The Overwatch 2 community has seemingly pinpointed what’s making the tank role a ‘misery’ to play.
Overwatch 2, compared to its predecessor, has fundamentally changed the team composition. Teams now consist of one tank, two damage, and two support roles — as opposed to Overwatch 1, which allowed for two tank players on a team.
Many Overwatch fans say this transformation has significantly hampered the tank role’s gameplay experience.
The crux of the community’s frustration stems from the frequent need to swap characters to effectively counter enemies, sapping the fun from the game and making matches feel like an energy-draining chore. Players now find themselves in a cycle of changing from one character to another.
Players shared their personal experiences in a Reddit thread titled “True reason why playing tank feels miserable,” with the original poster, ‘ColourWolfe’ kicking off the discussion.
“It’s so tiring I can’t even comprehend. I know it’s a game about out picking the enemy team, but when you’re literally forced to swap every two minutes, the game isn’t even fun to play anymore,” ‘ColourWolfe’ wrote.
“6v6 at least made the other tank able to pursue what you can’t duel, and 2 of dmg makes for countering stuff like Widow/Pharah able while you still have one non-flank/non-hitscan on team.”
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“It’s a lonely way to play tanks. No wonder queues for everything are 5-10 minutes and tanks get instaqueue AND play within whole rank tier up or down.”
Echoing this sentiment, numerous comments on the thread shared similar experiences, with many agreeing that the absence of a second tank adds to the pressure, making the game’s pace “too sweaty, too hectic, and too frustrating now.”
One user even suggested, “I feel like 99% of the tank issues could be resolved with returning to 2/2/2.”
There have been increased complaints about the 5v5 formula in Overwatch 2. Many fans have voiced their dissatisfaction, claiming that recent changes killed the tank role completely. One player also highlighted how the game now “demands too much individual effort to win.”
The ‘swap fest’ is likely to continue for as long as players are locked into the 5 vs. 5 formula.