The Overwatch 2 beta is live at last and it’s broken Twitch records for the series, with a peak of 1.5m+ concurrent views. However, while some have been pleased with the beta, others have criticised it for looking too similar to the original Overwatch.
UK Overwatch esports caster Jace shares his thoughts after getting to grips with the beta himself.
It’s finally here. After much anticipation, the Overwatch 2 Beta has finally been released. Being live at the time of writing this article for just over three days now, I wanted to give some quick first impressions about the beta overall.
The main goal here isn’t to be a negative nancy or cite a lack of something’s existence, I just want to focus on what it actually is and what it actually offers right now.
First of all, whilst my own perspective will come later and will veer more towards competitive team play and higher ranked Overwatch, I will say from a casual standpoint, it is much improved for the average player. The main reason being, that inside 6v6 and the current state of Overwatch 1, there were a lot of things to be mad about: Aspects like double shield or double dive tank and heaps of crowd control simply do not exist now with the changes and 5v5 gameplay.
“From a casual standpoint, this is much improved for the average player. Inside 6v6 and the current state of Overwatch 1, there were a lot of things to be mad about: Aspects like double shield or double dive tank and heaps of crowd control simply do not exist now.”
I personally love the MOBA aspects of Overwatch and how you play around and manage cooldowns, but this is an FPS game at its core – the key word in that acronym being ‘shooter’.
Even though there are times where Orisa has felt unkillable due to Fortify, her javelin block and ultimate, you are at least shooting a tank and not a shield. That is far more interactive and engaging.
Additionally, the lack of CC has brought fan favourites like Genji back into the lobby. The majority of feedback came surrounding how suppressed most of the DPS roster can be in the average elo simply by selecting Brigitte, DVA or Orisa. The fact Soldier 76 is now an S-tier DPS is an exceptional transformation. I applaud the development team for that.
Reinforce’s tweet shown below is a perfect summary of what’s changed and why it feels so refreshing. Overwatch 1 had times where fights felt gated behind barriers and having to play around CC, but now the actual damage that you can deal starts sooner.
Now to look at the current beta from the other perspective. Overwatch 2’s beta brought some new toys for players at the highest levels of the game.
Orisa is now a really good anchor offering options to play around long rage damage heroes like Soldier, Ashe and Sojourn in tow
with a Mercy pocket. All you need is an Ana and the Numbani defender will be just fine on her own, soaking up everything thrown at her. This is important as it is light years away from almost every meta composition in Overwatch 1 that played around tanks and their fight-changing cooldowns.
Supports really feel like the golden goose, in my opinion. They are the backbones that turn tanks and DPS into carry machines.
Certain team comps have already emerged with the sole intention of killing the enemy backline as fast as possible. Doomfist’s ability to engage with such velocity is perfect to pair with flankers like Echo, Genji and Tracer that love to assassinate at the drop of a hat.
There are viable strategies that allow a front to back playstyle such as a traditional brawl Reinhardt/Mei/Reaper/Lucio/Moira. It loses a lot without DVA, but it is still good on maps like Lijiang and Kings for now.
“This beta is more Overwatch 1.1 than it is Overwatch 2. It will keep changing and evolving until the day it comes out, each beta wave at a time. So if you aren’t happy with how your role or hero are right now, that’s okay. There is still time.”
I offer fair warning, however: any team comp missing a DVA is leaving an event horizon-sized void that can be punished by heroes with incredible spam damage.
Regardless of team composition though, the game feels undoubtedly faster and more mechanically intensive. As I mentioned earlier in the article, Soldier, Tracer and Genji all being strong heroes is a good testament to this shift towards individualism and solo carry potential.
Finally, just remember. This beta is more Overwatch 1.1 than it is Overwatch 2. This game will keep changing and evolving until the day it comes out, each beta wave at a time. So if you aren’t happy with how your role or hero are right now, that’s okay. There is still time left for you yet.
Take care everyone.
Related article: Insomnia i68 esports roundup – all the Overwatch finals
