[2021] Can we get a dev to talk about support?

We’ll have more to say about supports in the future.

A humble request of the forum community: all of the changes we’re discussing right now in various threads around the forum are in testing, meaning that they’re not final, and they’re almost certain to change before we go into beta (let alone launch). These conversations are, to some degree, an exercise in transparency and folks keeping an open (yet critical) mindset helps us keeps you better informed about the development process of OW2.

It’s completely understandable that you may be anxious when hearing about what we’re testing from folks like the OWL pros. You don’t have the full context and your only frame of reference is the current retail environment. I get it.

As a fan, I can tell you OW2 still fundamentally feels like Overwatch. Overwatch 2 is still (all together now) all about the Heroes, and the bright, inclusive, and optimistic future of the world we’ve built together.

I’m looking forward to the day you can all experience this for yourselves.

I won’t assume to speak for anyone else, but I get why folks would use other games as a frame of reference when explaining how certain aspects of a given game feels. It’s a common lexicon that we all (mostly) understand. Personally, I play many of the games in a similar categories to OW (Paladins, Apex, COD, etc), so I understand where the comparisons are coming from.

I can’t speak for Super or Space, but to me it felt more like they were referring to the fact that Damage heroes have a more noticeable impact on the outcome of the map, and that the potential for an individual to “carry” a team is higher in 5v5.

A common point of feedback I see from damage players is that they feel as though they have minimal impact on the outcome of a match. Especially in the current meta, it can be frustrating when you feel as though you spend most of your resources chewing through double barriers.

They both pointed out that the absence of a second tank (and minimizing the possibility for this particular point of frustration…Brig still exists) creates more opportunity for damage heroes to shine and feel as though they’re contributing in a meaningful way to the match. I think that’s an important empathy point that they both expressed wonderfully that I tend to see missing in the day to day discussion here on the forums.

It’s completely normal to worry about how changes are going to impact your experience with playing the game. Personally, I tend to view it as the “job” of the players to ensure that we hear perspectives from Tank, Support, and Damage mains (and even OTP), it’s my job to ensure that the feedback is communicated in a way that properly contextualizes said feedback, and it’s the Hero Design team’s job to understand the big picture, and to translate that into an enjoyable experience for as many players as possible.

Personal take here, but I don’t usually conflate popularity with efficacy. While tank and support may not be the most popular roles, one could argue that they’re very impactful in any given match.

There was an article I read years ago that summed up a lot of the “why’s” for why folks play DPS roles in class based games. Not everything is applicable (the article was written about MMORPG gameplay), but the fundamental motivations remain true:

• Players love to see big numbers. The dopamine hit and instant feedback that players get from putting up big damage numbers is an immediate indication of how well you’re doing in game.
• Clear expectations around what you’re supposed to be doing: You are damage. You’re either flanking, ranged, or melee, but no matter what you know what you’re supposed to do: punch/kick/shoot/blow up the target in front of you.

Damage tends to be a more approachable role because it’s more straight forward, and appeals to a broader set of players.

Tanking and support requires you to have an appreciation for how your actions improve those around you, which is arguably one of the most impactful aspects of the game.

I hear you, and I want you all to know I’m registering and taking note of this sentiment.

To manage expectations: I’m not ready to discuss changes or updates to the Support role in OW2 more deeply than what we’ve already commented on. That said, I do very clearly understand that general anxiety around the expectations of every role is high right now, and ideally we can address that with future content like blogs and dev update videos.

TBH I don’t know our plans for the tutorial in OW2. I can certainly pass this sentiment along to the folks who would make those decisions.

Hi there Darkot. I saw your response in the previous post and made note of the feedback.

In the interest of transparency in my process: I generally tend to avoid communicating solutions to the dev team. Your breakdown of the root cause of concern (the change in detection radius may be confusing and could be better communicated) is exactly the kind of feedback that’s most useful. It’s clear, concise, and to the point.