Overwatch 2 is finally going head to head against Marvel Rivals with their newest season, which introduced the new perk system in the game. Yes, you heard it right, Overwatch 2 now has character-based perk systems that players can choose from and essentially change their playstyles.
This character-based perk system was something Blizzard promised us when they announced story mode for Overwatch, but after that was cancelled, we did not hear anything about it, except now. Let’s delve deeper into what the new system brings to the table and why it was released now.
The perk system was supposed to feature on Overwatch 2’s PvE
Blizzard Entertainment’s Overwatch 2 has brought in a little twist to the characters with their latest season, season 15, where players can choose their own perks in a way to enhance their character. This perk system gives the players two perks, one major and one minor, from which they also have two options to choose from.
We saw something similar to this back in season 13 when a limited-time Halloween game mode was introduced, known as Junkenstein’s Laboratory. In the game mode, players could pick different mutations for their characters that hugely affected the gameplay and changed various playstyles. The mode ran from October 15 to November 3, which was extended to November 11 because of how well the game mode was received.
The perk system was first promised to us back when Overwatch 2 was announced and was supposed to be a part of the much wanted PvE (players-versus-environment) game mode. Since PvE got cancelled, players forgot about the perk system entirely, and now after it is released, players are speculating that the PvE system was already in development, but Blizzard was just sitting on it.
In a recent Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything), when asked about whether the gameplay element was always in the back of the developers’ minds or not, Overwatch 2’s lead gameplay designer, Alec Dawson, revealed that it was not. According to Dawson, the feature was added because they wanted something new in the game without changing its core mechanics.
Actually neither! The true impetus for this was our need for a game system layer to introduce more change into the core game. Having some talents to pull from was nice to have but a large majority of the perks were built for the perk system specifically. The team had gotten really great at expanding kits, so there was plenty of good experience for us to bring good learnings into building perks. Junkenstein’s Lab gave us more signal for Stadium and how much we could expand the bounds of an Overwatch match while still making it feel like Overwatch.
When asked if the new perk system will allow the players to choose more than two perks in the future, Dawson replied that they have just introduced the perk system in the game and are still unsure about the direction it is going to go. He reassured us that Blizzard could expand and improve the mechanics in later seasons of the game.
Blizzard was successful in reviving the game
This new perk system has proved itself to be one of the best additions in Overwatch 2, and using the new mechanic, players can now choose whether to be aggressive, defensive, or completely ability-driven. This gives players the ability to customize their own experience based on their preferred approach.
This new mechanic has brought in a lot of new players to the game, as well as old players who switched from Overwatch 2 to Marvel Rivals. Although Blizzard’s new feature has revitalized the game, we are yet to see whether the perk system will finally balance the game or if the title will go back to its counterswapping strategies.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
