It is the tanks that have been victimized multiple times in the history of Overwatch. From the move away from flexing onto different categories to now in the Overwatch 2 format removing one tank altogether. In both iterations, it is the tanks, especially the flex tanks, that take the hit more than anyone else. Here is a look at how the role of Overwatch Flex Tank has changed and the possible future of flex tanks in the Overwatch League Season 5.
The first big hit came from the role lock. This was after the golden age of the flex tank when it was the era of GOATs. The flex tank position was highly needed and even forced DPS such as Birdring and Profit were put onto the flex tank role. After that era, the role lock was put in place to ensure that GOATs wouldn’t happen again, but in the process, it put a scarlet letter unintentionally on the flex tanks. The flex tanks could not do half of their role which is to flex. Of course, this hurts not only the flex tanks but also the flex supports. Neither of these players who first were drawn to this role because of the flexibility could show off that skill. Flexibility became less desirable out of the categorized role.
Therefore the flex tanks that thrived, were the ones who were solely focused on the tank role instead of the DPS. This not only took away a large part of the excitement and possibility of other compositions. Flex tanks such as Minhyuk ‘Michelle’ Choi and Hongjoon ‘Hotba’ Choi who could often be seen flexing onto DPS had to work harder and smarter to stay relevant.
Courtesy of the Overwatch League
The one tank change from Overwatch 1 to the new Overwatch 2 has made the flex tank role even more obscure. Many teams are going for the one main tank and one flex tank approach for Season 5. The Dallas Fuel, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, LA Gladiators, Shanghai Dragons, Atlanta Reign, Boston Uprising, Florida Mayhem, London Spitfire, Washington Justice, Toronto Defiant, and Paris Eternal all have decided to keep or pick up two tank players one of each role. The Seoul Dynasty, Chengdu Hunters, San Francisco Shock have so far decided to only go with a main tank. The LA Valiant has two main tanks and one flex tank. It is the Vancouver Titans and Houston Outlaws are betting on the flex tank meta. While the NYXL and the Philadelphia Fusion have yet to announce their tank lineup.
Though the majority has a main and a flex tank one of the two will be sitting on the bench half the time or more. There are 5 teams that have opted for only one tank that is taking 5 possible players out of the league. This has hit the tanks hard.
The flex tanks have had a hard time. Currently, there are still many good flex tank players LFT. This is both new contenders players as well as Overwatch League pros. Junwoo ‘Void’ Kang said jokingly on stream that should he start practicing DPS with the tank ranks being thinned out. Hopefully, the Overwatch team can find other ways to support these players so that they can regain the value that they used to hold. Only time will tell whether it will be the main tanks or flex tanks that will get most of the play time in the next season of the Overwatch League.
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