Overwatch 2 Update Makes Big Change to New Player Experience

Posted by By our-little-miss-is-home January 29, 2025 19 Views 6 Min Read
Overwatch 2 Update Makes Big Change to New Player Experience



Views: 0

Summary

  • Overwatch 2 hotfix reduces matches needed to unlock game modes to 5 & adds AI opponents in Quick Play for new players.
  • These changes are intended to improve the onboarding experience for new players and reduce loopsided matches at first.
  • Blizzard’s change aims to address smurfing issues, influenced by Marvel Rivals’ use of bots.

A new Overwatch 2 hotfix shakes up the new player experience, only requiring 5 matches played to unlock other game modes while also adding AI-controlled opponents in Quick Play. The latest update for Overwatch 2 takes a few lessons from Marvel Rivals by utilizing bots, though Blizzard has taken the time to highlight it rather than have fans figure it out for themselves.

It’s been a busy week for Blizzard as the company has just come off releasing the massive mid-season update for Overwatch 2. A new Year of the Snake event kicked off by bringing back the Mischief & Magic event, while 6v6 experimental also launched Min 1, Max 3 Mode. Blizzard also took the opportunity to adjust its roster of heroes, providing buffs to characters like Ramattra and Echo, while tuning down others like Ana and Juno.

overwatch 2 short story lucky man soldier 76 sombra swiss hq eye mystery

Related


Overwatch 2 Answers a Nine-Year-Old Mystery

After almost 10 years, Overwatch 2 finally reveals the shocking truth behind one of the oldest mysteries in the history of Future Earth.

Following that, Blizzard has released a hotfix, which is much smaller in terms of overall content, but will undoubtedly have a big impact on the game experience. Specifically, the update makes a big adjustment to the new player experience, requiring only 5 matches to be played in order to unlock all other modes, have the Overwatch 2 Quick Play Role Queue available instead of Quick Play Open Queue, and more importantly, encounter bots in the first five matches while playing Quick Play.

It’s worth noting that experienced players or new players who demonstrate higher skills will be bumped up to a higher matchmaking ranking faster. Ultimately, Blizzard confirmed this change was made to provide a better first-time experience for new players, who could be paired, on occasion, with experienced players creating alt accounts in order to play easier matches. Smurfing in Overwatch 2 has continued to be a big problem, and Blizzard is hoping this change can start to alleviate that.

The reveal online has left most players feeling like this is a positive change overall for the game’s long-term health, which has been under a bit of duress more than usual due to the rapid upswing in the popularity of Marvel Rivals. While Marvel Rivals experienced its own bot controversy early on, it seemingly hasn’t hurt the game’s overall player population, which remains strong as the game continues to add new content and put pressure on Blizzard to keep refining the Overwatch 2 experience.

Overwatch 2 January 28 Hotfix Patch Notes

Hotfix Feature Update

This is a feature hotfix. Replay codes from the January 21, 2025 patch are still available.

New Player Experience

  • Players new to Overwatch 2 may encounter AI-controlled opponents in the first five opening matches of Quick Play.
  • New players will now have Quick Play Role Queue available instead of Quick Play Open Queue.
  • The total number of matches required to unlock all other modes has been reduced from 10 to 5.
  • Players on new accounts that demonstrate clearly experienced performance may be immediately seeded to higher MMR faster. Those on seasoned accounts who have already played multiple games are not subjected to this rapid MMR adjustment.

Developer Comment: We have noticed that genuinely new players can sometimes be paired against players who are starting alternate accounts which can create a poor first-time experience for those new players. Also, to help keep players on alternate accounts from playing at a high level on lower skill matches, we are starting to roll out a new system which will rapidly adjust the initial matchmaking rating of new players to match their skills significantly faster.

Source link