Big changes are ahead

Like any live service game, Overwatch needs constant maintenance �not only to add new content, but to just fix all the stuff they have in there already. When the whole point of the game is to have a bunch of overpowered heroes fighting it out, it's easy for certain char?acters to get a little t?oo overpowered in the process.

Players are looking forward to seeing some new maps and the rebalancing of heroes like Sojourn and Bastion, and of course, the real star of the show this time around is the new Tank hero, Ramattra. There's a whole lot of new info in this huge start-of-season patch, so let's see if we can't simplify and find the most imp??ortant bits.

A new hero

With this update, Ramattra is now a playable character in the game. He won't be available in the Competitive pool for the first two weeks of Season 2, but he's available for us all to fight over in the Quick Play queue. Ramattra has a pretty long list of abilities, so if you're at all interested in trying him out, I'd recommend checking out our previous report to get a sense of his powerful kit.

Plenty of other heroes got some balanc??e changes as well, including Doomfist (he probably had the most changes to his kit), Junker Queen, Basti?on, Sojourn, Symmetra, Tracer, Ana, Kiriko, and Mercy.

Damage hero passive update

This one's a bit tucked away in the patch notes, but it's one of the more significant changes this time around: the ?damage role passive no longer gives players a movement speed bonus, and will instead increase the reload speed bonus from 25 to 35%. It's a smaller tweak, but it affects the majority of the hero roster, so it's worth noting for sure.

Map pool

Players have been itching for some new maps, a?nd Blizzard is definitely delivering on that front. Not only are we getting an entirely new location in Shambal??i Monastery, but we're also seeing some new time-of-day reskins of old favorites like Blizzard World, Nepal, and Oasis.

As expected, there are also fixes for the plethora of bugs that have been plaguing the game. Some of the more notable changes include a fix for an issue that caused some players to lose competitive challenge progress, a fix on the Busan map where players could get stuck, a fix for the geometry on Colosseo and Esperanca that allowed players to contest the payload without being seen, and heroes can no longer take damage from their own abilities while on the other side of a friendly barrier. Of course, there's plenty of other stuff going on under the h?ood, too, if you're interested in checking it out.

With this being the first big update since Overwatch 2's release, I'm pretty please??d with the offerings so far. It all looks good on paper, at least, with those hero rebalances and other fixes, but as always, it'll take getting in-game and playing around for a while before decid?ing how effective the changes actually are. The only hero I regularly play who had any changes was Mercy, and I don't really care about her getting more ammo for her pistol in the grand scheme of things. So, all things considered, it could have been worse.

This is gonna sound silly, but even over a whole new hero, the change I'm most excited about with Season 2 is the new maps. I'm excited to see the return of some old favorites of ??mine (Blizzard World is a particular point of interest for me as a theme park enth??usiast), and even a time-of-day reskin can make the whole map feel entirely fresh.

Don't get me wrong, Ramattra is an exciting new addition to the hero roster, but I can't help but feel that Blizzard's character design is getting a bit bogged down with too much noise, especially when it comes to the ever-growing hero kits. As I said, it'll take a few days of playing around to reach a final verdict. I'm just happy that my unjustly-doled-out ban that I earned from disconnecting to the servers too many times has finally lifted. See you in-game!

The post Here’s a breakdown of Overwatch 2 Season 2 patch notes appeared first on Destructoid.

Funky Monky

Today sees the launch of the second season of Activision Blizzard's arena shooter, Overwatch 2 �And in something of a minor reshuffle, the development team has announced that?? it will be moving its newest hero, Ramattra, to Tier 45 on the season 2 battle pass, from his initial? sitting of Tier 55.

"Hey all! Quick update on some changes coming to Season 2," wrote OW2 director Aaron Miller on Twitter. "After reviewing data for Season 1, we're moving Ramattra [to] Tier 45 of the Battle Pass and making a few more weekly challenges easier to complete. Excited for you all to see everything ?new in Season 2 starting tomorrow!"

/?/twitter.com/aaronkellerOW/status/1599834286546644992?s=20&t=FunV3K50ZmLJkCJKMAE0Ww

Originally, Overwatch heroes were simply added to all players' rosters as they were released. But with the arrival of Overwatch 2 and its free-to-play structure, the new heroes now reside within the debuting, (and hugely divisive), battle pass system. By moving the new heroes to Tier 45, it is hoped that players will unlock th??e characters faster, though it is, admittedly, still a pretty mea?ty grind to get there.

The addition of the battle pass mechanic has been met with much grumbling from the Overwatch faithful. A common complaint, (echoed by this writer), is that it is simply a dull and excitement-free way to unlock goodies, and pales in comparison to the box of goodie??s players would receive for popping a new level. Of course, loot boxes come with their own highly negative ramifications, but, personally, I'll take the loot box animation and fistful of varied treats over grinding through endless drab avatar images... while paying for the privilege.

Overwatch 2 season 2 kicks off today on all platforms. You can check out our hands-on look at its newest hero, Ramattra, in our previous report.

The post Overwatch 2 shifts new heroes to Tier 45 on Ba??ttle Pass appeared first on Destructoid.

Tell us how you really feel...

Following on from this morning's extraordinary news that Blizzard Entertainment is to suspend service of its games in China, the president of Chinese publishing partner NetEase has blasted the World of Warcraft develop??er for its role in the breakdown of contract negotiations.

Speaking very candidly on LinkedIn, Simon Zhu, ??spoke of his disappointment with the separation, stating that he himself had spent "10,000 hours" playing Blizzard games and claiming that he was "heartbroken" not only for himself, but for "all of the players who lived in th?ose worlds". Most pointedly, Zhu singles out an unnamed "jerk" at Activision Blizzard for, in Zhu's opinion, causing damage to the relationship.

"As a gamer who spent 10,000 hours in the world of Azeroth, Starcraft and Overwatch, I feel so heartbroken as I will no longer have the access to my account and memorie?s next y??ear," began Zhu. "One day, when what has happened behind the scene could be told, developers and gamers will have a whole new level [of] understanding of how much damage a jerk can make."

"Feel t?errible for players who lived in those worlds."

As we reported earlier, Blizzard Entertainment will suspend service to its range of IPs in the China region, formerly distributed by NetEase. This includes hugely popular titles such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, Hearthstone, and Overwatch. It has since been confirmed that mobile title Diablo: Immortal falls under a ????separate contract and will continue to be distributed by NetEase.

Blizzard Entertainment is currently looki??ng for a new partner to carry its products in the v?ery financially lucrative territory in the future.

The post NetEase President blasts Activision Blizzard ‘jerk’ for China license fallout appeared first on Destructoid.

NetEase license ends January 2023

Blizzard Entertainment has announced ??that it is preparing to suspend service for all of its gaming properties in C?hina in 2023.

On January 23, Blizzard's agreement with Chinese holding company NetEase, which handles regional publishing duties, will expire. The two companies have been unable to negotiate new terms for a contract extension, and thus Blizzard will be taking the severe step of suspending service for all of its online titles �including World of Warcraft, Warcraft III: Reforged, Hearthstone, Diablo III, Diablo: Immortal, StarCraft, Overwatch, and Heroes of the Storm.

According to an official statement by the publisher, the Chinese release of Overwatch 2, World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, and Hearthstone: March of the Lich King "will proceed later this year". Bliz??zard Entertainment will continue to see a new publishing part??ner in the highly lucrative market.

NetEase has handled Blizzard Entertainment's output in China since way back in 2008, so this decision is quite surprising. Additional reporting by Bloomberg suggests that the failed contract negotiations were not ju??st a matter of money, but also disputes on how to handle player data and general IP ?management. No doubt the news will also come as a major shock to the many Chinese esports players/teams that have built their brand around Blizzard games.

"We’re immensely grateful for the passion our Chinese community has shown throughout the nearly 20 years we’ve been bringing our games to China through NetEase and other partners," said Blizzard President Mike Ybarra. "Their enthusiasm and creativity inspire us, and we are lo??oking for alternatives to bring our games back to players in the future."

