Overwatch's Competitive Meta May Be Shaken Up Soon

Overwatch’s competitive scene has played host to a meta full of supports and tanks, but that [...]

By Tanner Dedmon

Overwatch's competitive scene has played host to a meta full of supports and tanks, but that might be changing soon if some recent reports are to be believed. According to sources who spoke to Upcomer, Blizzard appears to be planning on implementing a set 2-2-2 format for the competitive scene. This means that instead of being able to pick whatever combination of hero roles pro players want to, they'll have to lock in two supports, two tanks, and two DPS characters.

Upcomer cited "multiple sources inside the Overwatch League" with the information, though it's unclear at this time whether this kind of forced format would be implemented in the competitive modes at the normal level of play. The change would obviously be a blow to teams that try to innovate and come up with interesting strategies, but for those who prefer their competitive games to have more standard team compositions so that you know you can at least count on your team to pick suitable roles, it might be welcome news.

This isn't the first that people have heard of this potential meta shakeup either. Now former Overwatch pro Baek "Fissure" Chan-hyung retired recently, and after doing so, PC Gamer reported that the player went on stream to say that the 2-2-2 lock had been decided on for the next stage of the competition, according to translations. If the retired player is aware of this change, it's likely that the Overwatch pros already know that it's coming and have probably been given a heads up so that they can adjust their strategies accordingly and plan to use different team comps. One would imagine that the Overwatch League's code of conduct prevents players from revealing that information, but if you're retired, those rules might not apply to you.

All of these changes appear to stem from the GOATS meta that's been dominating the professional scene ever since the team of the same name popularized it. The GOATS used three tanks and three supports which proved to be quite a successful strategy, so other teams followed. The issue with this is that these games where teams wrestle against one another with GOATS compositions aren't as dynamic or entertaining as matches where you'd have traditional setups or other creative options. A stagnant meta where games aren't as entertaining isn't something fans want to watch as much, and that's not something any esports organization wants.

It remains to be scene whether Blizzard will actually implement this change or not, but it appears to be heading that direction. Whether it'll affect normal players in their competitive games is also unknown, but that'd likely take longer to be added if that is in the plans.

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