Connect with us
Role queue is coming to Overwatch, available now on the PTR
Blizzard Entertainment

Gaming

Role queue is coming to Overwatch, available now on the PTR

Today Game Director Jeff Kaplan confirmed the long rumored feature.

Today is a day that marks a change to the core functionality of Overwatch that will be remembered by players everywhere for years to come. After months of speculation and rumors, role queue has officially come to Overwatch and is now live on the Public Test Realm (PTR) for PC players.

Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan announced the role queue today in the latest Overwatch developer update, which comes alongside significant hero changes — to Brigitte in particular.

Role queue implements a new system that requires players to select the role they would like to play before queuing for Quick play or Competitive Play — tank, support, or damage — which limits players to heroes within their role once the match has begun. The system is 2-2-2 with a limit of two players per each role, per team, and at the end of the match players will once again select their role before reentering the queue.

Each role will have its own queue, and players will see estimates for wait time for each role at the role-selection screen. Some roles may have longer queue times than others due to the number of players queuing for a particular role. Kaplan anticipates some roles having longer queue times than others, so to compensate for this, Blizzard will incentivize players to queue for other roles to help even out the distribution of queues.

Role queue is coming to Overwatch, available now on the PTR

Blizzard Entertainment

“We believe that Role Queue will improve match quality, give players more control over their gameplay experience, and provide more positive social experiences between teammates,” Blizzard said.

Players will earn separate skill rating for each role in Competitive Play, giving them three distinct SRs. The ratings will be between 1 and 5000, with higher values indicating greater skill. As with current competitive play, players will be assigned to a tier based off of their SR, but where the new system differs is in that each role can have a different tier.

Another significant change is placement matches are being reduced from 10 to 5, per role. If players complete placement matches for all three roles, they will be eligible to receive more Competitive Points and other rewards.

Role queue is coming to Overwatch, available now on the PTR

Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard will be conducting a two-week Role Queue Beta season from August 13 to September 1. To accommodate this Competitive Season 17 will be cut short by two weeks. The Beta season will allow players to earn Competitive Points but the stats earned during the season will not count towards permanent Competitive Season stats.

Role Queue will be fully available for Quick Play and Competitive Play starting September 1 for the beginning of Competitive Season 18.

Join the AIPT Patreon

Want to take our relationship to the next level? Become a patron today to gain access to exclusive perks, such as:

  • ❌ Remove all ads on the website
  • 💬 Join our Discord community, where we chat about the latest news and releases from everything we cover on AIPT
  • 📗 Access to our monthly book club
  • 📦 Get a physical trade paperback shipped to you every month
  • 💥 And more!
Sign up today
Comments

In Case You Missed It

Marvel reveals Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock to get X-Men series Marvel reveals Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock to get X-Men series

Marvel reveals Rachel Summers and Betsy Braddock to get X-Men series

Comic Books

X-Men Monday #244 - Christos Gage Talks 'Weapon X-Men' X-Men Monday #244 - Christos Gage Talks 'Weapon X-Men'

X-Men Monday #244 – Christos Gage Talks ‘Weapon X-Men’

Comic Books

'Batman: Dark Age' #1 is an intriguing reinterpretation of the Caped Crusader's beginnings 'Batman: Dark Age' #1 is an intriguing reinterpretation of the Caped Crusader's beginnings

‘Batman: Dark Age’ #1 is an intriguing reinterpretation of the Caped Crusader’s beginnings

Comic Books

New Hellboy 30th Anniversary teaser hints at new statue New Hellboy 30th Anniversary teaser hints at new statue

New Hellboy 30th Anniversary teaser hints at new statue

Comic Books

Connect
Newsletter Signup