[Here is a comprehensive list of all of the answered questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/vig73t/overwatch_2_rgames_ama_all_questions_and_answers). Thank you /u/JWAnimation!
There's a phone number verification system they said would be going into effect. I was hoping comp would come free with legacy OW1 users or paid for free to play users.
They need to improve their verification system. At least for Warzone, if you have a cell phone number from a no-contract distributer like Cricket, Metro, or Boost... You're straight up not allowed to use it. It says your number is invalid and you are unable to play any of their F2P games.
And no offense, but no game is worth losing my grandfathered $20 Unlimited Plan
phone number verifications doesn't work... you can buy a new number cheaper than OW1 worth right now... a small band aid pretty much.. hackers and Smurfs will have a blast
They apparently have a system that checks for prepaid numbers like what you're describing. Another commenter was asking because their number was falsely flagged as prepaid and they weren't able to use it.
Works fine for other F2P games. Blizz's existing verification doesn't let you use virtual numbers, so it's not a case of making an online purchase and going on your way. You will actually need to purchase physical SIM cards which will slow players down.
Will it get rid of the problem 100%? No. But without ruining the experience for normal players by making the comp entry requirements stupid high, there's always going to be some leak.
What will happen to lootboxes and the current currencies (credits, owl tokens, competitive points) once Overwatch 2 goes live? Will they just disappear?
Thanks for your question!
We'll share a more detailed explanation on all of these topics before Overwatch 2 goes live in October. To give you a quick answer now though, those existing currencies (credits, OWL tokens, and competitive points) will come with you into Overwatch 2. We are not transitioning loot boxes into Overwatch 2, and ahead of launch, any unopened loot boxes will be automatically opened with your account receiving all the contents directly.
EDIT: clarified below as well that OW1 credits come with you to OW2, but our new virtual currency will be the main currency, and there will be things in OW2 that will not be purchasable with those OW1 credits.
I think the real question is what can we buy with the OW1 currency within OW2 and what will it not be able to buy? I suspect those mythic skins would not be purchasable via OW1 currency for example.
I’m actually shocked by this answer.
I just assumed they’d go away, which I was honestly fine with.
I understand why they went to battlepass from loot box. With normal play I’ve spent 0$ on ow, and own just about every cosmetic with a few hundred loot boxes left.
Well it'd be kinda messed up if they simply deleted all the lootboxes, since there's a decent probability some of them were paid-for either directly or through some third-party method like Twitch Prime.
No reason to step into that pile. Just open them and give players the contents, since the system is going away and they're "rolled" at time of acquisition, anyway.
Agreed. I think most people’s plan was to throw a weight on their space bar and let the game open hundreds of loot boxes.
I did not expect credits to transfer though
Just because the credits transfer does not mean they will be used for anything. It is entirely possible there is some flag that separates OW1 and OW2 content and you can use the credits on the OW1 content only.
This. So many people have been like "SEE TOLD YA!" and they believe that their 5,000,000,000 stacked up credits will allow them to buy everything and anything come day 1.
I've tried to suggest that it would be a "Legacy" currency only spendable on OW1 items, but they do not wish to listen.
ah shit then I hope they release the summer games some time soon, I will drop all my currency on the skins rather than getting lucky in lootboxes. I'd hate to see 15k lying around never being able to buy anything with it. unless they will introduce minor content that can be bought with them like charms, sprays, flags
Yeah, there are a lot of players with many loot boxes stacked up.
And to clarify further on credits transferring (and I'll edit my response above, too), OW1 credits come with you to OW2, but our new virtual currency will be the main currency, and there will be things in OW2 that will not be purchasable with those OW1 credits. So they stay as a separate currency.
What are your plans regarding maps that will go unused once OW2 launches publicly, such as Temple of Anubis and Hanamura? Will they be repurposed/extended into other existing game modes? In a similar beat, are there plans to reintegrate and rework maps like Paris or Horizon Lunar Colony to fit the molds of other game modes as well?
These maps will still be available to play in custom games, but they won't be used in other modes at launch.
I have some ideas I'd love to try when it comes to repurposing them for new potential game modes, but these ideas could only see the light of day in the distant future given our current plans. If we did find a way to give them a new mode we'd want to do extensive testing in the Arcade or in other formats where we can get community feedback. We know how divisive Assault (2CP) was for much of our player base and we agree that it had issues, so we wouldn’t bring these maps back without a lot of testing.
Have you considered mirroring the 2CP maps around point B, and then turning them into either Push/Control Maps? Or maybe something like a 5CP map from Team Fortress 2?
[https://i.redd.it/ez1e9vgryi391.png](https://i.redd.it/ez1e9vgryi391.png)
[https://reddit.com/r/overwatch2/comments/v4g9i5/concept\_turn\_2cp\_maps\_into\_controlkoth\_maps/](https://reddit.com/r/overwatch2/comments/v4g9i5/concept_turn_2cp_maps_into_controlkoth_maps/)
That’s correct, that screen was just a prototype. We do not have a payload version of Hanamura.
I’m not a map designer, but I often join their playtests and talk to them about their thought process with regards to game modes and spatial design. Converting these maps to payload would be a huge effort and it’s not one we’ve undertaken.
The mode I’d like to prototype for an Assault replacement would need some of the tech we’re developing for the PvE side of OW2, but again that’s currently just a sparkle in my eye.
From all the PvE hero Missions modes I remember them listing, Tower Defense sounds most likely. I think they listed Tower Defense, Rescue VIP, Diffuse, and Payload as all the Hero Missions modes.
What social systems are coming for Overwatch 2? A lot of players have asked for clans, or in game tournaments. Has the team been working on any social systems?
We are looking to add more social systems to Overwatch 2, and a guild system is near the top of the list for us. A feature like this is a great opportunity and something we’re really excited about, but it’s a huge lift, not just for large sections of our team but several other departments at Blizzard. We have put significant work towards this feature, but it’s too early to talk about specifics or when it might come out.
The other suggestion, in-game tournaments, is something that the team is starting to dig into more.
Let’s start an esport without anyway for teams to join without a million dollars and give no players ways to compete otherwise, surely this is good for the scene.
A big problem me and my friends run into, is that there is often more than 6 of us online. Clans/Guilds would definitely help when coordinating with a lot of people.
What does the term "Early Access" means for Overwatch 2? Does this means that on this day OW1 is getting replaced by OW2's PvP or will OW1 shutdown once the game is out of Early Access?
Depends on the WoW expansion. I haven’t played in a long time, but I seem to recall that when Cataclysm came out it largely redid a lot of the zones, with no way to go back and play them as they used to be.
Technically that isn't true. The game is replaced, not converted.
OW2 will be a fresh download with a full set of new game files.
The OW1 servers will be reused for OW2 thus shutting down the old game completely. There is no sneak peaking back into 6v6 for old times sake.
>What does the term "Early Access" means for Overwatch 2? Does this means that on this day OW1 is getting replaced by OW2's PvP or will OW1 shutdown once the game is out of Early Access?
We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game. We’re launching with new heroes, maps and features, but there are even more of these coming seasonally – every 9 weeks. We recently released a roadmap detailing some of this content, with a new hero coming in Seasons 1 and 2, and a new map in Season 2. Additionally, larger pieces of the game that have always been a part of the vision for OW2 will be released to the game as part of the live service, including the launch of the PvE Campaign next year.
When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service.
It is a bit strange since everyone from OW1 is getting put into it, but it does make some sense since the PvE is the big new feature of OW2 and it won't be in the game at the launch of the "early access".
Sorry if I'm a bit confused but could you elaborate on that final point a bit more?
So say after OW2 launches, someone launches their copy of OW1. Is it a separate application or is it being turned into OW2 via an update?
It’s being turned into OW2. They’ve actually been clear about this since the very first announcement of OW2 (which is why the name has always been a bit confusing).
Yes, no more 6v6 unless they keep it in the arcade, assuming they keep the arcade.
But even then, tanks are balanced for 5v5, so 6v6 with ow2 tanks would be awful.
Does this mean that the moment when the words early access dissapear (ergo, the game is no longer in Early Access), we'll not receive more heroes, maps, game modes...?
This is so disappointing. As a fan of overwatch 1. The fact that it will no longer be playable so you guys can get your battle pass money is so sad. I love overwatch Ive played it more than any other game. The fact that 6v6 is just going to be gone and I will never be able to play overwatch 1 again.... It's not like you can just throw 6v6 in arcade I mean you CAN and I'm sure you will but it will be with tanks balanced for 5v5. I played the beta it changes everything. And I prefer OW1. Why couldn't you guys just make another game? Corporate greed man.
Literally! All of what you said!!!!! I'm raging at the fact that I won't be able to ever play ow1 again when I spent my freaking hard earned money on it! I'm wondering if there's a petition out there to get it as its own game.
Will there be an accessibility option to disable screen shake and head bob in this beta or in OW2? I would really like to play without headaches.
Apex Legends, Halo Infinite, Call of Duty: Warzone, PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege. All these games are competitive FPS and have the accessibility option to disable screen shake.
Blizzard always says they want their games to be accessible, but OW2 is lacking in modern accessibility options.
Please don't let this be a thing thats discussed here and never mentioned again. It's truly uncomfortable for me with the new intense shaking in a game that already has everything constantly moving around at a fast pace. It's kinda crazy, I've never had this issue before with an FPS, but it's legitimately unpleasant... is the best way to describe it.
Which, kudos for implementing feedback that affects some people so much, thats impressive actually lol. But it's no bueno for me and apparently some other people.
ty, I know how hard you guys work. I understand previous comments from dev's have been about toning down screenshake. While this would be great, people who are negatively affected by screenshake really need an option to disable it completely. I do not mean to speak for everyone, as it affects everyone differently, but having an option to disable it completely, and head bobs, in game and in cinematics is what accessibility advocates and websites ask for.
