New Widowmaker Medusa skin leaves Overwatch 2 community divided over "pay to lose" aspect

The Overwatch 2 community has been vocal about a lot of things from the moment the game went live. It had a problematic launch, but that didn't stop the community from flocking to the game. Despite this reception, the community was vocal about the issues they faced as well.

That said, Overwatch 2 has a lot of skins that players can get their hands on in the game. These are unique to the heroes as well. Now that the Battle for Olympus game mode is live in the game, in true Overwatch fashion, the developers have released certain skins that are in line with the event itself.

The Medusa skin for Widowmaker is one of the skins released in light of this event. However, the community is divided about one particular aspect of this skin.

Overwatch 2 community debates about the Medusa Widowmaker skin being pay to lose

The new Medusa skin is so loud it actively punishes you for using it. Not only can you not hear enemy footsteps you also can't hide either. The enemy team can hear the snakes/hair on the Medusa skin & pinpoint your location from them. https://t.co/S1P6CxO7Qp

Overwatch 2 professional Brian St. Pierre took to Twitter to discuss issues with the new Widowmaker skin. According to him, the Medusa Widowmaker skin was pay to lose since the snakes on the skin were too loud. First of all, it kept giving away their position to the enemy, and secondly, it was so loud that it blocked the sounds of the enemy's footsteps.

@Kephrii just when you thought that the game couldnt get even more uncompetitive

Few members of the community rallied behind him and went on to label the game as uncompetitive. Players also pointed out that for games like Overwatch 2, competitive integrity should be the primary focus. According to them this skin was violating competitive integrity.

@Kephrii while not being the biggest deal in overwatch i still think it’s a problem bc competitive integrity should always be the biggest priority

Some have further questioned whether crouching and sneaking past enemies was worth it anymore. Overall, a part of the community wasn't happy that the snakes were too loud.

Here's where other parts of the community stepped in. Many pointed out that proper matches weren't as silent as seen in the clip, so using the Medusa skin wouldn't make that much of a difference.

@Kephrii Cool. Now test this again with 9 other people slomping around the map at the same time.

@Kephrii ngl with the amount of sound and audio cluster happening in this game...you ain't hearing that shit.

@Kephrii It’s never this quiet in an actual game and I doubt it’ll be that impactful amongst the already loud weapons being shot, abilities, voice lines, map sounds, payload noises etc. The concern for it hurting gameplay isn’t as big of a deal as you make it seem imo.

Some further pointed out that the skin was completely optional, and players could choose not to purchase it if they didn't feel it was worth the effort.

@Kephrii Don't wear it then, problem solved

@Kephrii Just dont buy the skin

A part of the community also dubbed this an overreaction. Some even went on to compare the situation to be similar to listening to a pin drop on a war field. Blizzard hasn't responded to the situation yet, and it's unclear if they will ever respond.

@Kephrii sometimes people have a lot of free time and want to complain about everything

@Kephrii Always being dramatic and Exaggerated

At the end of the day, skins are a completely optional feature. Players who feel the skin isn't worth it need not purchase it. At least, that's the common sentiment within the community. Since it's a skin-related issue, it's unlikely that Blizzard will intervene anytime soon.

The Battle for Olympus event will continue until January 19, and at the end, the hero with the most number of eliminations with their abilities will be crowned as the monarch of Olympus for the time being. It's unclear if this event will ever make a comeback, but if it does, it will be interesting to see which heroes battle it out for the crown next time in Overwatch 2.

Edited by Anirudh Padmanabhan

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