Overwatch 2 will soon be entering its Season 3 and Blizzard came to tell us about some of the major changes expected. The game will drastically change.
Despite a most chaotic launch, Overwatch 2 managed to climb the slope and finally found its audience. However, the game did not escape the wrath of players who quickly pointed out very serious concerns. While the specter of Diablo Immortal’s controversy was still very present, as soon as it was released, Overwatch 2 has come under heavy criticism for its online store, its very high prices, the lack of rewards and bonuses offered to players, a somewhat skinny season pass or even an unclear ranking system for the competitive mode. Good news, Blizzard seems to have listened to the players and very big changes are coming from season 3.
Overwatch 2 will be more generous from season 3
In a long article on its official website, the studio returned to tease some of the changes that will land in season 3 ofOverwatch 2 and which will continue to arrive with season 4. On the menu, more rewards, a revised battle pass system, major balancing and an improved competitive mode.
First of all, rewards such as skins, tags, emotes or replicas should be more easily accessible to players. Blizzard still does not tell us if the prices will be lowered or if the challenges will reward us with new cosmetic items, but it says that big changes are going to be put in place and that we will hear about them this week.
We’ve received feedback from players that the game doesn’t feel rewarding enough to play and players can’t earn the items they want in a short enough amount of time. We’ll be making a change in Season 3 that should address some of these complaints. It’s a first step. We’ll have more details to share on that next week.
It is true that at present, unlocking your favorite skins is particularly difficult. Either you have to pay very large sums, or you are good at playing for very long months, just to get your hands on a skin. And it does not please.
Blizzard is expected here at the turn and fans hope to be able to get their hands on cosmetics much more easily and at a lower cost. A more extensive battle pass, additional challenges and free rewards here and there could be a good start.
Completely re-balanced
As a purely competitive game, although a narrative campaign is coming soon, balancing is key to Overwatch 2 and there too the players are disappointed. Disappointed because so far the patches are too infrequent, the statistics lack transparency and some characters stand out too much. In this case, the fans are fed up with the one-shots.
Fatale, Hanzo or even Chopper in the crosshairs (to name but a few). There is indeed nothing more frustrating than getting caught by the hook of the biggest butcher in the game and dying instantly, or getting hit by an arrow at the other end of the map when you come just joined the fight. Blizzard is well aware of the problem and is studying the issue by taking several parameters into account so as not to do anything. In addition, the studio claims that patches will now be more frequent since the majority of major bug fixes are already behind them, and that they will now deal with bugs separately, even if it means publishing small hotfixes here and there. .
The frequency of balancing is an important topic. Moving bug fixing through hotfixes should allow us to address balance faster and would have allowed us to adjust Chopper earlier in Season 2. We are still planning an initial patch and a mid-season patch for each season, but we now have the ability to hotfix between those patches if needed.
The one-shots and frustrating gameplay mechanics of certain heroes are the subject of much discussion within the community and the team. This is an ongoing discussion, but there are many nuances to the topic. This includes the frequency of these mechanics, the trade-offs for using them, the overall power level of a hero, the frequency at which the hero is played, and many other parameters. Please know that we’re listening, feedback is great and welcome, and we’ll come back to this when we have more to share.
While Chopper has already been nerfed, other heroes may also be eligible soon, but Blizzard is looking to get it right right now. On the other hand, season 3 will automatically bring a change to one of the new mechanics brought with Overwatch 2. The recharge of ultimate abilities when changing heroes will be reduced to prevent players from taking advantage of them too much to turn the tide. It will therefore drop from 30% to 25%. Which should give opponents a bit more room to breathe between ultimates.
Ranked Mode Changes
Finally, the competitive mode ofOverwatch 2 will see its ranking system change to be a little more clear and readable. It is not yet known how the current ranks will be replaced or modified (bronze, silver, gold, etc.) but Blizzard is also working on it. News will also be given here a little later. We also hope that the rewards of this mode will be modified here as well. Since a handful of tokens for gold weapons and some cosmetics (avatar icon and other tags) is a bit thin.
The new Ranked mode suffered from a misunderstanding upon release. There was confusion around the actual rank of players and how that translated to their skill level, difficulties forming parties with friends, and a negative impression of matchmaking when players of different ranks were matched up (even though their skill levels were similar on paper). We will be implementing a few changes in Season 3 and many more in Season 4, all aimed at creating more clarity in the system.
By attacking all fronts at the same time, Blizzard could completely change its game from season 3 and make the experience much more enjoyable. We will have all the details on hand in the coming days. As a reminder, Overwatch 2 is available for free on all consoles and PC.
And you, what changes would you like to see in the next season of Overwatch 2?
