Blizzard is introducing a collection of huge changes with the Overwatch 2 competitive rework in 2024, following a frosty reception to previous changes when the game first launched.
Speaking at the Overwatch 2 ‘What’s Next?’ panel at BlizzCon 2023, Gavin Winters explained that, going forward, the rationale will be to “put more feedback into the game about every aspect of Competitive that [they] can.”
With that, here’s what you need to know about what’s changing with Competitive rank distributions, rewards, and more in 2024.
New Competitive Overview screen
Soon, players will no longer need to win five matches or lose 15 to see an update to their competitive rank. Instead, players’ ranks will be adjusted after every single match, with changes to their rank seen in the new Competitive Overview screen.
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Here, players can see a bar that shows their progress to the next rank. The green section shows how much each match will earn them towards a promotion, with factors like ‘Advantage’, ‘Streak’, and ‘Calibration’ taken into account.
Aaron Keller notes that this new system may evolve over time, but we will update this guide if there are any major developments.
Ranks will be reset
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In Season 9, Blizzard is planning a big Competitive rank reset for the entire player base. This is because the game is set to return to its older method of placement matches, where players will need to complete ten individual matches before they earn a rank.
It’s worth noting that this rank reset will not erase any existing MMR that’s currently associated with a player’s account, so it’s likely that you’ll place similarly after your placement matches in Season 9. However, placement matches will count for a lot more than a standard match.
Winters goes on to explain that the team is keen to start resetting ranks at least once a year to account for evolving hero balance and systemic game changes.
There’s a new rank and new rewards
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A new top rank titled ‘Emerald’ will be introduced to Overwatch 2 Competitive when the rework changes come in.
The reason for this is twofold. Currently, there are more Grand Master players in Overwatch 2 than there ever were in the original game. Additionally, plenty of players already own all of the golden weapon skins they could possibly want, so a new tier of rewards is needed.
Alongside the new Emerald level tier, emerald weapon skins will also soon be purchasable with competitive reward points. The currency competitive points will be converted into a legacy currency that can still be spent on golden weapons. If you want to grab yourself some emerald weapons, though, you’ll need to earn competitive points in matches that take place after that competitive rework changes.
Another improvement coming to how you earn competitive points is in the challenges menu. This will be completely overhauled so that challenges are much more simple to view and earn. Additionally, competitive points will be rewarded much more regularly, rather than just at the end of each season.
Grouping restrictions are changing
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Blizzard will also remove most of the grouping restrictions it currently has in place when trying to queue up with a group of varying skill levels. Soon, players will be able to group up with their friends, no matter whether they’re Bronze, Diamond, or any other skill level.
If a Bronze and a Diamond player do decide to queue up, their group will be classed as a ‘Wide Group’. As such, they’ll be matched up against another team that’s also classed as a ‘Wide Group’, featuring players from a wider set of skill tiers.
On the flip side, the new matchmaking system will also take into account narrower skill groups and try to pair them together. In theory, this should make solo queues less frustrating, as you should only place against other solo players or groups of a similar skill rating.
This should also reduce the amount of Smurf accounts seen in Overwatch 2, as players won’t need to make additional accounts just to play with their friends.
When can we expect to see this Competitive rework?
Blizzard expects to launch these Competitive rework changes in Overwatch 2 Season 9, which is currently slated for early 2024. We don’t have a concrete launch date just yet, but judging from the length of previous Overwatch seasons, it’s likely we can expect to see an update in February 2024.
However, it’s worth noting that Winters says the changes to grouping restrictions may be arriving a little later down the line, so it may be that some changes arrive a little later than others.
For more helpful Overwatch 2 guides, be sure to check out our homepage. We also have a rundown of Mauga, Season 8’s new Hero, as well as an explainer of just how many people play Overwatch 2 at the moment. Read more about the changes coming soon to the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass.
Categories: Gaming
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
