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Overwatch 2’s new Season 2 additions are a delight, but don’t expect the meta to changeThat Ramattra’s a tricky one
That Ramattra’s a tricky one
Season 2 ofOverwatch 2arrives tomorrow, and it’s a bigger deal than it may sound.Overwatch 2may have marked the beginning of a slightly jarring shift towards the free-to-play model for Blizzard’s venerable hero shooter, but it’s the release of Season 2 where players will get their first taste of the pace and quality at which future content will be released under the new regime.
I got to spend a few days exploring the new changes that Overwatch 2’s second season will bring around this time tomorrow, and I’ve come away feeling a little torn. On the one hand, the brand new additions - the new Tank, Ramattra, and the new Shambali Monastery map - are gorgeous, intriguing, and enjoyable. On the other, the balance changes to existing heroes really don’t seem to have done much to rebalance the most overpowered heroes in the game, which has left me feeling a bit frustrated.
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To its credit, there’s quite a lot to talk about with Overwatch 2’s Season 2 changes. To help make it all a little more digestible, I’ve divided my thoughts into the following sections.
Ramattra: A complex Tank in both lore and playstyle
To no one’s surprise, Ramattra looks and feels magnificent in-game. At any given moment he looks (and sounds) simultaneously stoic, majestic, enigmatic, and intimidating - particularly in his hulking Nemesis Form. Ramattra’s being called a Tempo Tank, because his two forms allow him to switch quickly between offensive and defensive play, thus controlling the tempo of a teamfight. And it did feel a lot like Reinhardt in some ways. I’d play quite defensively and cagily at first, placing down barriers and using my primary fire beam’s lack of damage falloff to burst down smaller enemies at range. When I saw an opening, I’d activate Nemesis Form and push hard to make use of those precious 8 seconds of increased damage and armour. It’s a delicate balance, and one which can easily result in death if you get it wrong.
In play, my first impressions are that he requires some very careful timing and adroit juggling of abilities to use effectively. It makes me think that there’ll be lots of people in the first couple of weeks of Season 2 proclaiming either that he’s totally overpowered or completely useless. I bet when the dust clears, the answer will be somewhere between the two.
Shambali Monastery: A literal uphill struggle for attackers
One of the first things I noticed when I booted up the map in a Custom Game was how wide open it was at certain points. It almost feels like the kind of three-lane map you might find inCSGOorValorantat times, with various paths leading to balconies and walkways that give the defending team some amazing vantage points from which to rain hell down on the enemeis pushing the payload.
Still, I found myself glad each time I was a defender, and a little rueful each time I was an attacker on Season 2’s lovely-looking new map.
Hero balance changes: Sojourn and Kiriko still reign supreme
A smattering of other tweaks add some fairly inoffensive changes to the hero roster. Ana’s Sleep Dart now has a slightly (1s) faster cooldown.Bastiongets his (rubbish) Ultimate a fair bit quicker than before. Symmetra can’t fire for as long with her primary fire, but her turrets deal a bit more damage. The prize for most pointless change of all has to go to Mercy, whose secondary weapon now has 25 shots instead of 20. Woo-fucking-hoo.
At least Doomfist has got a decent buff. His punch now actually deals damage, he charges up faster using his Power Block, and he gains more Overhealth with damage dealt using his abilities. All this together made him seem quite a bit stronger than he did in Season 1, so tomorrow will be a good day for Doomfist mains.
Battle Pass, Skins, and Theme: Greek Mythology is a winner
I’m also digging the new player titles that we’ll be able to earn after maxing out Season 2’s Battle Pass:
Unfortunately I didn’t get the chance to try out any of the new and upcoming limited time modes that Blizzard are planning to release across December and January. We know that Winter Wonderland and Year Of The Rabbit are returning, and a new Battle For Olympus mode is also starting in January, which seemingly gives heroes new godlike abilities to play around with.
Overall my sneak peak at Season 2 left me excited to play more in my goal to reach Titan before Season 3 comes around. Ramattra is a complex machine, and I find it quite hard to pin down his effectiveness in different situations, but I’m very happy to have such a well-designed and characterful new hero as part of the roster. Ditto with Shambali Monastery, which despite my misgivings about its balance, I’m still itching to dive back into and discover its hidden depths, because I’m sure they’re there.
It’s just a bit of a shame that I really don’t see the meta changing that much from Season 1. Sojourn and Kiriko are still gonna run rampant, despite their meagre nerfs. I guess we’re all just gonna have to grit our teeth and bear those Railguns and Kitsune Rushes for another Season.