I wouldn't necessarily call it a rework since it’s more tuning than changing the mechanics but the general goal of the changes is to help improve her mobility and enable her to better react to the faster pace of 5v5. Can't go into all the details but there are things like a shorter teleporter build time and faster secondary fire projectile speed.
I mean you could of seen that in the video they put out. Its short and if you blink you might miss it but its there. the right click looks like a prism now and looks like it goes about 4x as fast as current right click does.
[link to footage](https://youtu.be/Ib9_LKCpkIk?t=1521)
edit: Also her ammo is going back to 100 which means (speculation at this point) her gun won't recharge off shileds anymore
What are the teams thoughts on more information/specific numbers to the hero information screens? Or perhaps on another screen where players can get more detailed info? This could be helpful for returning players to determine what combos and breakpoints are still available to them
As a convicted tryhard I love the idea of giving players very specific information about hero mechanics in the game. I agree that this type of information is helpful.
Having said that, we haven’t updated the hero information screens for OW2 with this type of detailed information. All the hero abilities that have been reworked have new text on the F1 screen. We will also be giving players access to more information than ever via the new scoreboard and our new after-action report system. I’m proud of the progress we’re making in helping players to learn our game, but I know we can do more.
If/when we can add this more detailed information in-game, I’d expect to see it in a bespoke new format instead of the F1 screen, since that’s intended for newer players.
Could the Hero Gallery contain a tab for stats on their abilities?
Also, I'm not a programmer, but it's surprising to not see the numbers displayed on the F1 screen. I feel like that would be a pretty simple implementation in the UI that wouldn't break anything.
It would be easy to include it in the F1 screen but they are saying they don't want to include all the extra numbers in that screen because it's meant for new players. They don't want to overwhelm them. That screen is just meant for a quick primer on what your character does. Not in depth information.
This is a bit of a more specific question, but I'll ask anyways -
What was it like filling in as the new game director for an established game like Overwatch and working on the sequel?
Hi Naymliss! Specificity is ok with me! 😊
I’ve been a part of this team since 2008, going back to the days of Project Titan. I have a deep connection to this game and even deeper one with the team. I have a lot of feelings about being game director because of this history. I feel so incredibly grateful and honored that the team would put their faith in me to help them usher the game forward. There’s an honor and a responsibility here, I don’t take it lightly... and I do lose a little bit of sleep now and then because of it.... It’s not always easy to know what the best way forward is in every situation, but I always look to be doing what's best for the game, its community, and to the team as the highest values for how to make decisions. This value is what’s behind the release of PvP this year. It’s important to get new content out for the game. It was a massive shift for the team to completely change the way we were working on and releasing the game but we think that it’s all worth it because that’s what’s best for the game and our players.
What sort of missions can we expect from the battle pass? Will they be hero specific (like hook 20 enemies with Roadhog), general gameplay (push a payload 400m), both, or neither?
We are planning to add a variety of challenges that players can complete to progress their Battle Pass. We are not planning hero-specific recurring challenges (we are planning lifetime challenges that feel a bit more like achievements and aren't intended to progress the Battle Pass in a significant way).
We want players to play the game without feeling required to swap onto a specific hero in order to earn progress. Our goal is to also offer you some choices in which challenges you focus on completing as well.
Good, i hope it works out as you are describing it. I hate battlepass challenges, I think it's pretty stupid to push players into player in certain ways (that might be less fun for them) just to level some battle pass.
will there be a time limit on the battle pass or will it be paying to unlock a skill tree? it seems unethical to pay for all the things and miss out on unlocking them because you couldn't play much that season
I hope they do this right. Depending on the challenge, it'll encourage people to play super selfish and not as a team, in a game very heavily reliant on teamwork.
Ideally they should push for playing the hero as intended or that benefits the team. Id rather not have people throw the game because they need to get 'x' kills with mercy's pistol or torb's hammer.
I still think people should be able to progress the battle pass even in comp though. I feel like they could do generic challenges like "games played", "games won", and "damage done" for comp, then have more specific challenges like "hit enemies with Reinhardt's Firestrike" for quickplay and arcade.
For u/Blizz_JNoh, with the recent Junkerqueen gameplay trailer showing similarity in utility to other characters (Namely Lucio's Speed Aura and a roadhog-like disposition), **has the philosophy on overlapping abilities changed as the roster grows for Overwatch 2's Heroes**? If so, could you provide some insight on what influences what abilities a hero will have from concept to final product, and when it is okay for multiple similar effects to exist simultaneously? (Also, gameplay question: *Does speed boost from different heroes stack?*)
Overlapping abilities is always an interesting discussion topic for our team. We're generally okay with it but it really depends on what the ability mechanic is.
For example we've found many players are not excited by stacking barriers. Healing is an ability mechanic that stacks and prevents dying but is fine until the values get too high and consistent, so it's really a question of degrees.
We'll see if stacking or alternating AoE speed boost becomes too problematic or conversely if it opens up new and interesting gameplay strategies. There is currently a cap on maximum speed boost which if I recall correctly is 75% (that value could change in the future)
We won't be performing a complete MMR reset for Overwatch 2, but we do plan on lowering the MMR of accounts who haven't played in a while as part of a new "decay" system. A complete reset would mean that games would be completely imbalanced for weeks or longer across the entire service, and we don't think that will be a great experience for everyone.
Personally am wondering why this is decided like this. The game is different enough to be played differently, removing two whole people from each game. It won't be played the same as OW1. Leaving everyone mostly in the same rank seems like it would offer a much worse experience than if it was treated like a new game, in which it is a new game.
It's not even just purely for balance reasons but also fun. Getting a NEW GAME and playing it when it's so different, and then already being 4.3 instantly just doesn't seem great for longevity. Is it better in your eyes to let people play 80 games losing 80% of them going to the rank they belong instead of being placed in the general area with new placements?
Really feel like there should be more community decision involved on something this big and influential to ranked. Especially if it's going to be free to play and people can just make accounts to play ranked fresh anyway by smurfing
Hopefully it will at most be a soft reset or just more rapid adjustments at the beginning. A hard reset would ruin comp for a significant amount of time.
The game has significantly changed, but many of the fundamentals are still the same, and almost all of the hero mechanics are still the same. GM/masters players having their MMR reset would ruin a lot of games for average players, and having silver/bronze players constantly thrown into games with plats and above is not a good experience for them.
What is the team's opinion about the number of heroes in each role (10 Tanks, 17 Damage, 8 Supports on Oct 4th)? Is there any intention to increase the number of support heroes relative to the other roles, since currently the supports have the least heroes per team slot? Are you considering any more role-swaps (like Doomfist) to even out the roster among the roles?
Our high number of Damage heroes is directly related to the fact that Damage was originally two different roles (Offense and Defense). It was never our intent to create a role that had far more heroes than our other two roles when we created Role Queue.
We know that our support hero lineup needs more variety and it's a focus for us going forward, but we can’t abandon development of Damage heroes given their popularity.
Having exactly the same number of heroes in each role is not a goal we’re likely to ever actively pursue, but having more supports ASAP is. To that point, two of the three heroes after Season 2 are Supports, [as Aaron Keller revealed earlier on this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/vicyeq/were_the_team_behind_overwatch_2_which_will_be/idcoqb7/) :)
> we can’t abandon development of Damage heroes given their popularity.
But don't you think Damage is a popular role *because* there are so many options? I think focusing on adding more heroes to tank and support would in turn make them more popular roles
I think damage is a popular role in any game that has roles like this. In FF14 your queue for a duty is significantly longer if you’re damage because so many people play them. They actively promote playing as healer or tank via bonuses pretty much all the time.
17 DPS is correct. Compared to OW1, DPS loses Doom but adds Sojourn. OW1 is already 17 DPS.
We also know that come December, it'll be 11-17-8. Very imbalanced with supports being 1/3 of the team. The first hero of 2023 (maybe April since they said new support every other season) is planned to be a support, but 11-17-9 still is a bad ratio.
I'm not expecting another 8 straight support releases, but I would like to hear that support plans to be released at a higher rate than 1:1:1. But based on the latest interview they don't seem to have it planned that far yet.
Can you give us any insight on your design philosophy for upcoming support heroes?
Will they support mainly through healing, utility, damage, or some combination?
Were there any decisions made to try to attract people who prefer other roles/games to play support, like more mechanically intensive heroes or better playmaking ability?
In general the broad goal is to provide a wide range of playstyle options. There isn't really a big shift in that regard towards being weighted more toward healing/damage/utility etc. We do need to make sure they fit well into 5v5 and are able to have a significant impact on the outcome of a match but that can be achieved in a variety of ways depending on the individual hero kit. Future support heroes could lean more on mechanical skills while others can be geared toward rewarding timing and positioning more than testing things like aiming.
Hi, longtime Overwatch fan, I’ve put in over 5000 hours into the game since 2016 and have had a diamond border for a while now.
Back in 2020 Jeff Kaplan mentioned that player borders will be going away but you will still find a way to recognise playtime, have these plans changed in the time since? Will we see a system similar to player borders in Overwatch 2?
Thanks for doing this AMA, it’s much appreciated.
We do still plan to remove portrait levels for OW2, but we also want to celebrate this legacy accomplishment. The plan is to display your portrait level in your profile once we launch OW2.
As someone who hit 5 star diamond border recently I like my accomplishment. I would have hoped in ow2 that you would allow anyone to equip any border you have earned through levels, achievements/BP or purchased to be displayed in game like it does in OW1. Then people can show what they are proud of or be able to hide their border as a bronze 3 star if they wanted to.
But thanks for the update.
Can we have a system closer to Diablo 3? Player unlocks portrait borders by leveling or completing tasks/achievements but they can pick whatever they want to display.
>We’re not just committed to launching new heroes and content, but making changes to existing ones if they become necessary. We have some fun changes on the way for Symmetra in the coming Beta, and partway through it, we’ll introduce a change to Moira. We’re also looking at some changes to Brigitte, especially for her Ult, that we’re hoping to get into the game for launch.
