Blizzard Entertainment has released a new update for the closed beta of its impending team-based shooter game Overwatch.
On Tuesday, the developer pushed out the update for Overwatch, which brings a new game mode gamers' way. The new mode is dubbed "Competitive Play" and as the name suggests it is targeted at players who are "seeking a more serious challenge."
"Designed for those seeking a more serious challenge, Competitive Play is our new game mode in which players can compete and 'rank up' through a series divisions and tiers in monthly seasons," notes Blizzard.
The new mode will enable gamers to rank up via several tiers and divisions in monthly seasons. However, to be able to take part in this new mode for Overwatch, gamers are required to be at level 25 or above.
According to Jeff Kaplan, the game's director, this has been done in a bid to keep players who are brand new out of the system. The restriction to level 25 or above will ensure that Competitive Play mode only includes gamers who are familiar with the title's characters and maps.
The new Competitive Play mode will offer gamers five tiers they can advance through. These tiers are as follows:
Challenger
Advanced
Expert
Master
Heroic
Each of these five tiers has five divisions — from one to five — and gamers can rank up from one to the next and then progress to the next tier. In the Challenger tier, players will not be losing any ranking points and only progress forward — until one reaches the Advanced tier.
Kaplan has let on that all features of the Competitive Play mode are yet to be implemented. Moreover, the pre-season being run in beta by Blizzard could possibly extend to the complete release of Overwatch. The game director also let slip that the developer has "further plans in the future to make [Competitive Play] cooler."
The update also brings new progression rewards gamers' way: legendary skins, new sprays, new voice lines, player icons, as well as new punishments for gamers who quit out frequently. Gamers who quit the matches before its completion will get warnings from Blizzard. If done continuously, they will sustain XP penalties.
For those who want to join Competitive Play mode, select Play in the main menu. Next, select Competitive Play option. One can queue up for the Competitive Play in a group or go solo. The system tries to match one up with players who are queued similarly when matchmaking.
For additional details the April update brings to Overwatch, head to the patch notes or watch the video below.
