With the Overwatch 2 closed beta releasing on April 26, fans old and new are starting to show renewed interest in Activision Blizzard's flagship hero shooter. More maps, modes, lore, and heroes are the highlights of Overwatch 2, and the company can't wait to give fans a taste of what the sequel holds in store. But while everyone is waiting on Overwatch 2 with bated breath, fans of the original are starved for content.
The original Overwatch hasn't been in the best state for the past few years. Sparse content drops focusing on rehashed events and cosmetic items, next to no communication from the developers, and many unaddressed issues have caused Overwatch's player count to drop significantly. It could be said that the majority of Activision Blizzard's manpower is being allocated to developing Overwatch 2, but the inability and unwillingness of the company to fix the first game before working on the second feels like a bad omen.
Though there are many issues in Overwatch, one glaring problem that started to rear its head toward the end of the gam's content lifespan was the ever-increasing amount of heroes. Currently, Overwatch has 32 playable characters, most of which are classified as damage heroes. While diversity and variety mean that there is a hero for everyone, too many heroes can make it difficult to learn how to play the game. This problem is best personified by none other than the original Overwatch's final hero, Echo.
The Adaptable Hero
Echo was released in April 2020 as a flying damage dealer that can capitalize on opponents who are out of position. Her Tri-Shot provides her with a primary means of attack, while her Sticky Bombs give her a short burst of damage when they detonate after a small delay. Echo's Focusing Beam also allows her to deal high damage to enemies who are at half health, making her a nightmare for enemy teams who can't get enough healing out in time. Finally, Echo's ultimate ability, Duplicate, allows her to copy a targeted enemy hero's appearance as well as their abilities.
An Ultimate That Requires Vast Knowledge of Other Heroes
Duplicate does more than just copy an opponent's abilities; it completely replenishes Echo's health to that of the enemy's full base health and gives her 6.5 times the normal rate of the character's ultimate charge. That means that aside from having a faster passive ultimate charge time, doing any sort of damage with abilities while playing as a duplicated hero will charge the ultimate even faster. This allows duplicated Echos to pull off three, four, or even five ultimates in a row, depending on which hero they copy.
It's this very ability that best encapsulates Overwatch's hero problem. Not only do Echo players have to keep track of every characters' abilities and cooldowns, but they also have to know how to synergize these abilities with their team. In a game with as many heroes as Overwatch, some heroes will inevitably have abilities that are better than others. To make the best out of Echo's ultimate, it is imperative that they duplicate someone on the enemy team whose abilities will give their team an advantage in the current situation. Copying a Reinhardt, for example, will give their team a third tank and a game-changing Earthshatter ultimate ability. This is much more favorable than copying a Torbjorn whose Molten Core ultimate can deny an area for a short amount of time.
Since she is going to be Overwatch's final hero before Sojurn's release in Overwatch 2, Echo is geared toward more advanced players who have spent a lot of time studying and playing the game. All that time spent learning past heroes' abilities and when to use them will pay off once these players get their hands on Echo. On the downside, this means that players need extensive knowledge of Overwatch's heroes to be effective with the character.
In some way, this translates to Overwatch as a whole. As more heroes get introduced, it gets harder and harder for new players to pick up and enjoy Overwatch without much knowledge of the game. And considering how Overwatch is infamous for its toxic community, it seems almost like a requirement for players to be good at the game before even starting it. Seeing as Overwatch 2 will rework a lot of the original's heroes to make them more balanced and fit with the new 5v5 structure, this might put everyone on an even playing field. However, as time goes on, more people will become familiar with the game and more heroes will inevitably get introduced, widening that skill gap back to what it once was.
Overwatch 2 is currently in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.