Blizzard has released a new skin for Widowmaker in the shop of Overwatch 2. The sniper is transformed into a “Medusa” with snakes on her head. However, pro gamer Kephrii claims that these very snakes give away your position and bring more disadvantages.
What kind of skin is this? The Medusa skin for Widowmaker was introduced with the new “Battle for Olympus” event in Overwatch 2. You can get it individually through the gallery for 1,900 coins or in a bundle with a highlight intro and a charm for 2,200 coins.
The cheapest bundle with enough coins (2,200) costs €19.99. Alternatively, you can earn the coins simply by using Bing searches to improve your account or directly play WoW for new skins in Overwatch.
With the skin, Widowmaker takes on the appearance of the Gorgon from Greek mythology. Their trademark is snakes instead of hair and a gaze that turns people to stone when they look directly at the Medusa.
How can the skin betray you? The problem with the skin is that the snakes on Widowmaker’s head keep hissing. This sound is heard not only by yourself but also by your opponent, as former Overwatch professional Brian “Kephrii” St. Pierre demonstrates:
The hissing can, according to him and one of his colleagues, give away your position and even cause your opponent not to hear as well. Since the sounds are right at the head, you have them directly in your ears.
Footsteps from enemies could thus be covered or sound wrong. The discussion about whether this really is a problem, however, is gaining traction. Because many fans of Overwatch 2 claim: it’s not that bad at all.
Here we show you the trailer for Season 2 of Overwatch 2 – featuring some of the new skins from Greek mythology:
“Ever tried having fun instead of complaining?”
While the snake sounds may indeed be quite disturbing with sensitive sound settings, as in Kephrii’s test, other players claim that such things wouldn’t be noticeable in a real match.
There is constantly shooting and so much action that no one has the time to pay attention to such a quiet hiss. The Twitter user @appy_1 for instance says:
It is never as quiet [as in the test] in a real game and I doubt that it has such a significant impact amidst the already loud weapons being fired, abilities, voice-lines, map sounds, payload, and so forth.
The concerns that this harms gameplay are not as great as you make them out to be.
Many other users agree and say that in actual matches in Overwatch, there is simply too much happening to focus on such sounds. Others simply suggest: “Then just don’t buy or use the skin.”
In the professional arena, however, things look different. Here, professionals often rely heavily on sound and pay attention to every little noise to gain an advantage. For example, Valorant pro Scott “Vyx” Ishikawa on Twitter states: “While this may not be the biggest issue in Overwatch, I believe it is still a problem. Competitive integrity should always be the highest priority.”
Especially concerning competitive gameplay, Overwatch 2 actually makes a big effort to keep everything as fair and transparent as possible. Something that many players appreciate:
The little cousin shows Call of Duty how to do it right – Overwatch 2 explains its matchmaking
