Blizzard Sheds Light on Overwatch Skill Rating System Changes

As reported by RealGear, Blizzard has announced that it was going to make significant alterations to the 6th Competitive Overwatch season. Back then, the publisher outlined the main changes, but the community manager Stephanie “Lylirra” Johnson shared more details about the skill rating system and the upcoming patch 1.14.

As reported by RealGear, Blizzard has announced that it was going to make significant alterations to the 6th Competitive Overwatch season. Back then, the publisher outlined the main changes, but the community manager Stephanie “Lylirra” Johnson shared more details about the skill rating system and the upcoming patch 1.14.

According to Lylirra’s announcement, Overwatch players in Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond can be demoted to a lower skill tier. In case of a loss, the game will check the current tier and skill rating of the player. If the skill rating for the past five games has not exceeded the minimum for their current tier, they will bid a farewell to that tier. Needless to say, players will not be demoted on a win.

Competitive points received at the end of the season will still be awarded in accordance with the highest tier achieved during the season. Lylirra also hinted at some changes related to the skill rating calculation after a win or loss. She did not reveal in-depth details but said that the changes will be implemented with the aim of enabling players to pick the hero believed to improve the odds of winning of their team.

Overwatch Director Jeff Kaplan also took a stance on the matter via the Battle.net forums. Overwatch players commented the issue related to high-skill players being placed in lower-skilled games because of the decay. Kaplan explained that the internal matchmaking rating is different from the SR. He also added that the MMR is what used to match players with fellow players and the MMR does not decay.

Season 5 ends on August 28th. Overwatch Competitive Season 6 starts on August 31st.

Andrew is arguably the geekiest member of our team. He has a knack for new gaming hardware and awesome gadgets. Although Overwatch is his current favorite, he thinks the Counter Strike Global Offensive is the best shooter of all times. He is constantly hunting for news about new hero releases and patches. Andrew believes that playing video games is not just a hobby but a way of life. He regards his job at RealGear as a way of helping fellow gamers make the most of their gameplay by writing reviews about the hardware he uses and the FPS/ RTS he plays.

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