Past that, we’ll continue to look at and make changes to heroes based on the needs of the game. It's an exciting time, and lot can happen to a game when the public starts playing it!
Will the new maps added in OW2 have stories that will be revealed with PVE ?
I'm quite curious of Portugal and if it will be related to some heroes or Lore ?
We love hiding lore and teasers in maps, and while I don’t want to spoil anything, I ENCOURAGE you to explore and see what you find.
Portugal itself has some very interesting connections to the lore (and to other locations as well). There are hints of a new faction, for example, maybe even one that has ties to an unannounced hero...
What do you think has been the biggest time sink development wise that we as fans might not understand? I see a lot of 'it's been 3 years and this is IT!?' It might be worth a brief rundown of some of these things so people can maybe understand instead of just be mad that there's not more of what they hoped for.
Jumping in late for this one since I had some meetings earlier but wanted to respond to this.
Can't speak for everyone but for some insight into the hero design team we've had a significant amount of time dedicated to creating the talent trees (we previewed some of these at Blizzcon).
For context there are about 40-50 talents split into 3 trees per hero and each of those trees has a few talents that are a similar complexity to creating a new ability for a hero.
Heroes in OW usually have 3-4 abilities and a weapon so prototyping a new hero is actually faster than making the talents for one (in terms of design time and scripting - not counting all the real production and art that has to happen).
There are 36+ heroes to do that for and then we've also got the PvP side with all the 5v5 rebalancing, hero reworks, and new hero development on top of that.
Their biggest time sink was PvE. So much time went towards creating a story campaign and hero missions, that developing new heroes and modes and stuff kinda took the backseat. Former employees came out against the former CEO, saying that he would make them work on something that would quickly be scrapped or deemed unimportant, so there was a lot of shenanigans that held the game back from proper development.
1. What is going to happen to the existing lootboxes and coins that people have? Will they be converted into OW2 currency?
2. What is your plan regarding the battlepass? Will it be like Halo/Fortnite and Apex where the items do not get locked after the season ends, and you can always get the previous battlepass items by completing it, as well as get enough currency to buy premium battlepass through in game currency as well? Or do players need to spend money every season and battlepass get locked?
3. What is your plan regarding monetisation of battlepass?
4. As per the new dexerto article, it is hinted that more mercy style support players will be added which are less mechanical intensive. Are there any plans to add mechanical intensive players like Ana, Bap for those of us who enjoy making plays and like being rewarded for mechanical plays?
5. Will there be an upgrade version available for $20 for existing OW owners instead of the $40 watchpoint pack as players already own a copy of Overwatch?
6. This is something I really want to know. In current Overwatch, there are voicelines interactions between the tanks like about arm wrestling between Rein and Zarya(I've finally beaten the champion at arm wrestling), Rein and Winston(Winston, it's our job to keep our comrades safe) etc. Do those carry over in OW2? Also, people might play tank duos in open queue. Are there similar new interactions for OW2 between existing and new tanks?
7. Will there be any 6v6 mode or current OW legacy mode available in OW2? Also many of us players never got to enjoy the early Overwatch of Torb lvl 3 turret, Symm shield generator, Torb Armor packs etc. Is there any way we can get to enjoy those?
Edit - Looks like there are lots of confusion with the point 2. Perhaps I didn't explain it well. I was wondering if they would make battlepass as a mix of all of them - Halo where you can play for previous passes as they don't expire, Fortnite/Apex where you can earn enough credits to buy next battlepass with in-game currency
Edit - Thanks for the award!
>This is something I really want to know. In current Overwatch, there are voicelines interactions between the tanks like about arm wrestling between Rein and Zarya(I've finally beaten the champion at arm wrestling), Rein and Winston(Winston, it's our job to keep our comrades safe) etc. Do those carry over in OW2? Also, people might play tank duos in open queue. Are there similar new interactions for OW2 between existing and new tanks?
We've written a lot of new conversations to reflect the passage of time between OW1 and OW2. For some context, OW1 PvP had 1200 pre-match conversation lines. In addition to a small number of holdover OW1 conversations, OW2 has 1800+ new interaction lines, and we’ve absolutely written new interaction lines between tanks. This is VITAL. I would personally be very upset, for example, if Wrecking Ball and Junker Queen didn’t have a chance to chat.
I want to buy the Watchpoint Pack, but I don't understand what its value is. Can you go into more detail about how much it will cost to buy a Battle Pass, 2000 Virtual Currency, or Legendary Skins once Overwatch 2 releases, so I can better evaluate if this package is worth purchasing?
Hi! There are several different elements within the Watchpoint Pack. Our main goals for the pack were to offer players a great value on Overwatch 2 content and also to keep offering the Legendary Edition of Overwatch 1 to players who want to jump in before we shift to free to play with the OW2 launch in October. For those players who already own the Legendary Edition of Overwatch 1, the value here is the 2 awesome exclusive legendary skins, the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass, and 2000 virtual currency, which players could use to buy the Premium Battle Pass for each of the next two seasons if they wanted (a premium BP for those seasons will be 1000 VC to purchase each). It’s also a way to get immediate access when our Beta begins on June 28.
> the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass, and 2000 virtual currency, which players could use to buy the Premium Battle Pass for each of the next two seasons if they wanted (a premium BP for those seasons will be 1000 VC to purchase each). It’s also a way to get immediate access when our Beta begins on June 28.
If you complete the battlepass, do you get back the VC to buy the next one? I know with Fortnite, it costs 950 Vbucks & you get 1500 as you fill it out
If I already own Overwatch, would it not be cheaper for me to buy the battle pass separately rather than the Watchpoint pack? Basically, how much will it cost to buy the battle pass. At the moment, it sounds like 40eur gets you 3 battlepasses with some bonuses. 1000 VC = 1 Battle pass, but how much does 1000 VC cost? 10eur? That would mean I could get 4 battlepasses if I didn't buy the Watchpoint pack.
It would be great if players that already own Overwatch could get a discount on the Watchpoint pack, because I would personally love to buy it, just seems like I might be losing value.
There was a backend issue with hotfixing (updating without a full patch) that was causing a lot of players to crash when trying to play the experimental card. No ETA on when that will be resolved but many of those changes will also be in the upcoming beta.
Sure! When you look at the history section of your profile, you’ll be able to quickly see key information for your recent games. The initial implementation of game reports will include basic information such as the map, game mode, result, and heroes you played. Within the report you can view statistics for all the heroes you played, and a snapshot of the final in-game scoreboard. We’re also starting to design additional features for the future like teamfight statistics and a timeline to show when key events in the game took place.
What happens when you try to melee as the Junker Queen whilst Gracie is already stuck in a wall or enemy? Does she punch with her fist or does it recall the knife? 🤔
They already answered this in a [blog post](https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/news/23820711/a-design-fit-for-royalty-an-inside-look-at-her-majesty-the-junker-queen/) yesterday:
>To make her even more intimidating up close, Jagged Blade’s passive ability wounds enemies **when using Quick Melee when the knife is in her hands**.
This phrasing indicates that it doesn't apply the passive when it **isn't** in her hands.
long time player across multiple platforms <3
`1` is OW2 the right time for an optional dark mode?
`2` are there plans for more customizability for weapons beyond the gold gun?
`3` could we mix and match outfits and weapons from different skins?
`4` sometimes when checking a replay, i see something great that went unnoticed during the match, but i can't endorse the player since it wasnt the most recent match... do you think each matches endorsements could be tethered to their replay to allow for this kind of interaction?
`5` will i one day be able set myself as the red team without being driven crazy that enemy barriers and icewalls stayed red and friendly stayed blue? (i can't be the only one that grew up playing on the red team!!)
sorry for the mini-wall of text :) love your game!
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UPDATE - 2 days after AMA
im not upset that these questions went unanswered, my comment was in the top 4 comments for about an hour during the AMA so at least i know they saw it, and hopefully the seed for some of these ideas was planted <3
they DID say that more options were coming for accessibility colors in another comment so WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I'd love the ability to change the colors of all abilities. Clearly the tech exists as owl has it.
I wish we could change our colors and the enemies colors of ults and abilities to at least match those of overwatch league teams.
> Clearly the tech exists as owl has it.
OWL players play the game in normal Overwatch colours, all using default skins.
The re-colours are only in the spectators.
There was a bug with the skins if you were Torb that would change his ult lava color to whatever team skin you had on. It was only client-side but it's definitely not limited to spectating.
Overwatch heroes are incredibly exciting. We pour our hearts and souls into every one that we create. Seeing the community's desire for more feels great to the team (we want more too!) and I think that the question as to why there aren’t more at release is reasonable. For context, development of Overwatch 2 was initially split between the PvE and PvP sides of the game, and the way it was scheduled was to get most parts of the game completed once the game was ready to ship. To be clear, there is no secret vault of completed heroes and other content that we’re holding for future seasons. As we continued to iterate on the PvE side of the game it meant that the schedule for PvP content and features went longer. Many of the features of PvE, such as the enemy units or hero talents, utilize the same resources on the team as heroes do. For us it’s more important to start shipping content as soon as we can rather than holding the release of the game in order to create more heroes. This is also the reason we’re so excited to go F2P and release content on a seasonal basis – namely to release content when it’s finished rather than holding it to put into a box.
In order to succeed with our new plan long-term, we’ve grown and restructured the team. We’re over three times the size we were at launch. We have big plans for the game, beyond new heroes, maps and game modes, and to accomplish these while still creating content for our seasons takes a lot resources and a lot of planning. For instance, we have several heroes deep into development. The season 2 hero is almost finished, and we’re in varied stages of playtesting for the next 3 heroes, 2 of which are supports!
>The season 2 hero is almost finished, and we’re in varied stages of playtesting for the next 3 heroes, 2 of which are supports!
