The day that many fans of the game have been waiting for has arrived—Overwatch has now introduced Role Queue for both Quick Play and Competitive modes. This means that, before the match even starts, players can choose which role they’d prefer to play: tank, damage, or support.
So, for example, a player can choose to role queue for a tank role. From there, the system will match that player with two people who chose damage, two people who chose support, and one other person who chose tank. A 2-2-2 enforcement might seem restrictive, but this gives players a chance to connect with people who are interested in playing with a team composition.
As the PTR notes suggest, “It’s not uncommon for players—who may all have different goals and play styles—to feel tension, pressure, disappointment, or even hostility as a team composition comes together.” There’s no better word than frustration to describe the feeling of loading into a game, only to see more than half of the team instalock damage players. This often leaves filling positions to feel burdensome, and can provide a lot of unnecessary stress for players that are trying to get better, and grind their skills to climb the ladder.
Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
That’s where role queue comes in. Each role will have it’s own queue time. As of right now, it’s unsure of how long these times will be, but the notes specify that the higher demand roles might have longer waits than others. If there are roles that are also in high demand—say, a support role—the notes detail that players can earn rewards (like loot boxes) for queueing for those roles. This gives players incentive to try something new, or rewards players that often play roles not many wish to play themselves.
Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
On top of that, each role will be ranked on the Competitive ladder separately. Meaning that each player will receive an SR ranking based on their damage play, their tank play, and their support play. By separating how high each player performs at each role, the patch notes ensure that this will be much better for matchmaking in the long run.
An example of this is if a player is ranked in Platinum on tank, but Gold in support, they will be matched at a higher level for their tank play as opposed to their support play. This rewards people who are better at certain roles, and gives others a chance to try out other roles without fear of decay.
Image courtesy of Blizzard Entertainment.
When it comes to earning competitive points, there is a new system for how many a player can receive at the end of the season. Due to different SRs, and different roles, players can now earn more competitive points. By putting an incentive by completing placements on all three roles, players can earn more points overall in each rank, allowing them to experience more games, and earn more rewards for their efforts.
When it comes to Quick Play, many might feel that this game mode doesn’t need any restrictions on it. However, the notes do specify that this allows them to determine each player’s matchmaking rating (MMR). By providing a proper algorithm, this allows games to be more fun, more fair, and more enjoyable, while still giving players the freedom they want to play the roles they choose.
As of right now, Role Queue is live on the PTR. The development team has also explained that they’ll be running a Role Queue Beta Season in Patch 1.39. This update hits on August 13th, and the season will run through September 1st. After that, Role Queue will be going live on PC and consoles on September 1st, just in time for the start of Season 18. (It should be noted that Season 17 has been shortened by two weeks in order to accommodate for their beta season.)
The team ensures that they’ll be actively checking in on the PTR for the best results, the worst results, and anything they could need to be improved upon. So, check your Blizzard client for an update ASAP, and enjoy Role Queue.
Feature image courtesy of @PlayOverwatch on Twitter.
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