We now have a few details about the upcoming Overwatch 2 6v6 tests coming to the game in Season 14. Game director Aaron Keller wrote up a brand new Director’s Take blog that outlined some of the upcoming playtests that will see how players take to various changes to the game’s format in both 5v5 and 6v6.
Overwatch 2 6v6 tests coming in Season 14
Season 13 just started last week, but fans of the original Overwatch 6v6 experience will want to pay attention once Season 14 starts in a couple of months. One week into that season, the first test will happen and is being referred to internally as “Min 1, Max 3.”
Min 1, Max 3
Essentially, all six players on your team will have access to every hero when the match starts, like in Open Queue, but the maximum amount of players that can go into a certain role is three, and each must have at least one.
For example, if at the start of a match, three people take Reinhardt, Orisa, and Mauga, no one else will be able to take tanks until one of those players switches to a different role. Also, the other three won’t be able to all take supports and make a GOATS situation because at least one of them will be forced onto DPS.
2-2-2
A few weeks after Min 1, Max 3, the (almost) traditional 2-2-2 composition that became standard in Overwatch 1 will be playable for a week. However, it seems that the game will be keeping characters in their current builds, so there will still be fewer crowd-control abilities, and all the other big reworks to Sombra, Doomfist, and Orisa will remain.
For both tests above, they will be playable in Quick Play under their own card, and tanks will have their health and firepower reduced to be more in line with where they were in Overwatch 1. Passives may be removed as well.
Overwatch 2 5v5 tests coming in Season 13
While many classic Overwatch fans will be looking forward to the 6v6 tests next season, 5v5 will have some this season.
Limit 2
Limit 2 is a “coming soon” Quick Play: Hacked test with another Open Queue-like ruleset where the maximum number of players in a role is two, which, in this situation, includes tank, who will have their health tuned down. With that tune down, we wonder if that will make most teams run only one damage character in most situations.
The point of testing things like this is to find if players enjoy having the freedom to change roles in a game but not dealing with all the frustrations that Open Queue brings.
Kingmaker
After midway through Season 13, there will be a game mode test called Kingmaker. This emulates Limit 2, but the person who is alone in a role will receive an unnamed bonus. At this point, we can only guess that means a health boost or a certain passive ability.
How will these tests affect Overwatch 2?
Currently, it seems everything is on the table and depends on how players react to the above tests. Keller mentioned that there’s a possible situation where players show positive feedback to tests for both 5v5 and 6v6, and both are available in the game moving forward. However, if they see the feedback from one side isn’t strong, it appears there’s quite a good chance we won’t see it again. If you feel strongly about Overwatch 2 returning to 6v6 or maintaining 5v5, we recommend taking part in these tests and letting your feedback be known.
