Overwatch 2 devs announce major Competitive changes to counter toxicity
Blizzard EntertainmentThe Overwatch 2 devs have announced some significant changes coming to Competitive in Season 10 to counter toxicity and make it easier to play with friends.
Season 10 of Overwatch 2 is just around the corner, and the devs have been updating us on everything we can expect, including a brand-new DPS Hero. Now, they’ve announced a ton of changes that are coming that aim to improve toxicity in Overwatch 2 from Season 10 and beyond.
Overwatch 2 Season 10 will allow you to easily play with your friends when you queue for the Competitive mode as there will be no more group restrictions. Anyone can queue with anyone, and it doesn’t matter what your rank is. In other words, Bronze players can queue with Diamond players or higher.
The Overwatch 2 devs are also including two more penalty times for Unranked in Season 10. A five-minute penalty and a harsh 48-hour penalty if you leave too many Unranked games.
Gavin Winter, Senior System Designer for Overwatch 2, also announced that the Streamer Mode will be more useful for all players and not just Streamers. Streamer Mode is changing to be server-side instead of just client-side, which means you can change the way all players see you.
“We think this is great for players who may experience harassment because of their Battletag,” Winter explained. “And just want to queue up without any chance of that happening.”
Over the next few Seasons, Overwatch 2 is also going to be implementing big changes to the way voice chat works. For example, in Season 10, if you are at endorsement level 0, you will not be able to use voice chat. In Season 11, any match spectators will not be able to use the chat function.
Senior Research Scientist for Overwatch 2, Natasha Miller, said that players will be prompted to take surveys after matches, also from Season 11. This will give the devs the feedback they need to make the game an enjoyable experience.
“We’re excited for this feature,” Miller said. “We look forward to continuing to improve the game as we gather your feedback.”
From Season 12 onward, the devs will increase the number of “Avoid Teammate” slots to 10. The devs explained that it will take a while to implement because it breaks the current system, but it is on the way.
Players will also be able to customize this avoid list by being able to pin certain players so they never come off the list. While the others will still display a timer when they will come off of it automatically.
Season 12 will also see changes in how quickly you can report players. The new reporting system will make it easier to report any disruptive players mid-match in the hope of making it more intuitive to use.
If you want to know more about Overwatch 2 while we wait for these changes to come, you can check out all the Hero changes coming in Season 10 and everything we know about the Season 10 Battle Pass.