Summary
Blizzard has spoken out about its intentions after players noticed a change inOverwatch 2competitive play. The studio clarified that the adjustment, which affects the recently revisedOverwatch 2competitive progression system, was made to prevent players from throwing their matches.
As a game with competitive play in its foundations,Overwatch 2is continually in flux, with Blizzard tweaking and adjusting characters, balance, and progression systems in reaction to player feedback and its own internal metrics.Overwatch 2Season 9 contains some of the biggest changes yet, which ushered in an overhaul of the competitive match system and progression, among other changes. The overhaul outright replaced the game’s Competitive Challenges with a Competitive Progression system, and is currently the key to earning Competitive Points needed to buy exclusive weapon cosmetics.
Overwatch 2 Competitive Changes Prevent Throwing Matches
The change receiving new attention relates to the Competitive Progression overhaul introduced in Season 9. The overhaul allows players to gain up to 30 levels in Competitive Progression simply by playing in ranked (Competitive) mode. However, some players reported that they were seemingly unable to earn progress on their bonus Competitive Points after completing all 30 levels. Community Manager Kaedi responded in anofficialOverwatch 2forum postto clarify Blizzard’s intent with the change: Players' ability to earn bonus Competitive Points is capped after completing the 30 levels of Competitive Progression, and earning further Competitive Points depends on their ability to win or at least achieve a draw their Competitive Matches.
According to Kaedi’s post, the restriction was put into place to ensure that players “are doing the best they can” in every Competitive match. In other words, players shouldn’t be able to earn Competitive points by “throwing” a match - playing badly on purpose to end a match quickly and claim the point rewards. While earning bonus Competitive Points by continuing to play in the mode is a worthwhile reward for players chasing cosmetics, Blizzard’s action helps to preserve the integrity of theOverwatch 2Competitive Progression overhaul, by forcing players to actually win or draw their matches to get the rewards they want.
The evolution of ranked play inOverwatch 2is interesting to watch, as Blizzard balances the long-term engagement of its players by offering unique rewards and cosmetics, all while still bringing new players into the game. Flashy crossovers like the recentCowboy Bebop xOverwatchpromotionattract attention and draw the curious to take up a match or two dressed as their favorite character, while feedback from veterans helps Blizzard tweak the game to ensure a healthy competitive environment in the long term.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
