaugural season after its launch back in early October. This is something that hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Neuss remarking that “we also recognize that today’s experience has opportunity for improvement that we need to focus on.”
One of the main problems within the game right now is the popularity, or lack thereof, of the role of support. At present, queue times for those opting to play support are substantially lower than for those who are happier jumping into damage and tank roles. The problem is, support is clearly not proving to be enjoyable for players at the moment. Blizzard has noted this, with Neuss explaining that there’s a plan in place to address the support role issue going forward. In discussing this plan, Neuss explains that “many of these ideas are focused on the support role and how we can make it more fun and more rewarding to play. We’re discussing targeted support hero reworks, game system updates, and even some role-wide changes to improve support quality of life.”
Although there aren’t any exact changes being announced just yet, it seems that Blizzard is pretty keen on keeping an ongoing dialogue open with players. Changes will be shared in due course, with the update explaining that in the short term at least, those who queue as support or in the all roles queue may see experimentations with their Battle Pass XP rewards. So, it might be worth giving those healing heroes a try for a while if you’re looking to level up.
Looking ahead, it was recently revealed that after the introduction of new tank hero Ramattra in the game’s upcoming season two, a new support hero should be on the cards. This may go some way to helping boost interest in playing the role, given that at present there are only eight support heroes to choose from. However, we’ll have to wait a little while longer before we know any more about the potential newcomer.
Overwatch 2 is available now and is free to play on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC.