Overwatch expert explains why Marvel Rivals team-up abilities might come to OW2

An Overwatch expert believes Marvel Rivals’ team-up skills could work in Overwatch 2 if Blizzard introduces them as “lore buffs.”

When activated, the team-up skills in Marvel Rivals allow certain pairs of characters to synergize with each other for buffs or passive abilities.

One such skill lets Rocket Raccoon ride on Groot’s back, for example. Another sees Magneto receive a melee upgrade when teamed with Scarlet Witch.

Since Marvel Rivals has borrowed so heavily from Overwatch, fans of the latter have wondered what it might take from the newer title. Interestingly, one expert is convinced Blizzard has already laid the groundwork for a team-up mechanic in OW2.

Marvel Rivals team-ups could work in Overwatch 2 as “lore buffs”

YouTube channel Your Overwatch has broken down how team-up abilities could translate to OW2. After all, the community has pondered the possiblities of “lore buffs” for years, the concept driven by the idea that characters with history would enhance one another in combat.

The YouTuber argues that evidence of such a mechanic potentially debuting in Overwatch can be seen in Blizzard’s past experiments with gameplay. Pickable Passes, Min 1, Max 3 team compositions, and Kingmaker mode count as a few examples.

Plus, the addition of team-ups would allow developers to explore their stated interest in adding mechanics that provide more strategic possiblities.

Your Overwatch notes that “lore buffs” would be the perfect name for the Marvel Rivals-like mechanic, since it’d combine characters who “have some interesting Overwatch backstory lore together.”

According to the content creator, the “dragons combo” featuring Genji, Hanzo, and Kiriko constitues one obvious match-up. In addition to offering cool gameplay sequences, such pairings would also help cover each character’s weakness.

So maybe activating a team-up with these heroes results in a passive that infuses them with the dragon for slightly more movement and attack speed.

It’s worth noting that some Marvel Rivals team-up abilities launched in a broken state, and not all of the pairings function well mechanically. But the absence of competitive esport concerns allows the Marvel-branded title a bit more leniency in this regard.

How similar hiccups would impact Overwatch 2’s esports competitions would need to be carefully considered before Blizzard dives in head first, though.