Overwatch, It Isn't New Anymore

[Demosthenes]

Blizzards DOTA 2 is Heroes of the Storm. You probabky meant to say Blizzards TF2. Quality of the game aside, its a silly stance. Might as well be clamoring about "why can't every game be free?"

[Salodin]

So what support is there for the game post release? New maps released quarterly? New characters? What kind of level system is in place?

If everything is unlocked after purchase, I feel like I'd get bored very quickly with out better extras after launch; and if I had to pay for expansions after the fact I know I'd never do it, and if I didn't than I'd be left behind in the segmented user base that never buys expansions.

[Demosthenes]

Frankly I have no idea. Skins, maps, game modes, new characters etc etc. There isn't a shortage of things they can do. Diablo 3 was a pile of hot garbage at launch but it's a game I enjoy in month long spurts these days. I recall TF2 being horribly unbalanced in beta and at launch too.

[Ksandra]

So what support is there for the game post release? New maps released quarterly? New characters? What kind of level system is in place?

If everything is unlocked after purchase, I feel like I'd get bored very quickly with out better extras after launch; and if I had to pay for expansions after the fact I know I'd never do it, and if I didn't than I'd be left behind in the segmented user base that never buys expansions.

I am hoping for map customization. A lot of the great maps in tf2 were player generated.

[geno]

I think maps (and hopefully game modes) is going to be by far and away their #1 priority post release, at least when it comes to ongoing content. Bug fixing and UI/online features that aren't quite done will be more important first, but after that content is king.

I'm sure skins will be a part of the package as well, but tbh it's not Blizzard's strong suit so I doubt they will play towards it. They don't have the advantage Valve does of a community workshop and marketplace infrastructure to utilize crowd-source talent, anything they put out will feel slow by comparison.

New characters I hope will be a part of the equation, but I get the feeling they won't be a priority for quite a long time after release. Depends on feedback but tbh, for me at least, the current roster is pretty solid. Every new character is a chance for them to screw up the balance of the game and put other characters out of active play. Long term though, they'll almost certainly need to add more to keep people interested.

I get the feeling the game will be kind of like Diablo 3 when it comes to post-release support. Which I think is a pretty good model overall for B2P games considering D3's trajectory. If there are expansions, I'm guessing they will be multiple years down the road and contain huge chunks of content that splits the playerbase rather than integrate. Most of the content will probably come from free patches with added map packs and cosmetic rewards for whatever progression system they have in the works.

All speculation of course, but it seems in line with what they've done so far. The biggest missing piece is how they involve community created content, because so far that seems completely ignored. No sign of any map or even skin creation tools on the horizon. Which may be fine for a couple years, but will certainly bite them in the ass later. Experimentation and creativity from community-content is what keeps most competitive online games alive long-term.

[Ksandra]

New characters I hope will be a part of the equation, but I get the feeling they won't be a priority for quite a long time after release. Depends on feedback but tbh, for me at least, the current roster is pretty solid. Every new character is a chance for them to screw up the balance of the game and put other characters out of active play. Long term though, they'll almost certainly need to add more to keep people interested.

IMO before they think of adding characters, they need to create maps with larger team sizes.

[Demosthenes]

larger team sizes.

I don't know about this. It has always been my perception that more players on a map = less use of tactics and more rushing/clusterfuck. I still think the best TF2 games are low man games.

[Ksandra]

I like the option for pugs. And it would seem crazy to have too many characters and such a small team size.

[Demosthenes]

I guess, but low manning and character switching to hard counter specific challenges at specific times seems like more strategy to me.

[Falisa]

I can't stop playing. Wishing more of my friends had access to the game right now. Its fun to just pop in for a game or two while studying. Helps wake me up and it only takes like 15-20 min to play a couple matches.

I am pretty bad at shooters though.

[Demosthenes]

Time zones are a bitch.

[Demosthenes]

[BadKarma]

All post launch content free.


BASED BLIZZARD

[Ksandra]

All post launch content free.


BASED BLIZZARD

But how will people still complain about the price?


Oh, wait. It's the internet.

[Ksandra]

I can't stop playing. Wishing more of my friends had access to the game right now. Its fun to just pop in for a game or two while studying. Helps wake me up and it only takes like 15-20 min to play a couple matches.

I am pretty bad at shooters though.

I am too, but I have fun!

I've gotten a lot of the cards at the end though, so I must be doing aight at least.

[geno]

All post launch content free.


BASED BLIZZARD

They've gotta do skins at least, and if it's their only post-launch monetization with maps & heroes out of the picture, there will probably be a lot of them.

Damn glad they went this route. Based Blizzard indeed.

[becca778]

Looking forward for this game. Though I think it will give some new flavour because there is too much dota for me

[Demosthenes]

They've gotta do skins at least, and if it's their only post-launch monetization with maps & heroes out of the picture, there will probably be a lot of them.

Damn glad they went this route. Based Blizzard indeed.

It is still shocking to me that people think it HAS to be monetized and it can't possibly just be a fully priced game that is supported the same way they've supported fully priced games. Sure, they might sell skins but honestly, we have no fucking way of knowing if they will or will not.

[Dakk-Siren]

To me its not if they will or not, it is that they could make BANK doing it. People love these characters and when people really love a character people are much more willing to pay for skins.
I personally don't care about cosmetic micro transactions, but if selling skins allows for continued free content updates sell the shit out of a half naked tracer/widowmaker and give me free maps.

[geno]

I think people have just come to expect it with online multiplayer-only games... League, Dota, CS:GO. Some form of longterm monetization helps alleviate fears that the game won't have extensive post-launch content and support.

I just can't see Overwatch being pay-once and still expect years of content. There's no community map making or even costume tools, so the game will kind of depends upon direct support for awhile. With heroes and maps free, there's not much room for an expansion model like SC2/D3 so you have to expect something else to fill the gap.