Blizzard Wants More Supports Like Mercy for Overwatch 2
Blizzard announced last Thursday, June 16, that the highly anticipated Overwatch 2 will debut on October 4, 2022.
The sequel to the well-known Overwatch, which emphasizes coordinated team play over individual accolades, will feature several new Heroes for gamers to play with, as well as new maps, skins, and a host of other features you would expect from a new game.
#Overwatch2 arrives October 4, ushering in a new era for the franchise as a free-to-play live service game!
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) June 16, 2022
Learn more about the game and our commitment to deliver frequent seasonal content updates that expand the game to ensure there’s always something new to play. pic.twitter.com/tAzPPtvcP0
One of the new heroes to make her debut in Overwatch 2 is Junker Queen, who will be available upon the release of the Overwatch 2 Beta, set to release on June 28. To witness her origin story, check out Blizzard's animated short "The Wastelander" on YouTube.
Junker Queen is not the only change to come to the Heroes of Overwatch 2, there are several. For one, Doomfist will be repurposed as a Tank rather than a Damage hero in an effort to rebalance the game. In a recent interview with stevivor, Lead Hero Designer for Overwatch 2, Geoff Goodman "said he and his team wanted to keep Doomfist feeling the same, but acknowledged that 'we were going to have to probably change at least one of his abilities to make him a little fairer to play against, but also give him more ability to tank in his new role.'”
And that isn't the only change to come to Heroes in Overwatch 2. In another interview with Dexerto just a few days ago, Goodman stated, “Lately, especially on the support side, we’ve been talking about adding more Mercy-style of less aim-focused. Some of our more popular supports like Zenyatta and Ana are very aim-focused, but we started thinking maybe we need more of the pure Mercy-style."
In that interview, Goodman made clear the developer's plan to diminish the importance of aiming in the game, in order to allow gamers to develop other skills to be successful.
With all the new changes to heroes coming to light, it will be interesting to see how gamers receive Overwatch 2. Because such a large part of the game is cooperation amongst individuals, we will surely see gameplay change as a result of these new relationships. Now, we look forward to the Beta release on June 28, to get a better taste of what's to come.