The arrival of Overwatch 2 meant the slow destruction of my favourite mode

Overwatch 2 Ramattra
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

I played a lot of Overwatch 1. Many many hours over three accounts and when you look at my most recent account the majority of the time I've played M is in Arcade mode. And as much as I'd like to say to you that I spent time playing everything from Total Mayhem to 1v1s, in actuality, I spent almost all my time in Overwatch playing Quick Play Classic. 

If you're like me and have played Overwatch since its original launch in 2016, then you'll remember the various stages the game underwent before it became the 5v5 multiplayer it is today. At first Quick Play allowed you to play anyone, anyone at all, including duplicates. It was chaos, so then it became limited to one of each hero. This frustrated some players still as you could get a group of six DPS mains without anyone willing to change to a healer position. So more chaos ensued. 

Eventually Blizzard put its foot down and decided on a final variation. All damage dealers are now the same class, rather than attack and defence and each team must have two supports, two tanks, and two DPS. This became Overwatch's final format and the format for Competitive. This was the real way to play. But I, as a chaos lover, preferred the Quick Play that let anyone pick whatever hero they wanted (without duplicates). This became known as Quick Play Classic and it's what I spent all my time in for the next few years of Overwatch. 

Deep breaths 

(Image credit: Blizzard)

I had no interest in winning, I just wanted my time with the game to be fun. I wanted to fly through the sky, free as a bird as Widowmaker and click heads. And because it was Arcade, no one cared. No one really minded if we won or lost. Actually I can recall some players being told to stop being so sweaty when they took to chat to complain about their team comp or players. If you wanted to play real Overwatch, QPC was absolutely not the place to do it. So existed this little bubble of Overwatch where everyone was pretty chill about whatever happened.

Fast forward a few years and here we have Overwatch 2. Quick Play Classic is retained but renamed and moved. Its continued popularity as an Arcade mode meant that it became a Competitive mode in itself and now it's called Open Queue. It's no longer Arcade but a main event once again. 

The big gameplay change of Overwatch 2 was reducing the number of tanks you could have on a team from two to one. This change also buffed tanks hugely, taking them from what was practically bigger DPS with a little less damage, to goliaths. Being one on one with a tank in Overwatch 2 is a far more intimidating prospect than it ever was in Overwatch 1, and that was sort of the point. If ever you come to face a tank one on one as a DPS, of the same skill level, you're in big trouble. This change, although sensible for 'real' Overwatch, sort of destroyed some of the fun version of Overwatch for me. 

(Image credit: Blizzard)

The purpose behind changing from two tanks to one was to make players operate better as a team. To give them one ultra powerful tank to rally around and for that tank to lead the change into battle supported by their squishier friends. But in QPC or Open Queue, where there were no rules, there's no reason to only play just one tank, it's mayhem in a different way. Two, even three tanks on a team is possible. And that means people are now playing to win. 

I played two games in the middle of this article to remind myself how it felt and though I still got the play of the game in both with two easy wins, the sweatiness of players felt enhanced. Players started out as the heroes they wanted to play, and ended up as the biggest heroes they knew how to play. From Soldier 76 to D.Va. From Moira to Sigma. A conscious, ugh behind the frustration of losing and changing to a tank to try and outlast anything else because of the tank’s newfound power. They still lost but it felt more like exasperation at the end with what the enemy team was doing than having fun. 

(Image credit: Tyler C. / Activision Blizzard)

It's probably a great time for many tank players who just want to mess around and step on people, but the buff to the class has changed the dynamic greatly. Where Quick Play Classic was hidden away like a little gem for those that knew it was there, because it wasn't a main version of the game, Open Queue is more serious. All I wanted to do was click heads you know? It's not that deep. Just take a breath and have fun getting to know the heroes you want to play! 

I've stopped playing Open Queue. In Overwatch 1 I never played role queue and yet in Overwatch 2, it's all I can play. One tank is enough for any team, even if the whole thing is a little more rigid and brittle. I'll just miss the way Quick Play Classic once was: rest in peace. 

Imogen has been playing games for as long as she can remember but finally decided games were her passion when she got her hands on Portal 2. Ever since then she’s bounced between hero shooters, RPGs, and indies looking for her next fixation, searching for great puzzles or a sniper build to master. When she’s not working for PC Gamer, she’s entertaining her community live on Twitch, hosting an event like GDC, or in a field shooting her Olympic recurve bow.

Read more
Winston looking shocked
'We're extending the 6v6 playtest': The game director of Overwatch 2 stokes the flames that 6v6 will make an official comeback someday
overwatch 2 stadium mode
Overwatch 2's new third-person Stadium mode breaks every Overwatch rule in the book, and it's about time
overwatch 2 season 15 cosmetics
Overwatch 2 is getting radical changes that might finally help that '2' make sense, starting with a third-person mode and over 160 hero perks
Marvel Rivals codes - Venom and other heroes
Instead of role queue, Marvel Rivals wants to trust players with the epic responsibility of creating a functioning team by themselves: 'We’ll be taking a little bit more of a Marvel-inspired approach'
Overwatch 2's Sombra looks toward camera with arms crossed
'We should be a little scared of what we're putting out there': Overwatch 2 lead designer says hero perks are about 'letting go' of perfect balance
marvel rivals
Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: 'sweaty' teamplay vs. casual fun
Latest in FPS
rainbow six siege sledge
After holding out for 10 years, Rainbow Six Siege is finally going free-to-play (kind of)
rainbow six siege x dual front mode
Rainbow Six Siege is getting its first permanent mode in 10 years, and it throws every Siege rule out the window
Fragpunk characters with weapon drawn
The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike'
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Destiny 2 Rite of the Nine: The Emissary, massive, ominously standing at the edge of a water basin.
Oops! Bungie rolled out Destiny 2's Rite of the Nine event three weeks early, and new loot is already dropping
Latest in Features
Fragpunk characters with weapon drawn
The latest big game on Steam is Fragpunk, or as I like to call it, 'kitchen-sink Counter-Strike'
Screenshots from Half-Life 2 RTX, showing the various new effects delivered by full ray tracing and enhanced assets.
I just played Half-Life 2 RTX, a fully ray-traced overhaul of the original, and its meaty headcrabs have me hankering for more
In a world of WoW Classics and Old School RuneScapes… could Final Fantasy 14 ever do the same?
Honey B Lovely
The state of Final Fantasy 14 in 2025: It's in a weird spot, huh?
A child stands on top of a dinosaur exhibit, hugging the nose of a dinosaur skull.
As a real life museum employee, I'm a bit confused by the amount of pirate ghosts in Two Point Museum—but it's not going to stop me trying to make the most realistic exhibits I can
A hunter grins and throws two peace/victory signs while wearing a Mimiphyta helm in Monster Hunter Wilds.
Monster Hunter Wilds' best change is to its layered armor, letting me finally run amok with dressup the way I should have always been able to