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Yes, it’s true! Overwatch 2 is finally making its way into the hands of the public on April 26th! This was among the many topics covered during today’s big developer live stream for the game, hosted over on the Overwatch Twitch Channel. While most of today’s stream focused on the current closed alpha and how its shaping up amongst devs and pro players, there were a few more interesting details shared today that we’ll be going over in our recap!

Doomfist (Overwatch)
Doomfist (Overwatch)

Doomfist is a Tank now

It’s been rumored, reported on, even leaked by the Overwatch League themselves, and as of today it’s official: Doomfist is a Tank now! While the Overwatch team states they want to save the full details of his rework for a later date, they did mention during today’s live stream that Doomfist has been slowed down a bit for this rework. They also mention that he still is highly mobile and “has a leap similar to Winston’s.”

Closed Alpha Feedback

As we mentioned before, there is currently an ongoing closed alpha test that’s available to Overwatch devs and pro players. Based on today’s discussion, it seems as though the Overwatch team has been keeping their finger to the pulse and monitoring feedback from its current player-base very closely before the open beta launches next month. One of the more interesting points was concerning Overwatch 2’s premiere new hero, Sojourn. It seems that some of the Overwatch League Players currently participating in the alpha were very quick to point out that she is very overpowered in her current state, with most players pointing out the strength of her burst damage from her railgun. It was noted that while the dev team felt she was strong already, hearing this was enough to bring her back on to the balance team’s radar for future updates. Speaking overall, the dev team stated that feedback from the alpha has been very positive so far, even for the new 5v5 format. It was mentioned that the pace of the new game has increased, but it’s not “crazy fast”. It’s far less common for teamfights to be stuck at choke points and there seems to be more space to move around the new maps.

Ping System

Among some of the changes talked about during today’s stream, the game’s new ping system was also brought up. This new ping system will allow players to ping things around the map such as heroes and different parts of the map. The new system is also context sensitive and will allow players to provide context to the callouts they can make. Enemy players can be pinged as well, and while it’s not possible to ping them from behind a wall, it is possible to do so should they be revealed by sight-granting abilities like Widowmaker’s ultimate or Hanzo’s Sonic Arrow.

Closed Beta Date & Eligibility

As far as when the public can get their hands on Overwatch 2, players can currently sign up for beta access on the Overwatch website. This page (updated following today’s broadcast), now includes a small FAQ at the bottom of the page as well, including notes about future console betas & this blurb about beta eligibility

Beta testers are chosen based on a variety of factors, including (but not limited to) your Battle.net region, when you signed up, and your computer hardware specifications. We are also inviting select journalists and community contributors from around the world.

[Play Overwatch website]

aaand that’s the short of it! Overwatch 2 still has a long way to go before its final release, but after months of waiting players can finally rejoice in the new updates shared today, and won’t have to wait long to start playing the early stages of the game for themselves once the first Open Beta test goes live on April 26th.

About alecandstuff

alecandstuff

Nintendo Content Creator, podcast host, and now news writer. You can find Alec's blurbs all over the internet. Dyed his hair blue in the hopes of one day being turned into a Fire Emblem character.

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Comments (2)

shodaime

2y ago

There's no way this game is going to be any good


the_crimson_lure

2y ago

Adding in something way overpowered - that for some reason the dev team thinks is balanced - only to dial it back once the majority of users point out it's way overpowered is the cycle that ruined OW1.

So seeing that same thing happening in a closed alpha test for OW2, before it's even released, does not bode well at all.

Edited 2 times