Overwatch 2 has been slowly revamping some of its game mechanics over recent seasons, and it has proved to work out for the most part.
Competitive has been soaring as of late, and with the brand new season approaching, the way players queue into the game mode is going to change.
Here’s what we know.
Overwatch 2 Competitive Queue Changes: All You Need To Know
Blizzard has been moving along with the current season since it premiered at the beginning of February, and there’s a ton of content for players to check out.
Now, we’re getting ready to dive into Season 10, which will also bring a brand new DPS hero for players to check out in the form of Venture, but Blizzard has announced the following changes coming to the game.
Overwatch 2 has always been a game best played with friends. However, in Competitive Play, it may not always work to group up if your friends are too far from your rank. That’s why we’re introducing “Wide Groups” in Season 10, and you’ll now be able to play with your friends in Competitive no matter their rank.
So what, exactly, is a Wide Group? A Wide Group is when the highest and lowest ranked players are too far apart in Skill Tier and Divisions. Any groups with Diamond or lower ranked players that are more than five Skill Divisions apart are a Wide Group. Any groups with Masters players that are more than three Skill Divisions apart are also Wide Groups. Finally, any groups that have a Grand Masters or Champion Player are also Wide Groups regardless of how many Skill Divisions apart they are.
With this new queue option comes some tradeoffs. For one, queue times will be longer as we work to pair you with other wide groups, using Role Delta tech to ensure the match is as close as possible. For example, a Wide Group with a Platinum player and Bronze player will be matched against another group with similar skill distribution to try and deliver the fairest match possible. However, some matches may not appear to be as balanced as you may encounter opponents who are very different in skill level than you are. Thankfully though, such encounters won’t necessarily have as much of an impact on your progress in the Competitive ranks.
There will also be a new Modifier at the end of a match when playing in a Wide Group. It wouldn’t be fair for lower-skilled players to be directly boosted to higher ranks when they group with higher-skilled players, so some groups, depending on the skill gap, are likely to see little to no change in their skill progression. This helps ensure that high-skilled players don’t boost their lower-ranked friends.
