An extremely helpful UI change was added to Overwatch last month and nobody noticed
A highly requested and much needed UI change was added to Overwatch, but most players did not notice for almost a month after the patch went live!
The new feature was not listed in the official patch notes, which released on December 14. The notes included highly publicized additions like cosmetics and an amazing Tracer karaoke song, allowing the UI change to go under the radar to many.
You can now change the opacity of the respawn icons on the PTR server. Actually, you have been able to change the respawn icons in PTR since December 14 but you may not have noticed.
Jeremy Craig, Overwatch’s Feature Designer, let the community know of his amazing “new” creation.
On PTR… Respawn icon getting in your way? There's a setting for that… pic.twitter.com/822t7pNzqG
— Jeremy Craig (@Jaerock83) January 5, 2019
When a teammate is eliminated in Overwatch, an icon appears with a timer that let’s you know when that person will respawn. It is helpful for coordinating team pushes and even gives you a clue about where the enemy team is, since the icon appears where the the teammate was eliminated.
The issue is when there are multiple respawn icons on your screen at once and an enemy player is near them. The icons can get in the way of your reticle and view of the enemy, making aiming difficult.
Now that an option to change their opacity is live on PTR, players can change the icons visibility to their preference – allowing them to find a middle-ground between teammate information and UI clutter.