Developer Team 4 dropped a low key from a a patch for Overwatch 2 on May 14, making tanks more tanks but also making it harder to go on a losing streak. You may have heard about this and thought, ‘Sweet! No more loss sections!’ But that is not exactly the case.
“Since most matches will have a team that has a slightly higher chance of winning, putting a player on the team with the higher chance that is currently on a losing streak is intended to help them have a fair chance to break that streak,” read. the patch notes.
I can definitely relate to these losing streaks. No doubt mindset, diet, sleep and other factors played into mine at times, but even so I would have sworn in the past that the game was rigged to consistently put me on both winning and losing streaks. If that’s evened out even a little bit now, I’m all for it.
That said, Blizzard server engineer Morgan Maddreen explains it’s not like you will never go down in defeat, just less often (and when you do, you’re more likely to deserve it).
“The vast majority of Overwatch matchups look incredibly close to the matchmaker,” he says. “But in some cases we do matches where one team has a slightly more noticeable advantage over the other (yet still very competitive!).”
“When we would do these matches,” he continues, “The matchmaker didn’t pay attention to whether any players in the match were on a losing streak. So by chance, we would sometimes do matches where a player on a losing streak would be put on a team that was at a disadvantage. “
Now the system simply accounts for a losing streak, meaning if you’re on one, you’re more likely to be put on the team that’s slightly favored to win. The end result: less streakiness, and more even games overall. Granted, this is a subtle change, and one Maddreen says “probably won’t be very noticeable to most players.” However, if the player base is even subconsciously 1% happier and less toxic, that’s a win for everyone.
Want more Overwatch 2 content? Check out Overwatch 2 Character Tier List (Season 10) here on Pro Game Guides.
