After months of rumors and leaks, the Overwatch Role Queue has finally been officially confirmed by Blizzard. It’s a big change, one that will rock the game to its core. Being such a fundamental upheaval, it’s easy to wonder how it’ll all work along with the Overwatch Role Queue release date for each platform. It’s a little complicated, but it’s not too difficult, given how extensively Blizzard has detailed it.
Ovewatch Role Queue | Release date
The Overwatch Role Queue release date is different for its unique phases. It is currently out right now on the PTR on PC so you can download the patch and start playing right away. It’s also got some pretty heavy balance changes for a few of the heroes, which is necessary given how they can’t stack like they used to
The current competitive season will end earlier than usual and there will be a two-week Role Queue Beta Season from August 13 to September 1. And, according to Jeff Kaplan, this will hit the PS4 and Xbox One as well. For once, console owners will get to test something before it goes fully live. Then it will go live across Quick Play and Competitive on September 1 just in time for Season 18.
It’ll have a different start day for the Overwatch League, too. They’ll have full access for Stage 4 which starts on Thursday, July 25.
Ovewatch Role Queue | How will it work?
Instead of queuing like normal, you’ll be tasked with picking one of the three classes. From there, you’ll be dropped into a game where you can only pick heroes from that pool. For example, if you pick Support before the match, you’ll only be able to pick Ana, Mercy, Moira, Baptiste, Zenyatta, and Brigitte.
Queue times will mostly be dependent on how many players are going for a specific role. There will even be an estimated time for each role and less filled roles will incentivize players with rewards like free loot boxes. Players will also be matched on a per-role basis, meaning if you’re a better Tank, you’ll be matched with better players and if you’re a worse Support, you’ll be matched with lower rank players. Basically, it’s not just one rank anymore that determines who you play against.
Ovewatch Role Queue | Can I still play without Role Queue?
Yes, you will be able to play Overwatch without the Role Queue if you’d like. However, you’ll have to dig for it just a bit. There will be an option in the Arcade called “Quick Play Classic.” This will revert the game back to having anyone pick whatever class they’d like (but still no hero doubles as that — No Hero Limits — is a separate mode). This will even count towards the Arcade loot boxes wins. But the Overwatch Role Queue will also not affect Arcade mode either since it is own separate, less competitive beast.
But speaking of, you will not be able to play without Role Queue in competitive play. Given the competitive roots for this change, you’ll have to go 2-2-2.
Ovewatch Role Queue | How does it work for Competitive?
There will actually be three different SR rankings between one and 5,000 for Competitive play: one for Tank, one for Support, and one for Damage. The game can more accurately determine your skill level this way since it won’t be this hodge podge of all the classes rolled up into one number. Your matchmaking will be tied to what class you pick before a match like Quick Play.
However, this is after the five placement matches for each class you’ll need to do. This is down from 10 from the old seasons but more if you do your placement matches for each of the three classes. Any one of the placement matches will get you the season-specific spray and player icon.
You can also potentially get more CR points at the end of the season since you’ll get points based on each ranking. These are:
| Skill Tier | Before | After | New Total |
| Bronze | 65 | 25 | 75 |
| Silver | 125 | 50 | 150 |
| Gold | 250 | 100 | 300 |
| Platinum | 500 | 200 | 600 |
| Diamond | 750 | 300 | 900 |
| Master | 1200 | 450 | 1350 |
| Grandmaster | 1750 | 650 | 1950 |
There will also be four leaderboards: one for each class and one combined one. You have to complete 25 games (down from 50) to be eligible for it. Players in the top 500 will get another player icon and animated spray.
New Overwatch game modes that Blizzard NEEDS to make
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New Overwatch game modes that Blizzard NEEDS to make
It's been just about two years since Overwatch added in any new game modes. Blizzard's FPS already has a pretty large collection, from Low Gravity to the ever-popular Mystery Heroes. However, there are still plenty of FPS staples that could use the old Overwatch touch. -
Assault
Sometimes known as Reverse CTF, this mode tasks a team with bringing a bomb into a base defended by an opponent. Overwatch has a shaky relationship with CTF as is, but the maps Blizzard has created could work if the focus is placed on the offense/defense dynamic that already exists in the base game. -
Crazy King
Overwatch is all about controlling points, but what if the points weren't so straightforward? Instead of pushing forward, what if the hill moved around a more arena-esque map? Having a control point that jumps around could let some heroes shine in places where they otherwise don't. -
Kill Confirmed
Overwatch does finally have a collection of deathmatch modes, but it's still primarily focused on objectives. What if one map had a new objective that combined the two? Originating in Call of Duty, Kill Confirmed has you grabbing "dogtags" from killed players and recovering your teammates to denying their score. -
Medieval Mode
Taken from Team Fortress 2, what if you only had access to a specific subset of your weapons? No firearms, no tech, just scrapping with melee weapons. While this might require adding some new tools to the game to fill out the roster, even a game full of Reinhardts swinging hammers could be fun. -
Singles Deathmatch
Speaking of, what if deathmatch was tweaked a bit? What if everyone had to make do with a single style of character each round? We could see grenade spam parties with Junkrat, long-range Bastion fights, or just straight up shooter warfare with Soldier: 76 -
Singles Mystery Heroes
If that's too extreme, what about combining the idea with the best mode in Overwatch? Singles Mystery Heroes would automatically compose two random teams and set them off. No switching, no complaining, you just have to make due and devise a strategy with your teammates on the fly. -
Total Mayhem CTF
Another favorite in the arcade is Total Mayhem, a playlist where every power is popping off at all times. What if we brought that mayhem into other objectives? In CTF, we could really see crazy movement capabilities take center stage. It might even be broken, but that's why it's in the Arcade. -
VIP
Another mode from the history of Team Fortress, this is basically Payload but with a human player instead of a point. The VIP is a weak player who's barely able to defend themselves, so you need to do it for them. It would solve the issue of heroes not camping on the cart and potentially add another character or two into the game's lore. -
Horde Mode
This one is a bit of a cheat, as Overwatch has already had several Horde-type experiences during events. However, there's no regular way to take down waves of robots with friends. A regular horde mode with a few new or recycled maps could even be a third way to rack up weekly loot boxes. -
Campaign
The ultimate addition that Blizzard could add to Overwatch is a story campaign. Several years into its life, the players who remain are diehards who can name every minor character in every trailer. Blizzard is full of master storytellers, and the two PvE events it has run more than prove that a full campaign could be amazing.
