Blizzard's "Overwatch" recently got an update which brought some pretty big updates to the table. The biggest is, of course, the Horizon Lunar Colony map being added to the roster as well the usual buffs and nerfs.
But of course Blizzard are not resting easy now that this pretty big update is finally off the PTR, they have more plans for the game which will finally address one of the biggest issues with how "Overwatch" does Loot boxes. For the longest time, getting duplicates was like a kick in the teeth. The payout for them was incredibly low, especially compared to what it would take to buy those very same skins with credits.
This plus the huge amount of junk you can get in loot crates (sprays, voice lines, emotes) left the loot box experience feeling very stacked against the player. But Blizzard has detailed the latest changes to the PTR which address this issue in a couple of ways.
How will they fix loot boxes?
As always the plans have been detailed in a post as well as the usual developer update video with Jeff Kaplan. Blizzard is taking a two-pronged approach with the loot boxes, with the aim of solving the two key components to Overwatch loot boxes feeling rather unsatisfactory.
Firstly, the are going to be reducing the number of duplicates you get when you open a loot box. Secondly, the number of credits you get for a duplicate will be increased.
They haven't detailed exactly how much more, but they do stress that this will be tested by the players, so they probably haven't figured it out yet.
The patch notes read: "First, we’re drastically reducing the number of duplicates players will receive when opening loot boxes. Second, to compensate for this reduction of duplicate items, we’re also increasing the overall amount of credits players will receive from loot boxes.
On average, players should be earning just as many credits, if not slightly more, from loot boxes than they did prior to these changes."
I think I can hear the fans cry "finally!" from over here. While this issue is hardly a deal breaker, it is a pretty big problem for the game especially as you can buy loot boxes with real money.
The inherent unfairness of them, combined with the sheer amount of stuff you can unlock, has drawn a lot of criticism from both within and outside of the community. Of course, it will be a while before the PTR tests are complete but I am still glad to hear they are working on this.
What else is coming on the PTR?
Naturally, the changes to the loot box system aren't the only thing being brought to the table. True to form, the patch notes are rather lengthy and contain a healthy smattering of bug fixes and improvements.
The biggest thing aside from the loot improvements is some pretty nice upgrades to how highlights are recorded. At the moment, the game automatically records five highlight reels per session, but they're lost if you power down your PC or console.
Now, they will be saved for 24 hours. But the best part is that you can now capture your own highlights without the use of a third party program.
You are limited to 32 slots for these highlights, but on both console and PC, there are some nice options to offload them if you think they are particularly worthy of five seconds of fame on social media.
All in all, some nice changes are being brought to the table for both console and PC players.
