Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan has revealed some of the changes players can expect in the game’s upcoming Competitive Mode. The changes include a huge move from progression system to skill system when going up the competitive ladder.
Overwatch is an oddity as it is a competitive multiplayer shooter that launched without a ranked play mode. While it was always intended to have ranked play, Blizzard decided to delay the release of ranked play so they could listen to fan feedback and make it as perfect as can be. In a recent interview with Eurogamer, Kaplan detailed some of the changes coming to the mode as it gets closer to its release.
“First and foremost, the system that we had implemented was what we like to call ‘progression-based,” Kaplan said. “Within the whole system, you could never drop from a tier. So even if you got to master, you would never drop out of that tier, no matter how much you lost.”
However, in the new Competitive Mode, Overwatch will be shifting to a “skill-based” system. “In our new system, there’s no safety net. If you lose, you’re going to go down, if you win, you’re going to go up.”
For those worried about what this means for quick-play-esque solo queues, Blizzard has you covered. “We’re going to go out the gate with what we call a ‘dynamic queue.’ This is what we use for quick play right now, meaning you can queue in any size that you want,” Kaplan said. “Only at extremes of waiting time will it expand its search and be willing to match you with a different group size for whatever reason.”
Overwatch is out now for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC with the competitive mode set to launch towards the end of June, though no exact date has been given.
[signoff2]
