- Overwatch 2 will have a radial menu that allows players to quickly send out preset messages
- This move aims to prevent voice chat harassment and allow those who do not want to speak to communicate
- The system will be tested once Overwatch 2’s closed beta launches on April 26
Overwatch 2 will have a wheel menu that allows players to quickly send out messages and discuss tactics with their teammates.
Overwatch 2 Gets a Convenient Quick Chat
Overwatch 2’s closed beta is set to launch on April 26. Activision Blizzard’s highly-anticipated title will soon have its first players, followed by a competitive season in an early build of the game. With the franchise’s second iteration just around the corner, the developers spoke more about its communication solutions.
Activision Blizzard workers shared a blog post about Overwatch 2’s ping system. The detailed that players will be able to quickly issue commands and warnings without having to use a voice chat. The pinging will work much like in other similar games, with players being able to open a radial menu and select from a roster of preset messages.
Players can prompt their teammates to advance, fall back, gather around, target a specific location, etc. The ping system will be backed with in-game voice lines. When a player issues a command, their character’s voice will automatically communicate it to the teammates.
Those who love characters with invisibility and blink skills need not worry as the ping system will untrack them once they activate their abilities. Instead, the markers will show the last location they stood at before using the skill.
Players will be able to click on a message they have received and use quick responses.
A Way to Prevent Harassment
Through this addition, Blizzard aims to provide players who shy away from voice chats with a way to reliably communicate with their teammates without having to type long messages. System designer Gavin Winter described it as follows:
“One of our goals was to augment speech and give people a way to visually interpret voice communication. We also wanted to support all voices and create a system to communicate for players that would prefer to avoid voice chat.”
Many people’s in-game performance has suffered because they did not want to use a voice chat or were harassed through it. With the new wheel menu, players will be able to avoid all of this and still win games. To further combat harassment, Activision Blizzard will implement anti-spam measures, preventing people from flooding the chat with spammy messages.
Closed beta participants will be able to test this system starting April 26.
