Overwatch 2 Game Director Aaron Keller has opened up about the game’s new ping system in more detail ahead of the game’s April beta. Keller revealed its “context-sensitive” features, how customizable it is, and more.
During the Overwatch 2 developer live stream on March 18, the developers revealed many different things, including balance plans, how the meta will work, when the beta will release on consoles and more.
However, one of the biggest talking points was the new ping system, which the community is excited about given the strategic nature of the game. Game Director Aaron Keller revealed some details about its features.
What is a “context-sensitive ping”?
First, he talked about the context-sensitive nature of the ping system. “It’s very context-sensitive,” he said.
“Depending on what you’re pinging, who your hero is, and what heroes are on the enemy team, it can change a lot of those pings.”
Then, he explained those changes in more detail: “Enemy players behind walls can’t be pinged because you can’t see them. But if they’re revealed by Hanzo or Widowmaker, you can start pinging those targets.”
The context-sensitive nature applies in other ways, too. “Some heroes can actually remove pings from themselves,” he said.
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“Like, when Moira fades, she removes pings from herself. She just used an escape on it.
“It’s also totally customizable. Not only is it context-sensitive, but we also have something kind of similar to the communications wheel where you can select different pings that are more important to you.”
In other words, you don’t always have to use the context-sensitive ping system if you don’t want to. You can use ones that are more practical or useful in certain scenarios rather than let the game decide for you.
Keller wrapped things up by saying that the team has received lots of “really great feedback” about the ping system so far, and thanks to that, they’re already working on making it more “responsive” and “noticeable.”
It’s a sign that the developers have ramped up their efforts to take in feedback from players and integrate it into the game. As a result, there’s a lot of excitement brewing as the beta launch on April 24 draws closer.