Overwatch Still Needs to Bring Back This Feature to Reach True Greatness

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The recent major update to Overwatch has been successful. While the redesigned interface feels a bit complex initially, it presents information clearly. The five new characters are all distinct – with one minor exception – and are generally very fun to play. It’s also smart to integrate the game’s evolving story into the gameplay itself, rather than just relying on online comics and lore. However, Blizzard still hasn’t reintroduced a key feature many players want: the ability to select roles in the classic 6v6 game mode.

Overwatch’s Role Queue System Changed the Game

The role queue system launched in 2019 and significantly enhanced the game experience. Before, players often worried about unbalanced teams formed randomly. Role queue fixed this by guaranteeing two tanks, two healers, and two damage-dealing heroes on each team. While it limited team composition options, it eliminated frustrating situations where teams had too many damage heroes and not enough support. This ensured at least a basic level of balance, even without team coordination.

Blizzard appeared to have reservations about the 6v6 system, and were hesitant to reinstate it. Game Director Aaron Keller extensively discussed the advantages and disadvantages of 6v6 with role queue in a blog post, focusing heavily on the potential for long wait times for players wanting to play Damage roles. This led to Blizzard creating an open role queue option, allowing teams to have at least one player in each role, but no more than three.

The system doesn’t function smoothly and frequently becomes chaotic due to a lack of players willing to take on the Tank or Healer roles. While wait times may be shorter, this doesn’t make up for the inconsistent quality of the matches. In games like these, particularly free-to-play ones, players often need to be encouraged to play as a team, as it doesn’t come naturally to many of them.

It’s easy to see why Keller is frustrated with wait times, but it’s a reasonable trade-off. Focusing solely on the queues for Damage-dealing heroes seems a bit self-centered when there are other roles available. While getting multi-kills as Cassidy or landing precise shots with Ashe is fun, there’s also a great feeling in keeping your team alive as Mercy or shielding them with Ramattra. That’s what makes Overwatch‘s hero design so strong – encouraging players to stick to what they know prevents them from discovering how rewarding other heroes can be.

I really think Blizzard could improve queue times by subtly encouraging players to try different roles, especially since they got rid of that old priority ticket system. That system was cool – you’d earn tickets by playing roles nobody wanted, then use them to skip the line when you did want to play a popular Damage hero. They don’t have to bring that exact thing back, but finding ways to reward players for filling in the gaps would be awesome. Honestly, even just a little nudge to balance the queues would make a huge difference in match quality, and that’s totally worth it!

Overwatch Is Still Too Dependent on Tanks in 5v5

While Overwatch does have a role queue system, it’s only reliably used in the 5v5 game modes, which creates new problems. Similar to when Blizzard made this change for the launch of Overwatch 2 in 2022, the game still heavily relies on strong Tank players. A team with a struggling Tank is very likely to lose, both in small fights and overall. If the Tank player dies, the whole team often falls apart quickly, and having a weaker Tank generally leads to losing the match. This puts a lot of pressure on the Tank player to perform well.

Playing with a second Tank significantly reduces pressure on individual players, which is a key reason why many prefer the original 6v6 format of Overwatch. While the current 5v5 mode encourages a more structured team composition that can lead to a good experience, the game itself isn’t as enjoyable and doesn’t fully showcase the strengths of assigning players to specific roles.

Overwatch is largely back on its feet. After a difficult launch for the sequel, Blizzard has spent the past year or so making improvements to the game, creating a more enjoyable experience for players both during and outside of matches. Now, the team needs to fully commit to a role queue system for 6v6 matches, instead of avoiding it with minor concerns that could be handled separately. Blizzard has already removed the ‘2’ from Overwatch’s name, but adding this final feature is crucial to fully recapture the spirit of the original game.

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2026-02-20 17:11