When Does the Year of the Dog Again in Overwatch
Here'south why you should intendance well-nigh Overwatch's Year of the Dog event, even if you don't play Overwatch
Overwatch'due south seasonal events are always worth jubilant. They help intermission up the year and brand the game feel alive, give fan artists a boost of inspiration with new skins, and more often than not but exude an aureola of celebration. This year'due south Lunar New year upshot, Year of the Domestic dog, is no exception - and if you're an Overwatch actor waiting to jump in, you might've already planned to telephone call in 'ill' to piece of work on February 8, when the issue kicks off.
But at that place's also something about Year of the Dog that shows how Blizzard plans to continue building on its team-based shooter in the time to come, and it's worth taking note of the company'southward arroyo, even if you lot don't play the game.
Conveying the flag
On its surface, the Twelvemonth of the Dog event might non seem much dissimilar from final twelvemonth's Yr of the Rooster outcome, or indeed any seasonal Overwatch effect. It'southward got the usual smattering of digital goodies for players: skins, emotes, sprays, etc. Only where events like Winter Wonderland and Yr of the Rooster introduced new modes (Mei's Snowball Offensive and Capture the Rooster, respectively), Year of the Dog is focused on improving an existing feature, not adding a new i.
That feature is Capture the Flag, which itself evolved from terminal year's Lunar New year event and its "Capture the Rooster" style. In a developer update video, game manager Jeff Kaplan breaks downward the changes: "We looked at the game rules in CTF and we fabricated a bunch of changes. ... First off, in that location's no more draws anymore. We know historically every time we've had draws in Overwatch, there'southward been discontent in the playerbase. We want to get rid of draws, nosotros know that they're not very exciting and they can experience very anticlimactic. And then we've added a sudden death mechanic." Kaplan explains that if time runs out and the ii teams are tied, both teams' flags become moved closer to the middle of the map, shortening the distance needed to score.
"The other affair that's very exciting is we've changed the flag pickup rules - then now picking up the flag is instant, simply if y'all apply certain abilities ... we telephone call these 'restricted abilities,' so sure abilities... and I'll requite you an instance: Winston'southward leap, his jump pack, will [cause him to] driblet the flag when he uses it. We found that past doing this, the rate of capture is much higher, the games are at present much more than offensive, and much more activeness-packed."
All of these rules will be implemented on a new map, set in Thailand, created specifically for Capture the Flag. Previously, CTF games relied on existing maps for players to enjoy, making the Thailand map a first for Overwatch. The new rules will also be in effect for a short competitive season, meaning ranked CTF is also coming to the game (at least for four weeks, the elapsing of the Year of the Dog event).
Slow and steady
Overwatch launched in May 2016. At the fourth dimension, some criticized it for being also light on content. It was, later all, a multiplayer-simply game with no PVE elements to speak of, released in a market where both 'hero shooters' and multiplayer-merely models were considered striking or miss (oft miss) gambles. Even if it had the most finely-counterbalanced combat of any FPS ever, how could information technology stay relevant going forward?
This is how: slowly, incrementally adding onto the foundation laid ii years ago with new and various content. Think of Overwatch less every bit a standalone game and more equally a platform for absorbing players into its fandom, slowly just steadily branching out into new avenues of engagement, new ways for people to bask the Overwatch universe. It has tie-in animated shorts and digital comics for those who admire the game from afar, and is building and honing new modes for active players.
It would be wrong to dismiss these changes to CTF equally a mere vacation effect or temporary hype. Kaplan has stated that it takes months for the dev squad to take a map from paradigm to fully-realized environment, and I take a difficult time believing Blizzard would put the effort into creating such a thing (non to mention the extra piece of work of crafting a competitive CTF season and its associated rewards) if it was merely ever intended to be temporary.
Remember: the DNA for Overwatch's Capture the Flag way goes back to last twelvemonth's Yr of the Rooster event. This year, information technology's getting what feels like a trial run of a competitive version, and players will become to feel a new map built specifically for CTF. I wouldn't exist surprised if by this time next yr, CTF became a standard mode, always available for players to relish.
But the important thing to note here is how much time Blizzard is taking with implementation, and how the company has made the growth of Overwatch a deliberate and iterative, not sudden and sporadic, procedure. This helps foreclose a feeling of burn-out, it reduces the likelihood of desperate missteps, keeps Overwatch relevant as it faces down new contest, and arguably most of import to Blizzard, it keeps players engaged. It's a strategy that personally, I'd like to see more developers take.
These are irksome, toe-dipping steps into a pool. I tin can't wait until we're swimming in the deep end.
Source: https://www.gamesradar.com/heres-why-you-should-care-about-overwatchs-year-of-the-dog-event-even-if-you-dont-play-overwatch/
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