Blizzard has revealed a massive update of the classic Competitive experience for Overwatch 2. The revamp includes a number of changes, including Skill Tier Divisions replacing Skill Rating (SR), Skill decay for inactive players, a new Game Reports feature, and much more.
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Overwatch 2 Competitive Mode Changes and Updates:
To start, portrait borders have been entirely removed in Overwatch 2, and Competitive skill tiers will no longer be displayed before a Competitive match. Rank placements will now happen after a player’s first seven wins or 20 losses, instead of the old five matches requirement.
The numeric Skill Rating (SR) measure has been replaced by Skill Tier Divisions. Competitive Skill tiers (Bronze through Grand Master) will now have five divisions (5 – lowest to 1 – highest). Each division is roughly equivalent to a 100-SR bracket.
In addition, unlike per-match changes in SR, Skill Tier Divisions will be adjusted through Competitive updates issued after every seven wins or 20 losses.
Returning players’ ranks will be slightly lowered to adjust for new metas and concepts. Inactive players will also see their internal matchmaking rating lowered when they return to the game, but can quickly rise through these secretive ranks again by winning games.
A new section called “Game Reports” has been added to Career Profile. Game Reports will let players access an overview of their match performances across the current session. With a future update, recently played matches will persist across sessions, allowing players the ability to review them later and measure changes in performance over a longer period of time.
And that’s not all. The Competitive revamp additionally features:
- Competitive mode being locked for new accounts until the completion of the First-Time User Experience (FTUE) + 50 Quick Play matches
- A new in-game scoreboard (medals removed after beta)
- An in-game ping system
- The ability to view match highlights and review the final scoreboard with a future update
- The removal of commemorative sprays and icons earned per-season
- New limited Competitive titles for name cards that are only usable in the following season
- Season-end bonus Competitive Points capped to a player’s highest skill tier across queues
Overwatch 2’s PvP will launch as a free-to-play title on October 4, 2022 for the PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch platforms. The game will feature full cross-play support.
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Source: Blizzard