Overwatch 2 recently made some adjustments to improve queue times in Stadium, and to let skilled players more quickly increase their rank. These changes were not documented in any patch notes, but are officially live in Overwatch 2 right now.
Stadium is Overwatch 2’s latest Ranked mode, featuring a best-of-seven grudge match in which gamers can select Powers and purchase Items between rounds to modify their hero’s kit. The game mode has been incredibly popular with fans and has received a lot of attention since it first arrived, such as the inclusion of three new playable heroes in Overwatch 2 Season 17.
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PostsNow, Overwatch 2 has made even more adjustments to Stadium, though these were not documented in any recent patch notes. In a post on Twitter, Overwatch 2 game director Aaron Keller announced some changes to the Stadium matchmaking system, which should make queue times shorter at the cost of a slightly wider skill range of players in a match to compensate. Additionally, the Skill Bonus reward for winning Stadium has been increased, improving how fast many fans can boost their rank in the game mode.
Faster Queues and Ranked Climbs in Overwatch 2 Stadium
The Skill Bonus increase is especially important because Stadium ranks were reset in Overwatch 2 Season 17. This boost will help skilled players more swiftly reach the ranks that reflect their talent, thus saving lower-MMR gamers from being stomped by pros nearly as often.
The matchmaking changes, on the other hand, are only the first step towards fixing the underlying issue. Queue times for the new game mode can be exceptionally long – especially for the popular support role in Overwatch 2 Stadium. While these adjustments will likely help, support players are still facing queues of up to seven or more minutes, even at low MMRs, with high ranks having even longer waits between matches. Hopefully, Overwatch 2 can continue to monitor the situation and work to improve matchmaking even more in the future.
CloseSeason 18 of Overwatch 2 is adding an Unranked mode for Stadium, which will feature five rounds instead of seven, a unique backfill mechanic, and crossplay. Its addition will herald six main ways to play Overwatch 2 – 5v5 and 6v6 Quick Play and Ranked, on top of the Ranked and Unranked Stadium formats. While the addition of Unranked Stadium is a good thing, this new game mode will probably not have a positive impact on Ranked Stadium queues either. Fans will have to see how the inclusion of the casual format of Stadium will affect Overwatch 2 in the long run.
With the recent Overwatch 2 adjustments to stadium matchmaking and rewards, it appears that Blizzard aims at enhancing player satisfaction by fostering fairer competition while incentivizing skill-based achievement.