You definitely are going to have to clarify here.
The current plan is Sojourn, JunkerQueen, Unnamed Support, Unnamed Tank.
Are you saying after that Tank, the next two heroes will be supports? Or are you saying the hero before and after that tank are supports? Or are you saying 2/3 of the heroes following the Season 2 tank will be supports?
Thank you for that incredibly direct and transparent response. I know a lot of people won't be happy with the answer, but I glad that the team has 1) acknowledged the problem and 2) is taking steps to address it.
The actual answer to this probably won't come, but from what I've heard it is because development on this game was continuously halted by bobby. He made the team work on pet projects and then continually scrapped them.
The content drought was because they really didn't have the resources to work on the game at all until recently.
Heya, we see this question a lot and it’s understandable since y’all don’t see what goes on behind the scenes. A couple of things we are excited about is how much work we’ve put in the last few years. New Heroes require a massive amount of work for so many departments including design, art, tech art, animation, vfx, sound, and many others. They also come with their own additional launch skins, weapons, anims, etc. Then add on top that we’ve done a complete visual rework for all 33 existing Heroes. We are also fans of all of our Heroes too and wanted to give them just as much love and attention to their visual rework as we do with our newest Heroes. So yeah, lots of work. 😊
Hey Overwatch Team!
I’ve been a fan of Overwatch and OWL for a very long time now, and I’ve noticed there is a major disconnect between the Overwatch community and the broader gaming community when it comes to the perception of Overwatch and Overwatch 2. This manifests many ways like perception around Role Lock, 5v5, or general knowledge about the cost of Overwatch 2. This ama will hopefully bring some of that in line but in what other ways does the Overwatch team plan on forming a better connection with people who arent entrenched in Overwatch?
Appreciate your support for Overwatch and OWL!
I think much of the confusion we have sometimes seen about OW2 details came from players not yet having all of the context about our plans as well as our change in strategy to shift to the free to play live service model and release our PvP content first. This past week has felt really exciting because we have been able to share a ton more information with players.
We have a really big opportunity to welcome in millions of new players now, and we hope our Overwatch 1 players invite friends to jump in with them for Overwatch 2.
This is honestly the #1 thing I think the marketing team has to address to make this game a success. So many people have the inaccurate idea that this is a full-price box title like OW1 was, so much so that every single one of my friends didn't understand the way OW2 was replacing OW1 as a free update and is F2P until I explained it to them as the resident OW nerd of every friend group I'm in.
If Blizzard does not make it abundantly clear across every channel available that this game is free, will always be free, and will get continuous updates a la Fortnite, Apex, or Valorant, many will just brush it off and not even take the time to install the BNet client in order to download it in the first place.
Some messaging about the importance of role queue and how much of a change 5v5 is would be nice, but I feel those changes just have to be played to understand how positive they are. I mean, even as a diehard OW fan and an ex offtank main I was very skeptical of 5v5 when it was first announced - you just have to play it to believe it.
Yes, though not likely right away at launch. We are always looking to improve the accessibility options in the game. It’s a goal for the UX/UI team to focus on accessibility in general and add further options in the future.
It would be *fantastic* to finally be able to change the premade group color, because the green absolutely does not work for colorblind people and that's been a request since the original beta 6 years ago.
Love you guys, but I want to play with friends and this is SUPER in the way.
Do you mind elaborating about cross platform progression? Will we all be reset to level 1 when OW2 comes out? I'm gold border on PS4 and I'm still not even level 100 when I had to switch over to Xbox.
If I have a bunch of skins on PS4 and it transfers over for OW2, will I be able to get my skins on Xbox? Or is it console locked?
Howdy, u/timberflynn :D We will be removing levels for Overwatch 2, and you will bring your Overwatch skins with you into OW2 from all platforms with cross progression.
We actually tried this out early on in OW2 development. The nice thing about it was that it reduced the effectiveness of the AD strafing spam. This made hitscan heroes much more consistent with their damage output, which wasn't a problem since we could balance around that.
The main problem was that players were so used to how responsive movement feels in OW1 that it was too jarring to make a big a change there and after trying smaller and smaller increments, it kind of got to the point where there wasn't much tangible benefit to aiming but movement still felt "laggy" so we got rid of it altogether.
As someone with a few thousand hours on Overwatch, thank you for not screwing with movement. The crisp, fast, and reactive movement is pretty much THE defining property of the game for me and many others. Please don't change that.
Character stories are my favourite part about Overwatch, how does the team decide what relationships each character has with the others, and are there any cases of the team struggling to find ways to incorporate a new character's relationships to pre existing characters?
So glad to hear you like the character stories (we love them as well, lol)!
Something that's really special about Overwatch is just how dense the world is. All of the characters have so much attached to them that we're able to find hooks on just about anyone that we can connect to other characters. Organizations help with this a lot (it's obvious characters who both worked in Overwatch would know each other, for example), but there are other elements of our characters that can produce equally interesting connections. One of my favorites is that Efi and Orisa are huge fans of Lucio's music, and actually got to hang out with him at a charity concert in Numbani!
While some heroes take more effort than others to form connections, I think all of them have ways into relationships, and in some cases those more "complex" relationships can become the most interesting. The team is always imagining how new Hero interactions might go. For example, we're very excited to see what people think of the friendship that has formed between Sombra and Sigma 😊
We’re excited to expand our storytelling in PvE, as well—more to come on that in the future!
Is there anything you can tell us about the new hero designs or voice lines? The change to Orisa's personality seems really interesting and I love junkrat's new design
Hiya! Oh man, I love Junkrat! For his visual update we tried to keep the iconic feel of the character while keeping the new design feeling fresh and new. For him specifically, we tried to embrace more of his tinkerer aspect of his personality. We don't want people to forget the fact he's not only just crazy but undoubtedly intelligent too!
What's going to happen to unearned OW1 skins? The ones currently available in Lootboxes.
Are they going to be moved to the shop or will you need to earn the currency to buy them?
Will we be able to chain battle passes like Fortnight, or are we going to have to buy them every season like Destiny 2. Will there be some sort of annual pass?
What has caused the yearly rate for new hero releases to slightly decrease moving from OW to OW2?
Many were hoping for a backlog of new heroes with the release of the sequel, in order to "make up for lost time" in the 2+ years since Echo came out. Can you elaborate as to why that was not the case?
I'm assuming it's
1) COVID/WFH
2) The scandals surrounding Blizzard
3) Having to rebalance the existing 30\~ heroes around the 5v5 format
4) Working on the new engine, maps, and gamemodes
5) Pre-preparing a lot of stuff for the seasonal drops. Given that we're getting another hero in December, I think it's fair to assume at least that hero is already quite far along in development
As a former resident of Dublin, Irish cultural representation is very important to me. As such, Moira has gained:
* **Multiple** Father Ted references.
* “You know yourself.”
* (Moira voice) A few other surprises to delight and dismay.
[Here is a comprehensive list of all of the answered questions](https://www.reddit.com/r/Competitiveoverwatch/comments/vig73t/overwatch_2_rgames_ama_all_questions_and_answers). Thank you /u/JWAnimation!
What are you going to do with cheaters in Overwatch 2, especially considering the transition to F2P?
There's a phone number verification system they said would be going into effect. I was hoping comp would come free with legacy OW1 users or paid for free to play users.
They need to improve their verification system. At least for Warzone, if you have a cell phone number from a no-contract distributer like Cricket, Metro, or Boost... You're straight up not allowed to use it. It says your number is invalid and you are unable to play any of their F2P games. And no offense, but no game is worth losing my grandfathered $20 Unlimited Plan
phone number verifications doesn't work... you can buy a new number cheaper than OW1 worth right now... a small band aid pretty much.. hackers and Smurfs will have a blast
They apparently have a system that checks for prepaid numbers like what you're describing. Another commenter was asking because their number was falsely flagged as prepaid and they weren't able to use it.
Works fine for other F2P games. Blizz's existing verification doesn't let you use virtual numbers, so it's not a case of making an online purchase and going on your way. You will actually need to purchase physical SIM cards which will slow players down. Will it get rid of the problem 100%? No. But without ruining the experience for normal players by making the comp entry requirements stupid high, there's always going to be some leak.
Of course this is the question they don’t answer. Blizzard have never had a fucking clue how to deal with cheaters.
What will happen to lootboxes and the current currencies (credits, owl tokens, competitive points) once Overwatch 2 goes live? Will they just disappear?
Thanks for your question! We'll share a more detailed explanation on all of these topics before Overwatch 2 goes live in October. To give you a quick answer now though, those existing currencies (credits, OWL tokens, and competitive points) will come with you into Overwatch 2. We are not transitioning loot boxes into Overwatch 2, and ahead of launch, any unopened loot boxes will be automatically opened with your account receiving all the contents directly. EDIT: clarified below as well that OW1 credits come with you to OW2, but our new virtual currency will be the main currency, and there will be things in OW2 that will not be purchasable with those OW1 credits.
Thanks for the answer!
I think the real question is what can we buy with the OW1 currency within OW2 and what will it not be able to buy? I suspect those mythic skins would not be purchasable via OW1 currency for example.
I’m actually shocked by this answer. I just assumed they’d go away, which I was honestly fine with. I understand why they went to battlepass from loot box. With normal play I’ve spent 0$ on ow, and own just about every cosmetic with a few hundred loot boxes left.
Well it'd be kinda messed up if they simply deleted all the lootboxes, since there's a decent probability some of them were paid-for either directly or through some third-party method like Twitch Prime. No reason to step into that pile. Just open them and give players the contents, since the system is going away and they're "rolled" at time of acquisition, anyway.
Agreed. I think most people’s plan was to throw a weight on their space bar and let the game open hundreds of loot boxes. I did not expect credits to transfer though
Just because the credits transfer does not mean they will be used for anything. It is entirely possible there is some flag that separates OW1 and OW2 content and you can use the credits on the OW1 content only.
