Overwatch has introduced new features that make it almost impossible to sneakily move the payload or get the drop on the enemy team.
The Overwatch Season 1 update has arrived, kicking off a brand-new era for Blizzard’s popular hero shooter. Not only does it throw five new characters into the mix, but it also shakes up matches with the new sub-roles and introduces a Hello Kitty collab.
On top of all that, the update rolls out several smaller changes across the board, but two unexpected additions could have a larger impact than first thought.
Stealth is harder than ever in Overwatch
In the patch notes, it was revealed that “heroes on defense in Escort and Hybrid are now more likely to notice when a payload is being pushed by a sneaky player,” and they will inform you with a voice line.
This may seem minor, but subtly moving the payload under a team’s nose has been a tried and tested tactic for years, especially if they push too far forward and start chasing kills. With this callout, players will be alerted right away, allowing them to put a stop to it instantly.
That’s not all, though, as heroes will now also “automatically call out to their team when they detect an invisible hero nearby.” This change targets Sombra, whose kit revolves around getting the drop on the enemy team and picking off their backline.
After the changes went live on February 10, many fans weren’t too happy, arguing that it reduces their ability to pull off clever plays.
“We had a fun run while it lasted, but we can’t be sneaky anymore,” said one player on Reddit. “Pour one out for pushing that payload the last meter while they are off getting kills in Narnia.”
They just keep dumbing down the game at every turn,” wrote a second, while a third added: “I don’t like this at all. Focusing on the objective is a skill. If a player can’t do it, sucks to be them.”
As many players pointed out, this doesn’t necessarily mean that moving the payload or sneaking up on teams is a thing of the past, as there’s still the chance that enemies will miss or ignore the callouts. After all, there’s already a display on the screen showing the movement of the objective, but players still manage to get caught out regularly.
