Overwatch is strictly against intentional bad play. Therefore, bad skill ratings are hidden.
In Overwatch, there is a race each season for the best skill rating that can be achieved. Those who excel can even temporarily secure a spot in the top 500 of their region and receive small rewards. However, there is also a small, but dedicated group of players who have set the exact opposite as their goal. Not a skill rating of 5,000 is the target, but a skill rating of 0. For not only “the best” has achieved something, but also “the worst”. This has even led to relatively well-known stories, such as the tale of “I hanjo”, who desperately tries to be the worst player.
Skill ratings below 500 are hidden
Many players have now followed this example and are also trying to achieve the worst possible skill rating.
Blizzard intervened with patch 1.8 and put an end to this kind of “hunt for the worst rating”. Skill ratings worse than 500 will no longer be displayed in the game.
Blizzard’s reasoning is clear: the entire game system of Overwatch works best when all players try to play as well as possible to help the team win. By simply “removing” a bad skill rating from the players, there is hardly any incentive to play intentionally poorly, as no one will find out just how bad they really are.
Reactions from fans are mixed. A large part of the players welcomes these changes as they lead to fairer matches and more fun in the long run. Other players are annoyed because they feel that their “way of playing the game” is being taken away from them.
What do you think of these changes?
Related: Player “I hanjo” achieves lowest skill rating in record time.
