Overwatch: New details about “Ranked Play” and new hero “Sombra”

In an interview, Jeff Kaplan talks about the upcoming Ranked mode of Overwatch and also shares some words about the mysterious “Sombra”.

Ranked mode is solid, final tests underway

The colleagues from Eurogamer had the opportunity to conduct a detailed interview with Jeff Kaplan, the Game Director of Overwatch. Most of the questions revolved around the upcoming update, the ranked game mode, and “Sombra”, a potential new hero in Overwatch.

More skill, less farming

Even during the closed beta, players could try out the ranked game mode of Overwatch. However, neither the team nor the player base was really satisfied with it, which is why they wanted to tackle two major points.

The original system felt too much like “progress”. Players started at the lowest rank and had to work their way up slowly. There were several tiers and divisions through which you could slowly progress. You started as a “beginner” with one star, and through wins, you gained more stars until you promoted to the new rank “Advanced”. Within a rank, you could lose and gain stars, but you could never drop out of your rank – so anyone who was “Advanced” and kept losing remained so.

Professionals particularly criticized that sooner or later, any player could reach the high ranks if they just had a small streak of good luck. For this reason, the new system will be more straightforward: those who win will rank up. Those who lose will rank down. There will no longer be a “safety net”.

The second important point was the duration of a season. These should last one month each, similar to Hearthstone. However, players felt that was too little time, especially in combination with the ranking system. The new plan is for a season to last 10 weeks, followed by a 2-week “break”, before the next season begins – so one season each quarter.

A specific date for the first major patch has not yet been set, but they are still aiming for “late June”. However, they make no promises if there are any last-minute issues – so that no one will be disappointed.

And what about the “new heroine” Sombra?

At the end of the interview, they asked Kaplan again about Sombra – according to the hints in the game and the theory of many players, she is Pharah’s mother and could be implemented as a new hero in Overwatch in the near future.

“We have spread many hints in and outside of the game. I would say it’s slowly time for players to ask who Sombra really is. I hope fans continue to search and find even more hints that are hidden out there.”

And with that, Kaplan opens the new scavenger hunt, because when asked the last question “So have they not found all the hints yet?” he responds with a clear: “No”.