Hi, After 5 years I've decided to shutdown Overstalk.io. The source code is long gone and the site is rather expensive to run (which is mostly due to my own incompetence). I will pull the plug in 1 weeks time (Feb 11 '23). https://devtrackers.gg/ looks to be a decent alternative to Overstalk. Traffic to the site has flat-lined so I'm sure there's only a very small number of you still reading this :) When I made this site I was trying to get the attention of Overwatch CMs so I could score a beta key. In the end it took the insanity of creating the Overwatch Beta RPG (https://jordanbd.github.io/) before I was noticed. I regret nothing. Thank you to those who helped me maintain the lists of Blizzard posters over the years. I wish you all well.

Game Director Aaron Keller talks about Maps, Map Pools, and upcoming changes in your favorite battlegrounds in Overwatch

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In this latest Defense Matrix update, we take a look at new steps to keep Overwatch 2 fun and fair for everyone.

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Reflections and next steps for Ramattra, seasonal events, rewards, and more

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Shadiochao:

You’ve gone into detail about the ranking system and matchmaking, but could you address how you made Competitive (and the game in general) so much less rewarding to play?

We mentioned in the blog that we agree that the system doesn’t feel as rewarding and informative as we all need it to be. The steps outlined (moving updates to 5 wins, MM improvements, etc) should be viewed as preliminary, with the understanding that the comp system in generally is a high priority for the System Design team.

We’ll continue to communicate about this, and other issues, regularly and as we have meaningful updates.

We’re back for part 2 of our matchmaker series to talk about matchmaker in competitive and future plans!

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Game Director Aaron Keller reflects on Season 2 and hints at updates coming to Overwatch 2

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The international Overwatch 2® competition returns.

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Overwatch 2 Retail Patch Notes – January 24, 2023

A new patch is now live on PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. Read below to learn more about the latest changes.

To share your feedback, please post in the General Discussion forum.
For a list of known issues, visit the Bug Report forum.
For troubleshooting assistance, visit the Technical Support forum.

HERO UPDATES Tank

Orisa

Fortify

• Health bonus reduced from 125 to 75

Roadhog

Chain Hook

• Impact damage reduced from 30 to 5
• The enemy final position distance from Roadhog after being pulled increased from 3 to 4 meters

Scrap Gun

• Damage per pellet reduced from 6.6 to 6
• Recovery time reduced from 0.85 to 0.8 seconds
• Reload time reduced from 2 to 1.75 seconds
• Maximum ammo increased from 5 to 6

Developer comments: These changes aim to reduce the frustration of dying in one shot immediately after being hooked and pulled by Roadhog. Chain Hook is still a powerful utility to forcibly reposition enemy players, so it will still often lead to eliminations. Its effectiveness will now be more dependent on specific hero matchups and how the hooked target is able to respond.

Damage

Sojourn

Railgun

• Energy gain is no longer based on damage done by primary fire. Each primary fire hit against an enemy player now grants 5 energy
• Primary fire damage per projectile reduced from 10 to 9

Developer comments: The energy gain adjustment will help smooth out Sojourn’s average Railgun charge time because it won’t benefit as much from critical damage or damage boost abilities. Hitting armored targets or other sources of damage reduction will result in quicker energy gains than before.

Previously, damage boosts and critical damage had an amplified effect for Sojourn since it reduced the time to build energy and lowered the threshold at which her Railgun secondary fire became lethal. The reduction to primary fire damage will further slow that down as well.

Support

Kiriko

Healing Ofuda

• Recovery time increased from 0.85 to 1 second

Developer comments: Despite Kiriko’s healing projectiles being slow-moving and single target, her average healing output per match is higher than we’d like. We’ve seen players tend to get overly focused on maximizing her healing potential and only use primary fire for extended periods of time. Rather than reduce the amount of healing per projectile, which may lead to feeling locked into focusing on primary fire even more, we’re increasing the recovery time before she can start firing the Healing Ofuda. Increasing recovery times opens the opportunity to weave in secondary fire Kunai more freely.

BUG FIXES GENERAL

• Fixed an issue with the "Winged Sandals’ weapon charm’s ‘How to Unlock’ text
• Adjusted footstep audio mixing to make enemy footsteps more audible

HEROES

Lucio

• Fixed an issue with Lucio’s Hermes skin exhibiting incorrect physics

Reinhardt

• Fixed an issue with Reinhardt’s Hammer appearing deformed during the Sweethardt emote

Sojourn

• Fixed an issue where Sojourn’s Cyber Detective Skin would fail to load

Wrecking Ball

• Fixed an issue with Adaptive Shield where it could be incorrectly applied before the cooldown was complete

CrankyHero:

Out of curiosity, do you get to play the game still? Meaning for real, on a real account, with a real ranked SR, not play testing.

Yes, I do have my main account and keeping up with it. I usually focus on getting at least my dailies done in the evening on weekdays, and then do a heavy gaming grind on weekends, which can consist of Overwatch, World of Warcraft, or other games.

I do participate in playtests though which is a really cool experience.

CrankyHero:

Or would that be considered a conflict of interest for a blizzard employee to have a formal SR?

Far from it, one of Blizzard’s core values is “Express Your Inner Geek” which means we are encouraged to explore what games and pop culture mean to us and how they impact our lives. And while I am a hard-stuck gold/plat, I still have fun.

Hey everyone, I have been around but lurking behind the scenes. There have been a lot of things I have been engaged with and it’s pretty exciting on what we have planned for Season 3. Yes, I have been helping a lot with the blogs, patch notes, and forum posts you see on an official level. To give an insight to my work right now, I am doing my daily check of the forums and Reddit to bring constructive feedback to the devs, and trust me they really appreciate the feedback everyone has been giving.

If there is anything I do want to debunk, is that I have not been silenced by anyone. I am still relatively new to the team, so if anything I am learning from my peers and leaders, Jodie, Andy, Jon, Jared, etc. I also work on a lot of things behind the scenes that you guys don’t get to see but that’s okay because the work I have been doing feels really impactful to the future of the game.

This year’s Lunar New Year event has begun with fan-favorite modes returning and fun surprises in Overwatch 2!

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