We finally got some new information regarding Overwatch 2. In a 2-hour PvP live stream, the new game director Aaron Keller along with Goeff Goodman (lead hero designer) and Dion Rogers (associate art director) is talking to Matt Morelle AKA MrX (OWL commentator) about what we can expect from Overwatch 2. There is a lot of info to break down and I am going to try to sum it up as best as I can. 

PvP Changes.

First and foremost, Overwatch 2 is no longer going to be 6 v 6, but instead opting for the more traditional 5 v 5. The breakdown is going to be; 2 DPS, 2 healers, and 1 tank (2-2-1). There is no longer going to be an off-tank role. 

Keller's explanation of this is as follows;  

There are a lot of reasons for why we wanted to make this change. Overwatch has changed over time... we feel like this is the next step in the way that Overwatch ought to be played. If you think about it, there's a lot going on in an Overwatch map. It's incredibly fast-paced. We have always tried to make our combat easy to read and very understandable, and even with all of the work that we put into that, sometimes it's just hard to track what 11 other players are doing on the battlefield.

Early reactions from fans haven't been nice. A lot of people, even high-ranking streamers, do not like this change at all. There have been numerous petitions to revert this change. As somebody who plays support and off-tank. I am also not happy with this change.    

To compensate for this, off-tank characters have gotten buffs, to make them feel more like a main tank role. Zarya for instance now has two charges on each of her particle barrier (self) and projected barrier (ally). It was also mentioned during the stream that Orisa is getting a major rework in OW2. 

All tanks are also getting a universal passive ability. Knockback effects will be reduced for all tanks in Overwatch 2. Similar to Reinhardt's Steadfast passive that exists already. Ultimates are also going to build slower when attacking tank heroes compared to other heroes. 

Supports are also getting a universal passive. They are gaining a version of Mercy's passive that allows them to self-heal when not in combat. Now heroes like Ana or Moira no longer have to burn a cool down to get their health back to full. 

Not to be out down, DPS heroes are going to get a passive mobility increase. This will allow them to go on flanks faster and be able to disengage easier.

Character Reworks And New Abilities. 

Characters are also getting reworked and also getting new abilities. 

Here is an example of two of them; Mei and Winston.  

Mei no longer freezes enemies, but instead slows them down and can deal more damage to them while Winston now has a chargeable lightning-ranged attack to better deal damage to people who run away from him.  Reinhardt also can use his fire strike ability twice (not shown here) and is now able to cancel is his charge move allowing for a lot more versatility. 

New UI.

There is also a UI update, with certain characters getting more info displayed to them in a more visually appealing location without cluttering the action on screen. 

As you can see, it's more visually appealing, but also has a lot more information on it. You can clearly see in this example who Zen has his discord orb on and who has his healing orb. It was said during the live stream that supports have the most extensive updates to their UI than any other heroes in the game. 

New Maps! 
We already knew about the new Push game mode, which takes place on the new Toronto map.

Two new maps were revealed during the stream and one new map was teased. 

New York was teased during Blizzcon Online a few months ago. This is our first actual look at the map in action. 

Now our first look at Rio. 

Both maps are going to be hybrid maps. They were each shown in action and both maps look amazing with a lot of little areas for DPS players to flank around. You will also notice that there is a lot more coverage on these maps. This is on purpose since there is now only one tank player. The devs feel that more cover from the enemy damage is going to reduce the strain on the solo tank. 

Our last map, which is the first time we are seeing it, is Monte Carlo. 

Monte Carlo is going to be an escort map, and much like the previous 2 maps, this one is going to have a unique payload. This time the teams are going to be escorting an F1 race car through the streets. This map also features a lot of high points and tights corners for teams to battle around. This is one of the most verticle maps that the Overwatch team has ever designed.

There is also one more map that has been officially announced - Rome, but the team hasn't shown us anything outside of screen shots for this map.    

Other Things of Note. 

• It was mentioned during the stream that assault maps (2 teams fighting over a capture point) will be removed from competitive play and quick play. They want quick play to feel more like a free-form version of competitive play. 
• Toronto will not be the only Push map. They are working on more maps for this mode. Nothing was officially announced or teased. 
• With assault being removed, the OW2 team is working on a new map mode to replace it. Keller teased a new game mode that he is "excited to announce in the future". 
• There is a lot of easter eggs on the new maps and one dedicated to Jeff Kaplan, the former and much loved, game director of Overwatch. 
• Art director Dion Rogers says that the characters are going to see some cosmetic changes to their design that is going to reflect the passage of time between Overwatch and Overwatch 2. We do not know how much time between the two games but we have actually already seen a few of these in the past with Lucio, Genji, and Reinhardt.
• It was also noted that not all maps are tied to story mode. Some of the existing maps will be used for story mode, and it will also have maps unique to just that mode. 
• They didn't talk about anything in regards to the story mode at all. I would imagine that this is going to come at a later date.

You can watch the entire two-hour stream below. There is more information covered in the stream that I did not cover here. There is also a lot of guests that stopped by to ask questions. You will also see Toronto, New York, and Rio in action. 

That's it from me. Thank you for making it this far and as always. 

This has been James with Game Fix Show. Game on everybody!