Spilo had the opportunity to sit down with Alec Dawson, lead Gameplay Designer for Overwatch 2 (OW2). This discussion covers Season 11 and how the developers were satisfied with the changes they made, not only to individual heroes but to the tank role as well. Alec also gives insights into being a developer and teases some upcoming balance patches and upcoming hero details. Heroes mentioned in this discussion include Cassidy, Sojourn, Kiriko, Symmettra, Illari, Venture, Pharah, Hanzo, Wrecking Ball, Lifeweaver, Space Ranger, Winston, Reinhardt, and more.

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0:00 About Alec
6:27 Handling Communication w/ Players
8:37 Season 11 & Latest Balance Patch
12:03 Approach to Map Reworks
15:01 Strength of New Heroes on Launch
17:57 Support Heroes with Low Utility
19:45 Utility of Projectile Heroes (like Hanzo)
21:35 Balancing Heroes that are Easy to Use
24:43 Balancing Heroes that are Unpopular
26:53 Wrecking Ball Design – Handling Crowd Control
30:11 WellRounded vs. OneDimensional Hero Design
33:16 Getting Community Feedback
35:02 Experimentation
37:38 Testing New Changes Internally
39:53 How Your Design Philosophy Has Changed
42:32 Role Passives
44:53 Solo Tank Experience
47:14 Balancing Based on Player Psychology
48:33 Pickable Passives (Upcoming Quick Play: Hacked)
49:53 Thoughts on Season 11 So Far
51:11 State of Mauga
52:29 Handling Bugs
54:01 Space Ranger Details
54:43 Upcoming Tank Changes (and Conclusion)