In a surprise AMA on June 22, Blizzard revealed that the Overwatch 2 development team has a lot of plans in mind for support heroes.
As reported by PCGamesN, support heroes, in particular, are “a focus” for the team as the game approaches its Oct. 4 early access release. Several existing support heroes are getting adjustments to their abilities to help them fit into the new five-vs-five format better and to broaden the range of playstyles that supports offer.
The team revealed that there will be changes to Moira’s kit in the middle of the upcoming June 28 beta, some of which were explored in a recent Blizzard blog post. The developers are also planning changes to Brigitte, specifically for her Rally ultimate, that they want to have done by launch.
Besides updating previous heroes, Blizzard wants to add “more supports ASAP” to the game’s roster of playable characters. An unannounced hero was teased in the Overwatch 2 release date trailer, leading many to believe that it represents the support hero that Blizzard will be revealing before the game’s early access launch. Beyond release, the team wants to add both numbers and gameplay variety to the support class. While there likely won’t ever be as many support heroes as there are damage heroes, the devs hope to increase the number of options for support fans.
After tanks received sweeping changes and buffs during the first Overwatch 2 PvP beta, fans complained that supports were struggling to keep up thanks to increased crowd control pressure and flanking potential. Blizzard responded by buffing and adjusting supports, which alleviated the problem somewhat. Based on the responses to the AMA, it seems as though the team is looking to adjust supports even more to increase their standing in the community. “We know that our support hero lineup needs variety and it’s a focus for us going forward,” systems designer Gavin Winter said.
The next Overwatch 2 PvP beta begins on June 28.
