Breakfast Topic: Are you looking forward to Overwatch’s Competitive Mode?

On Friday, Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan updated us with news of the Competitive Mode that’s slated to come into the game later this month. Aside from that fact that we’ll be getting additional heroes sometime soon, Jeff mentioned the feedback on the mode during the beta and highlighted some of the changes that the Overwatch team has made.

It was clear that players were looking for a mode that was more competitive than what was offered during the beta — and the system’s been tweaked as a result. Seasons will last longer than a month and coincide with actual live seasons: Spring, summer, fall, and winter. Assault maps (Volskaya, Hanamura, and Temple of Anubis) are being changed to offer more back-and-forth gameplay. Extra cosmetic rewards are a nice touch, although here’s hoping that Jeff’s mention of a Golden Gun isn’t like the one found in Goldeneye 007.

I am eagerly awaiting the new mode. I’m not sure about some of you, but there are times where I hit up solo queue and I get matched up with five Meis players who are not as vested in the team’s success. Two offensive Widowmakers? No supports or tanks? I’ve been frustrated when I mention in the team chat that we’re missing a support player. Naturally someone suggests that I switch, and I’m glad to do it, but that now leads to the team missing a tank. I can’t seem to win!

Is it possible to win with non-ideal or team compositions? There have been games where I succumbed to a crew of six Soldier 76’s or steal game with three tanks, three DPS, and zero supports. Just because it is possible to win doesn’t mean that it’ll be a piece of cake to earn a victory in every match. I don’t believe in making the game harder for yourself or your team. In my mind, Quick Play is a mode where players can relax and try new strategies or heroes in an environment that’s generally tougher than the AI mode. Competitive Mode is where the players who want a challenge can queue into and compete with others who are like-minded. Granted, the upcoming mode isn’t for everyone —  and that’s okay.

And what about you, readers? Are you looking forward to playing more competitive Overwatch or do you like the crazy combos you can run in Quick Play?