Overwatch just brought a new region called Public Test Region to the list of regions available. Although the service has been available in South Korea for a while, which is where we got a glimpse at the golden weapons from, it will now be available for western players as well.
The servers will be able to host up to 10,000 players concurrently and they must be level 25 or above to join, and even though the new PTR servers will be located in the US, anyone can join from anywhere in the world (except for China). Also, this feature is available for the PC version of the game only.
Right now, a new feature is being tested in the Public Test Region: Competitive Play. Here is what Blizzard had to say about the mode:
“Once you hit level 25, you’ll have access to our newest feature: Competitive Play. This mode was designed to be a more serious experience, allowing players to hone their skills and perfect their strategies. But before diving into the fray, you’ll need to play 10 placement matches. These will allow our matchmaking system to gather enough information about your abilities to assign a skill rating.”
“With your newly acquired skill rating, you’ll be matched against players of a similar ability level. And if you play well and win games, the competition will become increasingly fierce throughout the two-and-a-half-month season. Plus, your performance will be rewarded with unique in-game items like sprays, player icons, and Competitive Points (which can be traded in for cosmetic Golden Weapons).” They continue, “We’ve also made a number of changes to Overwatch’s match format for Competitive Play. Some of these changes are simple interface changes, while others ensure that maps and modes don’t favor one side or another—plus we’ve added a sudden death mechanic that ensures tied games are broken as fairly as possible. ”
Overall, this is an amazing addition to the game. Although we are a little concerned that it excludes console players for now, but there is nothing stopping Blizzard from adding this to consoles in the future.
