Overwatch 2 will add a much-needed ping system

By Otto Kratky March 24, 2022

Whenever Overwatch 2 officially launches, it will add new game modes, new maps, and new heroes to the massively popular hero shooter. Above all that though, it will add a ping system to the game so you can finally mute your teammates and be able to point out enemy positions in peace.

A screenshot shows off the ping system in Overwatch 2.

Apex Legends popularized the ping system, which is common in team-based games at this point. Players have been asking for one in Overwatch for a good long while, something that Blizzard acknowledged in a post detailing the new feature. One of the goals of the ping system, according to systems designer Gavin Winter, was to “create a system to communicate for players that would prefer to avoid voice chat.”

Anyone who has played Overwatch before can attest to how heated games can get. It’s a competitive first-person shooter, and trash talk online isn’t anything new. However, Overwatch can get flat-out toxic at times, an issue that Blizzard has tried to address previously. It seems like the game’s incoming ping system is a way to kill two birds with one stone.

Like ping systems in other games, players will be able to give commands (that will go ignored, naturally) and point out enemies. The system is contextual as well, displaying different information based on what a character is doing. For instance, if a player tags a Reaper with their ping and that Reaper then teleports away with Shadow Step or Wraith Form, the ping will stay there with a question mark, indicating that it is their last-known position.

From Blizzard’s post, it seems like the incoming ping system is a much-needed evolution of the voice commands players use now. Currently, Overwatch lets players issue verbal commands through their characters, though they’re simple things like “group up” or “defend here.”

While Overwatch 2 doesn’t have a release date, it seems like we’re getting closer and closer to one. A closed beta for Overwatch 2‘s PvP mode is set to take place in late April, with other closed betas to follow.

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