You can read Activision Blizzard's official statement on the matter on the studio's website.

NetEase president Simon Zhu made his candid thoughts very clear on LinkedIn.

The post Blizzard E??ntertainment to suspend game services in China appeared first on Destructoid.

Take us back to 2016

I've been playing Overwatch on and off basically since day one, so I've seen the game through all of its changes, for better and for worse. With every nerf, rework, and new hero drop, the game has evolved so much since 2016, and to many fans, it's not even worth playing anymore, especially after the Overwatch 2 relaunch. Despite my qualms with the series (of which I have many, including recently getting hit with a ban from the entirety of Season One after a series of unfortunate disconnections from competitive matches), it's still one of my favorite and most-played games? to date. That being said, the roster is filling out fast, and I don't find myself too thrilled with the most recent additions.

I want to be clear here–I am absolutely biased and have a rose-colored view of Overwatch as it was in its early days. That said, it feels like the game has moved away from the simplicity both in its c??haracter and gameplay design.

The original Overwatch lineup was nothing short of brilliant in my book. Sure, som??e characters are always going to be too powerful or too wea?k, but overall, each original hero had a unique, strong design. The different characters catered to every possible playstyle you might want, from up-close brawling to dive heroes to across-the-map snipers. Obviously, the lore was awesome, and those early cinematics and comics fleshed out the characters in really compelling ways.

Unmatched character design

Most importantly, though, their kits were simple and streamlined. Each hero had one thing they did really well, a secondary that supported their main ability, and an instantly recognizable ultimate ability. Reinhardt had his shield, and while he could be a force to be reckoned with if you got too close, his role was to protect the team. Pharah's jetpack and rockets meant she was the go-to choice for another angle of attack. Mercy changes the way you play the game entirely because her kit is built for you to focus almost solely on keeping your team alive and boosting damage, only focusing on the enemy for the purpose of avoiding them. If you ask me, each character?? on that launch day list had that level of focus and efficiency when it came to their design.

The original lineup included 21 heroes in total:

Tanks:

• Reinhardt
• Winston
• Zarya
• Roadhog
• D.va

DPS:

• Tracer
• Reaper
• Widowmaker
• Pharah
• Torbjörn
• Hanzo
• Bastion
• Cassidy (formerly McCree)
• Soldier: 76
• Junkrat
• Mei
• Genji

Support:

• Mercy
• Lucio
• Zenyatta
• Symmetra (now moved to DPS)

It was a great roster to launch with, especial?ly for players to pick up and start playing right away. Because their kits were so simple yet effective, it was easy for new players to dive ?right in for the first time and do fine, but it was still possible to hone your skills and rise through the ranks with a hero you excelled at playing.

Even better, the original UI in Overwatch had star rankings to telegraph to the player how difficult each hero was to play. Seasoned gamers could try their hand at characters like Genji or Symmetra, who had some of the most complex playstyles, while newer players could start off with easy-to-understand heroes like Mercy or Soldier: 76. The game didn't expect any baseline understanding from you, which made it perfect for s??????????????????????????omeone like me to play as I was getting into first-person shooters and multiplayer games for the first time.

With the roster expanding all the time, it's just too much to keep up with, and I find myself reaching for the characters from that original 21 instead. I think where the trouble really comes in is that as much as I play the game, I would consider myself a casual player. I'm not looking to play into whatever the current meta is or optimize my team composition to climb through the ranks. I just like playing the game as heroes I enjoy.

Jack of all trades, master of none

Nowadays, I feel like it's more of a "jack of all trades, master of none" situation. In my eyes, it's an issue that started with the heroes they added post-launch, and it's only grown with the release of Overwatch 2.?? The heroes outside of the original 21 seem to have four or five main pieces to their ??kit instead of two or three, each of which has a different effect I have to keep track of, from momentary immortality to wounding to hacking to damage mitigation, and so on.

Especially when it comes to the most recent hero releases like Junker Queen or Kiriko, I feel like I can't just select one of those heroes and hope for the best, because I have to read paragraphs about how each ability works before I can use them effectively (another qualm: they moved the ability-explaining text from something you can access at any time to hiding it in a menu in the Hero Gallery). It weirdly feels like some of the kits have also been homogenized so that single players can deal damage and get ??kills as they please, which kind of defeats the purpose of trying to strategize and play together as a team.

The support hero category is the best example of this "jack of all trades" phenomenon. The game launched with only three healers: Mercy,?? Lucio, and Zenyatta. Again, very simple kits, but these heroes were designed to heal their teammates. Mercy has her pistol in those tense moments with flankers, Lucio can provide some support fire and knock enemies away, and Zenyatta probably has the most damage-dealing potential of those three, but he's still mostly used because of his healing ultimate and debuff-providing Discord Orb.

The supports, on the other hand, don't seem to have the same type of focus. Moira and Ana are the only two who can hold a candle to Mercy and Lucio's raw healing output, but it r??equires more skill to do so, which means they're less effective in lower ranks where the majority of the player base is. Other supports like Baptiste or Brigitte feel like they were designed as damage dealers first and then had some healing abilities tacked on.

I care most about the support category because I'm a support main, but I can't help but feel like with each subsequent hero release since the original 21 (again, only accelerating with each release in Overwatch 2), the characters don't have that single thing they excel at anymore, but rather, a multitude of things that broaden the focus a? bit to??o much for my taste.

More complex doesn't always mean better

Then there's the newest support, Kiriko, whose kit doesn't even feel cohesive in my opinion. Her healing usually works best at close to mid-range because it takes time to tra??vel to your teammates, but her damage-dealing ability works best at mid to long-range because it's only really viable with sniper-like headshots. You have to be right next to someone to use her immortality charm, too. For skilled players who are dedicated to learning her kit inside and out, she will certainly be a viable pick, ??but as for me–the filthy casual–I can't be bothered.

I feel like my sentiments are best expressed like this: if I'm playing one of those original heroes and I press a button, it's pretty easy to intuit what I'm doing and why ba?sed on how the abilities work. If I play a lot of the newer heroes and button mash, I am at a loss as to what's going on unless I go and find that hero description information, which in my opinion, is a downgrade.

Take Orisa's old kit, for example. Her old ultimate (lovingly referred to as the "bongo") would supercharge her teammates' damage output. All she had to do was plonk it down in the middle of the fight, and you could see blue energy beams extending to each teammate, similar to Mercy's damage-boosting beam. It's easy to intuit what's going on ther??e just ??from a glance, it was always strong enough to turn a team fight, and it provided some variety in strategies you could use in battle. Now she just, what, slams down and deals damage to those around her in a circle? You mean like Doomfist, Sigma, and Bastion's ults? Got it. It's fine; I'm just bored.

Not to blame the Overwatch League, but...

For me, it all goes back to when the Overwatch League started. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing pro-level players kicking ass at my favorite game as much as the next guy, but once the League started, it was pretty clear that the changes Blizzard was making to the game were catering to pro players, the smallest part of the player base out there, rather than those who just played the game for fun. Maybe I'm extra butthurt about Mercy's rework because she's my girl, but if you ask me, changing the game for everyone because the elite players didn't like a hero was a bad move, and it feels like a lot of the decisions since have made Overwatch a less friend??ly environment for new or casual players.

Along with reworking existing heroes or getting rid of certain maps (RIP Anubis, I miss you every day), it feels like a lot of the newer heroes are trending toward having more and more complex kits, while at the same time having fewer abilities or concepts that make them truly un??ique in the lineup.? Take Sojourn, for example. Her gun feels exactly like Soldier's, so she's not given that much variety by way of gameplay feel.

