While the additions to Overwatch 2 make it feel more like a substantial update to Overwatch than an actual sequel, they are additions nonetheless. Seven new maps, three additional heroes, and one official game mode called Push provide prime learning experiences for those coming from the first game. Overwatch 2 may not be that different from Overwatch, but when the core gameplay of the franchise is so good, there doesn't seem much need to change it.
But one game mode that has been removed for the sequel might have flown under the radar for those preoccupied with the new content. That game mode is Assault - better known in the Overwatch community as Two Control Point (2CP). One of the fastest game modes in the original Overwatch, Assault has drawn criticism from players for being too one-sided. After six years of being present in the first game, Activision Blizzard has finally caved into fan demands and removed Assault from its hero shooter.
What Is Assault?
Assault or 2CP is a game mode in the original Overwatch that pits an attacking team against a defending team. The attacking team is tasked with capturing 2 points on the map by standing within the point's effective vicinity (this cannot be done while there are defenders on the point). Once the first point is captured, the attacking team can move on to the next control point located further into the map. On the other side, the defending team's job is to prevent the attacking team from capturing the control points. This is done by eliminating attacking players and staying on the control point. There were 5 Assault maps in Overwatch, those being Hanamura, Paris, Temple of Anubis, Volskaya Industries, and Horizon Lunar Colony.
The attacking team starts the game with 4 minutes to capture the first point. When it is captured, an extra 3 minutes are added to the attacking team's clock and the second capture point opens up. To further aid the attackers' endeavors, a tick system is implemented within the capture points. These ticks serve as checkpoints that lock an attacking team's progress toward capturing a point. Defenders, on the other hand, have a home-team advantage. Before the attackers are deployed at the start of a game, the defenders are given a short amount of time to set up their defenses on the first point. If the first control point is taken, the second point is always located just in front of the defending team's spawn point. This makes player deployment, team resets, and overall defending much easier than on the first point. Both teams take turns attacking and defending in Competitive play, while attacking and defending teams in Quick Play are chosen at random.
Assault Is Usually A One-Sided Fight
Despite the apparent advantages the defending team has, the very nature of Assault puts them at a disadvantage. The attacking team has multiple tries to take the control points from the defending team; thus making it more forgiving for them. Meanwhile, all it takes is one bad fight for the defending team to lose an entire control point. Since the first control point is usually too far and respawns take too long for the defending team to properly reset, a single lost fight on point A would usually mean the defending team would have to fall back to point B.
Things only got worse if an attacking team was able to maintain its momentum from capturing the first point. One attacking player (usually a tank or damage hero) could stay and capture the objective while the rest of the team could start moving toward the second point. This is easier with speedy heroes like Lucio that can increase the whole team's movement speed. Since the defending players are still respawning from the lost fight on point A, they won't have any proper defenses or a full team to combat the steamrolling attackers.
The way Assault was designed made it difficult for Activision Blizzard to fix, so much so that it chose to remove it from Overwatch 2 and replace it with the Push game mode (the Assault maps and mode can still be found in custom games, however). Push seems like an evolution of Assault, as it gives both teams multiple scenarios for attacking and defending depending on the situation. This retiring of Assault seems like it was for the better, as Overwatch 2 is already abundant with game modes that can make players feel like they are in a losing fight. By using an entire map's layout and giving both sides equal opportunities, Push feels like a better game mode than Assault ever did.
Overwatch 2 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.