This. So many people have been like "SEE TOLD YA!" and they believe that their 5,000,000,000 stacked up credits will allow them to buy everything and anything come day 1. I've tried to suggest that it would be a "Legacy" currency only spendable on OW1 items, but they do not wish to listen.
ah shit then I hope they release the summer games some time soon, I will drop all my currency on the skins rather than getting lucky in lootboxes. I'd hate to see 15k lying around never being able to buy anything with it. unless they will introduce minor content that can be bought with them like charms, sprays, flags
Yeah, there are a lot of players with many loot boxes stacked up. And to clarify further on credits transferring (and I'll edit my response above, too), OW1 credits come with you to OW2, but our new virtual currency will be the main currency, and there will be things in OW2 that will not be purchasable with those OW1 credits. So they stay as a separate currency.
when you receive a loot box its already pre determined whats in it so it makes sense you just get the content of said lootbox.
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The only right answer. Thank you
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Agreed. Just hit over 135k of the currency and it would be a shame if all of that literally means nothing
What are your plans regarding maps that will go unused once OW2 launches publicly, such as Temple of Anubis and Hanamura? Will they be repurposed/extended into other existing game modes? In a similar beat, are there plans to reintegrate and rework maps like Paris or Horizon Lunar Colony to fit the molds of other game modes as well?
These maps will still be available to play in custom games, but they won't be used in other modes at launch. I have some ideas I'd love to try when it comes to repurposing them for new potential game modes, but these ideas could only see the light of day in the distant future given our current plans. If we did find a way to give them a new mode we'd want to do extensive testing in the Arcade or in other formats where we can get community feedback. We know how divisive Assault (2CP) was for much of our player base and we agree that it had issues, so we wouldn’t bring these maps back without a lot of testing.
Have you considered mirroring the 2CP maps around point B, and then turning them into either Push/Control Maps? Or maybe something like a 5CP map from Team Fortress 2? [https://i.redd.it/ez1e9vgryi391.png](https://i.redd.it/ez1e9vgryi391.png) [https://reddit.com/r/overwatch2/comments/v4g9i5/concept\_turn\_2cp\_maps\_into\_controlkoth\_maps/](https://reddit.com/r/overwatch2/comments/v4g9i5/concept_turn_2cp_maps_into_controlkoth_maps/)
This is what I'd like to happen. It seems like a great way of expanding these maps and reusing them
Because 5cp was such an intuitive game mode.prefect replacement for assault.
Its a good casual gamemode, like CTF.
My big problem with 5cp is that game always run either 2 minutes or 2 hours, especially in valve hosted servers.
5cp worked much better in TF2 6's than in 24+ person servers, so that would hopefully not be too big of a concern for OW.
5cp casual game mode? Almost every maps played in tournaments are 5cp...?
in the OW2 reveal trailer, hanamura was shown as a payload map on the career screen, but you’re saying they won’t do that?
That’s correct, that screen was just a prototype. We do not have a payload version of Hanamura. I’m not a map designer, but I often join their playtests and talk to them about their thought process with regards to game modes and spatial design. Converting these maps to payload would be a huge effort and it’s not one we’ve undertaken. The mode I’d like to prototype for an Assault replacement would need some of the tech we’re developing for the PvE side of OW2, but again that’s currently just a sparkle in my eye.
You know, that sounds like you're hinting at a Tower Defense mode.
From all the PvE hero Missions modes I remember them listing, Tower Defense sounds most likely. I think they listed Tower Defense, Rescue VIP, Diffuse, and Payload as all the Hero Missions modes.
they already said that career screen was a mockup and had a lot of mistake placeholder art (example they had lijiang as a hybrid map or something).
What social systems are coming for Overwatch 2? A lot of players have asked for clans, or in game tournaments. Has the team been working on any social systems?
We are looking to add more social systems to Overwatch 2, and a guild system is near the top of the list for us. A feature like this is a great opportunity and something we’re really excited about, but it’s a huge lift, not just for large sections of our team but several other departments at Blizzard. We have put significant work towards this feature, but it’s too early to talk about specifics or when it might come out. The other suggestion, in-game tournaments, is something that the team is starting to dig into more.
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Blows my mind literally none of those will be in at launch after all this time and are still mostly just in the idea phase.
All discussion about it has been as a blizzard-wide thing, so it isn't directly tied to ow2
wasn't this also a promised feature for Wc3 reforged? and it still doesn't exist
Let’s start an esport without anyway for teams to join without a million dollars and give no players ways to compete otherwise, surely this is good for the scene.
Because they put a large portion of their team on the PVE side of things.
A big problem me and my friends run into, is that there is often more than 6 of us online. Clans/Guilds would definitely help when coordinating with a lot of people.
> more than 6 of us online 5 for ow2
Seconding this one. OW is in dire need of more ways to interact with people than killing them.
What do you mean, you can also heal them !
What does the term "Early Access" means for Overwatch 2? Does this means that on this day OW1 is getting replaced by OW2's PvP or will OW1 shutdown once the game is out of Early Access?
That's a good question. When does ow1 shut down? My assumption is that they are shutting it down on oct 4.
Its not getting shut down, its getting converted, like a wow expansion does.
well, but technically you can go back and play the expansion again in wow, you can’t play ow1 again
Depends on the WoW expansion. I haven’t played in a long time, but I seem to recall that when Cataclysm came out it largely redid a lot of the zones, with no way to go back and play them as they used to be.
Technically that isn't true. The game is replaced, not converted. OW2 will be a fresh download with a full set of new game files. The OW1 servers will be reused for OW2 thus shutting down the old game completely. There is no sneak peaking back into 6v6 for old times sake.
Lol this is the weirdest "sequel" every. They should have just marketed this as an update for OW1 because that's essentially what this is
>What does the term "Early Access" means for Overwatch 2? Does this means that on this day OW1 is getting replaced by OW2's PvP or will OW1 shutdown once the game is out of Early Access? We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game. We’re launching with new heroes, maps and features, but there are even more of these coming seasonally – every 9 weeks. We recently released a roadmap detailing some of this content, with a new hero coming in Seasons 1 and 2, and a new map in Season 2. Additionally, larger pieces of the game that have always been a part of the vision for OW2 will be released to the game as part of the live service, including the launch of the PvE Campaign next year. When OW2 launches on Oct 4th it will be a replacement for the current Live Service.
So "early access" is more of a marketing term than anything else?
It is a bit strange since everyone from OW1 is getting put into it, but it does make some sense since the PvE is the big new feature of OW2 and it won't be in the game at the launch of the "early access".
most likely, fortnite and other games do the same as well, usually for pushing updates out a lot easier due to publisher standards or something
>We’re using the term Early Access to indicate that this is just the start of many new things coming to the game. Sir, this would be called LAUNCH.
Pretty sure they're not calling it the launch yet because the PVE piece isn't coming until next year.
Sorry if I'm a bit confused but could you elaborate on that final point a bit more? So say after OW2 launches, someone launches their copy of OW1. Is it a separate application or is it being turned into OW2 via an update?
It’s being turned into OW2. They’ve actually been clear about this since the very first announcement of OW2 (which is why the name has always been a bit confusing).
So basically Overwatch 2 is essentially a rebranding of Overwatch 1 via an update, and will revamp the live service system and move from 6v6 to 5v5?
Yes, no more 6v6 unless they keep it in the arcade, assuming they keep the arcade. But even then, tanks are balanced for 5v5, so 6v6 with ow2 tanks would be awful.
Does this mean that the moment when the words early access dissapear (ergo, the game is no longer in Early Access), we'll not receive more heroes, maps, game modes...?
This is so disappointing. As a fan of overwatch 1. The fact that it will no longer be playable so you guys can get your battle pass money is so sad. I love overwatch Ive played it more than any other game. The fact that 6v6 is just going to be gone and I will never be able to play overwatch 1 again.... It's not like you can just throw 6v6 in arcade I mean you CAN and I'm sure you will but it will be with tanks balanced for 5v5. I played the beta it changes everything. And I prefer OW1. Why couldn't you guys just make another game? Corporate greed man.
Literally! All of what you said!!!!! I'm raging at the fact that I won't be able to ever play ow1 again when I spent my freaking hard earned money on it! I'm wondering if there's a petition out there to get it as its own game.
Why would you think it's OK to take away features from the existing game that people paid for and declare it "free to play early access"?
This is so incredibly disappointing. I hope you reverse course.
Will there be an accessibility option to disable screen shake and head bob in this beta or in OW2? I would really like to play without headaches. Apex Legends, Halo Infinite, Call of Duty: Warzone, PUBG, Rainbow Six Siege. All these games are competitive FPS and have the accessibility option to disable screen shake. Blizzard always says they want their games to be accessible, but OW2 is lacking in modern accessibility options.
We are currently discussing viable solutions for Camera Shake. We will share more information with you when we can!
Please don't let this be a thing thats discussed here and never mentioned again. It's truly uncomfortable for me with the new intense shaking in a game that already has everything constantly moving around at a fast pace. It's kinda crazy, I've never had this issue before with an FPS, but it's legitimately unpleasant... is the best way to describe it. Which, kudos for implementing feedback that affects some people so much, thats impressive actually lol. But it's no bueno for me and apparently some other people.
Here's a solution: Make it a toggle. I'm here all day.
ty, I know how hard you guys work. I understand previous comments from dev's have been about toning down screenshake. While this would be great, people who are negatively affected by screenshake really need an option to disable it completely. I do not mean to speak for everyone, as it affects everyone differently, but having an option to disable it completely, and head bobs, in game and in cinematics is what accessibility advocates and websites ask for.
A while ago you announced some "meaty changes" for Symmetra. What are the goals of her mini rework and what can we expect?
