What’s so controversial? Overwatch 2 had recently dealt a rough blow to pro teams and especially their tank players in a presentation. There were three announcements at once that will affect the tank players and therefore the whole matches:

• The team size will drop from 6 to 5, so instead of 12 players, there will only be 10 in a match in the future.
• The new fixed group composition is 1 tank, 2 DPS and 2 support. So one tank will be deleted.
• Tanks will be significantly reworked, should no longer be meat shields, but simply a bit more steadfast “bruiser” characters.

Many pro players are therefore fearing for their jobs, as it could simply be eliminated with the new team size, or the changes to the tanks are so massive that their performance is simply not enough.

The new 5vs5 mode – Already playable now

If you don’t want to wait until the release of Overwatch 2, you can already experiment with the adapted rules and get a first feeling for how the game feels with changed team sizes.

How does it work? Overwatch has offered the possibility for players to create their own modes for quite a while now. It is possible to customize pretty much all factors a little bit, create completely new abilities and make a lot of modifications.

Reddit user Ajfis3 took this as an opportunity to create a mode with the corresponding customizations. The code for this is Y4AY9.

What’s new there? The changes in this custom game mode are the same as what was already seen in the stream:

• The team size decreases from 6 to 5
• Reinhardt has 2 fire strikes, as well as an interruptible rush with more maneuverability
• D.Va’s defensive matrix lasts 4 seconds again and recharges faster
• Zarya now has two charges for her shields, which share a cooldown time
• Winston has a new ranged attack
• Mei’s primary fire no longer freezes, but does more damage
• “Overhealth” is a new mechanic that combines barriers and decaying HP
• Passive Role Abilities:
  • Tanks are pushed back less and grant less ultimate charge
  • DPS characters move faster
  • Support characters heal automatically when they do not take damage

How players react: The first reactions of the players are quite positive. The changes the developers wanted to make, such as players no longer hiding behind tanks all the time and each player having greater weight, seem to be working. Also, supporters are encouraged to make more use of their offensive abilities instead of waiting all the time and only healing behind a barrier, as is currently the case more often.

We probably won’t know what the pros think of these changes until all the new features are built in. Because until the release of Overwatch 2 – probably not before 2022 or even later – a lot will still change.

Have you tried out the changes yet? How does it feel for you to go out with a smaller group?