With the recent release of the Overwatch 2 Beta, players are getting excited about all the potential goodies that could come with it, as well as some already leaked ones. Some of these changes will completely change the way the game is played and will impact how heroes are used in certain matches. Here, we will go over some of the spoiled features for Overwatch 2 that players have been dying to try out in the beta.
Maps and Game Modes
In Overwatch 2, Blizzard is going to be releasing 4 new maps; Circuit Royal, Midtown, Toronto, and Rome. These maps are built to reflect real-world places, but with that classic Overwatch twist. By making these maps more relatable, yet still a world away, players will hopefully find a new favorite location in the Overwatch universe. These maps also give the opportunity for Blizzard to create cool new heroes from these locations that allow the game to really bring itself to a level that it always strives to surpass.
While the Circut Royal and Midtown maps are using game modes we have seen before (Escort and Hybrid respectively), the latter two maps are the first introduction players will have to the new Push game mode. This mode is rather unique and is a fresh new way to play the game. The goal is to ‘capture’ a robot in the center of the map that will push a barricade forward or backward, depending on who controls the robot. It is rather similar to a game of tug of war, but a bit closer related to “capture the flag” when relating it to an already existing Overwatch game mode.
In the maps using the push format, there is no hard offensive or defense, but it is a fluid stance that will change as the game goes on. As control of the robot changes from team to team, so will the way that teams play the game. This new game mode will certainly give players something to look forward to and is something that we will hopefully see more of in the future.
Heroes
With the release of the Overwatch 2 beta, there of course has to be a tease for a new hero for players to hone their skills on. The first of these heroes to be teased is called Sojourn, a ranged hero that has some cool new twists. Sojourn’s weapon of choice is a railgun that charges energy when firing that will eventually use the stored energy to fire one superpowered shot to insta-kill opponents. Another aspect of Sojourn’s kit that makes her super cool is her mobility. Her Power Slide ability allows her to gain extra movement speed when sliding, allowing her to get to an objective faster all while avoiding enemy fire. However, it doesn’t stop there. The longer Sojourn slides, the longer she charges her next jump, giving that jump a huge boost to catapult her into the air. This can be used to get a good vantage point on opponents and surprise them with an attack from out of nowhere.
Along with the release of this new hero, there are also some reworks coming to some old favorites. These heroes are Orisa, Doomfist, Bastion, and Sombra, as well as a few minor changes to other heroes.
Orisa’s abilities have all completely changed and, in place of her previous abilities, are ones that are much more aggressive. For example, her Halt! and Protective Barrier were replaced with Energy Javelin and Javelin Spin, these are both damage-dealing abilities that have the benefit of knocking back enemies. Her Javelin Spin also blocks oncoming attacks, allowing Orisa to much more easily charge an enemy. She also received changes to her basic attacks, which now do more damage and run on a heat mechanic, so there is no need for reloading as long as the weapon’s charge bar is kept below a certain threshold. Lastly, her ultimate now works similar to the old Doomfist ultimate, but instead, Orisa strikes the ground with her spear and deals damage to opponents caught in the radius.
Next is Doomfist, who seems to be swapping roles with Orisa and is now a tank. First, his Rocket Punch now deals much less damage but is easier to charge, making him ideal for leading allies into battle. His Uppercut ability has been completely removed and is replaced with a new ability, Power Block, which allows him to block most incoming damage from whatever way Doomfist is facing. To make the ability even spicier, the more damage he takes, the more energy he stores up to empower his next Rocket Punch. This allows him to act as a strong frontline for his team and can easily use the buffed attack to dish out some damage to unsuspecting opponents. Last is Seismic Slam, which now gives him much more air-time with the drawback of also dealing less damage. This ability hasn’t changed too much but gives Doomfist even more mobility, which will be important in a lot of games.
Third on this list is Bastion, who got a massively impactful change. This being that is Configuration: Sentry is now changed so that it allows him to move while attacking, as opposed to the previous iteration which restricted his mobility. This gives Bastion so much more protection and he no longer needs to be babysat by his team. However, the tradeoff is that he no longer has his self-heal and instead has a Tactical Grenade, which is a bomb that sticks to opponents and deals a ton of damage. This ability works similarly to Junkrat’s mine because Bastion can use it to give himself some extra mobility. This versatility is much better than Bastion’s original kit and players will be excited to try out these cool new abilities. Finally is his ultimate, which drops 3 massive bombs at any location on the map. This can deal a lot of damage and can easily turn the tide of a fight or allow his team to defend an objective even if he has just died. However, he is immobile when using it, but that isn’t a huge catch, so players should expect Bastion to be a much stronger and well-rounded hero.
Lastly is Sombra, who didn’t get many new abilities, but with some sweet new adjustments to them, that really make them work well together. Her hack ability now only lasts three seconds as opposed to eight, but can be used while invisible. It also allows her to deal extra damage to hacked opponents and lets her and her allies see hacked enemies through walls. However, the health pack duration was decreased from 60 seconds to 30 seconds, meaning Sombra and her team will have to be more careful with their health when the healing is not as accessible. Her ultimate is exactly the same, except now it takes 40% of each opponent’s health instead of dealing damage based on shields, making it an even bigger finisher than the previous iteration.
The Wrap Up
Overall, these changes are going to give players a great chance to try some cool new abilities on existing heroes as well as trying out the bevy of smaller changes made to a few more key heroes. These adjustments will certainly add some spice to each match and give some forgotten heroes the chance to maybe come back into the limelight and allow them to have some interesting plays and in-game dynamics.
These new maps and new game mode will also let players see new places in the Overwatch world as well as try and flex their skills in a new destination or play style. Of course, Overwatch 2 will also be introducing 5v5 matches, so teams will need to be vigilant in games when they are one ally down. Needless to say, all these changes will breathe some fresh life into the game and will give players the chance to play the game as if it was their first time.
Source: https://www.denofgeek.com/games/overwatch-2-every-hero-change-differences-abilities/