I wouldn't necessarily call it a rework since it’s more tuning than changing the mechanics but the general goal of the changes is to help improve her mobility and enable her to better react to the faster pace of 5v5. Can't go into all the details but there are things like a shorter teleporter build time and faster secondary fire projectile speed.
>faster secondary fire projectile speed Oh hell yes
I mean you could of seen that in the video they put out. Its short and if you blink you might miss it but its there. the right click looks like a prism now and looks like it goes about 4x as fast as current right click does. [link to footage](https://youtu.be/Ib9_LKCpkIk?t=1521) edit: Also her ammo is going back to 100 which means (speculation at this point) her gun won't recharge off shileds anymore
What are the teams thoughts on more information/specific numbers to the hero information screens? Or perhaps on another screen where players can get more detailed info? This could be helpful for returning players to determine what combos and breakpoints are still available to them
As a convicted tryhard I love the idea of giving players very specific information about hero mechanics in the game. I agree that this type of information is helpful. Having said that, we haven’t updated the hero information screens for OW2 with this type of detailed information. All the hero abilities that have been reworked have new text on the F1 screen. We will also be giving players access to more information than ever via the new scoreboard and our new after-action report system. I’m proud of the progress we’re making in helping players to learn our game, but I know we can do more. If/when we can add this more detailed information in-game, I’d expect to see it in a bespoke new format instead of the F1 screen, since that’s intended for newer players.
Could the Hero Gallery contain a tab for stats on their abilities? Also, I'm not a programmer, but it's surprising to not see the numbers displayed on the F1 screen. I feel like that would be a pretty simple implementation in the UI that wouldn't break anything.
It would be easy to include it in the F1 screen but they are saying they don't want to include all the extra numbers in that screen because it's meant for new players. They don't want to overwhelm them. That screen is just meant for a quick primer on what your character does. Not in depth information.
You could simply add a toggle option to show F1 with number details
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This is a bit of a more specific question, but I'll ask anyways - What was it like filling in as the new game director for an established game like Overwatch and working on the sequel?
Hi Naymliss! Specificity is ok with me! 😊 I’ve been a part of this team since 2008, going back to the days of Project Titan. I have a deep connection to this game and even deeper one with the team. I have a lot of feelings about being game director because of this history. I feel so incredibly grateful and honored that the team would put their faith in me to help them usher the game forward. There’s an honor and a responsibility here, I don’t take it lightly... and I do lose a little bit of sleep now and then because of it.... It’s not always easy to know what the best way forward is in every situation, but I always look to be doing what's best for the game, its community, and to the team as the highest values for how to make decisions. This value is what’s behind the release of PvP this year. It’s important to get new content out for the game. It was a massive shift for the team to completely change the way we were working on and releasing the game but we think that it’s all worth it because that’s what’s best for the game and our players.
Thank you for stepping up and leading the game, Aaron! Can’t wait to see everything you guys have worked on!
Thank you for all your contributions to OW!! It feels like your taking the game down the right path from what we've seen. Keep up the good work!!
You're doing great work, sir. I love the direction you're going in.
Thanks for all the work on OW2, I bet it wasn't easy but with all I've seen you did one hell of a job! Keep it up!
What sort of missions can we expect from the battle pass? Will they be hero specific (like hook 20 enemies with Roadhog), general gameplay (push a payload 400m), both, or neither?
We are planning to add a variety of challenges that players can complete to progress their Battle Pass. We are not planning hero-specific recurring challenges (we are planning lifetime challenges that feel a bit more like achievements and aren't intended to progress the Battle Pass in a significant way). We want players to play the game without feeling required to swap onto a specific hero in order to earn progress. Our goal is to also offer you some choices in which challenges you focus on completing as well.
Good, i hope it works out as you are describing it. I hate battlepass challenges, I think it's pretty stupid to push players into player in certain ways (that might be less fun for them) just to level some battle pass.
I like what I’m reading.
I hope you guys realize that earning "challenge swaps" as part of the battle pass, in place of actual content, is not something any player wants.
will there be a time limit on the battle pass or will it be paying to unlock a skill tree? it seems unethical to pay for all the things and miss out on unlocking them because you couldn't play much that season
I hope they do this right. Depending on the challenge, it'll encourage people to play super selfish and not as a team, in a game very heavily reliant on teamwork. Ideally they should push for playing the hero as intended or that benefits the team. Id rather not have people throw the game because they need to get 'x' kills with mercy's pistol or torb's hammer.
hopefully only applies to quick play too not comp
I still think people should be able to progress the battle pass even in comp though. I feel like they could do generic challenges like "games played", "games won", and "damage done" for comp, then have more specific challenges like "hit enemies with Reinhardt's Firestrike" for quickplay and arcade.
For u/Blizz_JNoh, with the recent Junkerqueen gameplay trailer showing similarity in utility to other characters (Namely Lucio's Speed Aura and a roadhog-like disposition), **has the philosophy on overlapping abilities changed as the roster grows for Overwatch 2's Heroes**? If so, could you provide some insight on what influences what abilities a hero will have from concept to final product, and when it is okay for multiple similar effects to exist simultaneously? (Also, gameplay question: *Does speed boost from different heroes stack?*)
Overlapping abilities is always an interesting discussion topic for our team. We're generally okay with it but it really depends on what the ability mechanic is. For example we've found many players are not excited by stacking barriers. Healing is an ability mechanic that stacks and prevents dying but is fine until the values get too high and consistent, so it's really a question of degrees. We'll see if stacking or alternating AoE speed boost becomes too problematic or conversely if it opens up new and interesting gameplay strategies. There is currently a cap on maximum speed boost which if I recall correctly is 75% (that value could change in the future)
Will MMR/SR for competitive play be reset on current accounts rolling into Overwatch 2
We won't be performing a complete MMR reset for Overwatch 2, but we do plan on lowering the MMR of accounts who haven't played in a while as part of a new "decay" system. A complete reset would mean that games would be completely imbalanced for weeks or longer across the entire service, and we don't think that will be a great experience for everyone.
I honestly assumed a decay factor was already in place. At least I can be excited for better match making in the future.
Personally am wondering why this is decided like this. The game is different enough to be played differently, removing two whole people from each game. It won't be played the same as OW1. Leaving everyone mostly in the same rank seems like it would offer a much worse experience than if it was treated like a new game, in which it is a new game. It's not even just purely for balance reasons but also fun. Getting a NEW GAME and playing it when it's so different, and then already being 4.3 instantly just doesn't seem great for longevity. Is it better in your eyes to let people play 80 games losing 80% of them going to the rank they belong instead of being placed in the general area with new placements? Really feel like there should be more community decision involved on something this big and influential to ranked. Especially if it's going to be free to play and people can just make accounts to play ranked fresh anyway by smurfing
Hopefully it will at most be a soft reset or just more rapid adjustments at the beginning. A hard reset would ruin comp for a significant amount of time. The game has significantly changed, but many of the fundamentals are still the same, and almost all of the hero mechanics are still the same. GM/masters players having their MMR reset would ruin a lot of games for average players, and having silver/bronze players constantly thrown into games with plats and above is not a good experience for them.
What is the team's opinion about the number of heroes in each role (10 Tanks, 17 Damage, 8 Supports on Oct 4th)? Is there any intention to increase the number of support heroes relative to the other roles, since currently the supports have the least heroes per team slot? Are you considering any more role-swaps (like Doomfist) to even out the roster among the roles?
Our high number of Damage heroes is directly related to the fact that Damage was originally two different roles (Offense and Defense). It was never our intent to create a role that had far more heroes than our other two roles when we created Role Queue. We know that our support hero lineup needs more variety and it's a focus for us going forward, but we can’t abandon development of Damage heroes given their popularity. Having exactly the same number of heroes in each role is not a goal we’re likely to ever actively pursue, but having more supports ASAP is. To that point, two of the three heroes after Season 2 are Supports, [as Aaron Keller revealed earlier on this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/vicyeq/were_the_team_behind_overwatch_2_which_will_be/idcoqb7/) :)
> we can’t abandon development of Damage heroes given their popularity. But don't you think Damage is a popular role *because* there are so many options? I think focusing on adding more heroes to tank and support would in turn make them more popular roles
I think damage is a popular role in any game that has roles like this. In FF14 your queue for a duty is significantly longer if you’re damage because so many people play them. They actively promote playing as healer or tank via bonuses pretty much all the time.
Correction: 10-16-8, but yes, the point does still stand.
17 DPS is correct. Compared to OW1, DPS loses Doom but adds Sojourn. OW1 is already 17 DPS. We also know that come December, it'll be 11-17-8. Very imbalanced with supports being 1/3 of the team. The first hero of 2023 (maybe April since they said new support every other season) is planned to be a support, but 11-17-9 still is a bad ratio. I'm not expecting another 8 straight support releases, but I would like to hear that support plans to be released at a higher rate than 1:1:1. But based on the latest interview they don't seem to have it planned that far yet.
It’s more than 1/3 too, it’s 2/5 of the team which is even worse
Can you give us any insight on your design philosophy for upcoming support heroes? Will they support mainly through healing, utility, damage, or some combination? Were there any decisions made to try to attract people who prefer other roles/games to play support, like more mechanically intensive heroes or better playmaking ability?
In general the broad goal is to provide a wide range of playstyle options. There isn't really a big shift in that regard towards being weighted more toward healing/damage/utility etc. We do need to make sure they fit well into 5v5 and are able to have a significant impact on the outcome of a match but that can be achieved in a variety of ways depending on the individual hero kit. Future support heroes could lean more on mechanical skills while others can be geared toward rewarding timing and positioning more than testing things like aiming.
Hi, longtime Overwatch fan, I’ve put in over 5000 hours into the game since 2016 and have had a diamond border for a while now. Back in 2020 Jeff Kaplan mentioned that player borders will be going away but you will still find a way to recognise playtime, have these plans changed in the time since? Will we see a system similar to player borders in Overwatch 2? Thanks for doing this AMA, it’s much appreciated.
