Overwatch catered to wrong audience?

General Discussion
1

For as long as this game has been out bad teammates have always been a topic and something that’s tried to be fixed somehow

As someone who doesn’t really play anymore all that tells me that the majorly of the playerbase aren’t the ones the devs made the game for

As of late you can’t even leave quick play anymore? Since when is it comp and since when did people treat it as such

All I’m saying is that “bad players” seem to be the high majority of the playerbase and maybe the game would benefit if changes and balancing were catered to that laid back audience

12 Likes
2

So, I’ve been thinking Overwatch listened to the wrong folks in the past. For some reason, they tried to court an audience of esport shooter players when Overwatch could never be that due to inherent design. Overwatch should have appealed to people who were more into moba-lite strategy in a first person action game setting. I say “Action game” because shooting would be a part of the appeal, but not the whole appeal.

Instead, they made people think the game was a shooter first when it literally can’t be. It wasn’t even a good shooter due to the gun mechanics in this game, so it was like a double failure in design and marketing.

And this would have worked mavelously in making a fun game, and a liked game. But it ALSO has to be a profitable game, and that’s where things get tricky.

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3

It worked for Smash and Mario Kark

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4

Well, but if you think about it, the more laid back audience is much more likely to spend money in this game than the “bad players”, yet the reporting system only punishes those players that do spend money. Think about it…

Cheaters, smurfs, and toxic players can make unlimited accounts and just keep coming back if their accounts are actioned against. It’s extremely unlikely they’ll be buying skins and stuff in every account they make. Why would they spend money only to watch that account get deleted, or to run funding numerous accounts? These players have nothing to lose.

Meanwhile, the actual single-account player who builds up a collection of cosmetics and makes a name for themselves with in-game friends has everything to lose from any account action.

In OW1, cosmetics were free and creating a new account cost $20.
In OW2, cosmetics cost money but new accounts are unlimited and free.

It’s very clear what kind of player this game caters to.

5

Oh well I’ll just tough it out and wait for the next release of the game.

6

overwatch is not that good for solo Q players, which pushes them further away and groups have way more fun, making it even worse for the ratios

in groups it is a lot more fun, even if just a duo. solo Q is miserable with the wrong rng. you can get grouped against 4-5 stack with only randoms on your team. it is a loss from the start unless you can manage to coordinate with all the strangers

since OW heavily relies on teamwork to be able to power through objectives, it is really unfair to have that situation where people are not on a level playing field simply because they dont know each-other

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7

You mean a casual audience not bad players.
And yes the dev team killed it with the last to seasons to absolutely made sure no casuals are left in the building.

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8

It is being catered to bad players. Who do you think the projectile size changes were for? Or the global heal passive, for that matter.

You balance at the highest level of what is possible, that way the lower levels have something to aspire to be. There’s no point in playing the game if it’s just who ever picks the most “game plays itself” character wins.

Though I do agree, the change to QP was the dumbest thing in the world and sweats should stay in the sweat queue (comp). People who don’t want leavers should be demanding incentives for staying in the game instead of penalties for those who leave.

1 Like
9

the reason why a lot of people leave is partly because they or their teammates are 5-10 and the enemy is 10-5. i just stick it through the match because i do the best i can with what i have, but its difficult to do much when you have to wait for a new teammate every 30 seconds

1 Like
10

Exactly. It’s far more likely for players to stay in the game if they are incentivized to with actual rewards. Being penalized just irritates players to the point of potentially not playing at all.

11

So it’s not primarily bad “players” as much it is bad “comps”.

6v6 have very specific meta duos, being the only real viable strat in a given season. And if your werent playing that or even a functional duo like rien zarya.

Your game could go sour fast doubly so up against a comp using said meta, or functional combo.

These day’s it’s an issue of their not being a hard meta, but a bunch of individual hero interactions and synergies. that can improve / or hurt your team depending on what your playing and what the enemy has going against you.

