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Blog entry by Willis Stephenson

Overwatch 2: 5 Stages We'd Like to See Brought Back (And 5 That Could Probably Be Dropped)

Overwatch 2: 5 Stages We'd Like to See Brought Back (And 5 That Could Probably Be Dropped)

The whole premise of Overwatch 2 is to offer a campaign. It’s not going to reinvent multiplayer, which is already a successful esport and will likely stay the exact same aside from the kind of regular updates we get now. All I want is for Overwatch 2’s campaign to be a blown-up version of Archives, though, as opposed to something that is emphatically single-player or something that incentivizes over-competing. I want it to give you plenty of opportunities to pull off a sick Barrage, but I don’t want Valkyrie or Coalescence to become pointless vs bots with stupid AI. I want there to be actual reasons for choosing to play as Winston instead of Hanzo, or Lucio instead of Tracer. I want maps that allow for the kind of absurd synergy you see in Assault on Volskaya, as opposed to just arbitrary ult-spamming in the middle of a wave-based minig

Even getting past the heavy use of Blizzard gimmicks, the layout of the map itself can also be annoying. With its narrow passageways and higher-level paths that criss-cross it, any defending team worth its salt tends to have a huge advantage; especially near the bottleneck that makes up the beginning/Assault portion of the game. The only real advantage for the attackers tends to be the indoor portion at the end - but good luck making it th

Once you let me combo my Earthshatter with somebody else’s ult, or give me a Zarya who bubbles me as I charge headfirst into a massive mech, I’ll be happy. Maybe I’ll even put another 1,000 hours

I’ve got my Transcendence ready to go, meaning that when Genji pulls his Dragonblade, I can protect my entire team by moving alongside him and nullifying all of the damage he’s trying to dish out. I used to be pretty good at Overwatch back when I played more regularly, so I’m patiently waiting for a specific sign - that telling dash up into the air to give him a clear view of the targets below him. "Ryūjin no ken wo kur

This Zen-themed Control map is both a delight to gaze upon and to play through, with its variance of indoor and outdoor regions, its crafty level design, and its abundance of pits which can lead to some chaotic fights for the point. A number of heroes can thrive here, including the defensive Symmetra and Mei, while heroes with push abilities can certainly have their fun in the Sanctum portion of this

There are few stages that encompass both terrific level design while also being fun to look at in the process, with its cheery Greek themes and Spartan-esque pit straight out of 300 . The "Well" section of this Control map makes for some exciting and amusing skirmishes, especially for the likes of Lucio, Winston, Pharah, and Orisa who can "boop" their unsuspecting targets straight into that gaping

Overwatch 2 Hero abilities is my favourite multiplayer shooter of all time, right up there with Halo 3. It’s also my favourite objective-based team game, which is why I have around 1,000 hours played in the first place. I used to regularly compete on teams with an average rank of high Diamond/low Masters, so I know what I’m doing. The thing is, Overwatch doesn’t reward you for that, which means every single game quickly becomes a massive pain in the a

Each of the 32 heroes will also now be able to have their abilities upgraded and customized to the player's liking, and there will be the inclusion of a new story-based PvE mode set in Rio de Janeiro, for starters. There will even be a new game mode called Push, which will be played on the new map Toronto, among oth

Considering we could potentially see the addition of a new Omnic hero, Tekhartha Mondatta (speculation which we base off nothing but our own desires), we might as well get the return of the stage in which he's so prominently featured as a statue, Ne

You got a myriad of branching pathways and areas to flank, defensive positions, and high-ground walkways and platforms where snipers, Bastions, and Torbs can set camp. The map is elaborate enough for veterans to exploit but palatable and closed-in enough for newer players not to feel overwhel

Overwatch 2 might be the first sequel in history that players of the original begged the developers not to make. Through a small handful of gameplay changes and minor visual updates, it just barely manages to justify its own existence. It feels like it’s Blizzard’s attempt to restructure the monetization into a more profitable, industry-standard model, which people have rightly pointed out benefits the publisher, but doesn’t actually provide any value to the players. At first blush, Overwatch 2 comes across like a dark tulpa of the original - a product designed to increase profits and engagement without offering anything that meaningfully increases enjoyment. Within the broader context, Overwatch 2 follows this year’s Diablo: Immortal as just another anti-consumer title from a mega corp that used to actually care about its fans and reputation. There’s never been a particularly good answer to the question "Why does Overwatch 2 exist?", and I don’t anticipate there ever will

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