Overwatch 2 Season 13 Patch Notes: My Hero Academia Collaboration, Halloween Terror Event, and Additional Updates

This article outlines the essential updates from the Overwatch 2 Season 13 patch notes for players.

Overwatch 2 Season 13 Patch Notes (October 2024)

CROSSOVER WITH MY HERO ACADEMIA©

Embrace the choice between heroism and villainy in the latest Overwatch 2 collaboration, showcasing exclusive skins drawn from the beloved characters of My Hero Academia. Play as the champions of justice with Tracer dressed as Deku, Reinhardt embodying All Might, and Juno as Uravity. Alternatively, wreak havoc with Reaper as Tomura Shigaraki and Kiriko as Himiko Toga.

Don’t miss out on the Mega Bundle, your ultimate collection of My Hero Academia treasures—available only from October 17-30.

HALLOWEEN TERROR 2024

This Halloween season, the Halloween Terror event offers a frightful experience filled with both new and returning modes. Dive into the spine-chilling chaos of Junkenstein’s Laboratory, a high-energy Team Deathmatch enabling hero enhancements via powerful cursed talent cards. Also, delve into the sinister co-op experience of Junkenstein’s Revenge, where you’ll face endless waves of zombie Omnics along with formidable bosses.

Conquer the terrors that await!

HERO MASTERY MODE – CASSIDY & BRIGITTE

Two new heroes will put your skills to the test in Hero Mastery mode. From October 31st to November 12th, players will have the opportunity to hone abilities with Cassidy’s Peacekeeper or smash through foes with Brigitte’s Shield Bash. Complete unique challenges to unlock special rewards and earn bonus Battle Pass XP while navigating the new courses introduced in the Overwatch 2 Season 13 patch notes.

GENERAL UPDATES

Introduction of Interactive Scoreboard

In an effort to enhance connectivity for players, particularly those on controllers, we have rolled out the Interactive Scoreboard feature. Designed to streamline reporting and bolster social interactions, the Interactive Scoreboard now allows players to access the following functionalities:

• Control Mic Volume of others
• Manage your own Mic Volume
• Report players
• Join or leave Team Voice Chat
• Join or leave Group Voice Chat
• Mute Team Text Chat
• Mute Match Text Chat
• Mute other players’ Text Chat

Matchmaking Enhancements

• Adjustments made to decrease queue times for Wide matches in Competitive Play.
• Reduced loss streak avoidance tuning to alleviate potentially escalating queue times.

Developer Comments: We have not observed any significant benefits from the current technology in preventing loss streaks and are concerned about its impact on queue durations, prompting us to dial it back for now.

• Refinements made to Role Delta, allowing for a closer match of ranks among roles within teams.

Developer Comments: We believe that enhancing match quality significantly depends on matching players closely by roles against opponents. We aim to tighten this preference without lengthening queue times significantly.

• Role Delta is now adjusted to prioritize the Tank role above others.

Developer Comments: We consider various perspectives on improving the experience for Tanks, aiming for fairer matchups and reducing instances of one-sided matches for the entire team.

• For higher ranks, the impacts of MMR Decay, Winning Trend, Losing Trend, and Calibration have been diminished.

Developer Comments: At elite ranks, these modifiers could allow very skilled players on new accounts to outpace their previous highest ranks unscrupulously, unlike those who have genuinely earned their ranks through lengthy play.

• At higher rankings, matches will account for the benefits of playing in groups when forming matchups.

Developer Comments: At the top ranks, groups have held discernible advantages against teams made up entirely of solo players. Our goal isn’t to eliminate this benefit entirely but to minimize its intensity.

Custom Games Regulation

• Hosting Public Custom Games now mandates an Endorsement Level of 3.

Developer Comments: We continue to take action against accounts hosting disruptive content in the Game Browser and remain committed to removing problematic players who violate our Code of Conduct. Any account that incurs a social penalty is reset to Endorsement Level 0, enforcing a one-time chance for behavior amendment before facing permanent bans. Users below Endorsement Level 3 still have access to “Friends” or “Invite Only” game settings, though the “Everyone” setting will be restricted.

Streamer Mode Enhancements

• Access to the “Hide My Name” feature in Streamer Mode now requires completion of the “Unrelenting Hero” Lifetime Challenge.

Developer Comments: Based on community feedback, newer accounts are required to earn this feature to prevent misuse by disruptive players who often use fresh accounts. Note that the “Hide My Name” function does not shield disruptive players from penalties if they are reported, as their actual battle tags are logged behind the scenes.

Updates on Challenges

• Selected challenges are now prominently featured in the Main Menu.

Developer Comments: Challenges are placed in the main menu to showcase their rewards, particularly for new Event Challenges.

• Players can now view Challenge Rewards in detail within the Challenges Menu.

SHOP UPDATES

• Mythic Skin Aspects Add-on Cosmetic has been introduced to the Mythic Shop.
• The Overwatch League Store tab has been removed and transformed into a new button located in the main Shop tab.

COMPETITIVE UPDATES

Top 500 Leaderboard Changes

The criteria for qualification on the Top 500 Leaderboard have been modified:

• Seasonal win requirements have been decreased from 50 to 25.
• To qualify for the Top 500 Leaderboard starting in Season 12, players must complete the Seasoned Competitor challenge, which requires 750 lifetime wins in Competitive Play.

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