Since Overwatch 2 was announced, many gamers did not understand this decision, but things now seem to be clearer.
Overwatch, one of the most popular games within the Hero shooter subgenre, has evolved to improve gameplay and reach more people. And today, the Overwatch that has always been known has ceased to exist to make way for Overwatch 2.
Apart from being the same game, there are changes, and one of the most significant is that it is now a Free to Play game. With Overwatch 2, Blizzard has revolutionized what a sequel would be, because Overwatch 2 is not a traditional sequel, as it could be considered a complete remake of the 2016 game. All the characters from the original game are back in Overwatch 2, along with three new characters: Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko.
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Once you start playing Overwatch 2, you do feel something different, so yes, it’s back to adapting as one of the changes that many may have experienced was that there was no more Tank duo.
As you know, the gameplay will now be 5 vs 5: 1 Tank, 2 DPS and 2 Healers, but veteran players will not find it difficult to adjust. One of the most important things to keep in mind when playing is that you will need to provide your telephone number to the company.
Are you a multi-account? Hopefully, you have multiple phone numbers as well
On September 27, Blizzard mentioned that all players will have to provide a non-VoIP, non-prepaid phone number to their battle.net account, although it may sound annoying, Blizzard is doing this to avoid “disruptive gameplay” by reducing the possibility of multi-accounting.
“Starting October 4, 2022, all players across all platforms, including consoles, are required to have a phone number attached to their battle.net account to launch Overwatch 2. The same phone number cannot be used on multiple accounts at the same time, and players can’t use the same phone number to create multiple accounts. A phone number can only be used once when making a new account, and certain types of numbers, including pre-paid and VOIP, cannot be used for SMS Protect.”
It’s worth mentioning that Blizzard is going to be more committed to keeping toxicity away from the now Overwatch 2, as they plan to record players with the help of audio transcripts:
“Audio transcriptions allow us to collect a temporary voice chat recording of a reported player and automatically transcribe it through speech to text programs.“
The youngest with the youngest
One of the most common problems Overwatch had been encountering Smurfs, if you’re a veteran player you already know what a big problem they can generate. Now, any account created after October 4 will be subject to First Time User Experience (FTUE), according to a new strategy that Blizzard is testing to reduce imbalance and multi-account cheats.
This new Overwatch 2 FTUE feature will limit new accounts from accessing certain game modes and heroes, “New players begin with access to a limited set of game modes, heroes, and some other restrictions to onboard them more gradually.” It is worth mentioning that the restrictions automatically turn off when playing in a group with friends, however, this does not apply in competitive. It is not mentioned whether players in the group must meet certain conditions to remove the restrictions.
But what would you say if you were told that these restrictions can be avoided by paying for the Watchpoint Pack with the first season’s Battle Pass?
Battle Pass, as it was to be expected.
While Free to Play gamers will have only the basics, others will have access to exclusive content that only Battle Pass can provide. Each season, as well as new experiences and game mechanics, will promise a variety of content (let’s hope so).
Generally, each season will offer a new battle pass, and a new hero or a new zone, each with a different theme and up to 80+ levels of attainable cosmetics. Blizzard also mentions that they will make hero balance adjustments at the beginning of each season.
Competitive changes
Now in Overwatch 2, Skill Tier Divisions have replaced the SR:
“Tiers still exist in Competitive—Bronze through Grand Master. Each tier will have five divisions ranking from 5 (lowest) to 1 (highest). As you progress through each tier, your division will count down until you rank up to the next tier. Top 500 will not have tier divisions.” In other words, skill level divisions are another way of representing SR in Overwatch 2: “Each division represents approximately a 100 SR range. Players will receive a competitive update every seven wins, or 20 losses, instead of every single game.“
Regarding positioning or placement, as was done in each season of the original competitive, now you will not be ranked until your first competitive upgrade, which occurs after the first 7 wins or 20 losses, as opposed to the five unranked games. Once the placement games are done, you can move up the skill level divisions as the season progresses.
What about the rank level I had in the original Overwatch? Well, it is mentioned the following for them by Blizzard:
“All players that were ranked in Competitive prior to Overwatch 2 will have their rank modified post-launch. Overwatch 2 is a very different game, so we applied a formula that gives returning players an opportunity to redefine their rank when they dive into updated Competitive. Most players will find their rank is slightly lower when they start out, as they will be learning new concepts and metas. However, players who got to learn more about the game in our betas, or who follow the Overwatch League, may find themselves ranked higher than ever.“
Now everything will be centered around the Battle Pass
Experience earned in matches counts towards leveling up the Battle Pass instead of image or frame levels in Overwatch 2. Inexperienced gamers will see a guided first-time user experience of the FTUE feature. Before unlocking the competitive mode, FTUE must be completed, and 50 Quick Matches must be won.
As you can see, Overwatch 2 has tremendous changes that reshape the experience of the first installment, if you want to know all the changes that have been made in Overwatch 2, please read the blogs giving more details about these changes to the competitive gameplay.
