Overwatch 2is still a highly controversial topic in the gaming world lately, despite a recent blog post from its game director, Aaron Keller, that attempted to clear up any misconceptions about upcoming content. The disappointing news that the promised long-term progression of Hero Mode has been scrapped hasled someOverwatch 2players to boycott the gameentirely. Blizzard is actively working to regain the trust of its playerbase with developer updates, a fresh content roadmap, and new challenges, but only time will tell if it can succeed.
In what may be an attempt to bring its players back,Overwatch 2launched the Symmetra’s Seeds of Order event just a few days after the PvE announcement. This directly followed the Starwatch: Galactic Rescue mode which mixed PvE and PvP components in a non-canon plotline. While it was an interesting experiment, most players finished the Starwatch challenges within just a few games and were left without an incentive to play more. Symmetra’s Seeds of Order campaign found a similar problem in that the tasks were too easy and therefore completed too quickly.
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Overwatch 2 Events Need to Avoid Repetition
The Battle for Olympus mode returned alongside the Symmetra’s Seeds of Order mini-event, though both faced very different issues.Overwatch 2’s Battle for Olympus challengeswere accused of being too demanding with unsatisfactory rewards, whereas it seems like Blizzard over-adjusted to make Symmetra’s tasks too simple. The six challenges didn’t appear to have much of their own personality as they only require the completion of twenty-four games in total with wins granting double progress.
In contrast, the LTM Battle for Olympus event asked players to earn 2,100 eliminations on different heroes in order to earn all seven titles. This resulted in some players becoming frustrated with the time-consuming challenges. It could be that Blizzard is attempting to make free skins more widely available via new events after the microtransactions behind most skins were widely criticized uponOverwatch 2’s debut.
The play-to-earn skins model is reminiscent of the mini-events inOverwatchprime, but Blizzard needs to be careful with its events if it wants them to have an identity of their own. While it is satisfying for players to receive a new Symmetra Gardner skin, a voice line, and a Garden Gnome Souvenir there may not have been enough happeningin the Symmetra Seeds of Order campaign. Some have claimed that the game mode was too repetitive with its oversimplified challenges and no overarching theme when playing the game.
However, if Blizzard stays true to its plan, then there is hope for future events seeing asOverwatch 2Season 6 will have co-op story missionsthat are going to have “story, cinematics, and cutscenes.” The first Overwatch Pride event, arriving on June 1, also has potential though it will mostly focus on cosmetic rewards like new player icons and name cards. Team Four commented in a group interview that they intend to expand upon the Pride event in future iterations, possibly adding new game modes and special voice lines for the characters.
Regardless,Overwatch 2’s next events will need to be engagingas the studio is currently facing an uphill battle. Of course, this is not the first time theOverwatchfranchise has been faced with difficulties, and it likely will not be the last. But the latest content roadmap along with the promise of new heroes, reworks, and upcoming story missions could be enough to retain its playerbase.
Overwatch 2is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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