News has started to come out about the hotly anticipated Overwatch 2, and the sequel looks to make some big changes for the series. One of the biggest changes in the hero shooter is the move from teams having six players to only having five. Overwatch 2 will still feature role lock, but will now force teams to only have one tank, with two damage heroes and two support heroes. This will undoubtedly shake up the meta in Overwatch 2 substantially, as tank players will have increased importance, as they are the only ones soaking damage for their team.
The change to 5v5 has led to developer Blizzard having to rework much about Overwatch to make it play better. Not only have the developers said they are updating maps to include more cover to break sightlines and protect lower health heroes, but the team is also reworking and updating a variety of heroes. So far, Blizzard has confirmed that Overwatch's Bastion is getting a complete rework, while Mei is getting her power toned down slightly. However, there are a few other heroes that Blizzard may have to rework to make sure they fit better in Overwatch 2's new meta.
Overwatch 2 Should Rework Wrecking Ball
Overwatch's Wrecking Ball is one of the game's more unique tanks. Able to roll around and swing on a line with their ball-shaped mech, Wrecking Ball has always played the role of an off-tank that was heavily favored for offensive compositions, like dive, or to counter more stationary defensive compositions like bunker. However, Wrecking Ball's kit encourages them to play away from their team to create space in the enemy team's composition. This is great when the team also has a main tank to provide protection and dictate the team's space, but that will not be the case come Overwatch 2's new meta.
For Wrecking Ball to work well in Overwatch 2, he will have to be given more abilities that focus on protecting his team while also creating space. It may be difficult to maintain his current playstyle of swinging around and slamming on the enemy team, while also allowing him to protect his team well, but it may be necessary.
If Wrecking Ball is the only tank on a team, it would be devastating for him to swing away from his team and go on the offensive, leaving his team vulnerable and without any protection from Overwatch 2's lethal damage heroes. It may turn out that Blizzard has to give Wrecking Ball some way to deploy barriers to protect his team while he is away, but the developers could also opt instead to make him buff his team to better allow them to be more aggressive with him.
Overwatch 2 Should Rework Roadhog
Roadhog is another one of Overwatch's stable of tanks that may need a rework to make him more of a main-tank and better support his team. As he is now in Overwatch, Roadhog fills the role of an off-tank that can keep himself up while hooking enemy players and deliver a devastating shot to destabilize the enemy team's composition and positioning. Roadhog has been the focus of a variety of tweaks to adjust his play over Overwatch's lifespan, but he may need even more drastic changes to make him viable as the only tank on his team. Once Overwatch 2's changes arrive, Roadhog will need to be much more sustainable on his own.
As he is present in Overwatch, Roadhog does not have abilities like Reinhardt, Orisa, or Winston that all have shields to protect his team members. This means that in Overwatch 2, Roadhog will either need more abilities or a significant buff to make him viable as the only tank on a team.
Increasing his self-heal ability as well as his health pool and damage resistance will help ensure that Roadhog can maintain his position slightly longer without the help of a support hero. This would free up the team's support heroes to focus on the weaker heroes on the team while they do not have to support Roadhog. These changes could be hard to balance, but it would allow teams and the Overwatch League to have more varied compositions if Overwatch 2's meta is balanced well.
Overwatch 2 Should Rework Reaper
Reaper holds the position of Overwatch's premier tank buster. His dual-shotguns can melt through a tank's health bar thanks to their larger models making it easier for all of Reaper's shots to hit. In Overwatch 2, however, Reaper will likely need a rework to find a place in the new meta. With the increased importance of tanks in a team's composition, Reaper's kit will be interesting to see. If Reaper is kept as Overwatch 2's premiere tank killer, he will likely see a lot of playtime for his ability to destabilize an enemy team's composition.
However, with how much more capable Overwatch 2's tanks will be, raising Reaper's damage to match could make him too powerful when it comes to killing heroes with less survivability. This may lead to Reaper's role in Overwatch 2 changing to be less focused on killing tanks. Reaper's current kit also has some utility in his ability to ignore damage in his wraith form as teleport across the map. Overwatch 2 could rework Reaper to focus on these aspects, making him more favorable for flanking an enemy team and killing a high value support or damage character before retreating back to safety with his wraith form.
Regardless of what character reworks end up coming with Overwatch 2, the meta will definitely be a big change for players. Many heroes will undoubtedly be tweaked and worked on to fit them into a five player team. Of course, Overwatch 2 will also bring new heroes, maps, multiplayer modes, and even an entirely new campaign mode for players to explore some of the series' lore. It is great that Blizzard has started releasing more information on what players can expect from Overwatch 2, so hopefully they will keep showing more of the game off while they get closer to announcing a release window.