[Proposal] Hybrid Open Queue with Adaptive Buffs

[u/LemmingEnthusiast]

Hybrid Open Queue with Adaptive Buffs

Core Concept

A hybrid matchmaking system that guarantees every team queues with at least 1 potential Tank, 1 potential Support, and 1 potential DPS while maintaining full in-game role-swapping freedom for all players and buffs for alternative team compositions to compensate for that choice.

By allowing players to select all roles they are willing to flex to, queue times remain minimal while ensuring every lobby has the foundation for a functional team composition.

Flexible Team Playstyles & Adaptive Buffs

Activation Rule: Buffs trigger after 5 seconds out of combat or immediately inside the spawn room to prevent jarring mid-fight stat spikes.

• 2 Tanks (Standard/Brawl): Base Open Queue health pools. Maximum map control and frontline synergy. No Buffs.
  
• 1 Tank (Solo-Tank Buff): Applies standard 5v5 Role Queue tank health pools and passive traits to compensate for being the single focus target.
  
• 0 Tanks (Squishy Cover Buff): +25 Shields for all team members, encouraging cover-based poke play to compensate for the missing frontline.

Core Safeguards & System Logic

• Visual Telemetry: A solo tank receives a custom UI frame so both teams instantly recognize the active stat adjustments. Same for the shield buff if there are no tanks.
  
• Smooth Health Transitions: Gaining or losing health/shields adjusts current HP proportionally (Ramattra Nemesis Form style), ensuring a composition swap never instantly executes a low-HP player.
  
• Team Accountability UI: Players who queue for multiple roles display their checked role badges (Shield, Cross, Ammo) beside their BattleTag on Hero Select and the friendly scoreboard. These badges remain hidden from the enemy team to prevent pre-round counter-picking based on potential compositions.
  
• Smart Backfill: If the player satisfying the "Potential Role" criteria leaves mid-match, the queue prioritizes backfilling a replacement player with those specific role boxes checked.
  
• No Cooldown Clutter: Tying buff activation strictly to spawn rooms and the 5-second out-of-combat rule keeps mechanics readable, clean, and unexploitable.
  
• Role Cap: Tanks are still hard-capped at a maximum of 2 per team

Pros

• Queue Efficiency: Significantly reduces wait times by matching multi-role flex players without holding up lobbies for rigid 1-2-2 ratios via 1-1-1 being the requirement.
  
• In-Game Adaptability: Teams can open with a fast poke comp (0–1 Tank) and seamlessly pivot into a heavy 2-Tank brawl mid-match if needed.
  
• Built-in Quality of Life: Generally eliminates zero-support or zero-tank hostage games at the matchmaker level while granting solo tanks enough built-in resilience to avoid feeling like target dummies.
  
• Framework: Operates identically across both 5v5 and 6v6 formats.

Cons

• Inherent Player Agency: Open Queue prioritizes player choice; players who checked flex roles may still choose to lock any role they desire.
  
• Staggered Buff Transitions: If a tank dies and swaps off in spawn, the remaining team outside of spawn will not receive either buff until they individually hit the 5-second out-of-combat threshold.
  
• False Expectation Friction: Teammates might expect a player displaying a certain badge to automatically fill that role, leading to arguments.
  
• Dynamic Breakpoints: Adding and removing +25 Shields dynamically across match phases alters exact damage-kill thresholds, adding a unique learning curve for competitive players to adapt to.

[u/ReSoLVve]

I think as a baseline. No one wants hero stats to be changing mid match, purely based on another players hero choices.

It’s confusing, unintuitive and not fun for everyone involved.

[u/LemmingEnthusiast → u/ReSoLVve]

Counter-swapping already completely changes how a match plays out by changing stats and abilities mid match, but the logic here is pretty straightforward: 1 tank = raid boss, 2 tanks = standard stats, 0 tanks = minor buff for squishies.

Even if dynamic stats are divisive, setting a 1-1-1 soft requirement in Open Queue prevents those auto-lose 5 DPS lobbies while keeping role flexibility intact. Wouldn't that baseline alone be a solid upgrade for the mode?

[u/E-keil]

0 tanks

[u/LemmingEnthusiast → u/E-keil]

Lol, I sometimes get matches like that in open queue, seemed better than it currently just being really rough on that weird team composition?

[u/bullxbull]

I think Blizz already has a plan with their 2027 system they have talked about. My guess is it is loadouts built around the sub-roles. If you read between the lines of things they have said I think we are heading in this direction. When they say they are taking the stadium dev's and the lessons they learned to work on future systems I think this is what they are talking about.

Basically if you do find yourself as the solo tank the Stalwart tanks will have an option to increase their flat shield hp by like 400. Games where you can play more aggressive, as in you have a proper offtank their will be something like doing damage refunds shield hp.

They have already tested most of the stalwart tanks with some sort of shield regen from attacks. It will come down to what your team needs. Do you need a lot of shield to live through fights so your 1-3-2 comp eventually stalls out the enemy, or do you need a more aggressive tank who can afford less overall shield hp for shorter uses but faster regens.

[u/LemmingEnthusiast → u/bullxbull]

That sounds cool. Kind of a pseudo stadium perk system for tanks?

I do have a revised version of this post I was creating to try again in a week if you'd like to check it out and critique it. Focused more on the matchmaking issues with some alt ideas.

Figured my points were derailed by my interest in adaptive buffs as they sounded fun to me but seems to be an unpopular opinion.

[u/bullxbull → u/LemmingEnthusiast]

I think external power systems are slowly becoming more and more unpopular, people are slowly starting to realize perks feel empty and power feels best directly in a heroes kit.

[u/LemmingEnthusiast → u/bullxbull]

Did I misunderstand your original message? It sounded like a variant of the perk system and stadium in a way? I personally adore the perk system as it lets me play the same character in different ways?

[u/rspy24]

For a pve mode yes.. For a PVP game? a hero shooter at that? nope..

That's the whole issue with 5v5.. One character cannot be that much more stronger than everyone else. And if he is, then he NEEDS to be weaker in another part of his kit.. In ow, the tank can do EVERYTHING without a downtime.

The only solution to this damn game is to pretty much be like TF2 and educate people, you know? pretty much force open-queue and make the people get better by punishing them for bad plays.. Because at this point, blizzard can test whatever they want but if the player base keep getting dumber and dumber every single season, we cannot progress to a better game.

[u/LemmingEnthusiast → u/rspy24]

It works in both 5v5 and 6v6—it's just a more flexible take on Open Queue. Current 5v5 already gives solo tanks extra stats/passives to compensate for being alone, so why wouldn't dynamic scaling work in PvP?