Season 23 has now been live in Overwatch for a few days, giving players the opportunity to test out competitive compositions vastly different from what they have been required to use in the past. This comes with the addition of Open Queue, allowing playing to create compositions that do not need to adhere to the old rule of two tanks, damage, and support players inside of Role Queue.
This change also comes with a shift in how Skill Rating is earned. Using Open Queue will also use a separate Skill Rating from Role Queue, which should provide for balanced matches after a preliminary period of rating calibration, since the initial calculations will be based on previous ratings in Role Queue.
Speaking about the move was Michael Heiberg, the principal game designer, who says that the decision came from seeing the success in the Arcade. Not only was Quick Play Classic immensely popular, it opens an opportunity to deal with the problem of long queue times in both modes. Heiberg states, “The Open Queue format attracts more damage players than tanks or supports, which draws them out of Role Queue and helps balance out the roles there.”
As Season 23 plays out and new teams are formed with new strategies, it would be great if Blizzard were to release some information or statistics on exactly what the compositions are looking like in Open Queue. Based on discussions in online forums like r/Competitive Overwatch on Reddit, many players state that it is still common practice to utilize the 2-2-2 method of role queue, but that the option to flex over to a third damage dealer or tank is invaluable to break certain stalemates, and has made the game far more exciting.
On the other hand, not every game will be so ideal, and other players relate horror tales of what feels like a total lack of organization of everyone attempts to be a damage dealer, with perhaps a Hog to act as a sole tank, all to predictable failure. To hope for a totally coordinated team in every match of Open Queue is definitely asking too much, but given the competitive nature of the mode, hopefully these are outliers rather than the norm.
For now, we wish everyone the best in Season 23, and look forward to seeing what new and creative compositions ideas come from Open Queue!
Source: playoverwatch.com