That also just trying to convince people to shoot something other then tank is kind of hard for some reason. Like really the whole enemy team can be at half health or a tap a way from dying, and people be dead set on feeding the double supports healing the tank.

12

This directly correlates to its current toxic issues. Here’s why:

OW1 had a community. It grew to encompass a LOT of different types of players. It then stagnated. Those not committed to it (the lucky ones) stopped playing, but a small dedicated community remained. They held out hope that OW2 would bring salvation.

OW2 released, and since that day, this entire game has trashed on these dedicated players that made it what it was and held it together for so long. Not to paint them as entitled, but it stripped away and continues to undo all things OW1. Intentional or not, I think this game sold a NEW experience so hard that it sought to delete even the fun and working things from the OW1 days, attempting to truly paint it as a sequel/different experience.

Now?

It’s a battleground full of grizzled, jaded veterans that cling to an IP they know, a bunch of returning people that are still trying to connect the pieces between what they remember and what’s new, and - like all AAA video games heavily in the lime light - a bunch of newcomers that may try it because they play games like Fortnite, Apex, Valorant, etc.

It has a Frankenstein community that DOES NOT BELONG TOGETHER. It cannot coincide peacefully. You have thousands crying for reverts (bring back 6v6, bring back loot boxes, bring back end-of-match votes and borders), you have thousands crying for a safe space and stricter report features to protect their online experience, you have thousands just trying to learn this convoluted game, you have toxicity breeding toxicity.

It just doesn’t work. And it’s absolutely catering to a newer, younger audience. If Fortnite is 6 - 12 and Apex/Valorant is 18 - 38, OW2 is striving to be that 13 - 18 demographic filler.

WoW, Diablo, Hearthstone, etc. – all Blizzard IPs are going through heavy “let’s find a new audience” reworks and its frustrating.

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13

the wrong audience is everyone who dont play the game and blizzard is catering to them, sideline the veteran playerbase on a desperate attempt to bring new people who are fool enough to spend money, but old players are wiser

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14

I don’t think bad players are the majority of the player base; it’s just that it only takes one selfish person or bad attitude to wreck the match for the other nine.

At least 1/10 players are people who aren’t playing the right game for them and are ready to blame everything but themselves for it, so a high percentage of matches get ruined. The game is 10/10 when everyone in the lobby is trying their hardest and playing correctly, but that’s becoming more and more rare, and it’s not something the devs can change. They can’t force parents to raise kids with basic social skills and emotional security, which is all it takes to have fun in this game.

15

I think OW1 attracted a lot of players who have never really played shooters before because of the way people viewed the game as a beacon of inclusivity and all that nonsense. And a lot of those players are the ones that are left.

We also have cross play in effect that you cannot opt out of, and the game is now free to download and play. It’s a perfect storm of trash players.

1 Like
16

Of course bad players are a majority. When only two types of players exist which are god tier or trash. There is no in between. This isn’t even an Overwatch thing. This is all gaming. You’re either god’s gift to gaming. You r you’re an absolute waste of space. So when champion or top 500 players are good. And that makes 99.9 percent trash.

17

Always have been

They expected Gold, but got a bunch of Bronze instead

Since the matchmaking is trash; and… always have been xD

Yeah, they were given Masters and GM title because the evaluation performance system is garbage, and this new audience has an amazing APM; but the gamesense of a wallnut

They expected Gold, but got a bunch of Bronze instead

That’s a true fact by the way

18

Yes, I agree and have been saying so for a long time. I also think the game should add guilds or clans so players can form groups quickly and easily, and to make lasting bonds amongst players.

19

Not sure if they can fix that, since game by design supposed to be played by groups of sweaty players.

20

They’re catering to the people who spend money, not the people who enjoy good gameplay. So many people love the cosplay in games and that is the only thing that keeps them playing. As long as they get new skins, emotes, etc. People will pay for it. That is their market.