Overwatch 2 feels like a whole new game, although almost everything has stayed the same

The Overwatch 2 PvP beta has been playable since April 26, 2022. MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus has played it extensively since then. After initial skepticism and even a ragequit, he can’t get enough anymore. And this despite the fact that the game only does a few things differently than its predecessor.

I’ve played about 10 hours since the beta started. Of this I must have cursed for 3 hours how much everything annoys me before I could enjoy every moment.

Overwatch 2 is a big change, although everything feels absolutely familiar. The same maps, the same heroes and yet a completely different feel. How does a game manage to reinvent itself and do it well?

At the moment only the PvP modes are playable, so not the full game yet. But this already shows how different Overwatch 2 really is, although it somehow remains the same game at its core.

The Sojourn story trailer serves to get you in the mood for the new game:

Overwatch 2 is a completely new game without changing much

What’s new? The Overwatch 2 beta patch brings some new features, but they could just be patch notes of a larger update. Among them are:

• Reworks of several heroes like Bastion and Doomfist
• A new heroine: Sojourn
• Push as a new mode that replaces Attack with new maps
• minor balance adjustments
• each role (tank, healer, DPS) now has special properties
• a new UI as well as the famous Apex Legends ping system for better communication

So why do you have to create a new game for such an update? This is due to how these changes ultimately fit into the game.

How is the game changing? Actually, there’s only one really big change that Overwatch 2 brings to PvP: speed. A fight is decided much faster than in the predecessor. The reason for this is that there are now only 5 instead of 6 heroes per team.

The change to 5 players per team is huge. Overwatch 2 plays more like a fast-paced, old-school shooter and less like a grand battle of heroes. A team now consists of:

• a tank
• 2 healers
• 2 DPS heroes

As a result, each team is missing a decent chunk of combined life points. In addition, many tanks’ shields have been completely removed from the game, and the remaining ones are significantly weaker than before. The result: fights are over faster because less damage is enough to wipe out teams.

And this is exactly where Overwatch 2 suddenly becomes a whole new game. If you’re still used to the fights from the predecessor, you’ll have to adapt quickly to get by.

Faster and more intense – But you have to get used to it

How to play Overwatch 2: Where in Overwatch a fight can last up to a minute or even longer, in which the opponents dance around each other with ults and skills, in Overwatch 2 the outcome is usually decided after a few seconds.

Heroes die much faster, most skills have less cooldown, and almost all heroes deal more damage. The life of a single player is also more important. Because winning a 4 vs 5 is much harder than a 5 vs 6.

This makes flanking more important, but so does your choice of heroes. If you can counter an opponent completely, this may be more important than building on large synergies with your own ults.

In principle, you are constantly fighting and you still have to somehow try to fulfill the objective of the map. Unlike in Overwatch, where teams sometimes face each other forever until both sides have loaded the ultimates and then decide in a big bang who wins.

How difficult is the transition? It takes some time to get used to how fast everything is. I’ve often cursed how quickly critical hits from the enemy Soldier can send me to the dust.

The meta has been rocked by the change and there are new heroes at the top, some of which used to be treated as absolute troll picks:

In the end, all of this is not much more difficult than adjusting after a new update with rework of some heroes. If you still remember the change between tank, dive and GOATS meta – that’s pretty much it.

Overwatch 2 changes the meta, just a little more than any update before. If you get involved, then you will definitely have fun in the new part. And you can take your experience so far with you,

Overwatch 2 remains the same game at its core

I can reassure anyone who fears that they won’t be able to cope with Overwatch 2. Most of the maps are the same, heroes are also almost identical. You can even take over your skins from Overwatch.

From my experience, the most important thing is still to know your hero and everyone else. If you know which opponent can and will use which ability and when, you have a huge advantage.

This was important in Overwatch and is even more important in Overwatch 2. Unlike its predecessor, however, you no longer have to focus so much on team synergy. Your own performance matters more, but your own death punishes your team more severely.

If you already have experience from Overwatch, you have an advantage here. If you know the maps and strategies, you can also use them in Overwatch 2. Most of the modes are still the same and in the end it’s still about winning as a team.

The same applies to your skills with your favorite heroes. If you are already an ace with Widowmaker, Moira or Reinhardt, then you will also be one of the top players in Overwatch 2. Of course, only the heroes with a complete overhaul have to be re-learned. But fortunately there is the “Closed Beta”, which is somehow open to everyone.

A “closed” beta for everyone, but not complete yet

How can I play?

Overwatch 2 is officially in the invite-only PvP closed beta. However, there was guaranteed beta access if you watched on Twitch.

Overwatch adopted the model from Valorant, where it has already worked extremely well. You don’t need to own the predecessor, you get a demo version for the beta. However, you can only play in PvP in the beta and here only the standard mode. Other content such as Arcade is missing.

The drops are now deactivated again. However, there have already been several waves at Valorant. So it’s possible that you’ll get another chance to be invited. However, there is no official information. The beta runs until May 17th.

What’s next in Overwatch 2? Overwatch 2’s big selling point is actually its coveted co-op mode. Here you should be able to play and even level up your heroes in a kind of campaign.

However, there is no menu item for this mode in the current beta, nor are there any hints. How exactly that will look like remains to be seen – also whether the campaign might justify a new purchase.

When is the release? A release date for Overwatch 2 has not yet been announced. Many rumors speak of a release in 2023. As soon as we know more about the release and the price, you will find out here on MeinMMO.

If you’re waiting for the release and don’t want to spoil your fun with the beta, you’ll find the best shooters on the market right now here:

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