Even after internal delays and minimum communication, Overwatch 2 remains a highly anticipated game. It's set to greatly expand upon the PvE content that fans only get tastes of in the original's seasonal events, as well as shake up the PvP meta. The most notable and public change that has been revealed is that Overwatch 2 games will only have five people per team. Right now, Overwatch uses a 2/2/2 system for competitive matchmaking; that is, two tanks, two supports, and two DPS. In the sequel, the second tank is getting cut, and as a result, what it means to be a tank in Overwatch 2 will differ a lot from its predecessor.
Blizzard has already confirmed both significant and minor reworks to existing heroes to better fit the Overwatch 2 meta, such as Winston having an alternate fire to bolster his offensive abilities. The lack of a second tank will not just affect that role, however, it affects every single role in the game. DPS and flanking heroes like Tracer and Doomfist would see a significant increase in damage output with one less barrier on the field. Similarly, support heroes have one less massive health pool to heal. Certain heroes that were already a problem in Overwatch also have a target on their back, such as Brigitte. With this, it's easy to see how a seemingly minor change can have far-reaching effects on nearly every aspect of the game.
The Tank Problem
As mentioned, the removal of a tank from every game of Overwatch 2 affects each other hero. Brigitte's stun ability is confirmed to be removed from the game, which is sure to make her fall in line with the other squishy supports. Furthermore, supports in general will see a decrease in healing potential. This change makes a ton of sense given there is only one tank to keep alive now. If the previous game's healing potential was still intact then it would be hard to make any progress without removing the supports first. The current design philosophy for Overwatch 2's tanks is to shift them away from being an impenetrable wall and more toward being brawlers.
Aside from the heroes who have already been confirmed to get reworks for the Overwatch 2 meta, there are still a few with the potential to be problematic. The other barrier tanks, Reinhardt, Orisa, and Sigma, come to mind as having rework potential. This is especially true for Orisa and Sigma, as they have very low mobility compared to many in the tank class.
DPS heroes like Reaper, Tracer, and Doomfist love to prey on the support class. Their relatively high mobility, combined with one less tank as well as less crowd-control abilities, indicates that those three, in particular, may be quite overtuned in Overwatch 2. As far as the support class goes, only two really stand out as being possible issues: Zenyatta and Moira. These two already have a lot of damage potential, and with one less tank in the way as well as recent hitscan nerfs, that damage could increase even more.
Even though at first it may appear that Overwatch 2 shifting toward five-person teams is a minor change, the early meta should be completely different than its predecessor. Fans of the series will get their first look at Overwatch 2 once the Overwatch League returns in spring 2022. There are heroes in all three categories that, for one reason or another, will need to be changed to better fit the mono-tank meta.
Everything in Overwatch fits together like a puzzle, so changing just one piece, no matter how significant, will cause everything else to shift around it. Whether these changes actually result in a large shakeup of the Overwatch 2 meta is still unclear, but signs are pointing toward the title being a very different experience.
Overwatch 2 is in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.