Overwatch 2 is now days away from its launch after a long OW roadmap and build up period. The game is going free to play. It’s also making some other changes though. One of the biggest announced this week is the expansive Overwatch 2 anti-toxicity rules. However, these are going to put a lot more restrictions on playing the game, making accounts, and what new players can do.

The rule changes will make it easier than ever for those being toxic to get banned. However, they are controversial. Some think these rules are a bit too restrictive. The Overwatch 2 anti-toxicity rules go past the basics. Alongside getting rid of opportunities for players to talk to each other, Blizzard now requires a lot more information from players. This is going to cut down on smurfs. But it’ll also place some pretty big restrictions on players just hoping to try the game out.

Overwatch 2 Anti-Toxicity Rules

Blizzard has this week announced some big changes to the Overwatch 2 anti-toxicity rules. This is going to be under the name defence matrix. These are some changes they’ll be making:

• Endorsements – Endorsements for sportsmanship are gone, so no more sarcastic praise.
• Competitive – Player levels and portrait frames won’t be visible in matches anymore. This will help cut down on players getting criticised for their level or performance.
• Pings – Pings are getting introduced to allow players to communicate without having to use voice chat. This helps make the game more accessible if you want to avoid talking to strangers.
• General Chat – This is gone entirely. This is one of the biggest Overwatch 2 anti-toxicity changes.
• FTUE – The FTUE or first-time user experience is a big change to help ease players into the game, and cut down on smurfs.
• Audio Transcripts – Blizzard will have access to audio recordings of team chat to help police reports.
• SMS Protect – Players must attach a blizzard account to a phone number to cut down on double accounts.

FTUE

The TFUE or First User Experience is another element of the Overwatch 2 anti-toxicity rules. This is a special change. It’s a whole new system for how the game deals with new players.

They’ll have to progress through tutorials and earn experience to unlock the base features of the game This is supposed to help ease players in. A game like Overwatch with a big esports scene can be a bit much for a fresh player. This should help players get the basics gradually. Although, some aren’t happy you’ll have to unlock heroes that have been in the game for a while if you’re a brand new player.

Players will have to get through this along with winning 50 quick player matches before they can be part of competitive. This should help to ensure that smurf accounts can’t get access without a serious time commitment. It is also aimed at reducing the time new players can spend in competitive without mastering the basics. Theoretically, this will cut down on toxicity.

Does Defence Matrix Go Too Far?

A lot of fans haven’t reacted well to the Overwatch 2 anti-toxicity changes. Although, some aren’t unpopular. While others have highlighted a few key areas and gotten pretty annoyed by what the changes mean outside of the goal of stopping toxicity,

so just to recap here:

Blizzard, a company filled with sex offenders,

is shutting down Overwatch, a full price game,

to make way for a sequel that demonstrably looks worse,

and now comes with fewer features and you need to grind 100 matches to unlock the original charcters

— Windows 98 Tech Support 🏳️‍⚧️🏴‍☠️ (@Win98Tech) September 27, 2022

The changes are going to be controversial. Especially when they involve handing over personal information like a phone number. Or giving Blizzard permission to record voice chats. The other changes seem relatively inoffensive though, trying to make the game easier for new players to jump in to. We’ll have to see how the changes to stop smurfs and keep out toxicity fare when the game actually releases.