While Overwatch 2 Stadium is the breath of fresh air Blizzard’s hero shooter has needed for a long time now, it’s not perfect. Introducing upgrades and consistent growth between matches presents new balancing challenges, and while the WoW and Diablo maker has faced them head on, it’s not been easy. In fact, game director Aaron Keller is admitting that, while Blizzard wants you to feel OP during Stadium matches, some of the builds have “gone too far.” So with the Street Fighter 6 collaboration around the corner, Stadium changes are on the way, too.
With a best-of-seven format, upgrades based on performance, and a third-person mode, Overwatch 2’s Stadium is very different from typical ranked play. That’s by design, though, as Blizzard has injected a fresh way to play the multiplayer game that’s proving to be exceedingly popular amongst players. The trouble is, some of the builds being used are impacting the overall balance.
“The philosophy around Stadium balance is a bit different from the rest of Overwatch 2,” Keller writes in a new Director’s Take. “We want you to feel as though you can have MVP moments in a match—riding the cusp of feeling overpowered—while also seeing the mode as something that rewards skill in both combat and Armory strategy. While we want players to feel OP at times, we’ve already started to see some builds that have high burst potential with a relatively low skill floor. We believe that some of these have gone too far and will be looking into adjustments to them.
“Variety is still deeply important for Stadium, too. We want you to feel like your Hero’s strength grows and morphs in different ways depending on the match. Sometimes you’ll be the carry and sometimes you’ll take a supporting role. Stadium won’t be as delicately balanced as our Core competitive modes, but our goal is to keep it ‘casually competitive.'”
Keller also explains how the Stadium leaver rate was actually higher than initially anticipated. The percentage of players quitting mid game has gone up from seven to 12%, as Keller explains that this mostly comes from first-time players, with their rate dropping the more they play. “Since Stadium is still so new, we expect the leaver rate to drop and settle at a much lower rate in the coming weeks,” Keller adds.
As for the most popular Overwatch 2 characters in Stadium, you might be quite surprised. According to Blizzard data analyst Ben Trautman, Solider 76 is the most picked damage hero while Reinhardt takes the lead for tanks. Overall win rates tell a different story, however, as Lucio and Reaper lead the charge, with Reinhardt coming in just behind them.
We’ve also got all the best Overwatch 2 Stadium DPS builds and Overwatch 2 Stadium support builds, to help you get your win rate up.
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