Blizzard is committed to improving the Support role in Overwatch 2 and making it more appealing to players in a 5v5 world.
Despite the Support role in Overwatch 2 getting a much-needed boost at launch in the form of Kiriko, the role still lacks depth and variety, especially in a 5v5 PvP world. With Overwatch 2‘s transition to a one-tank team composition, having only eight heroes to select from for a two-slot role — vs 16 Damage heroes for the same number of slots — has made the Support role seem “flat” and dull.
As a Support player myself, I’ve found myself struggling to get much enjoyment out of constantly switching between only 2-3 of the Support heroes that currently fit within the meta. The like of Moira, Kiriko, Zenyatta and Lucio will probably always have a place, but over time it becomes a not very “fun” role to play as.
That’s a real shame for a 35-hero game, which actively rewards true “Support” play: even the likes of Mercy demand a good variety of damage and health boosting, and there is no true “healing” component to the current Season 1 meta. You have to truly play as a “support” hero, providing heals and damage support for DPS and Tank heroes to finish off.
This lack of diversity and intriguie within the Support meta has ultimately forced players into the Damage and Tank queues in role queue, creating long wait times and unbalanced matches. Players wanting to quickly get into a match, regardless of their skill ceiling, are being placed into matches with large discrepancies across the skill ranking mechanism.
Thankfully, Blizzard is well aware of want needs to be done to improve the Support meta in Overwatch 2. In fact, the Overwatch 2 team is working hard to expand the Support roster.
Overwatch 2 Lead Designer, Alex Dawson, has responded to a fan’s concerns on Twitter, hinting at a long-term focus for the Support role.
“[It’s] one of our long-term focuses,” Dawson said. “Right now the pool is quite small for two players to choose from. May see more new supports than other roles to bolster that pool. Also, there’s still lots of interesting space for us to explore as designers when making supports!”
This is great news for Support mains and the broader Overwatch 2 community. While no one Support hero is currently in a bad “place”, the role definitely needs a B-12 shot to make it more appealing to players, especially given its importance.
What are your thoughts on the current Support meta? A more Support heroes needed? Sound off in the comments below!
