The head of Overwatch, Jeff Kaplan, has introduced some changes coming to the team shooter: Blizzard has revised the communication. Anyone who wants can replace the eternal “I need healing” with a “Sorry.” 576 new voice lines are coming to Overwatch. A patch is already live on the PTR, the test server.
This is the exciting new change: Kaplan announced yesterday from his home office that Overwatch will soon give players more ways to communicate with other players through pre-made voice lines of their heroes.
This will go beyond the existing “Emote Wheel,” where you don’t have to type clumsily but simply select the right phrase for the situation. Players will soon be able to customize this wheel to their own needs.
This “Communications Wheel” will allow players to choose from 26 different voice lines for each part in the wheel with the new update.
Every hero in Overwatch will also receive some new voice lines.
As a user on Twitter reveals, 18 new voice lines are coming for each hero, totaling 576.
Sorry, sorry, sorry and 17 other phrases for each hero
These are the most important new voice lines: Kaplan has presented some options regarding what players can say with the new voice lines:
- one voice line is to inform teammates that they should retreat
- one voice line serves as a farewell greeting
- the third important new voice line is the ability to apologize
- additionally, players can now start a countdown as their character, meaning they can count down to better coordinate an attack
Especially the “apologizing” feature is said to have been a major demand from players, according to Kaplan. Until now, only Mei could apologize with the famous “Sorry, Sorry, Sorry.”
“I need healing” or “Thanks” were getting annoying
This was the situation so far: As some complain, the voice system has mainly been used to constantly beg for healing (especially Genji mains were known for this) or to sarcastically grumble when the match did not go as planned by constantly thanking teammates.
This is still possible with the new system, but now everyone has more options. The “I need healing” phrase has achieved cult status in Overwatch.
More options are definitely better.
When is it coming? Everything is already live on the test server. The PTR patch notes from April 23 (via Blizzard) already list the changes.
PC players can already test the new communication system; players on PS4 and Xbox One must wait until the update goes live in a few weeks.
Baskets in Overwatch without end
What else is in the update: A small joke in the update is that players can now reset the basketball. You just need to click a switch. The basketball is a thing players like to kill time with in Overwatch.
There are also some balance changes to the heroes. The “too big heads” of Echo and Reinhardt will be reduced as they were apparently too vulnerable to headshots.
Lastly, a streamer got into trouble in Overwatch for winning an open tournament with her team. Fans felt she didn’t deserve to be in such a strong team. They accused her of holding back.
Let’s see if the new system improves communication in Overwatch.
