Overwatch 2 Competitive Changes: Season 3 Updates
Overwatch 2 has some competitive changes are on the way. Overwatch 2 is a hugely popular multiplayer game, meaning the balance of player skill in matchmaking is extremely important. Competitive changes can be necessary when the competitive mode is not working as intended. Here are the changes coming to the competitive mode in Overwatch 2 season 3.
- Get more details on what's coming in our Overwatch 2 Season 3 guide.
Overwatch 2 Competitive Changes: The Issues
Click to enlargeAs many competitive players will be aware, there are some issues in the game that need to be looked at. Particularly around the areas of matchmaking and changing rank.
For context, the current matchmaking system works off of each player's assigned MMR, or matchmaking rating. The game attempts to put teams together of similar MMR, but there can be problems when doing that.
Specifically, when players load into a competitive match with friends, there can be drastic differences in MMR. As a result, the overall MMR is skewed and it is difficult to match players up in balanced teams.
Another issue being addressed here is the number of completed matches required to change your rank. Currently, your competitive rank changes after every seventh win, or twentieth loss, whichever comes first. This can lead to situations where players can go through twenty-six matches before their rank changes.
- Get the latest update details in the Overwatch 2 patch notes January 24 2023.
Overwatch 2 Competitive Changes: The Proposed Solutions
Click to enlargeBlizzard has some changes coming in Season 3 which should go some way to alleviate these issues. For the matchmaking issue, the proposed solution is a change in the way the game matches players against each other. Rather than matching players by the overall MMR of the team, the new system will match players based on their MMR, but also based on role.
So the game will seek out players of similar MMR who are in the queue for the same role and place them on opposing teams. If you are playing with friends, the same logic applies. In theory, this should lead to much more balanced matches between players of similar MMR.
In regard to the number of games needed for rank changes, that number is being reduced. From Season 3 onwards, your rank will change after every fifth win instead of seven, and after fifteen losses instead of twenty. This should greatly reduce the time investment needed to see your rank go up or down.
That is it for the competitive changes coming in Overwatch 2 season 3. For more on the game, check out our Overwatch 2 competitive points guide.