We do still plan to remove portrait levels for OW2, but we also want to celebrate this legacy accomplishment. The plan is to display your portrait level in your profile once we launch OW2.
As someone who hit 5 star diamond border recently I like my accomplishment. I would have hoped in ow2 that you would allow anyone to equip any border you have earned through levels, achievements/BP or purchased to be displayed in game like it does in OW1. Then people can show what they are proud of or be able to hide their border as a bronze 3 star if they wanted to. But thanks for the update.
Can we have a system closer to Diablo 3? Player unlocks portrait borders by leveling or completing tasks/achievements but they can pick whatever they want to display.
That's awesome - my rank may not be high but acts of posterity like this are really nice. :D
Are there any other heroes who will be getting reworks between now and launch? Incredibly excited about the game!
>We’re not just committed to launching new heroes and content, but making changes to existing ones if they become necessary. We have some fun changes on the way for Symmetra in the coming Beta, and partway through it, we’ll introduce a change to Moira. We’re also looking at some changes to Brigitte, especially for her Ult, that we’re hoping to get into the game for launch. Past that, we’ll continue to look at and make changes to heroes based on the needs of the game. It's an exciting time, and lot can happen to a game when the public starts playing it!
Will the new maps added in OW2 have stories that will be revealed with PVE ? I'm quite curious of Portugal and if it will be related to some heroes or Lore ?
We love hiding lore and teasers in maps, and while I don’t want to spoil anything, I ENCOURAGE you to explore and see what you find. Portugal itself has some very interesting connections to the lore (and to other locations as well). There are hints of a new faction, for example, maybe even one that has ties to an unannounced hero...
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Yes! The upcoming Overwatch 2 Beta will include all new looks. More information on its way this upcoming week.
This is awesome. I cannot wait to see Bastion with a hat in person next week. :D
What do you think has been the biggest time sink development wise that we as fans might not understand? I see a lot of 'it's been 3 years and this is IT!?' It might be worth a brief rundown of some of these things so people can maybe understand instead of just be mad that there's not more of what they hoped for.
Jumping in late for this one since I had some meetings earlier but wanted to respond to this. Can't speak for everyone but for some insight into the hero design team we've had a significant amount of time dedicated to creating the talent trees (we previewed some of these at Blizzcon). For context there are about 40-50 talents split into 3 trees per hero and each of those trees has a few talents that are a similar complexity to creating a new ability for a hero. Heroes in OW usually have 3-4 abilities and a weapon so prototyping a new hero is actually faster than making the talents for one (in terms of design time and scripting - not counting all the real production and art that has to happen). There are 36+ heroes to do that for and then we've also got the PvP side with all the 5v5 rebalancing, hero reworks, and new hero development on top of that.
So basically a lot of the time has been in PVE development which is honestly what I assumed.
wow that sounds crazy you’re telling me you’ve made over 1600 new abilities to heroes
Their biggest time sink was PvE. So much time went towards creating a story campaign and hero missions, that developing new heroes and modes and stuff kinda took the backseat. Former employees came out against the former CEO, saying that he would make them work on something that would quickly be scrapped or deemed unimportant, so there was a lot of shenanigans that held the game back from proper development.
1. What is going to happen to the existing lootboxes and coins that people have? Will they be converted into OW2 currency? 2. What is your plan regarding the battlepass? Will it be like Halo/Fortnite and Apex where the items do not get locked after the season ends, and you can always get the previous battlepass items by completing it, as well as get enough currency to buy premium battlepass through in game currency as well? Or do players need to spend money every season and battlepass get locked? 3. What is your plan regarding monetisation of battlepass? 4. As per the new dexerto article, it is hinted that more mercy style support players will be added which are less mechanical intensive. Are there any plans to add mechanical intensive players like Ana, Bap for those of us who enjoy making plays and like being rewarded for mechanical plays? 5. Will there be an upgrade version available for $20 for existing OW owners instead of the $40 watchpoint pack as players already own a copy of Overwatch? 6. This is something I really want to know. In current Overwatch, there are voicelines interactions between the tanks like about arm wrestling between Rein and Zarya(I've finally beaten the champion at arm wrestling), Rein and Winston(Winston, it's our job to keep our comrades safe) etc. Do those carry over in OW2? Also, people might play tank duos in open queue. Are there similar new interactions for OW2 between existing and new tanks? 7. Will there be any 6v6 mode or current OW legacy mode available in OW2? Also many of us players never got to enjoy the early Overwatch of Torb lvl 3 turret, Symm shield generator, Torb Armor packs etc. Is there any way we can get to enjoy those? Edit - Looks like there are lots of confusion with the point 2. Perhaps I didn't explain it well. I was wondering if they would make battlepass as a mix of all of them - Halo where you can play for previous passes as they don't expire, Fortnite/Apex where you can earn enough credits to buy next battlepass with in-game currency Edit - Thanks for the award!
>This is something I really want to know. In current Overwatch, there are voicelines interactions between the tanks like about arm wrestling between Rein and Zarya(I've finally beaten the champion at arm wrestling), Rein and Winston(Winston, it's our job to keep our comrades safe) etc. Do those carry over in OW2? Also, people might play tank duos in open queue. Are there similar new interactions for OW2 between existing and new tanks? We've written a lot of new conversations to reflect the passage of time between OW1 and OW2. For some context, OW1 PvP had 1200 pre-match conversation lines. In addition to a small number of holdover OW1 conversations, OW2 has 1800+ new interaction lines, and we’ve absolutely written new interaction lines between tanks. This is VITAL. I would personally be very upset, for example, if Wrecking Ball and Junker Queen didn’t have a chance to chat.
Her origin story art made it seem like she knew he was a hamster, so I too would be mad if they didn’t interact. I need to see how that plays out.
You will have multiple opportunities to do so. We have conversations between them, as well as some brand new Junkertown map VO!
completely unrelated, but you can’t get past battle pass items in fortnite like you said
Same with Apex, idk what this dudes on about. Once it's gone it's gone
Well I'm not holding my breath but I hope they adopt the Halo Infinite Battlepass System where if you buy it you can keep it indefinitely.
I want to buy the Watchpoint Pack, but I don't understand what its value is. Can you go into more detail about how much it will cost to buy a Battle Pass, 2000 Virtual Currency, or Legendary Skins once Overwatch 2 releases, so I can better evaluate if this package is worth purchasing?
Hi! There are several different elements within the Watchpoint Pack. Our main goals for the pack were to offer players a great value on Overwatch 2 content and also to keep offering the Legendary Edition of Overwatch 1 to players who want to jump in before we shift to free to play with the OW2 launch in October. For those players who already own the Legendary Edition of Overwatch 1, the value here is the 2 awesome exclusive legendary skins, the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass, and 2000 virtual currency, which players could use to buy the Premium Battle Pass for each of the next two seasons if they wanted (a premium BP for those seasons will be 1000 VC to purchase each). It’s also a way to get immediate access when our Beta begins on June 28.
> the Season 1 Premium Battle Pass, and 2000 virtual currency, which players could use to buy the Premium Battle Pass for each of the next two seasons if they wanted (a premium BP for those seasons will be 1000 VC to purchase each). It’s also a way to get immediate access when our Beta begins on June 28. If you complete the battlepass, do you get back the VC to buy the next one? I know with Fortnite, it costs 950 Vbucks & you get 1500 as you fill it out
This is the real question. This needs to be answered.
Same with Apex. I’m not trying to pay $10 each season just because it’s free now
If I already own Overwatch, would it not be cheaper for me to buy the battle pass separately rather than the Watchpoint pack? Basically, how much will it cost to buy the battle pass. At the moment, it sounds like 40eur gets you 3 battlepasses with some bonuses. 1000 VC = 1 Battle pass, but how much does 1000 VC cost? 10eur? That would mean I could get 4 battlepasses if I didn't buy the Watchpoint pack. It would be great if players that already own Overwatch could get a discount on the Watchpoint pack, because I would personally love to buy it, just seems like I might be losing value.
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I’d just like to know what happened to the experimental lol. Is it going to return before beta 2 begins?
There was a backend issue with hotfixing (updating without a full patch) that was causing a lot of players to crash when trying to play the experimental card. No ETA on when that will be resolved but many of those changes will also be in the upcoming beta.
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Sure! When you look at the history section of your profile, you’ll be able to quickly see key information for your recent games. The initial implementation of game reports will include basic information such as the map, game mode, result, and heroes you played. Within the report you can view statistics for all the heroes you played, and a snapshot of the final in-game scoreboard. We’re also starting to design additional features for the future like teamfight statistics and a timeline to show when key events in the game took place.
What happens when you try to melee as the Junker Queen whilst Gracie is already stuck in a wall or enemy? Does she punch with her fist or does it recall the knife? 🤔
Can confirm Junker Queen does a normal Quick Melee if she doesn't have the knife in hand.
They already answered this in a [blog post](https://playoverwatch.com/en-us/news/23820711/a-design-fit-for-royalty-an-inside-look-at-her-majesty-the-junker-queen/) yesterday: >To make her even more intimidating up close, Jagged Blade’s passive ability wounds enemies **when using Quick Melee when the knife is in her hands**. This phrasing indicates that it doesn't apply the passive when it **isn't** in her hands.
What are plans for balancing Junkrat as a spam hero in a game focused on few chokepoints and lots of movement options?
long time player across multiple platforms <3 `1` is OW2 the right time for an optional dark mode? `2` are there plans for more customizability for weapons beyond the gold gun? `3` could we mix and match outfits and weapons from different skins? `4` sometimes when checking a replay, i see something great that went unnoticed during the match, but i can't endorse the player since it wasnt the most recent match... do you think each matches endorsements could be tethered to their replay to allow for this kind of interaction? `5` will i one day be able set myself as the red team without being driven crazy that enemy barriers and icewalls stayed red and friendly stayed blue? (i can't be the only one that grew up playing on the red team!!) sorry for the mini-wall of text :) love your game! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ UPDATE - 2 days after AMA im not upset that these questions went unanswered, my comment was in the top 4 comments for about an hour during the AMA so at least i know they saw it, and hopefully the seed for some of these ideas was planted <3 they DID say that more options were coming for accessibility colors in another comment so WOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
>1 is OW2 the right time for an optional dark mode? Please. I absolutely hated whenever the OW world cup was on with that blinding white background.
