'Overwatch' Competitive Play season 2: Blizzard introduces more features to level out the playing field

“Overwatch” is probably one of the most popular games to come out of the year, particularly because of the attention that Blizzard provided the game’s competitive feature. Now, as the second season unfolds, Blizzard introduces even more features.

In the official “Overwatch” website, Blizzard lists down the several particular changes it made to the game, most of which focused on making the playing field a little more even and definitely a lot clearer.

1. Skill Rating

Blizzard widened the measurement used to rate players to 1-5000, when it was originally 1-100. By doing so, the game developer provides gamers a more specific tell on how they are doing.

The higher number also gives way to the new skill rating decay. That is, players with a rating of 3000 or over will need to remain active in Competitive Play to maintain their rating. Otherwise, Blizzard will deduct rating points.

2. Skill Tiers

The new skill rating system will fit players into one of seven tiers, which range from Bronze (1-1499) to Grandmaster (4000 and above). Each of these tiers has a specific icon, which is easily viewable beside players’ names, will provide competitors an easy tell on what battle could be like. However, Blizzard has also placed restrictions on groupings for the Competitive Play of “Overwatch.”

As a general rule, those below the Master level (3500-3999) will able to group together if their rankings are 1000 points apart. However, for the Master and Grandmaster tiers, players can have only a maximum of 500 points between them.

3. Leaver Penalties

In the first season of Competitive Play, here was plenty of complaints regarding “Overwatch” players that would leave mid-game. Now, Blizzard is giving a 10-minute penalty to players who leave an in-progress match. Furthermore, players will need to engage in several battles before their account is returned to good standing.