Today marks the release of Overwatch’s Stadium Season 18, and I have to say, the reaction piques my interest. New heroes are a big deal in most games, but Overwatch is doubling down, introducing not one but three new heroes along with a new Payload Race Quick Play mode. They also released a laundry list of smaller improvements. But scan through any players’ discussions, and the only thing blaringly clear is that everyone is talking about the new draft system.
In advance of the release, the official Overwatch Twitter account said, “There’s a lot coming to Stadium this season. Try to keep up! Enjoy 3 new heroes, Payload Race, Quick Play, and more when you jump into Season 18 and Stadium TODAY.” I think the tweet was a bit over the top, but seeing the sarcastic and negative responses to it on Twitter only made me appreciate the overly optimistic tweet more.
Everyone’s anger and frustration appear to be focused on the new draft system, which changes the approach to hero picks in Stadium with no more mirrors. When a hero is picked by one side, the other side cannot pick the same hero, which is called drafting. Players hate this change. To give you a better picture, @RioNeoPSN said, “Please god remove drafts, I really wanna play stadium but that shit is ruining it.” And that is probably one of the more polite comments. Another, @ophPicha, said “I returned to Overwatch because of Stadium and now I’m quitting, thanks to draft system.” That really stinks.
Now the reason behind all the complaints is that this change forces players to play heroes they either don’t want to play or don’t want to play with. To put it in context, @jfinde wrote in response to someone else’s post: “Fr why am I queueing for a role and getting stuck with a character I have 1 hour on. Stadium WAS fantastic. Now if you don’t have a top 3 pick overall you’re screwed.” This highlights the key problem. This mode was excellent, and this one change seems to have ruined it for a large portion of dedicated players.
And it’s not just one or two people. An entire thread is filled with people complaining about this. I’ll begin with @KeanaShafer: “hey so remove drafts. nobody asked for it. thanks”. @Fallen_Player14 writes: “I don’t like the new Stadium draft!!! Just put it back the way it was! We can’t use the same hero if the other teams choose it!!! That is just NO!!!!” And @cpearcephotos: “No mirror sucks, I can’t pick moira anymore…..”. And this is pretty much an echo chamber for complaints.
There are a few other complaints alongside or rather because of this. Some people are complaining about the missing rewards from the previous season. “WHERE ARE MY STADIUM REWARDS FROM LAST SEASON” as yelled by @xodaiis_. Another person, @rickyohnek is “on Day 2 of asking for the mythic Prisms from the Vault I bought but never received.” So, aside from all these gameplay complaints, it looks like there are also some lingering customer service problems. Not very good PR.
A few users also pointed out specific bugs. For instance, @gardee82 asked “Am I tripping or does wu ult shield end just before he gets the heal sometimes and he just gets blown up anyways?”. @ParkerPanda said, “All my Wrecking Ball progress was erased and he’s not even listed in Hero Comparison under Overview.” So yeah, some technical stuff to iron out for sure.
The vast majority of the discussion is about the draft system, which is dominating the conversation. It is interesting to see the community so unified in their dislike for a new feature. Typically, updates to a game scatter the player base, half of them loving and half of them hating the update. This is, however, almost universally hated. @Azuilaz said, “Genuinely impressive that you guys made the perks an even more dogshit mechanic”. That is a pretty harsh review.
Ah yes, I got a little sidetracked. I’m most concerned about the draft system, so I’ll focus on that. It looks like a typical example of a developer trying to fix something that didn’t need fixing. As @ophPicha pointed out, the now ‘fan-favorite’ Stadium mode attracted drivers to Overwatch two years ago, and it looks like one change has already driven those people away. That aside, @Bonelessdude01 added “Ngl drafts suck. I want those mirror matches. It shows who’s the better one at that character”. So, he understands the motive, but as you can tell, he still thinks it sucks. I feel his take is even more worse lose.
The conjecture around how Blizzard will handle this is intriguing. The feedback is explicit, and it can be found in almost every other reply. Surely, they’re seeing this. Will they undo the change? Will they try and modify it? Or will they simply ignore the feedback and hope the players, over time, adapt? To me, ignoring the problem is not an option. This much negativity does a business no good.
Season 18 of Overwatch Stadium came out a few days ago, and as usual, it comes with a few new game modes and heroes. However, just like every other release, the focus automatically shifts towards the feature that everyone hates. What a surprise. I’d recommend sticking to Quick Play until it’s fully patched or maybe try the new Payload Race and just try to ignore the draft system debacle. I wish you the best of luck with that.
