Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan revealed yesterday that the game will begin testing Triple Damage mode today, an experimental mode in which three Damage characters can be placed on one team. This news is the fulfillment of a promise Kaplan made in last month’s Developer Update to bring players a new feature the developers are calling the “Experimental Card.” These game modes essentially are ways for the Overwatch team to monitor player engagement and use the feedback they receive to enhance the overall experience.
The new Triple Damage mode is more than just new Overwatch content, however; its goal is to address the growing issue of queue times. Although solo players entering a game as a Tank or Support character will normally not find themselves in queue for longer than two minutes, the wait time to enter a match as a Damage character can be as long as ten. For those playing with a friend, the selection of two Damage characters can result in queue times upwards of twenty minutes when traffic is high. This is an issue that has plagued Overwatch for some time , and Triple Damage mode is the team’s latest effort to mitigate it.
In the Developer Update video, Kaplan emphasizes that this mode–and the experimental modes to come–is something that the team is “unsure of,” meaning that they will not be patched live, included in the Public Test Realm, or used for bug testing. Its goal is solely to improve Damage role queue times. By having three Damage characters, two Support characters, and one Tank character, those playing Damage characters will hopefully be able to enter games faster even when playing as a team. Because of Triple Damage mode’s experimental status, there are not currently any plans to implement this 3-2-1 system into the live game. This is also due to balancing issues that will almost certainly arise from this new meta.
These balancing concerns were quickly pointed out in the video’s comments, with many YouTube users lamenting the potential futility of a singular Tank character against three Damage characters. Other commenters seemed excited about possible changes to the current meta, suggesting that Overwatch’s team consider making experimental modes that feature more Tanks or more Support characters. Some players who purported to mainly play Tank characters stated that they would be open to these changes if the Tanks received a buff in this mode as compensation.
Ultimately, this is Overwatch’s latest valiant attempt to solve a problem that players regularly experience. The underlying “issue” is simply that many players prefer playing as Damage characters and therefore the wait times will usually be longer to do so. This is exemplified–but not helped–by the game featuring two fewer Damage characters than Tanks and Supports combined. Furthermore, although Overwatch 2’s PvE mode will be exclusive to the new title and sure to draw new players, its PvP mode will still be shared with owners of the original. However, Kaplan states that they will be closely monitoring statistics and player feedback to test the viability of Triple Damage mode. Even if queue times are only shortened by a small amount, it will be a step in the right direction.
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Source: YouTube
