Overwatch Introduces Enhanced Avoidance System for Competitive Play
Season 12 brings a revamped player avoidance system, allowing for better control over matchmaking experiences. Players can now permanently avoid troublesome teammates and manage their avoid list more effectively.
At a glance
- New Avoid Slots
- Players can now utilize 15 avoid slots, including 3 permanent options.
- Duration of Avoidance
- Recent avoid slots expire after 7 days, while pinned slots never time out.
- Matchmaking Impact
- Avoided players may still appear in matches under certain conditions.
Overview of the New Avoidance System
In an effort to enhance the competitive experience in Overwatch, Blizzard has introduced a significant update to the player avoidance system for Season 12. This new feature allows players to manage their matchmaking experience more effectively by avoiding players they do not wish to team up with. The system now includes a total of 15 avoid slots, which are divided into two categories: Pinned and Recent.
Pinned and Recent Avoid Slots
The 15 avoid slots consist of 3 Pinned slots and 12 Recent slots. The Pinned slots allow players to permanently avoid specific teammates, ensuring that they will not be matched with these players in future games. This is a notable improvement over the previous system, where avoid slots would eventually expire. The Recent slots, on the other hand, function similarly to the old system, expiring after 7 days.
Impact on Matchmaking
While the Recent avoid slots are designed to prevent unwanted players from appearing in matches, there are still circumstances where they may show up. For instance, players at very high ranks or those in lower-population regions during off-peak hours may encounter avoided players. To manage this, the system will gradually disregard players at the bottom of the Recent list if queue times become excessively long. Additionally, players can reset the duration of individuals on their Recent list, allowing for more control over who they wish to avoid.
