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Overwatch Triple Damage: Everything You Need to Know

By Jack O'Dwyer

Genji is prepared for the first experimental mode in Overwatch
Genji is prepared for the first experimental mode in Overwatch / Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch Triple Damage is a new experimental mode detailed in Monday's Developer Update.

Blizzard Entertainment Vice President and Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan came forward with another Developer Update yesterday. He explained an issue the game is having with its recently implemented queuing system. Kaplan aims to fix this with the team's experimental mode as a way to test out a new theory regarding team composition. They're calling it "Triple Damage."

Overwatch Triple Damage: Everything You Need to Know

Triple damage refers to the number of damage roles that will become available once the card is implemented. Instead of the previous 2-2-2 role lock, players will now be able to have one tank, three damage, and two supports.

There is now an option to play under the "experimental card" mode containing this change.

This comes off the heels of a developer discussion last year concerning the lengthy wait times for damage-main players. Fortunately, Overwatch isn't alone in this issue. Multiple games have experienced a disproportionate wait for damage-dealers over any other role.

It appears that the Role Queue function implemented last summer has worsened this phenomenon, according to Kaplan. The development team attempted this fix internally with mixed results until they got feedback from the players asking to try the change, themselves.

This change is not a permanent, planned change. Kaplan's "radical" shift from 2-2-2 to 1-3-2 is purely experimental at the behest of the fan base and are not intended to make it to the live game.

Queuing for the experimental card is no different from a regular match—aside from the obvious. Players will still be leveling their accounts in matches as usual. There will just be a different team composition than what they have been used to previously.

Kaplan encourages players to share their feedback of this new system. "Don't panic," he says. The team will be looking into whether this solves the damage wait time issue as time goes on.