Ridiculous Overwatch “bug” makes payload matches end in draws

Michael Gwilliam
Custa experiences payload draw

Overwatch is filled with its fair share of rarities, but the Holy Grail of Blizzard’s hero shooter is undoubtedly payload draws. Payload matches ending in ties is an incredibly rare occurrence, and a newly-discovered bug seems to be making games end as such.

Payload matches typically end in a draw under two conditions. The first is when neither team manages to push the cart forward at all for the entire duration of the match. The second, more common way, is for both teams to push the payload the exact same distance.

The latter normally occurs when a game goes to extra rounds, as it’s easier for defending teams to hold their opponents in positions where they themselves were held at. A choke right after a checkpoint is the standard spot for this to happen.

This all said, two-time Overwatch League champion Matthew ‘Super’ DeLisi experienced what could be a bizarre bug in his game that resulted in a draw.

During a 5-5 game on Eichenwalde, Super’s team was very close to pushing the payload to the yellow box of victory and beyond where his opponents managed to escort the cart.

In fact, according to Super, all they had to do was stay on the payload and not get off of it to secure the victory having just captured Point B.

However, this point in Eichenwalde seems to be a bit misleading as the payload even goes beyond the destination needed to secure the win.

Super in a payload draw
Super was stunned at the fact the game ended in a tie.

“The cart was automatically pushing, but then they got Grav’d off. But in overtime, you still have to stay on the cart, so they stopped,” Super pointed out after watching the replay. “However, I assumed as long as we were on it long enough to have the cart push forward, it would win us the game, but apparently not. Our cart is not only in the yellow box, it’s passed it!”

Even on former OWL pro Custa’s stream, at the end of the last fight, the payload looks like it has gone beyond the yellow box, sparking some confusion. Over on Reddit, players debated if this was a bug or not, though some agreed it was a visual issue with the game.

Only time will tell if Blizzard decides to take a look at this and fix the visual indicators but for the time being, this is quite the bizarre outcome.

It may end up taking a draw in the Overwatch League itself for the devs to really dig into this situation and find a solution.

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About The Author

Michael Gwilliam is a senior writer at Dexerto based in Ontario, Canada. He specializes in Overwatch, Smash, influencers, and Twitch culture. Gwilliam has written for sites across Canada including the Toronto Sun. You can contact him at michael.gwilliam@dexerto.com or on Twitter @TheGwilliam