All about the Overwatch 2 beta

Since April 26, you can get started with the beta for Overwatch 2, at least if you have received an invite to participate in the beta. To get you all ready for Blizzard's new pilot project, you can read about all the innovations you'll find in the beta here.

From 6v6 to 5v5

We start off with the biggest change; matchmaking in Overwatch has changed. Where in the original Overwatch you played six against six, you now do that with one hero less in your team, the number of tanks has been halved to one. According to Blizzard, this switch was made because tank heroes had too much influence. One less tank should make the game more fun. That the role of tank is by far the least popular with the playerbase is a coincidence.

The change in the number of players on the field also brings a change in supports. The time that you had to heal your tanks full time seems to be a thing of the past. There is now more room to make plays as a support. For DPS, not much will change other than the number of targets and that it will probably be easier to destroy the squishies of the opponent without all those irritating shields.

Heroes

Overwatch 2 New Heros

There have been a number of changes to the heroes segment. The biggest, of course, is Sojourn who has been added. She is hero number 33 and the eighteenth DPS. In addition to Sojourn, Doomfist, Orissa and Bastion have received a major overhaul. Some other heroes have received minor updates, you can read more about them at the bottom of the article.

Sojourn

Sojourn is the first new hero in Overwatch since Echo was added in April 2020. This DPS uses a railgun that can inflict considerable pain. In addition, Sojourn also has two normal abilities; a combat slide and a disuptor field in which you can hurt enemies. With her ultimate she can use her railgun more often and the laser of the railgun goes through enemies. Useful for wiping the opponent clean with. For more on Sojourn, you can go here.

Doomfist

Doomfist makes the switch from DPS to Tank. He loses his uppercut, but at the same time he gets an ability to block damage. His kit has also been modified to focus more on dealing damage and less on dealing it. All of Doomfist's new features can be found here.

Orissa

Just like Doomfist, Orissa has been pimped out. Her shield and Halt! make way for a spear that can absorb damage, stun players and push enemies away. Her ultimate has also been modified; her damage booster is a thing of the past and replaced with an ultimate in which the spear is used to deal a hefty dose of damage to opponents. Everything surrounding the new Orissa can be found here.

Bastion

From one robot we move on to another. Bastion, in fact, has changed from a stationary killing machine to a driving killing machine. He can now move in his minigun form and also has an explosive with which he can do considerable damage or launch himself. This is at the expense of his selfheal. His ultimate has also changed; instead of a tank, Bastion turns into an artillery with which he can bombard opponents. For all about Bastion, you can check out the video below.

New gamemode: Push

Besides new heroes, a new gamemode has been released in Overwatch, namely Push. In this gamemode you play for a neutral objective; both teams have a barricade which they must escort to the other side of the map. The pushing of this barricade is done by a neutral robot, for which both teams have to fight. When a team is near the robot, it pushes the barricade towards the other side of the map. The team that reaches the end of the map or has pushed the furthest wins the map.

Four new maps

Overwatch 2 Maps

Overwatch 2 launches with a package of fresh locations. The first new map is an escort map, which means you have to take a payload to the other side. This map is called Circuit Royal and is set in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The second map is Midtown; a hybrid map located in New York City. In it, you must first capture a point and then carry a payload away.

The last two maps, New Queen Street in Toronto, Canada and Colosseo in Rome, Italy are both push maps. So in these maps a robot spawns in the middle and starts between two barricades. Both teams fight for this robot which pushes the barricades to the other side.

Other adjustments

Ping system

In Overwatch 2 a new Ping System has been added. In it, you can more easily indicate to your team exactly what you intend to do. It is a small but useful extension to the original ping system, in which you could only communicate a few things quickly.

Adjustments to existing maps
Several maps have been given a new look. These include Ilios, Lijang Tower, Oasis, Dorado, Route 66, King's Row and Eichenwalde. Instead of the fixed day part where maps took place by default, you can now play Route 66 with night light, for example.

Small adjustments to existing heroes

Many heroes have received minor adjustments here and there. For a complete overview you can go here. These are mainly changes to shift the balance of the game to five against five.

New HUD

Just about all menus in Overwatch 2 have been tweaked. This applies to the start menu, the menu where you choose heroes, but also during matches themselves. The scoreboard, for example, has had major updates and it is now possible to see who in your team is doing the most damage or who has healed the most. Also the UI, for example where you can see the ultimate meter, has had some necessary adjustments.

Audio

The last update worth mentioning is the audio. Each hero has new sounds for when they fire their guns. In addition, there are also significant improvements in the background sounds. For example when something breaks in the background or when bullets fly past.