Story-wise, Soldier has a clear archetype with the "washed-up war hero" thing he has going on. While Sojourn's lore is as complex and fleshed-out as any other, players have to dig into media outside of the game to get it, like the animated shorts or comics. I wish her design was a bit more distinct from a single glance, like others from the original roster like Hanzo ("ho?nor-bound archer"), Cassidy ("cowboy"), or Mei ("ice girl"). Maybe I'm splitting hairs here, but the newest heroes' character design like Sojourn or Kiriko feels more mudd?led to me than what I've come to expect from Overwatch.

Looking forward, looking back

With the newest tank hero Ramattra on the horizon, I can't help but feel pessimistic that the Overwatch roster will be further muddled by samey, increasingly complex kits. Perhaps Overwatch would have worked best as a limited-hero-pool, story-driven multiplayer, and PvE experience, but the ever-expanding and money-hungry f?ree-to-play model that is currently dominating competitive games wouldn't have that.

I don't mean to be too much of a downer, and I certainly don't want to shit on anyone who is enjoying the newest additions to the Overwatch roster. I think I'm just having a hard time letting go of the design conventions that drove the game in its early days while Overwatch has made it cle??ar it left that all behind a long time ago.

The post Overwatch 2’s character design could learn from the original hero roster appeared first on Destructoid.

We miss you, Mei

Blizzard has been dealing with all kinds of bugs since the release of Overwatch 2, and in a few instances, have had to remove certain charac??ters from the game to ensure players don't use exploits in the game. Mei is the most recent hero to disappear from the?? roster, and now she's not expected to return for another couple of days. That's right -- the mid-season patch has officially been delayed.

While the original announcement stated that the delay would be indefinite, an update as of today at 4:00 pm PST let us know that we only have to wait until the end of the week, because the new ETA for the patch is this Friday, November 17 at 11:00 am PST. Phew, don't scare us lik??e that, Blizz?ard.

//twitter.com/BlizzardCS/status/1592594??????????????????????????5??36215158786

Th??e patch will include "balanc??e changes, bug fixes, including those that affect Mei," as well as "core content updates." The delay will also impact "the delivery of Overwatch League Viewership Incentives & Perks from the Postseason matches during the period between Oct 30 - Nov 4, along with the rotation of cosmetics in the Overwatch League shop." The daily and weekly challenges also reset today like normal, along with the "standard shop refresh."

Thankfully things aren't as bleak as they originally appeared, because the game never feels the same when any of the heroes are missing. After Bastion was pulled a few weeks ago for balance changes as well, the internet was flooded with meme?s, including some hilariously edited missing persons (omnics?) posters. I'm a bit torn about Mei's disappearance myself -- on one hand, I kind of miss the chaos of having an unhinged Mei player on my team, but I definitely don't miss getting and frozen, walled off, and icicled to the head. Regardless, a two day wait is nothing, and our favorite Arctic scientist will be returned to her rightful place soon enough.

The post Overwatch 2’s mid-season patch is delayed appeared first on Destructoid.

Keeping everyone on their best behavior, at least in theory

The Overwatch team has put in a lot of effort over the past few yea?rs to help make the game as e??njoyable for players as possible by curbing toxicity, and one of the best moves in that direction was adding endorsements to the game.

Apparently, the mechanic helped curb bad behavior by 40% back in 2019 when they were first added. Originally introduced back in the days of the first Overwatch game, endorsements are a way for players to reward their teammates for good behavior, like good communication, teamwork?, or just generally good play. Back in the day, they were broken out into categories like "Shot Caller" or "Good Teammate," but now you get awarded with a simple "Endorsement."

So the endorsement system in Overwatch 2 has obviously change??d, but how exactly does it work this time around? Let's break? it down.

Giving endorsements

After each match, you'll be able to give out up to two endorsements, but with a few caveats -- you can't endorse the same player more than once every twelve hours, and you can't endorse your friends or enemy players. Other than that, feel free to dole out your endorsements as you please. Every time you give out an endorsement, you all get some extra XP to work through the Battle Pass tiers faster, but if you're like m?e and you don't care about the Battle Pass, you get the satisfaction of making someone else feel good, which is even better.

To endorse other players, all you have to do is wait for the game's end screen, and then press "N" on the keyboard if you're playing on PC, or click the left stick if you're playing on console (there should be a prompt that says "Endorse other players"). Then scroll over to whichever player you want to award, who is shown as the h??ero they end??ed the game as along with their name, and simply click on them. Ta-da! You've endorsed someone. Feels good, doesn't it?

Receiving endorsements

Of course, you can also receive endorsements, a notification for which will pop up on the lef?t side of your screen after a match if you've received one. You can't miss it. Every player has a different endorsement level based on how many endorsements they've received, and the frequency with which they've received them. The levels go from 1 to 5 (1 being the worst, 5 being the best), and each player's current level is shown to the right of their character portrait. If you want to check on what your own endorsement level is, just click on your profile icon in the top right corner of the main menu, and the number will be in the little pop-up menu right next to your name.

Endorsement levels can also go down, which happens if other?? players report you, go you a certain number of matches in a row without being endorsed, or if you leave too many matches too early. Speaking from experience, maintaining a high level, especially a five, is a difficult task, so any highly-endorsed players you come across are really doing the work to be a good teammate.

Making the game better for everyone

The endorsement system certainly isn't perfect, and it'?s not a cure for all of the toxicity you can still encounter in the game, but it??'s a nice feature that helps you acknowledge and encourage your teammates, especially when not everyone is communicating in the team chat. While the Battle Pass XP is a suitable reward, I'd love to see Blizzard take extra steps to incentivize players to get a higher endorsement level. Considering cosmetics are such a huge deal in the game, I'd love to see them add something like an exclusive Level 5 endorsement emote, charm, or skin to make good behavior all that more desirable.

For now, though, ke??ep dishing out your endorsements to deserving ?players, and hopefully, you'll get some in return.

The post Let’s break down how endorsements work in Overwatch 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

For a grand total of six payloads defended

Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch 2 engaged over 35 million players in its first month of release, it has been revealed via Activision Blizzard's most recent financial report. The team-based shooter sequel, which went free-?to-play upon launch, hit PC and console plat??forms on October 4.

The number is more than double that of the title's predecessor, which pulled in some 15 million players during its first month of release back in 2016. Of course, this comparison is somewhat suspect, given that Overwatch was a full-priced title and its sequel is freely available to all. Still, the huge launch will be?? popular among the folks at Blizzard, and provides a very strong base for the developer to build upon.

Despite this success, however, the general consensus toward Overwatch 2 has been mixed. While many critics and fans have been impressed by the sequel's character models, visual effects, and new games & modes, many players have found frustrating in the overall gameplay, the influx of "no price, no stake" players, and the maligned Battle Pass mechanic, which replaces OW's goodie-filled loot boxes with a paid grind of rewards �weirdly unsatisfactory as it rolls ??out its drip-feed of boring extras.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGgqyer-qr4

Additionally, criticism has been leveled by some players at OW2's overall meta �an incredibly aggressive slant that has seen character damage levels skyrocket, and often leaves more defensive or support players twiddling their thumbs. I, as a years-long Mercy main, have experienced this push for firepower personally. And while my Mercy skills are (modestly) great-to-excellent, I've found myself a little irrelevant in OW2 �far more useful to my team as... well... anyone carrying a machine gun, frankly. I used to second Reinhardt, but now I've dropped him entirely, as players are simply refusing to?? shield.

Of course, these are still early days. There will be a player drop-off, there will be balance tweaks, there will be a readjustment to the five-on-five team sync strategy. Overwatch 2 has clearly done a very fine job at pulling in the eyes and ears of players right out of ??the gate, but retention is key, and it will be interesting to see how the sequel plays out over the course of its first year.

Overwatch 2 is available now ??on PlaySt??ation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Overwatch 2 pulls in 35 milli?on players in its first month appeared first on Destructoid.

Tag. Team. Back again...

This weekend saw the official reveal of the next hero headed to Blizzard Entertainment's shooter sequel Overwatch 2, but while the incoming Omnic Ramattra might have taken some of the community by surprise, (given the persisting rumor that Mauga would be next), some die-hard fans are sat with itc??hy trigger finger??s waiting on the arrival of the mysterious mech maiden, D.Mon.

