More changes are being introduced for the Overwatch competitive season, including serious overhaul of the ranking system. Game director Jeff Kaplan explained the extensive changes coming to season two, and provided insight into why Blizzard believes that the ranking system needed to be changed.
Overwatch players are currently ranked using a skill rating of between 1 and 100. However, the rating apparently fails to reflect just how good the player really is. According to Kaplan, a player with a 60 skill rating is actually within the top 10-percent of players; despite it not feeling that way.
To correct this, Blizzard is doing away with the existing system and replacing it with a rating between 1 and 5000. These ratings will cover tier levels ranging from bronze to diamond. The idea is that the developers want people to understand that their rating will change consistently, but they should be able to maintain their tier level. Players will also not be able to drop out of their tiers, even if their skill level falls beneath the requirement for the tier. Naturally, this doesn’t apply to the top two tiers.
Other things that are changing is the sudden death rule; which is going away from competitive matches. Instead, Blizzard is applying a modified time bank system for escort and assault maps. Control point maps will still remain the same. Interestingly, ties will be introduced for games that have no clear winner.
Kaplan explained that players may not be happy about games ending up in a draw, but it was the best solution they could come up with to replace sudden death. Of course, he doesn’t expect many games to end in a draw.
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