The upcoming Overwatch 2 definitely has a huge legacy to live up to. With the intense and consistent popularity of its predecessor, the game will have to curate a perfect balance between new gameplay and fresh mechanics while honoring the same core framework that made the franchise so popular.
One of the most obvious ways in which Overwatch 2 is attempting to do this is by reworking some of the iconic playable heroes within the Overwatch roster. At its extreme, some fan-favorite heroes are having their roles within the game changed, either entirely or just in a partial sense, providing the needed difference in core gameplay to lend the new title its own identity.
Doomfist in Overwatch 2
The popular hero Doomfist is the most obvious example of a role change rework within Overwatch 2. One of the most glaring large-scale changes to Doomfist within Overwatch 2 is that he is going to be changed to a tank role, as opposed to his previous role as a damage dealer. In order to foster the wildly different battle characteristics that are required of a tank role as opposed to a DPS class, Doomfist has seen a slew of changes to his abilities and stats, with his health being raised to 450 being one example.
As part of his new role, Doomfist has been given a new defensive ability called Power Block, which essentially acts as his shield. To balance this increased defensive prowess, Doomfist has had his previously competent damage output reduced significantly, with his Uppercut ability having been removed entirely. While this is the most overt role change a character has seen within Overwatch 2 so far, the many changes that other heroes have faced have seen their metas and sub-roles change significantly.
Sombra in Overwatch 2
Sombra is a hero that, despite retaining her original role as a DPS class, is set to provide wildly different gameplay within Overwatch 2 in comparison to her role within the original game. More specifically, Sombra's hacking abilities have been reworked to foster a potential to inflict much higher damage, although over a shorter period of time.
Sombra's Hack ability now disrupts enemy abilities for a shorter duration, while now actively painting the location of any enemies affected by the Hack ability to Sombra and her teammates. With her ultimate also being boosted to inflict more potential damage, actively Hacked enemies also take more base damage from Sombra within Overwatch 2. While previously possessing a blended role between DPS and support, it appears Sombra is taking a much more damage-oriented stance within the upcoming title.
Orisa in Overwatch 2
Orisa is another popular hero that, while still retaining her original role as a Tank, has undergone serious some serious changes within Overwatch 2 that will effectively alter the "sub-role" that she has historically provided. Previously playing the role of a rather beefy and damage-absorbing Tank with a comparatively low DPS output, Orisa, like Sombra, has had her damage-dealing abilities boosted, this time at the cost of her high defensive value.
Within Overwatch 2, Orisa's primary attack now uses an overheat system as opposed to using conventional ammo, with this attack now firing shrinking projectiles. Orisa has also been given a new launchable javelin attack, which can be used to inflict high damage and stun enemies from a considerable distance. Orisa has also been given a brand-new ultimate ability in the form of Terra Surge, which has the potential to inflict massive amounts of damage by anchoring nearby enemies down and charging an attack surge that can be then released at the perfect time.
To make way for this new attacking prowess, several of Orisa's defensive abilities have been entirely removed. Quite crucially, Orisa's Protective Barrier ability is no longer present, greatly limiting the amount of cover that Orisa can provide for herself and her teammates, further fostering more attack-minded gameplay.
Overwatch 2 is currently in development.