D.Mon, as OW lore fans will realize, is a member of South Korea's Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army �more commonly known by the acronym "MEKA". The MEKA is a party of highly s?killed operatives who assist the government with various tasks, ranging from global defense to search-and-rescue operations. Encased in finely tuned, state-of-the-art mech units, MEKA are single-person assault vehicles, capable of both incredible firepower and swift movement �offering an edge in any battle.

Sound familiar? Of course. And that's because original Overwatch hero D.Va is, herself, MEKA's finest soldier to date, utilizing her top-tier gaming skills to pilot her unit in battle. The core MEKA squad consists of Hana Song (D.Va), Jae-Eun (Casino), Kyung-Soo (King), and?? Seung-Hwa (Overlord), but fans have been paying particular attention lately to its fifth member Yuna, who?? goes by the call sign D.Mon.

Having only appeared in Overwatch comics, little is known about D.Mon, outside of the fact that she rose through the e-sports ranks with Song, and the ?two have become firm friends and comrades in their many MEKA battles. D.Mon is portrayed as being an incredibly loyal and reliable ally, willing to protect her friends at the risk of her own life. Yuna's mech "Beast", reflects her charged personality in battle, and is arguably the most a??ggressive-looking of the MEKA team.

While Overwatch 2 rolls out? its new slew of characters, some fans are eagerly awaiting D.Mon to make her debut on the battlefield. It would definitely be interesting to see a second piloted mech in the mix, though one struggles to imagine what D.Mon could bring to the fight that would?? make her a distinctly different character from D.Va herself.

Still, as the development squad digs deeper into the OW lore, pull??ing out whispered characters such as Junker Queen and officially adding them to the roster, it seems quite possible that D.Mon could eventually find her day in the spotlight. Just don't even get me started on the possibility of TWO characters on a team h??aving a "Nerf This!" Ult.

Armageddon.

Overwatch 2 is available now on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch p?latforms.

The post Will we see MEKA hero D.Mon in Overwatch 2? appeared first on Destructoid.

Seasonal updates every nine weeks

[Update: This article has been updated with new information revealed in the time s?ince launch.]

During the Overwatch 2 Reveal Event this morning, Blizzard elaborated (s?omewhat!) on it??s free-to-play launch and what's in the content pipeline for this live-service sequel.

If you've been waiting to hear more about PvE, welp, that wasn't the focus of today's stream �and the new story missions won't be playable until 2023 �but we've got a roadmap for PvP and confirmation that loot boxes are out and a battle pass format is in.

Coming off of Overwatch 1, the team's main goal is to try and deliver content on a? "frequent and consistent basis," according to g??ame director Aaron Keller.

Currently, they're committing to major updates every nine weeks, starting with the launch on October 4. "Players can expect to see a new hero every other season, with elements like new maps and game modes in the seasons between," Blizzard said in a blog post.

The 2022 roadmap and a tease for 2023

[caption id="attachment_330516" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Season 1 starts on October 4, followed by Season 2 on December 6.}[/caption]

As you can see from this roadmap, Season 1 of Overwatch 2 will be out on October 4 with three new heroes �S??ojourn, Junker Queen, and a new support hero, who Blizzard teased with a snippet of footage featuring a spirit fox (that we've come to k now as Kiriko). It'll also be the debut of Push mode, six new ma??ps, and more than 30 character skins, including a new Mythic tier of skins.

The first example of a Mythic skin was a cool Cyber Demon skin for Genji with customization el?ements like tattoos, masks, and colors. I'm... intrigued! And also worried about h?ow much Mythic skins will cost (whether that's actual money or time invested).

The Season 1 Overwatch 2 hero: Kiriko

Kiriko is a support hero hailing from Japan.

The Season 2 Overwatch 2 hero: Ramattra

Ramattra is a tank hero, and is an ??Omnic that hails from Null Sector.

[caption id="attachment_330523" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Our first look at a customizable Mythic-tier skin for Genji.}[/caption]

Other new cosmetics, like banners and weapon c??harms, will help pad out the battle pass; one example was a little frosted donut keychain. There will be a shop with virtual currency.

Cross-progression

Crucially, with all of this new Stuff for players to stockpile, Blizzard said that if you earn something on console, PC, or in Overwatch 1, you can use it in Overwatch 2. In other words, there's cross-platform progression, which is definitely something they had to deliver. That said, the first Overwatch 2 battle pass won't be read?y until Season 2 starts ??on December 6. After all this time, the launch �well, the "rollout," really �sure seems gradual.

[caption id="attachment_330543" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{An early look at the Season 1 battle pass.}[/caption]

Competitive

Starting with Season 1 on October 4, Overwatch 2 will have "a reimagined competitive experience that was created to give players more tools to improve gameplay and feel a sense of progres??sion in competitive play," according to Blizzard. "??Players will have more of an impact on individual matches with the shift to 5v5, and there will be additional systems in place to help you discern your contributions per match."

Overwatch 2 PvE and story mode release date

As for Overwatch 2?? PvE, we got a few gameplay glimpses of Null Sector's return and some fairly open-ended developer quotes about the team's ambitions.

"With PvE, we have an opportunity to go a step further, to go deeper into diverse storytelling in ways that we really just haven't been able to before," said Keller. It'll be delivered starting in 2023 "through ?live service," just like the PvP content. The team plans to show off (more of) where the characters are from in these PvE "experiences."

Beta sign-ups

A new map, Rio, and Junker Queen, will be playable in the Overwatch 2 closed beta starting on June 28. Beta sign-ups are now available for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Notably, "Beta access does not roll over from the previous Overwatch 2 PvP Beta."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa1POCi7ugc

The post Overwatch 2 roadmap updates & information post launch appeared first on Destructoid.

Who do you think the new hero will be?

Overwatch is back in full swing with the release of the sequel, and that means we're back in the swing of the hype surrounding new hero releases. I mean, I still mostly stick to the roster of original heroes because I like the simplicity of their kits, but even if I don't plan on playing any of the new additions, their presence still switches up the meta significantly. Now rumors are flying as to who the newest recruit to the Overwatch lineup is going to be, and the frontrunner as of now is Mauga, a Talon Heavy Assault and former f??riend of Baptiste.

Mauga appeared in a short story called "What You Left Behind," which focused on Baptiste's backstory and was released alongside the Baptiste Reunion Challenge mini-event. Mauga and Baptiste were both part of the Talon operation at Monte Cristo, where the former called the latter the "b??est medic in Talon."

While Mauga initially comes across as a "big dumb brute," in reality he is a tactful and ruthless combatant. Baptiste even said he was "like a demon" because of Mauga's sociopathic and sadistic nature. The two aren't particularly friends, but they do have a certain rapport in combat, as Baptiste is really the only one who can talk Mauga down, and Mauga has shown Baptiste mercy that he doesn't otherwise extend?? to others.

Considering Mauga's large stature and strong personality, if he were to be the next Overwatch hero, I'd put money down that he'd be a tank. We're definitely overdue for another Talon?? character, ?and I'd argue that Mauga would have the most imposing presence the roster has seen to date, which I think would shake things up in a fun way. Plus, there aren't many other heroes in the game that Baptiste shares any lore with, so it would be cool to see his story woven into the game's lore in a more significant way.

Of course, there are other theories bouncing around too, like the kid from the original Overwatch cinematic (what a throwback that would be), but for now it's basically a toss up. Thankfully we won't hav??e to wait too long, because we know that the new hero is being revealed tonight during ?the Overwatch League Grand Finals.

I'm also hoping that the new hero, regardless of who they are, will be available for all players as soon as they're released, but it's likely Blizzard is going to lock them behind the Battle Pass, at least at first, like they did with Kiriko. I'm of the mind that moves like that are very much in conflict with the original vision of what the game wa??s supposed? to be, but I guess there's nothing we can do about it now.

