Blizzard Just Made Overwatchs Best Mode Much Worse While I dabble in other Overwatch modes, I spend the vast majority of my time in Mystery Heroes, a casual mode where you load in as a random character and switch to another upon respawn. It is by far my favorite way to play Overwatch, as it helps me switch off and relax. Others use it as a warmup. It requires knowledge of all 51 heroes to coordinate and counter opponents. But with the arrival of the new Overwatch season this week, Blizzard changed Mystery Heroes, and made it much less fun to play. The developers say they modified Mystery Heroes to help keep the mode’s casual pace intact while mitigating some of the more extreme pain points it has had in the past. That likely relates to how the mode handled perks. In other modes, players earn perks, which are upgrades or new abilities, throughout a match. In Mystery Heroes, they loaded into a round with random perks already equipped. That was fun. I loved the chaos of trying to make things work with whatever hero and perks I had. Now, perks are gone from Mystery Heroes. I somewhat understand the reasoning. Removing them helps players understand the situation faster, without needing to quickly check their perks when racing back to the action. Perks were only added to Overwatch a little over a year ago and they helped make the game more enjoyable. Removing them from Mystery Heroes diminishes it compared to other modes, especially since some heroes are now more oriented around their perks. The other major change in Mystery Heroes is a switch from teams of five players to 6v6. I am fine with 6v6 in other game types, but it makes Mystery Heroes much worse. In other 6v6 formats, you typically have two tanks, two supports, and two damage heroes. In Mystery Heroes, the defense might load in with four tanks and two supports, as teams are limited to three heroes from any class after respawns. While tanks generally have lower health pools in 6v6 modes, that is still an oppressive composition to face. Attackers lack the agency to switch to characters that can counter such a setup. For instance, if attackers do not spawn as heroes that can get behind a chokepoint and take out those supports, they might never break through. That does not make for a fun round. Trying to keep five other players alive as a solo support is not exactly a blast either. I am not the only one disappointed with these changes. In every single Mystery Heroes game I have played since the update, other players have lamented the loss of perks. The reaction to the 6v6 switch is more mixed. Players are protesting on Reddit and the Overwatch forums too. It is not like I am averse to change. Blizzard has made many updates to greatly improve Overwatch over the last few years. It added the big Stadium mode in 2025 and the game recently had a soft, successful relaunch. Even this season has positive tweaks, including hero updates and the return of post-match awards. The new damage hero Sierra is rad too. The Mystery Heroes changes, however, are a step in the wrong direction. I dearly hope Blizzard reverses course on those soon.
