So Overwatch 2 is out - out with the old, in with the new, they say. But whether you're a veteran of Activision Blizzard's hero-based team shooter or not, you'll still need a bit of a guiding hand as you go into the second iteration of Overwatch. And that's where this guide comes in - even if the game's launch is nothing short of disastrous so far.
Here, we aim to help you get your feet wet before you dive into Overwatch 2, to ensure you won't have a lot of trouble adjusting to a new, fast-paced competitive shooter. So without further ado, let's begin!
Entry Barriers
The first one in this list is probably the most annoying for a lot of players - Activision Blizzard's SMS Protect feature. This feature asks players to input a post-paid phone number (not pre-paid) just to play. Their reason? It's to thwart hackers and cheaters from ruining the experience for everyone. But it basically locked out millions of lower-income players from even booting the game up.
Immense backlash followed, and ActiBlizz finally relented (about freaking time). As reported by Polygon, they're going to remove the phone number requirement and expect the update to go live by October 7th. If you have a post-paid phone number, then lucky you - you can skip this and move on to the next item.
Gameplay Changes
Now that that dumb phone number requirement's out of the way, let's get to the meat of the action. Overwatch 2 is still more or less the same hero-based shooter you loved from 2015. All of the heroes are returning (plus a few newcomers, including DPS Sojourn and healer Kiriko), but the gameplay did have a few major reworks.
For one, it's now 5v5 instead of the original 6v6. Many players were stumped as to why this is. But the main gist is that striking one hero from the team roster makes the gameplay more fast-paced. However, it also brings about a massive change to certain players - specifically, those who mainly play as Tanks.
According to Overwatch League pro player Brandon "Seagull" Larned (via Dexerto), removing one Tank from the roster (now it's just two DPS and healers each plus a single Tank) makes Tank players far more viable for their teams. Furthermore, it helped reduce the incredibly long queue times for tank heroes, which Seagull also believed helped fix and improve the overall quality of the matches as a whole.
So when you log onto Overwatch 2 as a Tank main and see that there's only one spot, be ready for that. Also, prepare yourself since your role will become even more important now - and people will be clamoring for an experienced Tank main almost every time from here on out.
Hero Reworks
Overwatch 2 might be bringing everyone back from the original game, but almost everybody had a major skill rework. All roles (Tank, DPS, Support) had major Passive changes, with some tank heroes like Orisa getting a fully different kit. Doomfist, who used to be DPS, even got fully turned into a tank hero for this game.
There are too many hero reworks to include in this section, so we'll just link a video here from YouTuber BRO YOU WACK discussing all of these changes in detail:
Take these changes to heart and make sure to practice them within Overwatch 2 so you won't struggle too much on the first day. This goes to Orisa and Doomfist mains, too: it's going to be a whole new ballgame.
New Maps And Game Modes
Of course, with a new game comes fresh game modes and maps, as expected. Activision Blizzard introduced these maps, along with their types and the new game mode called Push (via IGN):
Circuit Royal (Escort)
Midtown (Hybrid)
Paraiso (Hybrid)
Colosseo (Push)
Esperanca (Push)
New Queen Street (Push)
The Push game mode tasks the opposing teams with taking control of a robot that pushes a barricade in the middle of the map. Teams will make the bot go forward to enemy lines by staying within its perimeter, and enemy teams can contest this. The team who gets to push the bot the farthest wins (via ScreenRant).
Some Treats for Next-Gen Console Players
If you're playing OW2 on a next-gen Xbox Series X/S or PlayStation 5, you will have access to next-gen performance and visual upgrades (via Xbox Wire). You can enjoy your game at a silky-smooth 120 FPS on 1080p, 60 FPS in native 4K, and even get shorter queue times via the Velocity Architecture on Xbox. Overwatch 2 also supports cloud saves and cross-platform connections so you can group up with your friends regardless of what system they play on.
