Overwatch 2will have harsher penalties for leaving competitive matches starting in Season 4. Blizzard has finally announced the upcomingOverwatch 2season, detailing the content that awaits players on April 11. But in addition to new features like skins and maps, Blizzard’s hero shooter will make a change to the competitive mode.
Overwatch 2Season 4 will have several new features for players, such as a fresh battle pass with rewards to unlock. But one of the highlights of Season 4 will beOverwatch 2’s new support hero. Lifeweaver is the new hero with a skill kit that offers healing, protection, and mobility to allies. The upcomingOverwatch 2season will also bring a new round of buffs and nerfs for heroes, the confirmation of Brigitte’s rework, and several bug fixes, like the one allowing Ashe to gain Ultimate even with B.O.B. active.
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It’s not easy tocombat misbehavior inOverwatch 2, but starting in Season 4 the shooter will have harsher penalties for those who leave competitive matches. The start of a new season will no longer fully reset the severity of suspensions and bans given to players who left matches in the previous season. With this, Blizzard hopes to prevent players from abandoning competitive matches at the end of the season without facing significant consequences at the start of the next season. In addition, abandoned competitive matches will have a bigger negative impact on a player’s Skill Tier and Division after a 5-win Competitive Update.
Back in February, Blizzard had already indicated thatOverwatch 2would see changes to Competitive Play, though it did not reveal when they would take effect. Despite this important change, the Season 4 patch notes observe that one detail will stay the same: abandoned matches in different competitive queues will continue to be considered separate. This way developers can determine the length of suspensions, or even apply a seasonal ban from Competitive Play.
Instituting harsher penalties for players who leave competitive matches inOverwatch 2is a key change to provide a healthier gaming environment. On the other hand, some players have shown concern about the change, questioning whether the game will be able to distinguish a player who leaves a match on purpose or because of technical problems. Thework to adjustOverwatch 2has been long, and only time will tell if this change will have the effect Blizzard planned.
Overwatch 2is in early access for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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