‘Overwatch’ Punishment System Getting An Overhaul According To Jeff Kaplan
One of the problems with playing the popular Overwatch video game comes due to the often toxic community during online play. However, the good news is that Blizzard is always looking for ways to improve the gaming experience and director Jeff Kaplan is always open and honest with gamers as well. In a recent post on the Overwatch message boards, Kaplan said that changes are coming to the Overwatch punishment system.
What led to Overwatch punishment changes?
These changes come just a short time after an Overwatch player complained that Blizzard unfairly banned him from the game for nothing. Kaplan responded to that player by pointing out that he had 2,247 complaints filed against him, one of the “worst offending accounts” ever for the Blizzard game.
Kaplan also pointed out that the player had seven silences for abusive chat or spam. He also had been silenced for 9,216 hours total but continued to return and make people miserable when playing the popular fighting video game.
With that said, it looks like it is the silences that will undergo significant changes as Jeff Kaplan seems to believe that they are ineffective and that Blizzard might eliminate them completely from the game. Instead, Kaplan wants to replace silences with bans and outright suspensions.
Changes are coming to Overwatch’s reporting and punishment system https://t.co/EbITzO7rDP
— Polygon (@Polygon) August 29, 2017
New Overwatch punishment system
Jeff Kaplan said that the punishment and reporting system is a major focus for the company right now. There was already word that reporting system changes were coming through a patch for console versions of the game. However, that is just the start.
According to Kaplan, there are both short and long term plans for the Overwatch punishment system. In the short term, Blizzard will start implementing longer terms for suspensions for players who disrupt the enjoyment of the game for others. Instead of silences, there will be more bans and suspensions as well.
The biggest news might come for the Competitive contenders. All gamers who boosted in Season 5 will lose all the rewards from that season. Not only that, but in Season 6, people using boosting or throwing matches will find their punishments more severe.
Overwatch Getting Improved Reporting And Punishment System https://t.co/pGkiVXH8DM pic.twitter.com/UHRKFjywbS
— Epicstream (@FantasyandScifi) August 30, 2017
Blizzard will punish all Overwatch players who abuse the system in Competitive play by banning those players from ever playing Overwatch competitive play again. This punishment will be mostly for “repeat offenders” who will “strike out” of the opportunity to play in the future.
All in all, Jeff Kaplan said the long-term goals for the Overwatch community is to promote positive behavior and reward players who play fair by eliminating those that are bad sports.
[Featured Image by Blizzard]
