Experimental cards in which players across all platforms can test out major game changes has been announced to be coming tomorrow.
In a new developer update, Overwatch lead Jeff Kaplan addressed the community and announced that they will be releasing the first experimental mode tomorrow, 25th February.
“Don’t Panic” Jeff said as he announced the changes would be affecting role queue and the overall team composition. Instead of the 2:2:2 system (2 tanks, 2 healers and 2 damage roles) we will instead be playing with a 1:2:3 system (1 tanks, 2 healers and 3 damage roles). The change is colossal and the side effects are yet to be realised but the removal of one tank role could really spice up Overwatch matches. Kaplan mentioned that the change was controversial among the Overwatch team and that players were being given the chance to test it in a controlled environment without having to install the PTR, which is only available on PC.
It should also be worth noting that this is not a definite confirmed change and that its likely the change will never reach the main game. Nonetheless, anyone (regardless of which platform you play on) will be able to test out the new feature, which is aiming to eliminate the lengthy queue times that come with playing damage heroes.
The mode has been named ‘triple damage’ and will not be affecting the ongoing 2020 Overwatch League.
A patch to introduce the new experimental card is expected to go live sometime tomorrow and it may be going in with a brand new event that has been circulating the internet for the past few days; due to a player randomly receiving a Twitch loot drop for watching six hours of Blizzard’s competitive shooter, it was revealed that Overwatch may be getting a Mardi Gras event with Ashe being the main focus of the event. A YouTube notification went out earlier today for a video from the official PlayOverwatch channel with the title ‘Ashe’s Mardi Gras Challenge | Watch to Earn’, leading many to believe that a new event is inbound to celebrate Mardi Gras (better known as Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Day).
Suspicions were all but confirmed when at the end of the developer update Kaplan started talking about if there was an event going on, players would still be able to earn drops while playing an experimental mode. Kaplan then went on to say “there might be some event, surprises coming your way while this experimental card is up”.
Overwatch is out now on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.