Overwatch Role Queue arrives in latest update, implementing 2-2-2 meta

Fariha Bhatti Published 14/08/2019

The Role Queue beta has arrived in Overwatch.

While the 2-2-2 role lock has been standard in Overwatch League for weeks, the new matchmaking system has now come to the retail version of the game available to casual players. It’s a big update on its own, but it comes with a collection of additional changes to support it.

As the name suggests, role queue allows players to choose whether they will play DPS, tank, or support in their next game. Teams are restricted to two players in each role, with each player being restricted to selecting heroes from the role they queued for. In the current version of Role Queue, players will not be able to swap rolls with teammates in the middle of a game.

At the moment, Role Queue has replaced ranked mode for a test run. Once fully implemented, the new system will be applied to both quickplay and ranked games.

To avoid longer queue times, Blizzard is giving players extra incentive to play the less-desirable roles by giving away bonus loot boxes to support and tank players. Competitive Points, used to purchase golden weapon skins, will also be increased for anyone that completes five competitive placement matches across each of the three roles.

Players will also receive separate competitive rankings for DPS, tank, and support. This means that previous SR rankings, while still recorded, are going to be reset for players to climb the ladder once again. Similarly, the hidden rating for quickplay games has also been cleared.

The new system will be applied to the game in two weeks’ time with the start of Competitive Season 18. Blizzard will use this time to iron out any matchmaking issues that arise in the Role Queue beta.

Competitive season 18 will begin on September 1, provided no serious issues arise which delay the rollout.

Fariha Bhatti

About Fariha Bhatti

Fariha Bhatti is a long-time gaming writer who loves competitive FPS games and slots with particularly fun themes. She got her start playing classic games developed by SNK, from legendary fighting game series The King of Fighters to challenging platform franchise Metal Slug. She now spends most of her time playing Valorant and Counter-Strike 2 while working her way through new slot releases to find her next favorite. Fariha has been published at PCGamesN, TalkEsport and ONE Esports.

View full profile

Read Also

Twitch

After a Self-Nomination, Could iShowSpeed Be a Surprise Grammy Winner? Khizar Mundia Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. has nominated himself in several Grammy categories, and fans are speculating whether the wildcard entrant has a chance of winning against more established artists. 2026 is a major year for iShowSpeed, as the YouTuber ended 2025 with his Africa IRL tour ongoing, then toured the Caribbean, and ultimately did FIFA World Cup livestreams. He partnered with FIFA, YouTube, and Fox, and performed at the World Cup. ...

Kick

Eddie Craven Discusses Kick Viewer Rewards Khizar Mundia Kick has established itself as one of the leading livestreaming platforms, and co-founder Eddie Craven has revealed why they don’t pay viewers, whilst also discussing viewer rewards for watching streams. Adin Ross had publicly claimed that the platform may start rewarding its viewers with cash incentives for watching livestreams. This seemed to be a good way to attract viewers at the time, but Eddie Craven has revealed why this could ...

News

Can We Expect Another GTA 6 Trailer This Month? Hannan Mundia Rockstar Games is currently on everyone’s mind with GTA 6’s release date being so close. However, the studio has been somewhat lax when it comes to trailers this year, having released only one proper extended look for fans. Still, that single trailer was enough to break records and build up insane hype on social media. Since GTA 6 is slated to come out on November 19, the looming question is ...

News

Breaking: Esports and Crypto Prediction Market Forkast.gg to Shut Down Ben Boland Forkast.gg, an innovative prediction market platform focused on esports and crypto, has announced it will shut down on November 9. The website will remain accessible until then, but all predictions scheduled to resolve after that date will be cancelled. Forkast.gg has put a banner up on their website to indicate that the site will shut down in four weeks. The prediction market website will remain in use until then. However, ...

Movies & TV

Will The Batman Part II Be Delayed Again? Zachary Roberts The Batman: Part II has already been delayed three times. It was supposed to come out this month, actually. Three delays later, though, and it's on the slate for February 2028, which would be almost six years to the month after the first movie. Is it going to be delayed again? Movie fans live in fear of that very thing in these uncertain times. Any piece of art, including video ...

Kick

Nigerian Musician Davido Joins Kick: Here’s What We Know Khizar Mundia Afrobeats star David “Davido” Adedeji Adeleke has joined livestreaming platform Kick and expressed his intention to begin a new part of his career. Kick has previously revealed that the platform has stepped back from signing streamers with large deals and also stopped encouraging gambling content. Both announcements were met with widely positive reactions, as there was much criticism regarding casino streaming and many people believed huge deals led to streamers ...

Dota 2

BLAST SLAM VIII Finals predictions and preview Michael Hassall It’s been a long road, but after a strangely-formatted group stage, and a decidedly anticlimactic playoffs, we’re down to the final three teams in BLAST SLAM VIII. The finals are today (Oct. 11) and we’ll see the premier teams in Dota 2 clash. Perhaps disappointingly, we’re not seeing a new wave of top-teams at the pinnacle of Dota 2 competition, with the three final teams being the same trio we’ve ...