Overwatch 2 devs address major support hero concerns before beta release

The Overwatch 2 developers responded to criticism from fans about the game after more details were revealed and a pro playtest left a lot to be desired by the community.

As Overwatch 2 ramps up development, the devs have been a lot more vocal about upcoming reworks to existing heroes and mechanics to better fit the 5v5 environment. Some of these reworks have already been announced, such as Bastion and Sombra’s, both of which were revealed during the Overwatch League Grand Finals. Other reworks, such as possibly removing McCree’s Flashbang or reworking Doomfist into a tank were just teased, but that hasn’t stopped fans from taking issue with the changes. The OWL Grand Finals also featured a pro playtest that was met with mixed results, in part due to how the game looked and felt, but also in regards to big healing changes where anyone who takes damage receives 25% less heals for four seconds.

Overwatch players concerned about supports in OW2

While the aforementioned change may not even go live once the game is out, fans took to the official Blizzard forums to demand answers, especially with how supports will function.

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“Supports were significantly nerfed compared to the live game. Can we get a dev, or a developer update to talk to us about what their general ideas for the role?” the user asked. “Watching the playtest a couple weeks ago has left a sour taste in my mouth.” Community Manager AndyB responded to the concerns, noting that the team will have a lot more to say about supports in the future.

Overwatch 2 devs chime in on player feedback

“All of the changes we’re discussing right now in various threads around the forum are in testing, meaning that they’re not final, and they’re almost certain to change before we go into beta (let alone launch),” he said. “These conversations are, to some degree, an exercise in transparency and folks keeping an open (yet critical) mindset helps us keeps you better informed about the development process of OW2.”

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According to Andy, the big thing players need to understand is the context in which the information is relayed to them, especially when they only have the current game to compare it to. “As a fan, I can tell you OW2 still fundamentally feels like Overwatch. Overwatch 2 is still (all together now) all about the Heroes, and the bright, inclusive, and optimistic future of the world we’ve built together,” he added. “I’m looking forward to the day you can all experience this for yourselves.”

Hopefully, this means we get a beta sometime soon, especially with the next season of Overwatch League being played on an early build of Overwatch 2 in April.

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In any case, expect some major changes from what we hear the devs are working on to what we actually get by the time Overwatch 2 releases, which is reportedly planned to be out before Summer 2022.