Junkrat’s persona and weaponry perfectly parallel the chaos of fighting in Overwatch, but his abilities subtly let me learn more about the maps and how to manipulate my foes’ positions. He blends quirky fun with abilities that are outlandish enough to be engaging, but not so out there that they’re confusing to newcom

It’s going to take awhile before we really understand what all of the changes in Overwatch 2 add up to. Even as someone with more than 600 hours played, I’m still trying to figure out what the transition to 5v5 actually means. Right away it was clear that Overwatch 2 is a much faster game. Fewer shields and abilities that CC means more movement, more big plays, and more snowballs. Skilled players have a much better chance of carrying games now, which means heroes with low TTK are even more valuable than ever before. This is the sense I got right away, but what solidified this belief was the design of the three new characters. Sojourn, Junker Queen, and especially Kiriko represent a commitment Overwatch 2 has to independence and personal performance. I’m still undecided on whether that will be better or worse for the game in the long run, but it’s clear Blizzard has rebuilt the game with a focus on the individual over the t

The question is whether or news not this is better. Losing double shields and excessive CC has definitely curbed some of the most oppressive comps and helped increase the pace, but there are times when Overwatch 2 feels like playing deathmatch instead of a tactical team game. I have seen, and have been, the one player that utterly dominates the entire enemy team, eliminating targets on site in a way that just wasn’t possible when there were two tanks on the field. It will be interesting to see how the next few new heroes fit into the meta, but I suspect they’ll be multi-function killing machines just like Kir

One issue with the current player-base is that no one seems to want to play support . One of the players in my group mains both Moira and Lucio, and I can feel it when he chooses to switch things up and go DPS for a game or two. He’s frequently the only healer on our entire team. It’s lucky he’s so good, but it seems even Kiriko can’t convince Overwatch players to be supp

What I love most of all, though, is Junkrat’s ultimate ability: the RIP-Tire. At first, I thought this ability turned him into the explosive tire that goes screeching at the opposing team before blowing them into teeny tiny pieces. A friend very kindly pointed out that Junkrat is still very much on the map, so it’s important I make sure he’s safe before I trigger it. You can’t just run in the open and whip it out - positioning is key. Driving it up a wall and sending it crashing down on unexpecting foes pushing the objective, wiping them all out was my crowning achievement during my first day playing, and hearing my teammates shout "that was huge!" is a memory of the game that will stick with me for a long t

With so many flocking to the game now it’s free, the cracks are starting to show. I don’t know if we’ll see 6v6 return - at least, not in quick play and competitive - but whittling down the team size by gutting a tank has made Overwatch 2 inherently imbalanced, and no amount of hero tweaks will patch up the h

Blizzard has done the impossible - it's got gamers liking loot boxes . No, not because it improved upon the controversial microtransaction, but because it replaced them with something even worse: the Overwatch 2 battle pa

Junker Queen also has some ‘all-rounder’ qualities. Though she’s classified as a Tank, she doesn’t have the bulk of heroes like Reinhardt and Orisa, and her shotgun deals damage like a DPS. Her commanding shout is an AoE that heals allies around her - something no other tank can do - and her Carnage and Rampage abilities that apply debuffs on enemies just like Ana, who is a supp

Overwatch 2 is free-to-play, which some think justifies Blizzard shuttering the original. It doesn’t, but here we are. Some Overwatch 2 players think the community is actually more toxic now than it was before . With more players being able to dip their toes in without any investment at all, it is possible that more are taking part just to troll oth

"I feel like I'm missing out simply because I'm unable to pay up or grind it out with the little free time I have," says int0th3v0id. "It feels so scummy, unrewarding, and unfun. I find myself resentful towards OW for making the game so stressful. I've found myself becoming more toxic because I want to win to complete the challenges, when I used to not care about winni

I’ll keep working on improving my tank skills, but overcoming that anxiety is arguably a harder obstacle than getting good at the game in the first place. Please gamers, I just want to play D.Va and not get shouted at for no reason. Stop being so stinky and grumpy.

Support and DPS players now slip into the role of tank, whether consciously or not. Brigitte often helps with pushing by using her much-weaker shield when there’s an offensive tank in play, while Lucio relies on his ultimate to essentially turn everyone into a tank, making that the way to push in losing games. There’s clearly a void that people are scrambling to fill, and it’s only made Overwatch even less intuitive to get into. New tanks now have to play the role completely solo, leaving little room for error, and if they do fail, it’s up to the DPS and support to try and fill their sh