Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 will Take New Players About 100 Matches To Unlock All and ives Competitive mode an overhaul. Original Heroes This news comes from a new Overwatch 2 blog post, as reported by Destructoid. In it, Blizzard says a consistent piece of feedback it has received is that new players feel overwhelmed by Overwatch's hero pool and various modes. As such, the team has implemented a new First Time User Experience, or FTUE, designed for Overwatch 2 players who have never played Overwatch.
Blizzard restructured Competitive around a few key pillars: making each season distinct (with things like new heroes, maps, modes and balance changes); ensure that losing matches isn't necessarily a negative and there's still a sense that you're making progress; and improving the mode for folks who are returning from the original game. Each season will last for nine weeks. The new FTUE addresses that feedback directly. In phase one, players will need to unlock the game's modes and chat functions – this happens “rapidly,” Blizzard writes in the blog post. Then, in phase two, players will unlock the original Overwatch heroes by playing "approximately 100 matches," according to Destructoid. It's important to note this is just for the original game's heroes – new heroes will be unlocked through Overwatch 2's battle pass system.
How To Unlock Overwatch 2's Competitive Mode. Everyone who unlocked Competitive in Overwatch will already have access to it in Overwatch 2 on launch day. New players (those who create an account on or after Overwatch 2's October 4 launch day) will need to go through the First-Time User Experience, which will help them get to grips with the game. They'll have access to a limited number of heroes at first and gradually unlock the rest of the original 32 Overwatch heroes as they play games. Kiriko will not be available in ranked mode for anyone in the first two weeks. Competitive play can be unlocked by winning 50 Quick Play matches. However, Blizzard says, "most FTUE restrictions are lifted while in a group, so new players can team up with their friends at any time to play almost any game modes." Competitive is the exception, though.
Another massive update to Competitive mode is the new scoreboard, which will forego displaying medals like the original game, in favor of more traditional stats like kills, deaths, and assists. These categories should help give players a better idea of how their match is going, while also letting them know what they might need to change in order to improve their odds of winning.
While the tiers from Overwatch (Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master and Grand Master) will stick around, they now each have five tiers. Five is the lowest and one is the highest. So, Grand Master 1 is the tippity top. Each division is equivalent to around 100 SR but instead of losing or gaining SR after every game, you'll get a Competitive update after every seven wins or 20 losses. This will display your progress and move you to another division. The idea is to show your progress over time, rather than putting too much focus on every individual game.
There's plenty more in the blog post, including details about Overwatch 2's Ping system, Endorsements, machine learning and audio transcriptions, and its overall Defense Matrix Initiative experience, so be sure to check it out if you're interested.
Game Reports, you can go deeper by clicking on a hero to get specific stats for each of them. Eventually, the Game Reports section will track recently played matches between sessions. Blizzard also plans to introduce a replay timeline that will highlight key moments and a way to view the game's final scoreboard results.
Competitive Skill Decay, if you don't play Overwatch 2 for a while, Blizzard may lower your MMR. This is in order to help Team 4 reassess your skill level at the time you hop back in. These players will have their MMR adjusted rapidly as they play more matches with the idea of helping them quickly return to the appropriate skill tier division.
The rewards will be different for those who crack the Top 500 leaderboards too. Instead of special sprays and icons, you'll get a name card that you can use on your profile. You'll be able to use this to show off the level you reached in a given season.
Overwatch 2 hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on October 4. While waiting for its free-to-play release next week, read about how Overwatch 2 devs spent a year making Genji's customizable Mythic skin and then read about how Overwatch 2's vice president is interested in exploring brand collaborations similar to Fortnite's Naruto crossover.
