Hiya folks,

Posting this thread to concentrate discussion of today’s livestream happening over on Twitch at 12 PM PDT/3 PM EDT/19:00 BST.

Be nice, both to each other and the folks on camera. We hope you all enjoy the stream.

Ironically I remember BST is still in effect, but still wrote GMT. Don’t mind me.

in one hour and nine minutes from this post.

We’re working on new Tanks. We’re working on new Supports.

When I say “working on”, I mean to say any hero that you don’t know about. They could be in various degrees of completion and testing. I know. I’ve tested and played them all, including the Doomfist and Orisa rework.

What I am not at liberty to say is “you are getting X heroes”, or you are getting X many of this role", nor am I at liberty to say when you’ll get what.

We’re going to have plenty of news to talk about between now and the first beta, and then we have additional beta phases after that. As players ourselves, both Jodie and I are eager to give all of you insight into what’s coming your way. We know there’s a desire for a more concrete roadmap, and that’s something Jodie and I will continue to convey to the team.

I hope it’s evident by now that when I come here with new information it’s always been verified and checked through multiple gates. I get being skeptical, and I get being guarded. If I’m here telling you somet...

There is strong spam prevention built in

Just to clarify something: Sojourn will be available in the first beta phase. As Aaron said, we’ll be having multiple phases of beta, and we are working on more, new, heroes for each role.

We’ve been playing with the Ping system in our daily playtests for awhile.

My personal perspective; it’s incredibly useful

We’ll have more details to share about it before beta starts, so please stay tuned!

I get this, and usually go out of my way to avoid being tease-y or leading anyone on.

It’s perfectly understandable to be skeptical of us right now. Were I in your position, I’d be similarly guarded, and reserving judgement until you learn more. All I’ll say is we look forward to re-earning your trust.

So. Very. Aware.™

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It’s can’t.

For Jodie or I to come to the forums and provide any additional insight that’s not been thoroughly vetted and approved by the teams would be disrespectful to the work of the hundreds of people behind our announcements

The team is very aware of the current conversation happening here on the forums. When we have more to share regarding those other matters you’re alluding to, we will.

Keep in mind that addressing the biggest concerns on the forums (namely OW2 WHEN, game updates WHEN?) require massive coordination, both in terms of development, publishing, and approvals all the way up the chain.

I know that it stinks to want more information, any information, and for us to not have anything to say in the moment. We want to share what we’re working on with you, and we want to do it in a way that’s respectful of the work the team is doing behind the scenes, and will leave all of you feeling informed, and brought along for the journey.

I saw this study last year, and there’s a few aspects of it you’re neglecting to share here:

• This study covered all kinds of online interactions, including social media platforms
• The statistics that delve specifically into online games paint a starkly different picture
• This study does not account for the overwhelming number of women who choose to not communicate via in-game communication methods, which leads to a bit of confirmation bias
• The study also indicates that the reported instances of women being harassed online has more than doubled since 2017

I would strongly encourage anyone sharing polls and statistics to avoid cherry picking only the specific blurbs that defend your viewpoint. This topic is far more complex than a single statistic.

We’re working on improving our anti-toxicity measures for the future. We’ll definitely update everyone when we have details ready to share.

Let’s discuss the difference between equality and equity here, in the context of this discussion.

Equality indicates that everyone has the exact same opportunity presented to themselves, irrespective of the inherent biases they may face if they’re a member of an under-represented or under-voiced community. This means people who have inherent societal advantages are usually several steps ahead of folks who may be viewed as other.

Equity indicates that everyone has the exact same opportunity presented to themselves, however it also takes into account societal disadvantages, and by doing so compensates for said disadvantages through mechanisms that are designed to remove or lessen the likelihood of both conscious and unconscious biases affecting the final outcome.

As it relates to the Empowerment Cup

• As a note, the Empowerment Cup was run by a community organization, and we chose to feature it in the client because it aligns with our values as a team
• Women, LGBTQIA+, and POC players rece...

We’re continuing to investigate ongoing issues affecting voice chat quality with our third party provider. While we’ve seen some positive movement, at this time we do not have an ETA for when a fix will be ready.

Our apologies for any negative experiences this issue may have caused.

For us to be able to work with anyone, content creator or otherwise, and allow them to impact the game, implies that there’s a certain level of trust with them, and trust like that is only built up if we have a relationship with them.

I would also encourage you to consider that content creators we have a relationship with are not a monolith. We have great working relationships with plenty of folks who are consistently critical of us, and I believe that hivemind is a mischaracterization of the environment we strive to foster.

It’s just the first thing I thought of when I saw that name being floated around.

The guidance we provide is over the top, and wacky. Something different from the live game, not another iteration of it.

This is probably a good lesson for us to learn: over the top is completely subjective based on your perspective. Also, I think that each of the creators try to work some things they’d like to actually see make it, in addition to the more outlandish changes. That’s fine, and isn’t something I’d like to start discouraging.

You got me. Here’s an image of a new hero:

Implied kappa

I would point out that Lemon has played quite a bit of tank, and has enough knowledge on the role to be a well respected member of the Overwatch Shoutcaster professional scene.

I could also point out that (as detailed in her video on the subject), she solicited advice and opinions from several players who play the game at high SR (she did the work), and essentially wrote a thesis paper on her changes and her theory behind the changes.

If it helps, I’ll point to what Flats, ml7, and every other creator who has participated in the Experimental Cards to date has said: balancing a game is incredibly complex and takes into account far more variables than most folks initially give it credit for.

I’ll also own some of the blame, as the process for feedback, and follow up can be improved. I’ll be working with the production team to improve the process for future collaborated cards, including additional “milestone check-ins”....