Overwatch has come to Dota 2 with new chat ban changes

Player reports in Dota 2 will now have a much greater impact with Valve’s introduction of Overwatch into its MOBA, according to a blog post on Dota 2’s official website. The update also announced changes to Dota 2’s communications bans to bring them more in line with Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s system that leaves it up to other players whether they want to unmute player with restricted communications.

A blog post from Valve detailed the release of Overwatch, a player-driven judgement system first introduced to CSGO in 2013. Overwatch assigns players clips from a game, plays the clips, and then asks players to determine whether or not the spectated player’s actions fall into a number of different categories. Each Overwatch case is seen by several jurors, with a 2018 Valve presentation saying that they take action when close to 99% of players agree on a verdict.

Overwatch system goes live in Dota 2 to limited accounts

Players can report others in-game through the scoreboard or by clicking on the flag near the player’s portrait. Once reported, the game marks a section of gameplay for review. While total Overwatch reports are limited, players can continue marking sections of gameplay in the same way so that reviewers have more clips to watch when reviewing. Those additional reports against the same player do not count against the weekly report limit, and players can choose from these options when reporting a player according to game files:

• Scripting or Hacking
• Feeding
• Griefing
• Suspicious Movement or Casts

Players granted access to Overwatch will be alerted by a new window under their profile picture on Dota 2’s main menu.  From there, players will download a replay, watch the case, and select “Guilty” or “Not Guilty.” Overwatch members will receive rewards when they correctly judge an Overwatch case. The game’s files say that players will receive an extra chance to report a player when a previous case is resolved. 

“Notification_Action_Taken_OverwatchMinor” : “We’ve recently issued a Minor Overwatch Conviction against one or more players you’ve previously reported for bad conduct. You have received an additional report submission to use. Thanks for your help in making the Dota 2 community a friendlier place.”

Right now, Overwatch is separate from Dota 2’s communication reports and Overwatch report instead. Communication reports will be counted differently for the time being. These reports do not count against the standard five-report weekly limit. Valve also moved Dota 2’s voice and chat bans to an opt-in setting, allowing other players to unmute chat-banned players instead of locking banned players out of those systems entirely.

Both changes are now live in Dota 2 as of January 27. Valve says that while only a select few accounts have access to the system at the moment, the company will continue to widen participation in the system over the coming weeks and months.