The Overwatch 2 Stadium team addressed several key topics, including new maps, upcoming heroes, and the option for third-person view.
On April 28, some of the members of the Overwatch 2 Stadium development team did an Ask Me Anything (AMA) thread on Reddit to answer some of the players' questions. It's a lengthy thread of over 20 questions, so we are going over the most discussed ones on social media.
Overwatch 2 Stadium's third-person view
The change in perspectives chosen for this mode raised questions among many players, particularly those who disliked it and preferred to switch back to first-person view.
To this question, senior game designer Dylan answered, "As so much of Stadium focused on expanding and pushing hero fantasy, often by making hero abilities more explosive or impactful, we found that having a third-person option on all of the time was the best method to give players that extra peripheral information to cover these new sources of visual noise." He even added that the third-person perspective "hasn’t impacted the balancing philosophy too much."
Stadium in custom modes
The development team aims to introduce the Stadium mode for custom parties. However, they didn't confirm when this would happen.
Item names in the Overwatch 2 Stadium mode
One interesting aspect of the Stadium items is their unique and entertaining names. Dylan explained that "the names have changed significantly throughout the development of the mode." Some names are quite straightforward and directly related to the hero while others aim to strike a "balance between humor, informative practicality, and a touch of fun lore references."
The ranking system
When asked about the challenges with the ranked system, Simon "Shedrick" Hedrick revealed that the Stadium system was, in fact, a big success due to its accessibility.
"We really wanted the funnel to be open as wide as possible to give everyone a chance to jump in and have fun right away!" he added.
Is there an internal MMR in Stadium?
If you're asking yourself if there's an internal MMR in the Stadium game mode, the answer is yes. "The internal MMR is a full blank slate, with logic similar to that of competitive matches," Shedrick explained. "However, we apply various bonuses, such as calibration and win streak bonuses, to help better align a player's visual rank with their internal MMR."
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Hero bans in Stadium?
With the introduction of hero bans in the Competitive Play game mode, some players have expressed curiosity about a potential expansion to Stadium. Currently, the new mode will not feature hero bans due to its "limited roster." However, the team has not ruled out the possibility of implementing hero bans once the character selection is significantly larger.
New heroes are coming to Stadium
Which heroes are coming to the Overwatch 2 Stadium next? And how will they be chosen? Daniel Duffin provided some insights.
"The current plan is to add new heroes to Stadium mid-season after they release. For existing heroes, there are many factors that determine which heroes enter the stadium," he wrote. "While hero popularity is one, gameplay is generally considered first."
"It's important to maintain healthy game balance when introducing new choices. We hope to get everyone eventually, but the live game isn't always the best measurement of who should be next, because stadium's gameplay balance is very different from other live modes."
On this question, Larry "Larrypickle" Wu also stated that the current plan is to introduce all new heroes in the mid-season patch following their release, starting with Freja and then Aqua in Season 18, and so on.
Not only will heroes come to Stadium, but also Overwatch 2 maps. Just like Paris, the developers announced that they plan to reintroduce more classic locations with fresh twists in the game mode.
The most popular heroes right now in Stadium
Many people appreciate statistics, and Ben "falcon_kick" Trautman is the best person to provide that information. So far, Reinhardt has emerged as the most popular tank, while Soldier: 76 is "far ahead of the rest" of the heroes in terms of popularity. Additionally, Juno is currently the most-picked support.
Soldier: 76 and Juno balance
And talking about popularity, Soldier: 76 and Juno will receive a balance hotfix at the end of this week. "We’re committed to making quick balance updates, especially when something is feeling really out of bounds. There’s a lot of stuff going on in Stadium, and we know we didn’t get everything feeling just right yet," Conor Kou answered.
If you want to read more questions, you can check out the full list of questions and answers here. That's all for now. Stick around for more Overwatch 2 news, guides, and updates on esports.gg.
