Blizzard recently announced several changes that it will implement with the release of Overwatch 2 related to new players in order to combat toxicity and ‘hackers’ (and other types of cheaters), many of which will be with strategies such as the use of a cell phone number.
As we have already mentioned before, Overwatch 2 will have changes like abandoning loot boxes, the use of a Battle.net account for all platforms y the implementation of battle passes. To this is added what was announced today, which has a lot to do with protecting players against toxic and cheating people. The latter swarmed especially in countries like Koreawhere the large presence of Internet cafes meant that the punishments did not affect those who were ‘banned’ at all.
To avoid this, Overwatch 2 will require the registration of a cell phone number from October 4. The system will be called SMS Protect, which will serve to combat “inappropriate play.” By adding a layer of identification in a free game, it will be possible to restrict certain phone numbers from being able to access the game. When an account is suspended, the phone number will be banned from the system. This cannot be used for other accounts nor can an account be registered with more than one number. No, prepaid numbers cannot be used either.
Added to this, Blizzard indicates that it improved its machine learning intelligence to generate exemplary punishments with inappropriate behavior, even in voice chat. For this, it will transcribe the reported audio to analyze it in text, something that will give results more effectively.
What will there be for new players in Overwatch 2?
Other than that, Overwatch 2 it also introduces various items for new players. At first they may seem like a punishment (since veterans will not go through this), but there is a logic behind it.
For example, new players will have limited access to game modes, heroes, and features like voice chat. After a short time playing, you will unlock some of these items, but the full availability of heroes will take much longer. Total, it will be required to have played 100 games to be able to play with all the heroes. With this, they can be attached to the game modes and other things that the title offers gradually.
This will not apply to group games, as Blizzard favors the idea that a veteran player accompany a new one in the process. However, it will be more severe when trying to start competitive games. To unlock this modeit will be necessary to have won 50 rapid games to show that “you are ready
These requirements will help identify negative behaviors and pitfalls long before they wreak havoc on the community. You have to remember that Overwatch 2 It will be available from October 4 and it will be the only game that can be entered, since it completely replaces its first installment.
Fuente: Blizzard