PvE content is coming to Overwatch 2 – a first-ever for the franchise. While it’s exciting for players to see what the devs can whip up, the Starwatch event AI has caused fans deep concern.
The long overdue Overwatch 2 PvE content has fans waiting with bated breath. Single-player content featuring favorite Overwatch 2 characters fighting AI has been the dream for many. With new clues pointing toward the arrival date of the PvE gameplay too, the hype is beginning to bubble over.
The idea of fleshing out Overwatch lore using cut scenes and storytelling has long been requested, and a roadmap in May is expected to maybe peel back the curtains on PvE. The actual gameplay itself though has been thrown into question by the Starwatch event. A new Star Wars-inspired event with a unique 4v4 mode. Players have already called into question the “imbalanced” nature of the mode, but now AI is being questioned.
Attacking players are assisted by an AI Doomfist teammate, only, their computer-assisted ally isn’t performing to the highest of standards.
A brand-new #Overwatch2 roadmap is coming mid-May 🗺📌Aaron Keller and Jared Neuss will provide an update on @PlayOverwatch; the roadmap will include some details and a few mysteries 🕵️♂️The wait is nearly over, stay tuned! ⌛ pic.twitter.com/A7mbo0ZJ1p
— Overwatch Cavalry (@OWCavalry) April 28, 2023
Overwatch 2 players concerned about upcoming PvE DLC
A lot of the talk about the new Starwatch game mode option has been about Doomfist. The character is already under the microscope for changes made to him in a recent update. Now, his impact as an AI teammate in Starwatch has got players talking.
“If Doom[fist]’s AI in Starwatch is what we have to look forward to in PvE I’m worried,” is the title of a recent Overwatch 2 subreddit post.
The OP said: “Doom[fists]’s AI is so laughably bad in the new game mode it has me worried that PvE will be full of AI just like him. The guy punches walls when people are above him. Backs off the point for no reason. Stands there blocking in a corner with nobody shooting at him. He feeds constantly. He tries to resurrect but then walks away, and comes back, and walks away, and comes back. Just some examples.”
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Other commenters were quick to jump in too: “It was so bad I thought it was a real Doom player,” joked one player, and another said: “The whole existence of OW2 from launch to today has me worried if PvE is even worth the wait.
Some of the community are less concerned though and don’t see Doomfist’s AI as being entirely representative of how it will be in PvE.
“I imagine Doom[fist] is the hardest if not one of the hardest heroes to program good AI for so they probably dropped him in this game mode as a way to test it out,” commented a Reddit user.
One user had an interesting theory on Doomfist’s behavior: “Unfortunately, this isn’t so much as “AI is dumb” but rather Blizzard being unable to 100% predict every in-game situation and program logic that would make the NPC strong without making it oppressive. If you want a GM tier Doomfist, they could have just cranked up his accuracy and just let him smash everyone – but dialing in “organic” play into a cold unfeeling script is much harder… computers don’t “make mistakes”, programmers do.
It’s fair to say that this has created some discussion within the player base. We imagine a ton of work and consideration is going on behind the scenes. So, we’ll all have to wait and how the AI’s final state ends up being as the devs have a lot on their plate right now.
