‘Overwatch’ dev details rage quitter penalties as perma-bans continue

Players have encountered leave penalty time and again in “Overwatch.” Game leavers are similar to what is more known as rage quitters—players who leave the game or disconnect intentionally when they are about to lose a match.

The developer’s community manager has taken to the “Overwatch” forums to clarify some of the penalties and how they work in the game. The first waring will be given if a player’s percentage calculation between his games played vs. games completed falls below the threshold. This is calculated based on the 20 most recent games.

After receiving a warning, if the player continues to rage quit, then the player will get a 75 percent EXP penalty on all succeeding games. There is a way to remove the penalty, but this can be done only by raising the percentage calculation above the threshold.

There are some instances wherein the player will not be counted as a leaver. One scenario is if a player leaves the game before “Assemble Your Team” phase is done. The player will also not be considered a leaver if he leaves once the match has ended.

However, if a player leaves after the Assemble the Team phase is over, but before the match has ended, the game will be counted as played. The player will also be considered as a leaver.

Even with all of that, Blizzard is quick to point out that the penalty considers habitual leaver behavior, marked by repeated leaving games in succession.

“Leaving a couple of games in a row won’t cause you to be penalised in any way. We understand that there are circumstances, either in or outside of your control, that may necessitate you needing to step away from a game before it ends,” said Blizzard in the forum.

As far as cheating is concerned, Blizzard is stricter in implementing its bans. According to VG 247, the developer sees cheating as a way of undermining the fair play in “Overwatch.”

Currently, Blizzard is diligently monitoring the activities of players who use exploits in the game. It will be doling out respective penalties for using cheats, though Blizzard is doing its best to publicly announce these actions.