5 tips for the 2-2-2 Overwatch update

Ladies, gents, and Overwatch agents of all ages, welcome to the new era. With 2-2-2 role locks now implemented, the days of struggling through 6-DPS or GOATS teams in ranked will soon be but an idle memory, harkening back to an era where the game's devs truly believed that they could just leave the game well enough alone and that player behavior will sort itself out -- instead of being the usual chaos we all know and... "love."

That said, it's been long enough under the old system that you'll probably need a few refreshers on how to best optimize your climb through the ranks under 2-2-2. Here's five tips to keep in mind.

1. You’re a jerk if you go DPS “support.”

We’re not saying you shouldn’t try for pro-gamer moments with Zenyatta’s charged shots. We’re just saying you should maybe remember to keep your tanks healthy while you find an opportunity to do so. While getting gold eliminations as support might feel nice, it shouldn’t come at cost to the rest of the team.

2. You’re still a jerk if you go DPS “tank” – barring specific conditions.

If the entire tank lineup’s a Wrecking Ball and a Winston, things are going to suck for your supports. After all, while they fall under the “tank” definition, their play style is oriented less towards defending supports and DPS heroes, and more towards disrupting the enemy team. That’s not to say they don’t have their roles to play on specific maps, but if both tanks on the team are Leeroy Jenkinsing while Zenyatta’s left to deal with Tracer on his own, nobody but the Tracer’s having any fun.

Never miss a moment in esports.

Match notifications, latest esports news, and more. Get the Upcomer app now.

3. Play tank or support if you want to queue up faster.

As with any other game with role-based queues, everybody wants to be the carry and nobody wants to be the carry’s nanny. That inversely means that support players, in particular, will be able to get a lot more games in than their counterparts in a similar timeframe. Yeah, we know your Tracer’s sick – but everybody else that wants to prove the same is also in queue.

4. Resist the temptation to one-trick.

Yes, you have significantly more hours in Widowmaker than your team’s alternate DPS. No, you probably shouldn’t throw a fit about not getting to pick her. While you’re going to be able to play your favorites a lot more often with 2-2-2, you still need to match your pick to the team’s needs and the hero pool’s availability. That means having at least working familiarity with the rest of your class’s roster too.

5. Take it easy the first couple weeks.

Matchmaking ratings are going to be all over the dang place with the new system. You should play with the expectation that your teammates – and your opponents – will run the full gamut of first-time ineptitudes to specialist killers. There’s no point getting upset about losing MMR to an environmental issue, so just sit back and enjoy the wackiness.