This game can be fun to play, but also frustrating beyond belief. My issue is with matchmaking and the lack of a reasonable team play option. I dont want to play competitive all the time, but i dont want to just dink around and not play an organized game as intended either.
Here is my issue and why they need to come up with a new game play option (aside from Competivie, Arcade, and Quick Play). Quick Play seems to have a different definition to different people. Competitive is basically ranked where you get positioned based on results of wins or losses. But I want to be able to just hop on and play an organized “pick-up game”. The actual result of a win or loss isnt that significant to me. I can take a loss and be a good sport and say Gg after a game. But I want to treat quick play as like a pick up basketball game. Where youre in a 5v5 and play it organzied as a real game without the end result meaning too much.
One significant issue is the spread with the skill based match making is just too wide. I’m a Platinum skilled player, being forced to play nearly every game with Silvers. And I absolutely hate playing with bronzes, PERIOD. But to me the actual mechanical skill level isnt what bothers me but its the “teamwork” and basic concepts that is frustrating to me. People not grouping up or just playing it with a selfish or enitled attitude. Essentially just feeding the other team and making the entire game pointless really to even play. The game feels incredible sloppy or filled with extremely intentional poor decision making. Why would you constanlty dive in to a 1v5 situation or continue to stagger your team. Its no fun being on the receiving end of this team. How is having 15 deaths and your other teammates just sitting there waiting for the game to get over fun. You can request to group up or play together but they ignore it. The response is “it’s just Quick Play”, or “I don’t care”. This is a egocentric, inconsiderate, disrespectful, and a genuinely entitled response. This is a team-based game and your actions effect other people beside yourself. If you want to learn and try a new character and your not good with it, I accept and understand that. No problem. Everyone starts from somewhere and its the only way to get better. But there needs to be some sort of SPECIFIC dink-around not really trying play a organized game, game mode. I would think this is what some of the custom arcade modes are for but people, especially younger people, dont seem to share that perspective. Due to the lack of maturity, it is the responsibility of the developer to manage those actions appropriately. They are the stakholders that maintain control and have the power to effect change.
The perfect analogy I can relate this to is going to the gym and playing a pick-up basketball game. You still guard your man, pass!the ball around, and drive to the hoop or shoot when you see space; but there is still have some semblance of an organized game. The observed way several people play overwatch is jumping into a pick-up game, then not passing the ball to your teammates and constantly shooting 3 pointers whenever you touch the ball. No one playing that game would be okay with that and would rightfully say something, and if the actions dont change after communicating that they would be asked to leave. This is proper communication and then an established boundary. But because you can remain anonymous online there is no consequences and the entitlement is that they can just do whatever they want because “they” are having fun. Especially when they get off knowing it is irritating other people. Well your play style and lack of team work is not fun for me and others and increasingly frustrating. You miss some shots okay dont worry about it you tried, but if you play wreckless, selfish, or inconsiderate you bet we’ll have a problem. You can what, report them for “feeding”, but when has that ever done anything. The only people that get actions against them are Cheaters or Abusive Chat. Its much harder to regulate play styles and game behavior.
Im tired of matching 7 games in a row with people who dont care about anybody but themselves or people who dont have the knowledge set of some of the most basic concepts of the game. Such as tank dive if your a dive character or tank the hits, dps target supports or squishes or finish of a weak character, supports do some damage and healing not just exclusively one or the other, particularly the former (you shouldnt have less 600 healing in an entire 10 minute game), stay as a squad and move together with dps flanking as appropriate, be alert to teammate pings, peel for your teammates as necessary, play the objective or move the payload, etc.
Some of this is knowledge based and skill I acknowledge and understand that, but if you immediately respawn and then directly go into the enemy team in a 1v5 and die again, staggering the team, its 100% on you, and it leaves your teammate not being able to do anything. Especially when it is communicated by your teammates and you choose to intentionally dismiss and ignore that.
