The 6v6v5v5 debate has been raging in the Overwatch 2 community since the FPS format change a few years ago. A vocal minority of fans are calling for Overwatch 2 to return to its 6v6 roots, which was ignored for over a year until game director Aaron Keller announced that Blizzard would be testing a narrow 6v6 mode, which has now been extended.
Most arguments about why Overwatch 2 should return to 6v6 and abandon 5v5 are filled with nostalgia, when in fact both versions have advantages and problems. The advantage of 6v6 was that the tanks had more freedom as one could hold the fort while the other flanked with DPS for the kill. However, lines were longer, fights often felt like walking on saturated cement because there were more enemies to kill, and players were held hostage by metas like double shielding that no one enjoyed.
Despite this, Blizzard decided to conduct a series of tests to check how 6v6 gameplay will work in Overwatch 2 – a game that has been designed for almost two years with five players in a team and only one tank in mind.
I’ve played a bit in this 6v6 mode and it’s fine. Everyone has a different personality when it comes to 6v6 fighting, but I didn’t find it particularly fun or inspiring. Instead, I had one more player to heal or kill – team fights were slower, and attacks relied more on ultimates than kills or flanks. Tanks also seemed less critical to me – with lower HP and reduced skills, I felt more like cannon fodder than the lynchpin of my team.
However, for those who enjoy it or haven’t tried it yet, there’s a little more time for the 6v6 playtest. “We are extending the 6v6 playtest due to continued player interest and excitement in this mode.” – says Aaron Keller. “Starting tomorrow, the 6v6 card will be moved to the arcade. It will be available until the middle of the season, and then it will be moved to the 6v6 open queue format – min. 1, max. 3”.
Min 1, Max 3 is another 6v6 version that Blizzard is testing in Overwatch, and it does pretty much what it says on the tin. Instead of being narrow to two tanks, two DPS and two supports, you’ll have more freedom when building your team. You can mix and match heroes as long as you have at least one hero on one roll and a maximum of three on the other. This means you can have three tanks, two DPS and one support, or 3 DPS, two supports and one tank, whatever you and your team decide is best.
It’s certainly an engaging premise, but the same players who called for 6v6 to be added to Overwatch 2 don’t seem all that interested in these interim playtests. “It’s sick, but until there’s a competitive mode, it’s still not a full mode in my opinion” – one says the player. Other players also seem convinced that 6v6 should be added to the competitive mix, but that’s a monumental task that requires Blizzard to unravel all the work that has gone into balancing and improving 5v5 over the last few years.
Nostalgia can be nice, but when it comes to 6v6 play, many players who want Overwatch 2 to return to its senior format haven’t played the game in years. They don’t necessarily prefer 6v6 to 5v5 for any particular reason either – it’s more a matter of wanting things to be the way they were. I get that, but having played Overwatch since launch, I think going back to 6v6 would do more harm than good.
6v6 is also a slower and more confusing game than the current 5v5 mode. Fights are more intense, and individual players have even less influence on the outcome of the game than they currently do. Instead of erasing the progress made over the last few years and returning to the good senior days, which were often not as good as players remember them, Blizzard should work on progressing and improving its game.