[Update: Nope.]

The post Will Mauga be Overwatch’s next hero? appeared first on Destructoid.

She's out until November 15

There's a massive Overwatch 2 Mei bug afoot, and it's go?ing to take some time to fix. How long? Well try Nov?ember 15.

Here's everything Blizzard has shared on the matter, via their official forums:

"We are temporarily disabling Mei to address a bug with her Ice Wall ability that allowed heroes to reach unintended locations when used with their abilities. We are working to address these issues as quickly as possible and aim to bring Mei back in our next upcoming patch which is ?set for November 15. Thank you for your understanding and patience."

Mei is the third character that's had critical issues in Overwatch 2

Sadly for players who call any number of Overwatch heroes mains: Mei is the third hero since the launch of Overwatch 2 that's been taken out of the rotation and put on ice. Previously, Bastion and Torbjorn were removed from play, and now it's Mei's turn.

I'm mostly thinking about all of the brand new players who are dealing with the revised system, which requires you to unlock everyone manually like a fighting game. It would be a huge annoyance to finally pick up? a character you've been working toward, only to see it disabled because of a bug.

The post Mei getting disabled in Overwatch 2 continues a trend of bugged? ?heroes appeared first on Destructoid.

"Add PVE now, and delete the battle pass system"

An Overwatch 2 survey is rolling out for a number of users, and so far, it's a chance for active players to voice their ire ??for the new systems put in place in the "sequel."

Shared on the game's subreddit, scores of users are reporting that they've obtained an email from Blizzard, asking for feedback for the battle pass and Overwatch Store (read: the cyclical direct payment cosmetic store). As Eurogamer points out, some users are getting different "triggers" for the emails, that range from purchasing content, to not purchasing content. So it seems as if they're trying to get an array of feedback from pretty much everyone. As of? publication, I personally have not gotten an email yet.

We're gonna need a bigger survey

As we've pointed out (particularly in the past week), Overwatch 2 is not running very smoothly post-launch. Some of the micro?transactions feel particularly pre??datory, and one of the? first major seasona??l events isn't up to par.

While the game itself does still mostly feel like Overwatch, the main thing I noticed when first booting it up (and still deal with now) is how busy the game is. The season pass system isn't an upgrade, and I'm particularly worried about future seasons, especially ones that add characters into th??e?? mix.

One of the chief issues is that Blizzard, when erasing the original Overwatch and adding this free-to-play scheme, didn't really add much value: even for premium season pass owners. Maybe the PVE update will change that, but most of us are wondering when that will even happen (and some of you will be long gone, and won't wait that long to find out how it impacts Overwatch 2).

The post Blizzard sends out surveys asking how to? improve Overwatch 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

$5 straight cash compared to 700 Overwatch bux

Yikes! That's just about the only thing that can sum up a lot of Overwatch 2 news post-launch, but this Overwatch 2 charm situation is so funny it has to be shared.

Over on the Overwatch Reddit, user hi_im_redbeard shared an anecdote that showcased how out of control the monetization scheme is in Overwatch 2. In short, they purchased a real life Pachimari keychain/charm that they can hold in their hand for cheaper than it costs to buy the same Overwatch 2 charm in-game. Showing t?heir work, the Pachimari charm (literally just an in-game side item, almost NFT-like in nature) is 700 Overwatch Coins, which is more than $5 (which converts to 500 Coins). Yep, you have to do the standard scummy "buy more than you need" conversion here, so it's even more expensive than roughly $7 if you need to top up.

There are plenty of economic nuances afoot, and this wouldn't be the first time something like this happened; as some games (Pokemon Unite included) can put out insanely high-priced limited-run skins that are more expensive than an action figure of the character in question. But this particular incident showcases how Overwatch 2??, in its mov?e to "free-to-play" (and erasing the original premium game) has shoved in even more ways to monetize its audience with new cosmetics.

When some fans are asking to bring loot boxes back, you know you have a monetization problem. It'll be interesting to see just how much content Overwatch 2 gets over time, how it's even further monetized, and what ??the PVE element brings to the table (more monetization?).

The post Hilariously, someone pointed out that it’s cheaper to buy this Overwatch 2 charm in real life compared to the game appeared first on Destructoid.

Overwatch 2 gets into the Halloween spirit

Halloween is indisputably the best holiday of the year, so naturally, the spookily-themed events in live service games are something I look forward to every October. Overwatch has always had the best one in my opinion, with Junkenstein's Revenge (and its annual iterations) being a welcome, stylish Pv?E switch up to the usual competitive multiplayer formula.

I remember when the original Halloween event dropped in Overwatch, and from what I can recall it was the first event of its kind in the game. Everyone loses their collective minds over all the cool skins and other cosmetics, the retheming of the menu and usual maps, and the fun bits of story that tied it all together. It was a magical time, and we were not yet scorned by the let-down that has been Overwatch 2.

Fast forward to now, and we have the latest version of the PvE brawl mode, now known as Junkenstein's Revenge: Wrath of the Bride. Sombra takes on the role of the titular bride, who has locked Reinhardt away in a castle to perform experiments ??on him. The mode features all the usual bosses we've seen in past Halloween events, including Junkrat (known as "Dr. Junkenstein"), Roadhog ("Junkenstein's Monster"), Reaper ("The Reaper"), Mercy ("The Witch"), and Symmetra ("The Summoner"). New bosses this time around include Bastion ("The Experiment"), Sigma ("The Unstoppable Ghost"), and obviously Sombra ("The Bride").

While the previous events have taken place in a relatively small modified version of the Eichenwalde map (called Aldersbrunn), Wrath of the Bride is the longest, most sprawling version of the Halloween game mode yet. Rather than taking place in a small part of the map in front of the castle, players get to traver??se the entire Aldersbrunn map, which includes the tavern, the dungeons, the hallways of the castle, and a final boss fight in the throne room itself. There are also some cool set pieces, like a nightmare sequence where players face a series of evil Echo clones.

Looks great, plays okay

The whole experience is really polished, and arguably the most elaborate PvE event the game has ever seen. The interactions between the characters are a whole lot of fun, the atmosphere is on point, and having themed skins to go along with it really seals the whole deal. If this is any inkling of what Overwatch 2's single-player campaign will look like when it drops n??ext year, I think we'll have a lot to look forward to.

There are four heroes to play as in Wrath of the Bride, including Junker Queen, Sojourn, Ashe, and Kiriko. This is where I start to have some issues. Based on their abilities and overall synergy, I don't think this was a great combo of heroes to choose. As a tank, Junker Queen doesn't have much by way of damage mitigation. With her shotgun and blade secondary ability, she's a close-range hero, which makes the addition of the Zomnics exploding when they get too close all the ??more painful.

Ashe and Sojourn are both mid-to-long-range heroes, and already have fairly similar kits to begin with. I would have liked to switch one of the DPS out with someone short-to-mid range, like Tracer or Mei, but I guess they want to align the event with the heroes that are getting new skins for Halloween. They're also running out of heroes to use because, after years of Overwatch Halloween events, they're ??using half of? them as for bosses anyway.

Finally, there's Kiriko. I get that they want to have people try out the new healer, but I just don't think she does enough healing to be the only support character available to play. She's more of an off-healer than anything else, and when I've played her in Wrath of the Bride, I found myself holding down righ?t trigger (tha??t's the heal button for my PC gamers out there) the entire time and still struggling to mitigate enough damage to keep my team up.

Maybe it's just me, but I've found I can only beat Wrath of the Bride unless everyone on my team really works together. I did manage to beat Expert difficulty on the first try, but our Sojourn also had double the kills of all of the rest of us combined. Do I just need to git gud, so is anyone else having trouble beating this year's event compared to previo??us years?

