Overwatch 2 devs confirm big changes to ultimates and other “snowball” mechanics

Adjustments are in the works to Overwatch 2’s ultimates and other “snowball mechanics” to prevent the amount of stomp matches plaguing the game.

Since its release, Overwatch 2 has been criticized for having some major balance issues related to matchmaking with players of varying skill levels ending up in the same game.

While the devs have made efforts to fix the matchmaker and create more competitive matches, it seems like they’ve pinpointed another big area in dire need of some adjustments: Snowball mechanics.

The developers believe that tackling these features could make the game a lot better, and explained as much in a recent blog post discussing stomps in OW2 and how they can be fixed.

Overwatch 2 devs want to stop stomps by adjusting “snowball” mechanics

According to Game Director Aaron Keller, the team has been collecting data on stomp matches and found out that they can occur regardless of match quality – and even in games where the skill difference is less than a single division.

“We think there are mechanics in Overwatch that contribute to matches turning out this way. For instance, the way ult charge is generated in the game is a snowball mechanic, and it can be very hard to stop that momentum,” he said.

The lead developer used the Control map type as an example, noting how players sometimes get annihilated in the first round only to come roaring back in the second to win the whole match.

“The reset between rounds negates many of these mechanics and puts each team on an even playing field for the next round. We are continually working on our matchmaker, but the biggest gains for perceived competitiveness in Overwatch lies in looking at our core mechanics and game modes and making adjustments here,” he revealed.

Keller added that there was “more to come” on this topic, indicating that changes are in the works. One possibility could be an ultimate charge reset in game modes such as Payload once a checkpoint has been reached.

In any case, we’ll hopefully learn more about the planned changes in time for the mid-season patch that will also include a special 5v5 team queue.