New Overwatch experimental card drastically reworks Assault game mode

Assault is the most hated game mode in Overwatch. Players despise the 2CP mode, often producing long games and endless ties. However, Blizzard are looking at reworking it, shipping a major rework as part of the game’s newest experimental card.

Out with one experiment, in with another. Team 4 are heading back to the lab in Overwatch just days after finishing tests on Moira and Genji with a huge rework on the game’s most loathed mode ⁠— Assault.

Blizzard highlighted two major issues with Assault currently: snowballing, and “blowout” matches.

“If Point A is captured quickly and aggressively, the attacking team tends to be better equipped to quickly capture Point B as well. Since the defending team was not able to charge their ultimate abilities after a quick defeat, they will be less prepared to defend Point B,” community manager Molly Fender explained to players on July 29.

“Losing in just a few minutes never feels good and is technically impossible in our other game modes, whose mechanics force a more balanced pace to a match.”

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To fix these problems, Team 4 had to target the mechanics of the Assault game mode down to the core. The game has been split into shorter rounds focusing around the individual points on the 2CP maps.

The two teams will attack Point A, taking turns. The first team will still set the pace, however there’ll be no attack onto Point B after capture. If both teams capture Point A on their respective turns, they’ll then move to Point B and repeat the process until one team breaks the mold.

Each team will have six minutes in the timebank at the start of the game, and no extra time will be awarded for point captures. The setup time will also be reduced drastically to keep the game flowing, and spawns will be moved closer to the point.

Blizzard have labeled the Assault rework a “failed experiment” internally, but are still eager to see the community’s opinion on the mode.

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“We are not planning to move these changes over to live game modes. We look at this as more of a ‘failed experiment’ with some great learnings and interesting data that we can use for this or other game modes in the future,” Fender said.

If you want to try out the new Assault mode, it will be available in the live Overwatch client starting from July 30. Hanamura, Horizon Lunar Colony, Paris, Temple of Anubis, and Volskaya Industries will be in the experimental card map pool for you to test with the new changes.