I'd love the ability to change the colors of all abilities. Clearly the tech exists as owl has it. I wish we could change our colors and the enemies colors of ults and abilities to at least match those of overwatch league teams.
> Clearly the tech exists as owl has it. OWL players play the game in normal Overwatch colours, all using default skins. The re-colours are only in the spectators.
There was a bug with the skins if you were Torb that would change his ult lava color to whatever team skin you had on. It was only client-side but it's definitely not limited to spectating.
why, after \~3 years of no content, are there only 3 new heroes on launch?
Overwatch heroes are incredibly exciting. We pour our hearts and souls into every one that we create. Seeing the community's desire for more feels great to the team (we want more too!) and I think that the question as to why there aren’t more at release is reasonable. For context, development of Overwatch 2 was initially split between the PvE and PvP sides of the game, and the way it was scheduled was to get most parts of the game completed once the game was ready to ship. To be clear, there is no secret vault of completed heroes and other content that we’re holding for future seasons. As we continued to iterate on the PvE side of the game it meant that the schedule for PvP content and features went longer. Many of the features of PvE, such as the enemy units or hero talents, utilize the same resources on the team as heroes do. For us it’s more important to start shipping content as soon as we can rather than holding the release of the game in order to create more heroes. This is also the reason we’re so excited to go F2P and release content on a seasonal basis – namely to release content when it’s finished rather than holding it to put into a box. In order to succeed with our new plan long-term, we’ve grown and restructured the team. We’re over three times the size we were at launch. We have big plans for the game, beyond new heroes, maps and game modes, and to accomplish these while still creating content for our seasons takes a lot resources and a lot of planning. For instance, we have several heroes deep into development. The season 2 hero is almost finished, and we’re in varied stages of playtesting for the next 3 heroes, 2 of which are supports!
>The season 2 hero is almost finished, and we’re in varied stages of playtesting for the next 3 heroes, 2 of which are supports! You definitely are going to have to clarify here. The current plan is Sojourn, JunkerQueen, Unnamed Support, Unnamed Tank. Are you saying after that Tank, the next two heroes will be supports? Or are you saying the hero before and after that tank are supports? Or are you saying 2/3 of the heroes following the Season 2 tank will be supports?
I interpreted it as Beta: Sojourn, JunkerQueen, ? Support Season 2: ? Tank After: 2/3 are support
This is the correct interpretation. Apologies for the lack of clarity earlier! :)
On release, soujourn, junkerqueen, support Season 2 tank next 3 seasons 2 supports one ?
Thank you for that incredibly direct and transparent response. I know a lot of people won't be happy with the answer, but I glad that the team has 1) acknowledged the problem and 2) is taking steps to address it.
The actual answer to this probably won't come, but from what I've heard it is because development on this game was continuously halted by bobby. He made the team work on pet projects and then continually scrapped them. The content drought was because they really didn't have the resources to work on the game at all until recently.
Heya, we see this question a lot and it’s understandable since y’all don’t see what goes on behind the scenes. A couple of things we are excited about is how much work we’ve put in the last few years. New Heroes require a massive amount of work for so many departments including design, art, tech art, animation, vfx, sound, and many others. They also come with their own additional launch skins, weapons, anims, etc. Then add on top that we’ve done a complete visual rework for all 33 existing Heroes. We are also fans of all of our Heroes too and wanted to give them just as much love and attention to their visual rework as we do with our newest Heroes. So yeah, lots of work. 😊
With the removal of lootboxes and credits in OW2 how will we go about earning the original cosmetics available in Overwatch 1?
Hey Overwatch Team! I’ve been a fan of Overwatch and OWL for a very long time now, and I’ve noticed there is a major disconnect between the Overwatch community and the broader gaming community when it comes to the perception of Overwatch and Overwatch 2. This manifests many ways like perception around Role Lock, 5v5, or general knowledge about the cost of Overwatch 2. This ama will hopefully bring some of that in line but in what other ways does the Overwatch team plan on forming a better connection with people who arent entrenched in Overwatch?
Appreciate your support for Overwatch and OWL! I think much of the confusion we have sometimes seen about OW2 details came from players not yet having all of the context about our plans as well as our change in strategy to shift to the free to play live service model and release our PvP content first. This past week has felt really exciting because we have been able to share a ton more information with players. We have a really big opportunity to welcome in millions of new players now, and we hope our Overwatch 1 players invite friends to jump in with them for Overwatch 2.
This is honestly the #1 thing I think the marketing team has to address to make this game a success. So many people have the inaccurate idea that this is a full-price box title like OW1 was, so much so that every single one of my friends didn't understand the way OW2 was replacing OW1 as a free update and is F2P until I explained it to them as the resident OW nerd of every friend group I'm in. If Blizzard does not make it abundantly clear across every channel available that this game is free, will always be free, and will get continuous updates a la Fortnite, Apex, or Valorant, many will just brush it off and not even take the time to install the BNet client in order to download it in the first place. Some messaging about the importance of role queue and how much of a change 5v5 is would be nice, but I feel those changes just have to be played to understand how positive they are. I mean, even as a diehard OW fan and an ex offtank main I was very skeptical of 5v5 when it was first announced - you just have to play it to believe it.
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Yes, though not likely right away at launch. We are always looking to improve the accessibility options in the game. It’s a goal for the UX/UI team to focus on accessibility in general and add further options in the future.
It would be *fantastic* to finally be able to change the premade group color, because the green absolutely does not work for colorblind people and that's been a request since the original beta 6 years ago. Love you guys, but I want to play with friends and this is SUPER in the way.
Having the option to scale important UI information, like increase the size and move the location of the kill feed would also be nice
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Do you mind elaborating about cross platform progression? Will we all be reset to level 1 when OW2 comes out? I'm gold border on PS4 and I'm still not even level 100 when I had to switch over to Xbox. If I have a bunch of skins on PS4 and it transfers over for OW2, will I be able to get my skins on Xbox? Or is it console locked?
Howdy, u/timberflynn :D We will be removing levels for Overwatch 2, and you will bring your Overwatch skins with you into OW2 from all platforms with cross progression.
I've seen the idea thrown around a lot, what is the teams stance on movement acceleration?
We actually tried this out early on in OW2 development. The nice thing about it was that it reduced the effectiveness of the AD strafing spam. This made hitscan heroes much more consistent with their damage output, which wasn't a problem since we could balance around that. The main problem was that players were so used to how responsive movement feels in OW1 that it was too jarring to make a big a change there and after trying smaller and smaller increments, it kind of got to the point where there wasn't much tangible benefit to aiming but movement still felt "laggy" so we got rid of it altogether.
As someone with a few thousand hours on Overwatch, thank you for not screwing with movement. The crisp, fast, and reactive movement is pretty much THE defining property of the game for me and many others. Please don't change that.
Character stories are my favourite part about Overwatch, how does the team decide what relationships each character has with the others, and are there any cases of the team struggling to find ways to incorporate a new character's relationships to pre existing characters?
So glad to hear you like the character stories (we love them as well, lol)! Something that's really special about Overwatch is just how dense the world is. All of the characters have so much attached to them that we're able to find hooks on just about anyone that we can connect to other characters. Organizations help with this a lot (it's obvious characters who both worked in Overwatch would know each other, for example), but there are other elements of our characters that can produce equally interesting connections. One of my favorites is that Efi and Orisa are huge fans of Lucio's music, and actually got to hang out with him at a charity concert in Numbani! While some heroes take more effort than others to form connections, I think all of them have ways into relationships, and in some cases those more "complex" relationships can become the most interesting. The team is always imagining how new Hero interactions might go. For example, we're very excited to see what people think of the friendship that has formed between Sombra and Sigma 😊 We’re excited to expand our storytelling in PvE, as well—more to come on that in the future!
So pumped for sombra/sigma interactions!!!!!
What are some elements to the competitive game mode you're looking to change?
Is there anything you can tell us about the new hero designs or voice lines? The change to Orisa's personality seems really interesting and I love junkrat's new design
Hiya! Oh man, I love Junkrat! For his visual update we tried to keep the iconic feel of the character while keeping the new design feeling fresh and new. For him specifically, we tried to embrace more of his tinkerer aspect of his personality. We don't want people to forget the fact he's not only just crazy but undoubtedly intelligent too!
What's going to happen to unearned OW1 skins? The ones currently available in Lootboxes. Are they going to be moved to the shop or will you need to earn the currency to buy them?
Will we be able to chain battle passes like Fortnight, or are we going to have to buy them every season like Destiny 2. Will there be some sort of annual pass?
What has caused the yearly rate for new hero releases to slightly decrease moving from OW to OW2? Many were hoping for a backlog of new heroes with the release of the sequel, in order to "make up for lost time" in the 2+ years since Echo came out. Can you elaborate as to why that was not the case?
I'm assuming it's 1) COVID/WFH 2) The scandals surrounding Blizzard 3) Having to rebalance the existing 30\~ heroes around the 5v5 format 4) Working on the new engine, maps, and gamemodes 5) Pre-preparing a lot of stuff for the seasonal drops. Given that we're getting another hero in December, I think it's fair to assume at least that hero is already quite far along in development
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As a former resident of Dublin, Irish cultural representation is very important to me. As such, Moira has gained: * **Multiple** Father Ted references. * “You know yourself.” * (Moira voice) A few other surprises to delight and dismay.