You can look, but don't touch

Then finally, there's the matter of the skins. I've already expressed my distaste for the Battle Pass and move away from earning cosmetics and loot boxes as a fun, rewarding part of the gameplay loop, but now that we're in the midst of the first special event since the sequel dropped the difficulty of getting the skins without paying is even more noticeable. I used to look forward to the thrill of opening a loot box to find the hot new Halloween skin everyone wanted, and subsequently playing as that hero to show it off. That extra bit of fun is missing, and while it doesn't keep me from playing the g??ame by any means, it does make me a little bit sad when I remember how things used to be.

I'd still rather have this than no Overwatch Halloween event at all, and like I've said, I've still had a pretty good time playing Wrath of the Bride. Queuing up with friends this Halloweekend should ma?ke for a more pleasant time, too. At least I have my Mercy Witch skin to show off, but I don't think I'll be able to get any of the new skins this year.

The post I have mixed feelings about Overwatch’s Halloween event this year appeared first on Destructoid.

Overwatch 2 is a waiting game

Somehow, despite all my bellyaching, I got roped back into Overwatch. I used to play pretty seriously with a team when I was in college, but I thought I was done with the game for good until Overwatch 2 came out (even if it doesn't really count as a sequel in my book). The game is still full of bugs, but I've mostl??y been able to enjoy my experience because I'm trying out all kinds of new heroes I never thought I could viably play in the past.

I used to be basically just a one-trick Mercy main, but now I've found I can viably play the entire support roster, as well as a number of tanks and DPS characters. I'll thank my extensive Call of Duty training for that. The problem is, though, I haven't had ?a lot of opportu??nities to try out my new skills in competitive mode, because tank and DPS wait times are seriously out of control.

I mean I get why �it's a simple supply and demand situation. The game has gone from six-player teams to five players, so cutting a tank out of the lineup means you have the same amount of people queuing for one spot instead of two. DPS has always been a desirable role, so it makes sense that those wait times continue to be pretty high. What we end up with, then, are wait times for tank and DPS that can range anywhere from a ten to over a 20-minute wait, depending on when you're queuing. Sometimes, during off hours, those times will dip below 10 minutes, but even so, they're still usually three or four times l?onger than the wait for the support role, which has been less than two minutes every single time I've been in th??e game.

I ??truly do love playing support �it's nice to feel helpful to my teammates, and I like the kits of all the support heroes, for the most part. The ??thing is, though, I don't want to play support every time I play the game, especially now that I'm experimenting with some heroes that are new to me like Reinhardt and Sojourn.

Why wait when you could be playing?

What it comes down to is that when I queue up for support, I find a game instantly. If I queue for the other roles, I'm usually waiting between 7-10 minutes. If I only have an hour to play, I don't want to spend time twiddling my thumbs, waiting to find?? a game.

Another downside is that some support players have just resigned to playing DPS in the support role. There have been a whole bunch of memes on Twitter this week about Moira mains in particular who prefer dealing damage over healing their team. I am usually a proponent of letting people play a game however they want, but the thing about Overwatch is that other people are depending on you. Quickplay or the arcade are great ways to learn the game or just mess around, but I will hold firm to the stance that in competitive, you should be pla?ying as the game was intended �as a team that works together.

From what I can tell, support mains are feeling the fatigue. It's still enjoyable to play as a healer, ?for the most part, but when it's all I'm ever playing, it gets old really fast. It's been a ton of fun returning to the game after a few years away, and I've r??eally wanted to stick with it for a while, but now I'm finding myself reaching for other games, which is a real bummer after how excited I was for this release.

Is there a fix?

So what are some possible solutions? Blizzard is already giving players who queue as support an XP bonus, but clearly, players don't care too much about that. It could help if they were willing to give players coins to buy skins with, but given all the battle pass nonsense, that seems unli?kely. Ultimately I think it'll come down to the players themselves trying something new, but given the history of the game, I?? don't see that as being very likely.

I've had such a love/hate relationship with Overwatch since I started playing it in 2016. Despite the tilting, the leavers, the toxicity, and all of the baffling changes Blizzard has made to the game, there's still something about it I love so much, it's made me want to stick around. Unfortunately, the long wait times are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all the problems I have with Overwatch 2, so maybe it's time to stop holding onto the?? nostalgia and put the series down for good.

Have you been playing Overwatch 2? What are yo??ur tho??ughts on the game? Let's discuss in the comments below.

The post Overwatch 2 wait times are frustratingly long appeared first on Destructoid.

Give us back our boy

Bastion is a pretty polarizing hero among Overwatch fans when it comes to gameplay, but I don't think anyone can deny that he's one of the most adorable little robots we've ever seen. It was exciting to get to see his rework with Overwatch 2, but fans were remiss to see that Bastion, along with the engineer hero Torbj??orn, had been taken off of the roster of playable characters for the forseeable future. No need to worry, though �they were only disabled temporar??ily while Blizzard makes some tweaks to the heroes. This makes perfect sense, considering Bastion and Torb are two of the characters that have been reworked the most since the first game's launch all the way back in 2016, along with others like Mercy, Hanzo, and D.va.

After a few weeks of wondering when we might see the anticipated return of these heroes, Blizzard has finally announced that Bastion and Torbjorn will be returned to their rightful place on the roster next week on October 25. The Junkertown map will also be added back into the rotation, which was removed after a player found a bug that made the enemy team lag via a bug that causes "graphical performance issues." I don't know how people even think to do this stuff in the first place, but thankfully the issue will be resolved soon, and no other maps were affected. The entire game is expected to get big balancing changes for Season Two, which won't hit until December.

/?/twitter.com/KyleMrSmith1/status/1582155355060310017

Since the restoration of the missing heroes and map are still a few days away, we can at least kill time with all of the memes about Bastion's disappearance, which range from missing persons posters to a song that someone wrote begging him to come home. At least when while we're dealing with balancing issues in the first few months of Overwatch 2'??s release, we'll have the game's subreddit and some hilariously creative gamers to keep us entertained.

The post Bastion r?eturns to his rightful place on the Overwatch 2 lineup next week appeared first on Destructoid.

And only 46 were on the payload

It appears that, right off of the bat, Blizzard Entertainment's decision to go free-to-play with its hero shooter sequel Overwatch 2 has the required effect �The studio has announced that the charismatic multiplayer title has already rocketed? past 25 million players in its first 10 days of release.

The number far supersedes that of the original 2016 premium title, which hit around 15 million players during its early launch months.  Blizzard has also noted that daily player counts are already tripling those of the original Overwatch by al??most 300%, though what percentage ??of these players are Reaper mains was not offered up at this time.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGgqyer-qr4

"The launch of Overwatch 2 has been such an important moment for Blizzard," said Blizzard president Mike Ybarra.  "This is only the beginning �there are so many possibilities to explore in the world of Overwatch, and we cannot wa?it for players to experie?nce everything the team is building for the live game."

Ybarra is likely referencing the upcoming PvE content, which was expected to form a core element of Overwatch 2 and yet is curiously missing entirely from the launch edition.  It is believed that this content �including a "campaign" scenario and single-player missions �will arrive at so??me point in late 2023.  This will no doubt cause another spike in player numbers even if the sequel's popularity settles down over the coming months.

As a long-time Overwatcher, I have unfortunately not had the time to really delve into OW2 as of yet, but I did find it to be a finely polished and great-looking remix of the original release �especially the console editions.  Whether OW2 can be called a true "sequel", in the commonly accepted use of the phrase, is still up for debate. ? Regardless, the brand is still clearly hot for the time being, as depicted by these numbers.  Whether such popularity remains once the launch hype die??s down remains to be seen, and will be the true testament to the sequel's staying power.

Overwatch 2 is available now on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.  You can read an abridged timeline of California's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard lawsuit, as well as the numerous accusations of toxicity leveled against the studio, right here.

The post Overw?atch 2 hits ??25 million player milestone in 10 days appeared first on Destructoid.

