[2021] Why do people think tanks are getting buffed? 5v5

This has been a recurring theme in conversation since the PvP Livestream; Tank players want to understand their role in a new 5v5 world. I talked to the Hero Design and Balance team about this thread, and have summed up some thoughts below:

Tanks in Overwatch 2 remain both disruptive line breakers and push-leading protectors. Changing from two Tanks to one creates a new dynamic, where each player (including Damage and Supports) needs to be more careful about the way they position themselves. Flanking potentially becomes more potent as a strategy, and because teams aren’t relying on holding “the high ground” due to the defensive capabilities of multiple Tanks, maps are being used to their fullest (which has resulted in some fun playtests).

Tanks will still be the unquestioned authority on blocking damage; however, they won’t be simultaneously contending with the opposing Tank blocking nearly all incoming damage for their team. Changing to a single Tank means that they will be tuned to be slightly tougher on the individual level. Tanks with overwhelming team defensive capabilities (like Reinhardt) will have their group protections reduced, while their damage and utility will be improved.

To address the pressure that a single Tank position can put on an individual player: there is an assumption that if the Tank dies, the fight is over. Realistically speaking, any player dying in a 5v5 scenario can mean a team-fight loss for their team, so everyone is going to have a bit more pressure put on their individual performance. That said, Tanks not being responsible for mitigating overwhelming damage for the entire team removes some pressure for the role. This also opens an avenue for them to focus more on getting in the opposing team’s face and pressuring with damage and disrupting enemy lines. In our own playtests, we have observed an interesting dynamic where Tanks are not usually the first to die. Support is better able to maintain their front line, creating a scenario where healing is more focused since it’s not split trying to keep multiple tanks alive.

Double Barrier team comps is another area directly impacted by this change. In Overwatch 2, there is a maximum of one shield Tank per team, which leads to changes in how we tune and adjust the total “uptime” for these barriers. This comes in the form of lowering their health, increasing their cooldowns, or lowering their durations. We want barriers to feel impactful, albeit less oppressive, across the game.

Tanks rooted in mobility, such as D.Va, Wrecking Ball, and Winston will see their utility improved, gaining additional defensive stopping power, and in some cases more freedom to flex between having an offensive impact and being a defensive bulwark for their team.

I do understand that some of us have very strong feelings about changing to a single tank, and it’s going to take more than a response like this to fully convince you that this is a net positive change.

To be completely candid: I understand that you need to get your hands on the game and experience it for yourself to fully form an opinion. As someone who was an OW fan and player before I ever joined the team, I have a huge amount of empathy for folks who are frustrated waiting for OW2.

Speaking as someone who plays retail comp nightly, and playtests 2 almost daily, it’s difficult to envision what the experience is actually like until you’ve been in the environment and played several matches. I sincerely do not mean this in a gatekeep-y or “we know better than you” tone, but more to create an understanding that we get your sentiment and understand where your feedback is coming from.

and they say…

Rising Uppercut!

Not something we’re prepared to talk about yet unfortunately.

Apologies!

This concern is something we’re paying close attention to in our playtests.

So far, we’ve seen that heroes like Doomfist, Wrecking Ball (and to some degree Tracer), will need to be rebalanced, and maybe even nerfed, to make sure they’re not super overpowered in the new meta.

Changes like the ones we’ve discussed in the PVP Livestream and here in this thread are incredibly complicated. They have far reaching ramifications throughout the game. Your question correctly assumes that they can never be evaluated in a vacuum.

Just to manage expectations: don’t read too much into my answer. It shouldn’t be taken as an indication that anything is or isn’t changing with these game modes.

I’m going to refer back to this paragraph in my first post:

Additionally, the aforementioned ability of supports to better focus on keeping a single tank alive will have an impact on this.

Performance, min-specs, etc is not something we’re talking about yet. We’ll certainly have more information on that in the future.

Caveat: not a designer

I believe this is more in regard to the fact that Doom and Wrecking Ball have both great mobility and strong cc abilities like Knockup and Knockback.

Evaluating Tracer’s mobility is a part of process, but in a different way than the former.

I understand where your feedback is coming from. It remains to be seen how removing cc and utility from certain Damage heroes will impact the perceived “fun-ness” of those abilities being used by Tanks and Supports in the future. That’s a fair concern and one that we’ll be paying close attention to as we develop OW2.

Without going into detail…

yes

Caveat: I am not confirming here the extent to which we’re looking at Doomfist. It would be disrespectful to the the hard working members of Team 4 to not give their work our best effort in revealing it.

Speaking more generally, existing hero reworks and/or balance changes are a part of our larger comms plan for OW2. We want for heroes to have the appropriate amount of space and time to shine and we’ll be doing what we can to create some great reveal content that will hopefully surprise and delight you.

To be honest, I don’t know that this consideration is on the radar, but it’s feedback that I can pass along.