So… I tried it a few times. I don’t like the 5 rounds version. It is too fast. Items become relatively pointless because of how fast it is.
It feels like a less thought-out version of junkers lab. At least that was streamlined and to the point. You pick some powers and the longer in the match the more you get. Simple.
This 5 round version though, still wants you to earn cash with a garbage cash system that no one ever feels makes ‘that’ much sense. And yet the items don’t matter that much because of how quick the game goes. It is all powers and they can drastically change the game. (which is why it feels like junkers lab). And then they added gadgets? And they take a slot of an item? Yet offer pretty meh offerings especially compared to the price w/ cooldown. It would be one thing if there was a gadget slot, that would make sense for if you filled up your slots and still had extra money (like what would happen in 7 round matches). But I have yet to see a reason to ever buy a gadget in 5 rounds. There are always better things to buy.
So its like 2 teams making changes to stadium didn’t even have a conversation with each other, or some high up (probably the same brain dead dude who pushed for no mirrors) decided this would be ‘cool’ to try so he can be seen as ‘experimenting’ with the mode. People like that should never be allowed to make decisions.
Anyways. Just bring back 7 rounds. Let the people that want faster games play qp or normal comp (which has even fewer rounds).
12 Likes
I was in the Stadium Alpha. I really feel like if the Alpha was Bo5, it would have been complained about. I feel like of the mode launched Bo5, it would not have taken off as it has. It does not have the same feel or momentum as Bo7 at all, and I don’t think any adjusting will change that. The 2 extra rounds are important to the concept of the mode, forgetting even the cash gain rate feeling more balanced, the fact that Bo5 is much easier to snowball, the fact that some heros and builds certainly seem to benefit more in a Bo5 environment whereas some suffer more with the lack of Bo7. The final round of Bo5 just does not have the same feel at all as the final round of Bo7.
I was the person in legend sitting in sometimes 25 minute queues for my Stadium game. I was fine with that to be honest, of course I would rather faster queues, but I would rather longer queues for a game mode with competitive integrity and reasonable matchmaking over this. This just feels like quick play in all ways now. I see more throwers, more leavers than I ever did in Bo7. I see players playing comp who are clearly treating it as QP because, well, what’s the difference. It feels terrible. It feels like they bottled lightning with Stadium and were so diligent in listening to the alpha testers and trying to perfect it to bring to everyone and show them what they were working on, waited for it to get popular, and took it round back and shot it.
14 Likes
Moving this back to 7 rounds will make all the issues you are complaining about worse, not better.
Best of 7 was the best. I’ll never forget those magical times…
9 Likes
It literally wouldn’t. Because those issues didn’t exist last season. Last season items didn’t feel pointless. With 7 rounds, powers are spread out more, so items have more impact.
About the only thing that would still be slightly pointless are gadgets, but they add nothing to 5 rounds as is.
5 Likes
Thanks for adding your voice to this. The points you have raised are exactly what some players have been saying since the release of this patch. It’s still shocking that the devs would add such a low-impact option while simultaneously stripping away one of the core defining aspects of the mode. I’ve stopped playing Stadium since. Without that layer of depth, it no longer feels like the mode it once was.
4 Likes
Agree that best of five just isn’t competitive and the powers have far too much value now! I wrote out my thoughts here: Return Best of 7 Competitive Stadium. Thanks for sharing yours!
And I really think Candi nailed it on the head. Those of us in high ranks with longer queue times just in general do not care about that time! Ask any of us and in almost every single case you will be told that the player would rather prioritize a truly competitive, balanced experience over an expedited one.
I was sitting in 45 minutes queues in season 1 for goodness sake!! And yet I still requeued instantly, even when the game closed immediately from a leaver! I would STILL take that 1.5 hr of not being in game, just to have a good game. It’s not like you can’t access anything while in queue, you just can’t be in a full-on game that would enter your game report, and that makes sense. But you can still practice in skirmish or deathmatch and enter any number of custom games. Personally I found mercy bot boxing to be my one true love but I am a mercy main… I also play balatro in queue 
And if you really don’t want to queue up, you don’t have to! Play qp! Play comp! Go outside!! But turning comp stadium into qp just to get qp players into the playlist is a truly disastrous move
6 Likes
I completelly agree, I really hate 5 rounds. I jkeep getting 3-0’d because the snowball effect of winning means they get more money into more money and the catch up cash bonus isn;t enough to offset that. also none of the builds I find people posting online assume you might actually LOSE or not do so well in your first round so are pointless trying to follow. It feels like it’s come right down to just building damage and reducing the time to kill.
4 Likes
I personally think it’s to increase population to Stadium. I don’t want to play that mode because of length. But best of 5 is still not even shorter than I want. But the game mode won’t work if it’s shorter.
7 round games require tight matchmaking or people on the obvious losing side don’t care after the first couple rounds. Especially if they’re in the “need to be carried” category because the matchmaking is so stupid.
If you’re a metal rank, you don’t want to spend 20min+ when you know you can have no bearing on the game because its basically all down to the diamond/masters players and you’re just there as target practice.
So well said. When I queued for Stadium Classic and it was taking longer than I wanted (7-8 mins+), I still felt that the wait was worth it. A closely-matched Bo7 Stadium match was just that fun.
I prefer the faster format. Going to 5 rounds was a big win in my book.
Bo5 is a more casual way to play Stadium. It doesn’t belong in competitive, where you need to be strategic.
People liking the change just because it saves them like 5mins a day are not getting this and believe their own taste is more important than how a mode is conceived.
I mean, imagine is FFA was competitive and people who don’t like deathmatches expected the mode (FFA comp) to be bent to their likings by introducing teams. That’d be team deathmatch comp, and that’d be a thing, but a separate thing, not the same.
In the same way, Stadium competitive didn’t need this change as a mode, not because people don’t have the right to dislike queue times or long rounds. You don’t like them? It’s cool, you don’t have to.
Just understand that if you don’t get why things are (*were) this way, this mode is. not. for. you. and. you’re. not. forced. to. play. it.
1 Like
When did people stop enjoying actually playing the game?
All the complaints about bo7 just boil down to “I just want to lose quickly or win quickly” and are never about the actual game mode itself.
2 Likes
That’s always been a thing. It’s the sole reason why I don’t play comp regularly. I don’t like playing a single match for a long time. I prefer matches to be 10 minutes long, at most. Anything longer, I get bored and stop caring. It’s why I don’t play FP and Clash, at all, in any mode. And why I never touched Stadium, period. I have a feeling Q times were increasing. Meaning more people weren’t playing Stadium. So they changed the best of 5. After they saw a good increase, in QP.
But like, why bother playing at all instead of just going to a different game, if you’re not actually enjoying the moment to moment gameplay and just want the rewards?
Literally what is the point in that.
1 Like
After being open to 5 rounds, I just like it better. The whole point of stadium is the powers and if I’m getting stomped at least I’ve gotten to use 3 powers at least and have my build come online by then.
BO7 was just slow, losing at round 3-4 just sucked and losing a round 7 is definitely one of the worst feelings in all of overwatch.
so far I’m glad bo5 is more widely accepted
Because I get 6 minutes games in QP payload. I get short games in VS AI. Most arcade games are short. I don’t play anything that’s long. With the only exception. When i play comp, during drives. So I can get a gun skin. Since comp games aren’t 600 matches. I just need 35.
That doesn’t answer my question.
Why are you playing Overwatch if you don’t want to play Overwatch?
There’s so many other games I’m sure you actually enjoy playing.
I like Overwatch. I don’t like long games. I can get the length I want. By not playing those modes. You just don’t understand that people can happily play VS AI all day. Or never play comp.