Overwatch 2 dev clarifies how new On Fire system works amid player confusion

An Overwatch 2 dev has clarified how the recently revived On Fire system works in the sequel as various players have been getting confused by the returning feature. 

When Season 5 came into effect in Overwatch 2, it brought with it a lot of new additions to the game, and many older features from the first game as well. Chiefly among the returning features was the On Fire system.

Originally, this system served as nothing more than a nice little visual indicator, one alerting you when you were playing particularly well. But when it came back in Season 5, it had been revamped from the original state, with various changes to what would actually give the On Fire status, and the fact you can now steal opponents On Fire by killing them.

However, players also noticed that sometimes they were suddenly given On Fire even though a round had just started. Many also pointed out that On Fire was easier to earn on certain heroes. To which a Blizzard dev has now decided to clarify some of its new quirks amid the confusion. 

So how does the new "on fire" system REALLY work?
by u/defearl in Overwatch

In response to a Reddit post that showed a player’s On Fire suddenly triggering right as the round started, a Blizzard dev confirmed that it’s a known bug and that it should be fixed in a future patch.

They went on to explain how the bug happens, outlining that “if you gain Fire score in the last frame of the previous round (because you’re playing Control in Quick Play or because you’re in most Competitive game modes) and that made you On Fire or you were already On Fire, then Fire persists to the next round.”

They further explained that triggering the bug is not too difficult if you’re playing a hero like Mei or Moira which can deal continuous damage to enemies as the round ends, giving Fire score to the player. Of which the OP was playing Mei.

As for how the bug slipped through the cracks, it’s mainly due to the lack of testing in Competitive. The dev explained, “As a dev team, we don’t have enough players to queue for Competitive internally with good matchmaking, so normally we test that mode in custom games for things like On Fire.”