Chapter 417: Improvement Plan
Chen Mo’s idea was to completely transform *Overwatch* into an entertainment-focused game, maximizing its core fun while minimizing barriers.
First, remove the entry barrier. The game itself would be completely free, relying only on value-added services like skins and avatars for profit. This was to attract as many players as possible, broaden the depth of the player pool, and ensure that most players’ win rates and matchmaking experiences were close to those of *League of Legends*.
Many players might think that forcibly guaranteeing a 50% win rate is a foolish approach, but in reality, a competitive game that cannot guarantee a 50% win rate is a disaster. Failing to guarantee a 50% win rate means that skilled players can keep winning, while inexperienced novices keep losing. This exacerbates player attrition in the lower tiers, which is extremely detrimental to the game’s lifespan.
Second, downplay the feeling of winning or losing, and strengthen the sense of player growth. For a competitive game, most players’ primary enjoyment comes from winning. While maintaining this, it’s also essential to make losing less frustrating for players.
One issue with the original *Overwatch* was that players often lost without understanding why. You might think it was because a teammate played poorly, the team lacked coordination, or the lineup was bad. In short, the system never told you exactly why you lost, and you couldn’t figure it out yourself. This directly led to a deep sense of helplessness after losing, with negative feedback that was overwhelmingly harsh.
Chen Mo’s approach was to record all data for each hero used by players throughout the game, not just damage, healing, eliminations, and so on. For example, for Winston, the system would compile data on total damage, eliminations, deaths, damage taken, critical eliminations (taking out high-performing enemy damage dealers or healers), critical damage (damage contributed to critical eliminations), and ultimate effectiveness (whether the activation timing was correct). At the end of each match, a comprehensive rating would be given.
All players could clearly see this data and easily distinguish which players were carrying and which were dragging the team down. At the same time, eliminations would no longer be shared, and the situation of getting a gold medal for eliminations by tagging enemies would no longer exist.
Of course, since all data would be public and more detailed, the “gold medal” system would be removed accordingly. Moreover, this system was essentially meaningless because most players didn’t recognize it—getting a gold medal didn’t necessarily mean you played well.
For players, using the same hero and seeing the hero’s proficiency change after each match served as a form of indirect motivation. For example, if you played Hanzo and performed well throughout the match, even if you lost, seeing that you earned an S-grade rating and performed better than before would help you forget the disappointment of defeat.
Additionally, player rewards would be directly tied to individual performance, not to winning or losing. As long as you played well, even if you lost, you could earn more rewards than the winners, further diluting the frustration of losing.
For players who performed poorly, the detailed data would clearly show them where they went wrong. For instance, if a player chose Reaper, after the match, the system might indicate: “This match performance: B. Use of E ability for repositioning is far below average. Use of Shift ability to avoid damage is far below average. Total long-range shotgun damage is significantly higher than total close-range damage.”
Based on this data, the system could determine that the player didn’t understand how to flank and get up close to deal damage with Reaper. After understanding this, the player would subconsciously improve in these areas the next time they played Reaper.
Win decisively, lose with clarity—only then could most players find enough enjoyment in the game.
Finally, open up multiple game modes. A major issue with the original *Overwatch* was that the 6v6 all-hero selection mode made some team-boosting heroes far more effective than typical assault heroes, leading to rigid lineups.
Chen Mo considered launching five different modes for players to freely choose from. Whichever mode attracted the most players would indicate the correct direction.
The first was the Classic Mode: 6v6 with all heroes, no repeats.
The second was the FPS Mode: Players could only choose assault-type heroes. This mode would return to the core fun of FPS games, where everything depended on aim.
The third was the Ban/Pick Mode: Each team could vote to ban three heroes. If players generally felt that Reinhardt or Lucio were unfun to play against and didn’t want the enemy team to have them, they could ban them directly, removing them from the match.
The fourth was the More Players Mode: 12v12, no repeats. The significance of this mode was to give players more room for chaos, allowing many heroes more opportunities to shine. The problem with 6v6 was the limited number of positions. For team balance, two tanks and two healers were essentially mandatory, leaving only two slots for damage dealers. In the competition for damage slots, heroes with higher damage output (like Soldier: 76) would consistently appear, while heroes with weaker output had no chance to be played, even if you were skilled with them, because teammates wouldn’t trust you. In 12v12, the team could allocate more slots to less popular heroes. For example, while maintaining basic tank and healer roles, you could simultaneously pick Soldier: 76, Widowmaker, Hanzo, Genji, and Reaper, covering high-ground sniping, backline harassment, and standard damage output, giving more heroes room to appear.
The fifth was the Promotion Mode: When a hero reached a certain number of eliminations or assists without dying, they would be promoted, allowing them to enhance a specific ability. This meant you could snowball through early advantages. Of course, the enemy team could also end a kill streak to gain a stronger promotion effect. All effects would reset at the end of the current round to ensure fairness in the initial match. This was mainly to satisfy players with a personal hero complex, allowing them to experience the thrill of taking on multiple opponents.
Additionally, Chen Mo’s *Overwatch* would have a stricter reward and punishment system. Each player’s performance in daily matches would affect their overall rating. During matchmaking, players of similar skill levels would be prioritized for the same match. If a player’s rating remained consistently low, they would be matched against weaker opponents. If a player was frequently reported by others for negative behavior like trolling or verbal abuse, there would be penalties. These players would be prioritized for the same matches, and severe cases would be sent to a “timeout” mode, where they would have to complete a certain number of bot matches before being released.
Of course, Chen Mo wasn’t entirely sure whether these changes would succeed. But at least one thing was clear to him: *Overwatch* itself was a great game. It shouldn’t just reach the level of popularity it had in his previous life; it should do even better. Chen Mo didn’t want his version of *Overwatch* to experience a surge of popularity only to fade quickly. He hoped the game would have a longer lifespan, allowing more players to continuously enjoy its fun.