Vortex Gaming

This season introduced features and a hero/map ban system to improve the game structure. The situation is sensitive to the EWC meta of large tournaments, and balance patches are possible. Overwatch 2 announces major updates every 6 months, and the next update will focus on improving the problems of the previous 6 months. Popularity has not continued significantly after the beginning of the season for the past 6 months. The lack of new heroes and the anti-Pharah atmosphere due to the ban system are pointed out as problems.

Careful consideration is needed when applying bans to new heroes and new maps. Lack of balance patches is directly reflected in the Season 17 tier list. Introducing systems that are expected in-game is good, but fatigue is caused by the lack of new heroes and frequent balance patches. The process of preparing before starting the game is long and needs to be simplified.

Lucio is confirmed as ST in the weakened sustain meta, with the 30% healing reduction patch being the main cause. Brigitte is declining, and the concept of healing reduction passive is important. Similar to Season 9 in the past, but there are differences due to tank enhancement patches. It is important to gain an advantage in basic skirmishes and snowball. Heroes with weak basic weapon damage are weak.

Ana is declining due to high skill dependency, and her multi-healing ability is lower than Baptiste. Kiriko is confirmed as ST as dealing ability becomes important, and her 'Daibo' is difficult to master. Baptiste is top-tier in both basic attack and healing ability, upgraded to S tier. Illari's combination synergy is a problem, and her healing efficiency is not good except with Baptiste, strong on poking maps.

Orisa and Wrecking Ball are confirmed as ST, and tanks with strong basics are AT. Orisa is the core of the meta due to her high stats, and Wrecking Ball has a strong feeling of being versatile. Winston is a character to watch out for, good at picking off enemies with Lucio, and has good synergy with Tracer. Doomfist and D.Va are borderline tier, and team movement is important. Ramattra has the potential to rise to A tier, and North American indicators should be noted. The polarization of the tank meta is intensifying, with Junker Queen and Ramattra being the only hope.

Tracer is confirmed as ST due to damage buff. Cassidy is emerging as the main damage dealer, benefiting from Pharah's nerf, and is advantageous in tank damage exchange. Pharah and Sojourn are AT, Pharah has a long-range advantage, and Sojourn can be used on long-range poking maps. Genji and Venture have the potential to be joker picks, and a Tracer and two-support full dive composition is possible. Symmetra can be a joker pick as an Orisa counter. Most damage dealer indicators are not good, which is the cause of Overwatch's poor performance.

There is a tendency to use only good heroes, but joker picks are expected in EWC. There is anxiety that the system created by the developers is not flowing in the expected direction. Similar to the 2023 Overwatch World Cup meta, it is difficult to ignore the combination theory of European and North American servers. There is a possibility of upsets in EWC.