Blizzard is happy with where the game is

Overwatch 2's launch has been nothing short of tumultuous, which game-breaking bugs and supposed DDoS attacks abound. There's still a lot left to be cleaned up, and while Blizzard has been clear that they're working to improve the game and fix the bugs as fast as they can, the ?company has made it clear that they won't be tweaking character stats or abilities for a couple of months.

A blog post from Blizzard's website (via Eurogamer) let players in on how the devs are feeling about the current state of the game -- when it comes to hero balancing, "[they] have been happy to see that no hero’s overall power level is far out of line with [their] goals." The post goes on to say that the team is planning rebalancing changes for Overwatch 2's upcoming Season Two (with the exception of some changes made to Zarya for t??he Total Mayhem mode that will be dropping on October 25). The only thing is, though, that's not coming until December of this year, so w??e'll have a while to wait.

According to Blizzard, all of the heroes are curr?ently in a good spot, with every character on the roster currently sitting with a win rate that falls between 45% and 55%. We don't know for?? sure all of the heroes that are going to get changes come Season Two, but they'll be "keeping a close eye on" heroes like Genji, Sombra, Symmetra, and Torbjorn for now.

Having played Overwatch 2 consistently since it dropped, I kind of wish Blizzard was planning to implement some rebalancing changes sooner. Due to the nature of how the heroes work in the first place, Overwatch is one of those games where one character or another is super overpowered. Reaper and Sigma, for example, are two characters that I feel are pretty OP right now, but they were barely mentioned in the blog post. Here's hoping Blizzard gets it all sorted out in the coming months, because despite myself (and the free-to-play cash-grabiness of it all), I'm actually having a lot of fun playing Overwatch again.

The post Blizzard isn’t rebalancing Overwatch 2 until December appeared first on Destructoid.

Shield your savings account

Those of you who were big into the merchandising angle of Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch will likely remember, (or perhaps even own) some of the excellent statues that were released, depicting heroes such as Tracer, Widowmaker, Mercy, and Dva in fine form at a relatively reasonable price �Well, the statues are seemingly returned, although the "relat?ively reasonable price" part may not be.

Following this week's launch of flashy sequel Overwatch 2, Blizzard has opened pre-orders on a brand new statue of perhaps OW'??s noblest and most steel-hearted of heroes, the mighty Reinhardt. This very impressive centerpiece is sculpted of PVC and polyresin and stands a huge 25 inches in height, showcasing the shining knight one step away from launching his devastating ult: Earthshatter.

This hand-painted specimen features exquisite detail, perfectly recreating Reinhardt's battle armor and expertly capturing the hero in an extremely dynamic pose. While all of the Overwatch ??statues have been impressive, Reinhardt's intricate design, strong posture, and base detail seem to be setting the tone for a new wave of statues, ones that will see the heroes "mid-match" rather than standing at rest.

Of course, all of this size and detail comes at a price, and Reinhardt is a doozy. Now available to pre-order over at the official Blizzard Gear store, Reinhardt will set you back $1,100 USD (not including shippi?ng or any potential customs costs). There does not appear to be any sort of installment plan ala most statue sellers, so you may have to drop the four figures in one lump sum come launch day. ?Reinhardt is tentatively expected to release in November... You still have a couple of weeks to save up..?

Overwatch 2 is available now on PlaySta??tion, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Overw??atch 2 Reinhardt statue to bring the hammer down on ??your wallet appeared first on Destructoid.

At least I have something to look forward to

Back in the early Overwatch days, something I would look forward to every year was the seasonal events, particularly the ones that had PvE, story mode-type missions. Overwatch’s characters are a big part of what makes the game feel so special. The game was always more than just the multiplayer experience �it was the comics and the animated shorts and the seasonal story events, too. Having opportunities to dive into battle and see not only the history of the characters and the maps from the game, but actu?ally seeing them work together as a team in-universe �that was a pretty magical feeling, if you ask me.

Even with all the new changes Blizzard promised when it came to the PvP, I was most excited to see some kind of story mode in Overwatch 2. I was so distracted by what a headache Overwatch 2’s launch has been, howev??er, that I entirely forgot that there was supposed to be a story mode in the first place. The more I sat struggling just to get into? a game, the more I found myself wondering how the inclusion of a PvE mode would have made the launch so much better.

Wasn't story mode the whole point?

After doing some digging, I couldn’t find any sources t?hat claimed that PvE was supposed to be available to play on launch day. I don’t know how this idea got Mandela-Effected into my head, but after conferring with my roommate to make sure I wasn’t imagining things, we confirmed that we were both under the impression that story mode was coming day one.

My best guess as to why this happened is because while multiplayer got some big updates, including new heroes, maps, UI, skins, etc., it’s about what you’d exp?ect to see from Blizzard if they had kept up with the game’s usual live updates. The game looks different at a glance, but when you jump into a game, everything pretty much feels the exact same aside from some performance improvements.

I think to us, the promise of an awesome single-player mode is what justified the idea of a sequel and the official name of Overwatch 2. Now that I’ve played the game for a few days, I very much fall into the camp that thinks what we got would have been better suited as a big update rather than ?its own title. Not that it really matters now that it’s out, and what’s done is done.

PvE would have made things easier, IMO

What I will continue to ruminate on, however, is how much I think Overwatch 2 would have benefitted from holding out another couple months until the PvE was? finished so it could launch alongside the PvP.

One of the things that bugs me about how Blizzard chose to roll out the game is that they locked new players out of some of the heroes, stating that otherwise the roster would be too overwhelming for those who hadn’t touched the game before (I personally think that’s a lame excuse for being able to lock heroes behind a paywall, but that’s neither here nor there).

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKXS_YA9s7E

You know what would be a great fix for that? A story mode. ?They could introduce players to each character’s story, personalities, and mechanics all in one fell swoop, and playing through an immersive story mission is way more fun than sitting through a tutorial, or just diving into a game and hoping for the best.

Another benefit of a PvE mode at launch is that it likely would have helped alleviate some of the strain on the servers, and potentially mitigate some of the long load times and crashes. That’s mostly assuming you could play the story without needing to be online, but that’s usually?? how campaigns work anyway.

Looking ahead

We know for sure that the story mode is coming in 2023, and it’s gonna be hard for me to be patient until then �especially since Junkenstein’s Revenge won't be back until October 25. I had already kind of put my Overwatch days behind me, and seeing as Overwatch 2 doesn’t have a ton to offer that I’m intrigued by right n??ow, I might have to she?lf it until the story mode is out.

Here’s hoping they can deliver big when it comes to the story, because as of right now, I’ve been pretty disappointed by Overwatch 2.

The post I wish Overwatch 2 had launched with story mode appeared first on Destructoid.

"We have made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players"

An Overwatch 2 SMS requirement became a hot topic in the last week or so, after it was revealed so ??close to launch: but that's no longer going to be a thing for a subset of play?ers.

Taking to the official Blizzard forums to talk about the launch, the subject of SMS Protect came up. In short, Blizzard has "made the decision to remove phone number requirements for a majority of existing Overwatch players," with a fix expected to roll out on October 7. This entails a lack of a requirement for "any Overwatch player with a connected Battle.net account, which includes all players who have played since June 9, 2021." For anyone who fits that bill, it's good news, as they were likely the most dedicated players who balked at it. There's also been an issue with prepaid phones that Blizzard has sidestepped in their exp??lanation.

In other happenings, the launch has been a bit rocky. While Blizzard addressed server stability on October 5, it seems like they're providing a bit more info as to wha??t is happening in the aforementioned forum post. To sum it all up, "login queues, server crashes, and stability problems are intertwined." The queue issue is due to two queues happening simultaneously (one for the game, one for Battle.net), all of which shouldn't be visible. The queue process is now "simplified," and there's only one to navigate. As far as stability goes a "critical?" server has been patched to help, and "another server update" is on the way. More nodes are being added as well, which is a slow process, to "not cause any further disruption."