So how do these issues get resolved, narrow the skill gap and/or create a new game option that clearly implies its for goofing off. People get penalized for leaving a game so there isnt evenc an option quit and try to find a new game now, which I do understand because it is disruptive to the game. But circumstances I just described above is also just as disruptive.
To be honest, I dont EVER want to play with bronzes or silvers “skilled players”. Whether theyre on my team or opposing team. Cake walks are boring and I have the maturity and security where I dont need external factors to stroke my. In my opinion theyre that skill rating because of decision making not necessarily because of their mechanical skills. I dont want to play games where with the decision making of teammates is the equivalent of a 9 year old type player. So dont force or penalize me to, especially when its several matches in row. I dont want to play through an hour of games to finally play one enjoyable or fair game. Blizzard disagrees with me on this take but Id much rather take an extra minute or two of queue time if it means a more enjoyable experience. So me being around a “platinum” player should play plus/minus one skill level. Give me golds and diamond teammates. Heck even Masters or Gms I’d be okay with which used to be more of the case in the past. You telling me there isnt a player pool full of gold skill players, thats about the average player. You should have to earn to play with higher skilled players.
In return the reponse is, if you dont like it, play competitive. Well competitive is RANKED. When I want to sweat and have my outcome actually have significant meaning I will. And sometimes I do. But if I want to just play a less meaningful or more casual experience there isnt really an option without it consisently being an extreme on the other side where the game just feels completely unorganized and no semblence of team work or consideration for others.
When Ive played with friends that are newer to the game and I know there is a definitive skill gap or lack of game sense, we play arcade, for the expressed reasons I stated above. To be respectful and considerate of the other people that matched into playing with on our team. If we want to dink around and have one person as tank and then have a mercy pocket our friend and another friend focusing heals on our other friend as well, again some friendly arcade lobby is where we would intentionally chose to play. But never would I ever consider me and my friends only double support pocketing our third friend but providing limited on no support to the other people not exclusive in our party. That is disrespectul and inconsiderate. Not appropriate for Quick Play where it is expected that its an organized game and you will be a proper teammate to everyone. Also just emoting most of an entire game in quick play is also not appropriate. Go to a “friendly/chill” lobby or create one in arcade. These actions and behaviors should be reportable with actual consequences but there none.
So if there is no way to properly communicate and establish a boundary like you can in real life, or the option to just quit and find a match where you can find what youre looking for is now penalized, what are you supposed to do? As is right now, you just have to suck it up and be literally FORCED into that experience.
I dont support abusive chat at all. People SHOULD BE respectful at all times, but I would have a strong hunch that there is an increased correlation of abusive chat with the changes in matchmaking blizzard has implemented the last several seasons. Obviously there is trolls and toxicity of “ez”, “diff”, “youre [insert curse word here]”, where people do it belittle people or stroke their little egos, but I do empathize to some degree that people immaturily vent their frustration is reactionary. The behavior and communication of these inconsiderate and entitled players is the definition of Reactional Abuse. I’m 37 year old medical student who has credibility in what I’m saying and here is the definition I will provide below to further add credibility to my point.
[Definition] Reactive Abuse occurs when the victim reacts to the abuse they are experiencing. The victim may scream, toss out insults, or even lash out physically at the abuser. The abuser then retaliates by telling the victim that they are, in fact, the abuser.
Hopefully blizzard reflects on this and can makes some of these suggested changes. These issues really are objectively solvable, but minimized because they decline to make it a priority for them. Really all im asking for is a “team-work” and “objective-based” experience. I’m even the working adult that pays for the the skins and bundles to keep the game operating for others. Do you really think catering to the immature player is who you want to cater your game to? Logically, theyre just the player that takes advantage of your business model changing to free-to-play.
This is advertised and marketed as a team-based objective game. So why is that too much to ask for? It really isnt, its poor management of the game by the developets. So read the room, listen to the stakeholders that are your dependable source of revenue, and make some positive and impactful changes. Then this game will cater to a wider audience and help keep everyone satisfied and continually in vested in the game.