Overwatch 2 is moving away from “oddball” heroes & players are devastated

Overwatch 2 has always stood out for its wild mix of heroes. The roster includes a literal hamster in a mech suit, a talking gorilla, and a robot, alongside the more standard human fighters, of course. However, that balance of grounded and bizarre characters is set to dramatically change.

In an interview with Polygon, Overwatch 2 lead concept artist Daryl Tan has revealed a major shift from “oddball characters,” explaining that the most recent Hero set to be added, Wuyang, is “why the team moved away from ‘oddball’ characters like Wrecking Ball and, more recently…Ramattra in favor of more conventional – and conventionally attractive – characters.”

While the shift will certainly add more human characters, the announced change hasn’t gone down well with the playerbase, with many seeing it as a major loss.

Overwatch 2 players gutted after devs pull back on “oddball” characters

Many took to social media to share their disappointment in the revealed changes. One player wrote, “What? Ramattra is one of their best hero designs and voice acting jobs. I want more like that.”

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Others echoed the sentiment, adding, “This is not a good thing. I like Wuyang’s design, but the zany mix of the original 21 heroes was what made OW1 special in the first place. You can find ‘conventionally attractive’ characters in any video game, but I can’t think of many other games that let you play as a hamster piloting a mecha, or a robot that can transform into a machine gun, or a woman that flies around with a jetpack toting a rocket launcher.”

“I really don’t want only generic, conventionally attractive characters in Overwatch,” another fan said. “Our ‘oddballs’ make Overwatch unique and fun.”

Despite this, Tan did clarify that “the design team is eager to ‘sprinkle’ these non-human heroes in over time” and teased “exciting stuff down the road,” meaning fans can still expect a few unlikely heroes in the future.

Still, some remain wary. “Not all hope is lost,” a fan said. “Though outright saying that they are moving away from designs like Ramattra, which seems to be a huge fan favorite in more ways than one, seems really disappointing.”

What the future looks like in terms of Overwatch 2 heroes is yet to be revealed, but with the upcoming drop of Wuyang, we could be getting a few more human additions in the coming seasons.