Lastly, Blizzard also addressed account merge issues and incorrectly locked heroes. The publisher urges folks to fully complete any account merge requirements: but in many other cases, "things are just taking longer than expec??ted," and no data is apparently lost. Another fix is being deployed next week to alleviate transfer problems.

This is most of the big stuff, and with any luck, they'll have the game running smoother before the weekend. If you're following along, Blizzard has a full list of known issues here.

The post Overwatch 2 backtracks partially ??on SMS Protect, bug ?fixes coming appeared first on Destructoid.

Shields to the front

Typically, the launch of any online Blizzard title is met with incredibly long queues, strained servers, and clogged login sessions, as sure as day follows night, this is to be expected �Unfortunately, yesterday's launch of shooter sequel Overwatch 2 ??not only had hundreds? of thousands of players to contend with, but the servers were hit with a least two DDoS attacks from a party of hackers.

The free-to-play title experienced connection carnage immediately upon launch, with an initial attack coinciding with thousands upon thousands of players attempting to get back to their world of heroes. As Blizzard developers attempted to steady the ship and reinitialize the service, it is believed that a second DDoS attack also hit the game, fo????rcing the studio to take the servers offline entirely.

//twitter.com/aa??ronkellerOW/status/1577516588932005888?s=20&t=Vh5BNgQnld7RdNixoq_iaA

"We're steadily making progress on server issues and stability, as well as working through a second DDoS attack," said game director Aaron Keller in an update to Twitter. "We're all hands on deck and will continue to work throughout the night. Than??k you for your patience �we'll share more info as it becomes available."

Planned DDoS attacks were extremely common several years ago, when many sites, games, and services were hit repeatedly on a monthly, weekly, or even daily basis. A DDoS attack is a maliciously performed attempt to overwhelm a server, flooding it with so much internet traffic that it essentially collapses under the weight of the incoming and outgoing connections. Given that yesterday's launch represented a major game release for Blizzard, one that would have already been un?der severe strain, it would not have taken much of a push to tip the sweating servers over and into the brink.

Eager players will have to exercise patience and keep sitting pretty for the time being. Maybe you could play the first game while you waaaa.... oh.

Overwatch 2 is now avail?able as a free-to-play title on PlayStation,?? PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Overw??atch 2 hit with multiple DDoS hack attacks on?? launch day appeared first on Destructoid.

I mean I'm still gonna play it, though

It’s been a few years since I’ve seriously played Overwatch, so sometimes I forget how seriously into that game I was. It was the first online multiplayer game I ever really got into, and I played it for somewhere around 1,500 hours between my PlayStation and PC. I had a t??eam of guys that I met in-game that I would play with when I was in college �I made sure to have my homework done early every night so we could pla??y from 10pm to 2 in the morning. I even ended up going to one of my teammate’s weddings.

As I got busier and started moving on, Overwatch itself started changing a lot, too. It was around the time that the Overwatch League was gearing up, and Blizzard had been rolling out all kinds of changes to the game that made it feel ent?irely different from the title I had started playing at launch. Even so, I was such a big fan that I stuck with it through it all, even when my favorite hero had been nuked into the ground.

I attended BlizzCon in 2019, and I was fortunate enough to get to play the Overwatch 2 demos while I was there. I was a bit skeptical of the game needing a sequel so soon in the first place when Blizzard had been doing such a great job of keeping Overwatch interesting with new heroes and events, but I have to admit I was still sucked in by the shiny new toy that was a reworked version of Overwatch. At that point, I had already been away from the game for a while, and new content may have been enough to lure me ba?ck in, but what I saw in those demos wasn’t enough to rid m??e of my skepticism.

An FPS with heart

At its peak, Overwatch had one of the most active and dedicated fandoms in gaming, and it was honestly a ton of fun to be a part of. From what I can tell, so many of us still hold the game in a special place in our hearts, regardless of if we’ve kept up with it or not as time has gone on. Even with all of that love and nostalgia for the game, the response to Overwatch 2 has been lukewarm at best. I know that for me, with every new bit of information I’d see about the game over the past few months, the less ex?cited I’d get for its release �and I know for a fact that I’m not alone in that statement.

What made Overwatch really stand out at the time of its release into an oversaturated market was its branding. The whole theme of “be a hero�was aspirational and sentimental, which gave the game a sense of heart that is otherwise missing from online multiplayer games. A focus on building up the heroes to be characters that playe?rs can identify with and root for with the animated shorts, worldbuilding, and in-game dialogue was a great way to get players to care more about a game with minimal story to begin with.

While its representation of marginalized people was far from perfect, Overwatch was one of the only games at the time that had a diverse cast of characters. The game was able to tran??scend the usual male-only audience of o?nline shooters and achieve universal appeal.

Fresh, fun gameplay

What’s more, part of what made the gameplay so fun was how overpowered everyone was, to t??he point that we all canceled each other out. In the early stages of the game, it always felt like there were multiple ways to solve a problem, instead of a rigid system of picks and hard counters.

I know meta can be an important part of games like this, but it feels like back in the day, it was more about the chaotic fun of heroes with unique powers than it was about making sure everything was “balanced�in a traditional sense. I could write a who??le other feature about how the Overwatch League pulled the game away from its original vision and made everything too same-y by trying to appease the pro players over the actual playerbase, but I digress.

What I’m trying to get at here is that while it feels like we should all be excited that we’re finally getting to play Overwatch 2 after all this time, the overwhelming ??sentiment that I’ve seen online is more that people are sad to see the base game?? go.

A lot of people have fond memories associated with the first game, especially right when it came out. The game rallied people together, and encouraged you to make friends and work as a team in a way that a lot of other games didn’t. Because you relied so heavily on your teammates to have your back in a fight, if you ran into someone who was a good teammat?e, you’d often want to keep them around �a lot of friendships were forged this way.

I think I can speak for a lot of fans when I say we want to give Overwatch 2 the benefit of the doubt. We want to hope that it delivers on everything Blizzard promised and mor?e, from hero reworks to a story mode to new heroes altogether. But man, every time I would see some new details about the game, the less excited I got.

Overwatch 2's changes for the worse

First Blizzard announced that the game was going free-to-play. Sure, Overwatch was originally $60, but after that, there were no microtransactions, there were no battle passes, and there certainly weren’t any heroes locked behind a paywall. The Overwatch team has every right to?? monetize their game however they want, but man, it’s a bad look on a game that once seemed so dedicated to fun and community over profit, at least at the start.

Then we learned that they were locking players out of heroes, that is unless you’ve played the first game. Their reasoning is that it will help make the game less overwhelming for new players, but it’s yet another departure from what made the game special at first �the idea that you could choose any hero at any time depending on what your team might need. As if the role-select queue wasn’t bad enough�/p>

Overwatch VP Jon Spector recently went on the record to say that Blizzard is “interested in exploring�pop culture crossovers a la Fortnite�which is pretty ridiculous if you ask me. Overwatch was created as its own prestige brand, and its world is full of colorful characters with exciting stories of their own. Fortnite always had a more neutral feel to its world?building?, so adding in skins and events featuring just about every IP under the sun made a lot more sense.

Tainting Overwatch’s highly curated and stylized br??and with forced pop culture references would be the final nail in the coffin, if you ask me. There's no sign as of now that this is something they're looking to implement, but the fact that they even brought it up is enough to freak me out.

At the end of the day, Blizzard is a company, and they’re gonna do whatever they want to make as much money as possible. As a fan, though, what we know so far of Overwatch 2 so far doesn’t bode well for the future of the series. This sequel marks a shift toward money over creative vision �something we’ve unfort??unately been seeing more and more of recently.

After spending this entire article complaining about how much I hate what Blizzard is doing with the Overwatch series, I have to be a hypocrite and admit that my rose-colored memories of playing the first game back in the day are enough to make me try out the sequel. Even with all the annoying changes, I miss playing with a team a lot, ??and the promise that I might have a fraction of the fun I did back then is enough to bring me back.

The post Overw??atch 2 is leaving behind what the series was ?all about appeared first on Destructoid.