One aspect of the Overwatch 2 alpha I haven’t talked about until now is how well the ping system works. Well, it does. It’s a super useful and welcome update to your toolkit. Used properly, it could give your team comms a serious upgrade.
Confession time: I don’t typically use my mic in games. I often play late at night when my partner is asleep and I don’t want to wake her. Typing in chat is an option, but it’s certainly not as useful as hitting the middle mouse button and providing visual and audio cues to my teammates. It’ll be very handy for those who can’t or don’t use their mic.
Even for those who do use voice comms, the ping system will be a convenient tool. It places a marker on the map to provide a visual aid for what you’re talking about. So, if you’re going to defend a specific spot or want your cohorts to fall back somewhere, it’ll be easier to explain exactly where by pinging it.
Like similar systems in Apex Legends and Fortnite, the Overwatch 2 ping system takes context into account. One of my favorite aspects is that when you ping an enemy with low health, your teammates will be notified that the opponent has “critical health.” In other words, you can your teammates won’t need to scream “Reaper one, Reaper one,” or some such.
Using pings in the middle of a chaotic team fight may not be super effective with so much going on, but you’ll be able to, for instance, call out a flanker’s location or point out a healer for your squad to dive onto and wipe out.
A ping system is long overdue for Overwatch. Still, it makes sense to introduce it as part of the sequel given all of the other big changes in the Overwatch 2 beta.
As a reminder, the first Overwatch 2 PVP beta starts today. If you don’t receive an invite via email, you can get guaranteed access by watching certain Twitch streamers for four hours on Wednesday.
As for what to expect, check out my preview and impressions of the Overwatch 2 PVP alpha:
- Overwatch 2 PVP Beta Preview: This Is The Kick In The Tail Overwatch Needed
- Orisa’s Rework Is One Of Overwatch 2’s Biggest And Best Surprises
- Overwatch 2’s Sojourn Is A Blast And Already One Of The Game’s Most Important Heroes
- Overwatch 2 Beta: Breaking Down Some Under-The-Radar Hero Reworks
- All The ‘Overwatch 2’ Hero Ability Changes
See you in the beta!
