Overwatch Fans Furious Over 5v5 Change By Blizzard
Activision Blizzard has been patiently hiding all their aces up their sleeves as the development of Overwatch 2 continues to tick on. Much of the focus on the development of the next instalment of the brawl-like Blizzard battlegrounds was shifted out of the limelight as the professional Overwatch League (OWL) ignited itself into full flow.
However, just as the May Melee showcased the beauty of 6v6 gameplay, the developers have announced that Overwatch 2 will shift from the usual compositions to a new 5v5 meta.
Needless to say, the professional community exploded into a furious frenzy, following the announcement.
Pros React To The Overwatch 2 5v5 Announcement
Whilst the argument as to whether the switch to 5v5 will be good for Overwatch 2 is yet to be seen, the general consensus within the professional scene is that the move will be devastating to a wealth of players. Blizzard expects the change to reinvent the identity of tanks to become much more measured and controlled rather than being a strict bullet shield, meaning the likelihood is that teams will have to slash a tank main from their squad, leaving a huge number of players teamless.
San Francisco Shock's Main Tank Matthew "super" DeLisi took to Twitter to state his frustration, insinuating that the omission of an off-tank will take a lot of fun from the game. He said: "coordinating with a tank, building synergy and dominating is probably one of the most fun things I've done in a game", indicating that this change will remove that element.
Atlanta Reign Main Tank Blake "Gator" Scott also pinpointed the problem of players losing their spot in the league. Also taking to Twitter, he said: "Imagine spending 5 years to perfect your role... Just for it to be deleted."
Nathan "frdwnr" Goebel, former Off-Tank duo to Gator, and now of Vancouver Titans, also added that the developers didn't confer with any players before making this change. He said: "not once were pro players made aware of this or asked on their philosophies", adding it's "unbelievably disrespectful to make this decision and completely remove a role that people gave up years of their lives to achieve."
As for the options for Off-Tank mains, Houston Outlaws' Dante "Danteh" Cruz praised his lucky stars, saying "thank god I swapped from offtank to dps".
Will 5v5 Overwatch Be Good?
Outside of the professional community, many believe that the experience is much easier to digest with one less player on the field. Esports personality Matt Dias said: "I think less people on the map equals more individual performance and less chaos."
Rod "Slasher" Breslau also added that whilst he "digs" the decision, it was a change that didn't have the OWL in mind, but for the casual gaming experience. He said: "Blizzard does not make major gameplay changes to Overwatch based on OWL and the financial success of the league. For better or worse game developers in general rarely make big changes to their games based on esports and I see this as no different."
With the OWL Season now in full swing, it will go down as the last 6v6 season (should Activision release Overwatch 2 prior to Q2 2022), weighing huge importance on the rest of the year.
Image via Activision Blizzard