The upcoming Overwatch 2 undoubtedly has a huge legacy to live up to. With the intense and sustained popularity of its predecessor, the game will have to find a harmonious middle ground between fresh gameplay and mechanics while honoring the same feel and framework that made the franchise so popular.
One of the primary ways in which Overwatch 2 is attempting to do this is via the reworking of many of the iconic playable heroes within the Overwatch roster. One of the fan-favorite characters who has been confirmed to be subject to some serious changes in Overwatch 2 is Doomfist, with the hero changing roles and getting a fresh ability.
The Fundamentals of Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 promises to expand upon the narrative of its predecessor quite significantly, with the intricate lore of Overwatch being one of its most alluring aspects. The game will retain its core gameplay of team-based competition, while altering the capabilities and metas of the characters from the first Overwatch and also giving them fresh looks. In addition to this, Overwatch 2 will boast a series of action-packed four-player co-op missions, which will help strengthen the new narrative.
The game will predictably also contain a slew of new maps and heroes to compliment the fresh gameplay. Despite this, online PvP within Overwatch 2 will actually be compatible with the remaining playerbase of the first Overwatch, while skins and progress for the first game will carry over to Overwatch 2 for returning players.
The Doomfist Rework
The hero Doomfist has arguably undergone some of the most large-scale changes in his rework for Overwatch 2. Immediately, one of the most obviously glaring large-scale changes to Doomfist within Overwatch 2 is that he is going to be changed to a tank class, as opposed to his current role as a complex damage dealing one. In order to compliment the wildly different battle characteristics that are required of a tank as opposed to a DPS class, Doomfist will see a slew of changes to his abilities and stats, with his health being raised to 450 being one example.
For Doomfist's Hand Cannon, the ammo recovery speed has been increased to once every 0.4 seconds, while its damage has been reduced from 6 to 5 per pellet. Doomfist will also receive an ability called Power Block, which will be the core defensive ability that will rework him into more tank-aligned gameplay. Power Block will allow Doomfist to protect himself from frontal attacks, with the blocking of heavy damage empowering his Rocket Punch ability by making it travel faster and further while dealing more damage.
Rocket Punch itself sees many changes within this rework, with its max charge time reduced to one second and impact damage reduced to 15-30. Wall slam damage with Rocket Punch has also been reduced to 20-40. As an additional rework change to Doomfist, his Uppercut ability has been removed entirely, most likely to lessen his overall damage output and make way for a more defensive focus.
Doomfist's Seismic Slam now launches him in the air, akin to Winston's leap, while dealing damage and slowing enemies upon landing. Additionally, Doomfist's ultimate ability Meteor Strike will also see significant change. Meteor Strike will add a slow effect to hit enemies, while outer ring damage has been reduced to 100-15. As a final change to Meteor Strike, its activation time has been reduced to 0.5 seconds. With all these changes considered, it will be more than interesting to see how this reworked Doomfist plays within the updated and fresh meta that Overwatch 2 is attempting to establish.
Overwatch 2 is currently in development.