Overwatch 2 Season 4 is finally here, and with the new update have come a few changes to a number of popular maps, so here is all you need to know about the latest adjustments.
Overwatch 2 Season 4 is already here and live in-game as we speak, and it brings a plethora of new skins, a new game mode, and even a whole new hero with Lifeweaver.
But a small detail you might be noticing are key changes to several maps, specifically in regard to lighting. And you might also find many maps which were once missing in Season 3 are now back as well.
So here is all you need to know about Season 4’s changes to Overwatch’s maps.
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Overwatch 2 Season 4: No more Map Pools
You read that right, Season 4 of Overwatch 2 marks the end of Map Pools.
Map Pools have long been a point of criticism for the community against the devs as many players did not like how restrictive the pools can be. And now the devs have listened and reverted the system.
In a blog post announcing as much, game director Aaron Keller said “player sentiment around map pools was pretty low, the map roster doesn’t have enough maps where we truly need them, and the impact they had on seasonal identity was fairly low.”
However, he also said that Map Pools may come back in the future. But for the time being, there are no map pools, with most maps being available to play once again.
Overwatch 2 Season 4: Hollywood lighting changes
Blizzard is no stranger to changing the time of day on their maps, something new in the hero shooter sequel. When Overwatch 2 came out, many of its legacy maps which were ported over received massive lighting changes.
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And now, fans can witness Hollywood with a new coat of paint as the map it playable at night.
The only other time Hollywood was changed to night-time was during a Halloween event. But now it seems it is here to stay.
Overwatch 2 Season 4: New Queen Street changes
New Queen Street has also received a time of day change. But unlike Hollywood, this one is much more subtle. Now the new push map has been changed from noon to dawn.
This means you will now find New Queen Street bathed in golden hour light, and also slightly darker than usual. But other than that, there are no other major changes to be found.
Overwatch 2 Season 4: General lighting tweaks
Midtown, Shambali Monastery, and Circuit Royale all received subtle lighting changes with the new Season. Some are a little bit more obvious than others.
Midtown is arguably the most significant, with slight changes to the lighting hues to introduce a warmer color palette.
Shambali Monastery meanwhile received changes to the lighting’s contrast. Making the bright parts of the map slightly brighter, and the darker parts slightly darker.
Circuit Royale received very minute changes to its lighting. With some changes to how the shadows and light hit certain areas of the map.
