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New ‘Overwatch’ social features will match you up with better players

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Developer Update | Upcoming Social Features | Overwatch

For those who don’t play Overwatch with a regular group of skilled friends, it can be tough to find a winning team in online matches. The game’s latest changes aim to fix that, and a few other substantial reworks are on the way, as well.

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In a new developer update video, game director Jeff Kaplan shared details about “endorsements.” Once a match ends, you’ll be given the chance to endorse players on your team and the enemy team based on three factors.

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“Sportsmanship” can be given as an endorsement to members of either team based on how respectful and friendly they are, while “good teammate” can be given to your own team members for switching to a hero that will help the team, or heeding advice from other players. “Shot-caller” can also be given to teammates for essentially playing a coaching role, directing other players where to go or what to do in a respectful manner.

Your endorsement rating will be made public to other players so they’ll know what to expect from you before a match begins, and you’ll be periodically rewarded for maintaining a high endorsement level. Being silenced or suspended in any way will set your endorsement rank back to zero, and it will decay over time if you aren’t consistently endorsed.

Also coming to Overwatch is a “looking for group” system that allows you to set parameters for how many types of each character class you’re looking for, and you can direct those who join to use voice chat.

A few other major changes are coming, as well. “Offense” and “Defense” characters are now grouped under a new “Damage” category, which should encourage more creative team compositions. Major changes are also coming to Symmetra in the next patch, changing how her turret, teleporter, and Photon Projector work, and giving her the new “Photon Barrier” ultimate ability. The “Horizon Lunar Colony” map will also receive major changes, and additional social features will arrive later this year.

What do you think about the latest changes in Overwatch? Do you appreciate the additional social features or are you hoping for gameplay-focused changes? Let us know in the comments!

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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