Overwatch has already had a pretty big launch year. But 2017 isn’t shaping up too badly either, if some of the announced features are any indication.
As he often does, Jeff Kaplan has posted a video chatting about where Overwatch is headed in the near-future. He also stopped to chat about some of the changes to the game over the last several months, but it’s the new additions that are the most interesting.
First off the list, particularly for teams looking to go pro: a server browser. “We want to give you a way to find custom games,” Kaplan said, adding that it should help the custom game ecosystem flourish a little more.
New heroes, maps and game modes are also in the works, as well as an improved spectator mode for the esports side of Overwatch. Given that Blizzard are going to be running a CGS-style league from 2017 for the shooter, better features for shoutcasters and observers are pretty important.
The first inclusion of 2017, however, should be the inclusion of Oasis into the full game proper. It’s already been a fixture on the public test server for a while, but it’ll be nice to have it as part of the regular rotation soon.
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5 responses to “Overwatch Is Getting A Server Browser Next Year”
Less adding buggy features and more balancing of characters abilities. 2 shot icicles in the body from Mei… OP AF!! Reinheart being made of tissue paper? Unacceptable! And the biggest pain of all… Hanzo multi-arrows counting as a headshot when shot at players feet! Been there from day one, still not fixed
I dont think there’s any intention of making those changes. Rein is actually super strong so I dont know where you get the tissue paper thing from. Mei cannot possibly be 2 shotting you with body shots, since the icicle only does 22 damage from a body shot. You’d have to be discorded and/or Mei damage boosted. Scatter arrow currently works as intended. He already has no mobility to speak of and is a mid-long range hero. If you remove the one thing that keeps him alive at close range he becomes very awkward to use.
Biggest issues people are talking about at the moment are nerfing Dva (stupid overbuff), Soldier (the drawback they quoted in the patch notes – weapon spread – to the damage buff is easily mitigated and so Soldier is now too strong) and Symmetra (too many buffs, gun range the biggest problem at the moment, everything else is fine) back down to where they should be. Also, fixing Ana so that teams cant just triple/quad tank their way to victory anymore. Oh and giving Sombra a bit of a buff to make her somewhat useful.
Yes they need to make some balancing changes, but make them in the right place.
Server browser will be great! I can finally setup a playlist where I never ever play Hanamura/Ilios ever again! Fun times!
Not sure about this… I worry about anything that will pull players from other modes and split the player base further, between competitive, quick play and the arcade modes it’s spread thin as it is.
Agreed. Arcade mode alone has ripped the player base into such a thin spread that it’s near impossible to get a good string of games going without having to resort to whatever the “most popular” tag is placed on. I miss it when you either played casual or competitive… no one ever played brawl.