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The Overwatch 2 Developer Update event is shaping up to be a game-changer, with significant updates planned for competitive play, hero abilities, and player experience. With Season 10 nearly around the corner, the Developer Update provided insights about features that would be greatly welcomed by the Overwatch community.
This article delves into two features discussed under the Defense Matrix Initiative: the Overwatch section that manages the player base's disruptive behavior, and an upcoming player survey feature. Read along to know all that was revealed in the Overwatch 2 Developer Update event.
Note: Parts of the article are subjective and solely reflect the writer's opinions.
Overwatch 2 Developer Update: Avoid as teammate feature revamp
Players have long been frustrated with the game offering only three slots to the "Avoid as Teammate" feature. More than often, after a match with a player you dislike, you would want to avoid them in future matches. Restricting this option to only three players did the job well in Overwatch 1, but in an F2P game like Overwatch 2, it just wasn't enough.
Another problem that persisted was that players added to the avoid list would only stay there for 14 days. You always have a chance to meet them in your team after the avoid duration is over. The only way to avoid this would be to put them on the avoid list again, but this too can be only done once they have been your teammate or an opponent. Defense Matrix aims to sort all of these out.
There's good news for everyone here. Gavin Winter, Senior Systems Designer, revealed in the Overwatch 2 Developer Update that they are now adding a total of 10 slots to the avoid as teammate list, with a feature where you can prioritize and pin the top three players you would want to avoid. In the Developer Update, he mentioned:
"First off, we're increasing the number of avoid slots to ten. We're also going to let you pin some avoided players so that they never fall off your list."
However, given that you can prioritize and customize the list according to your choices, it may not be 100% reliable in ranks lower than Grandmaster. In the same video, Winter continues to say:
"For players below Grandmaster - that's most of us - you can expect all ten avoid slots to be reliable. But we still want to give you the tools to organize your list by how much you dislike the players on it."
He further went on to justify this statement by explaining:
"For our highest-skill players, this feature is particularly important, because if we can't find a balanced match, we'll start ignoring players at the bottom of the list, in order, as queue time increases."
To be fair, this is a sensible and justified move. If a player is stuck on the match queue for a long period, ignoring the avoid list from the bottom end would be acceptable. Since the avoid list will essentially be tailored to your priorities, players at rank eight or nine can be considered to be low priority and can be included in your queue.
Overwatch 2 Developer Update: Player surveys explained
The Overwatch 2 Developer Update revealed that in Season 11, the game will introduce the first iteration of player surveys. The surveys will be given to randomly chosen players after the progression screen at the end of the match. Natasha Miller, Senior Research Scientist at Blizzard said:
"In Season 11, we're introducing the first iteration of player surveys into Overwatch 2. This won't happen after every game, because survey participants will be chosen at random among the player base. The survey will be prompted after your progression screen at the end of match flow."
The surveys will ask players about the game including new modes, events, features, and how they feel about the way Blizzard is mitigating disruptive play. The new player surveys won't disrupt your end-of-match routine. You'll have a chance to watch the Play of the Game, give endorsements, and review your progression as usual.
The survey prompt will only appear after you've closed the progression screen. To ensure accessibility, both console and PC players will have options to participate. Console players can scan a QR code with their phones, while PC players can choose to open the survey link in a separate browser.
The surveys will focus on gathering feedback on new content like modes, events, and features. They'll also ask for your opinion on Blizzard's efforts to combat disruptive players within the game.
Overall, the message from the Overwatch 2 Developer Update is clear: Blizzard is committed to the game; they actively listen to player feedback and keep the community informed. They encourage players to keep sharing their thoughts and express anticipation for upcoming features in Season 10 and beyond.
You can find details on the new game modes and hero changes revealed in the Overwatch 2 Developer Update for Season 10 here.
