In an effort to clean up some of DotA 2's more toxic players, Valve has integrated a new "Overwatch-style" case system which lets experienced and approved players provide additional feedback on arbitration cases to help speed up the punishment or exoneration of players who may be negatively impacting the community at large.
"Overwatch allows the Dota 2 community to regulate itself by providing a method for qualified and experienced members of the community to review reports of griefing or cheating, determine whether reports are valid, and submit guilty convictions if appropriate," the Valve statement reads.
Players will be able to download replays of the games where there was some difficulty between players and make a judgement on who was at fault and whether it was extreme enough to warrant intervention or remediation. Suggested reports might include claims of griefing, cheating, or toxic behavior. They'll be asked to submit whether a report involves guilty participants or not, in which case Valve can take further action if necessary.
More updates to the upcoming Overwatch feature for Dota 2, now with pretty CSS.
Everything is still work in progress etc. pic.twitter.com/537MZK7PLN— Matthew Bailey (@Cyborgmatt) January 26, 2021
There are three distinctive results for any individual report: Insufficient evidence, where further evaluation will be necessary, not guilty, or guilty.
To help players taking part in this process, the Overwatch system will highlight spots in the game where a report(s) was made, giving them an idea of where the offence may have taken place. Flags such as "Suspicious," "Cheating," or "Griefing," will also give those viewing the report an idea of what they should be looking for.
The Overwatch system was first introduced in CS:GO and has helped curb certain behaviours there. When it goes live for DotA 2, it may well do the same.
