Overwatch 2 leak confirms Doomfist role swap with new Tank rework

Brad Norton
Overwatch Doomfist gameplay

A leaked screenshot of the early Overwatch 2 Alpha appears to have confirmed the long-awaited role swap for Doomfist, moving the Damage hero over to the Tank role instead.

While the first portion of the Closed Overwatch 2 Beta is still a few weeks out, professional players and Blizzard staff alike have been granted access to an early Alpha build of the game.

Everything contained in this version is under a strict embargo, meaning nothing is to be shared online. Despite these conditions, that hasn’t stopped some fresh intel and early impressions from leaking out.

The first gameplay screenshot from the Alpha not only revealed a Soldier 76 redesign, but the very same image may have also confirmed a long-rumored role swap for Doomfist.

As far back as September 2021, we heard the Overwatch devs were interested in mixing things up for the ground-slamming hero. After multiple teasers in the following months, we now seem to have confirmation that Doomfist will serve as a Tank in Overwatch 2.

In a leaked image that surfaced on March 16, we saw a rather unique team composition loading into Illios. Two Support heroes, two Damage heroes, and one Tank, with that Tank being none other than Doomfist.

While no specific abilities or gameplay changes can be discerned from this one screenshot, we may already have a good idea of what to expect.

Previously, Lead Hero Designer Geoff Goodman stressed that much of Doomfist’s kit would “fit nicely into a Tank role.” Therefore, many of his abilities may remain intact despite the role swap.

In terms of specific changes, however, the hero might not pack the same punch as before. “He’ll be losing some damage and gaining some defenses,” Goodman explained.

Doomfist Formal Skin Overwatch
There’s no telling exactly how Doomfist will fit in as a Tank, but we can expect at least one new ability.

We’ll have to wait and see exactly what this all means, though the role swap and rework now appears to be official at the very least.

This could make Doomfist one of the more agile Tanks in Overwatch history, right alongside D.Va. Here’s how you can sign up for the Overwatch 2 Beta to get your hands on the new version of Doomfist as soon as possible.

About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com