“Netcode” and “Tickrate” are two important terms for shooters – but many players have a problem with Overwatch, as it is better managed in other games.
Low Hz rates affect the responsiveness of Overwatch
Have you ever died in Overwatch even though you thought a protective ability was still activated? If so, you are not alone. According to gamespot, this is due to the low tickrate at which information from clients is synchronized with those on the server. While shooters like Counter Strike have a tickrate of 60 Hz, Overwatch has “only” a tickrate of 20.8 Hz, significantly lower. This can lead to minimal delays and the feeling that players are shot “around corners”.
The YouTuber battle(non)sense analyzed the problem in his video a few months ago.
This issue was already known during the beta, and Blizzard discussed in a detailed video changes for the future about how to improve the tickrate and also how to reduce the annoying “shooting around corners”.
So far, these changes have not been implemented in the game; according to gamespot, the Hz rate remains at 20.8 – however, there is an option to increase the tickrate to 60 in “custom games”.
Meanwhile, gamespot also received a somewhat vague response from Blizzard that reveals little about the future:
“The tickrate is a very important topic for the team. We introduced a 60Hz rate in the “custom games” mode late during the beta. We continue to monitor the feature closely and would like to receive more feedback from players. We encourage players to try this feature themselves so that we can gather more data and continue to improve it.”
You can find more news and articles about Blizzard’s hero shooter on our Overwatch game page.
