SinceOverwatchlaunched in 2016, I don’t think a season has passed without complaints from fans. We like to look back on the past with rose-tinted shades and hate whatever is put in front of us at any given moment. That being said, it definitely seems that the unanimous backlash this past week is warranted, because the fifth season ofOverwatch 2has been a disaster.
Divisive character balancing, frustrating new abilities, and of course, the news that thelong-awaited story missionswill cost $15 to access have made this a pretty rough week for the Overwatch community. But still, it gets worse. Now, it turns out that the “on fire” system - reintroduced after being dropped when Overwatch 2 launched - is completely broken. This is despite the mechanic being in the entirety of the first Overwatch without issue, making it all the more confusing as to why it’s not working in the sequel.
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The most obvious sign that the on fire system isn’t working as intended is that a bunch of us are getting it the second the match starts. For reasons that aren’t entirely clear, some of us have been getting ‘on fire’ as soon as we leave the spawn room, even though we obviously haven’t done anything to warrant this yet.
Reddit user kittyyfloss captured this phenomenon when playing defence on Junkertown. Here, they’re just messing around with Mei’s wall before the match starts, which was apparently enough to get put on fire. Sombra gets the status too, even though she’s just stood at spawn, waiting for enemies to attack.
In general, many fans feel that it has become much easier to become on fire than it was in the first game. Speaking as a long-suffering support main, I can attest to the fact that it’s much easier on us now, as it seems we’re rewarded for assisting others secure kills, not getting them ourselves. Of course, going battle Mercy hardly hurts your chances too - just don’t expect your team to love you that much afterwards.
It remains to be seen when this will be fixed, as right now,Blizzardhas a whole lot more on its mind than something that is largely cosmetic. The long-awaited story missions are set to go live on August 10 - for anyone willing to fork over $15 anyway. At first, the wording suggested that the story mode would be free to all, with the $15 only securing it permanently, rather than on a seasonal basis. However, this is not the case, and the whole thing will be paywalled.
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