Bring Back Level Borders in Overwatch: A Call to Honor Our Dedication

General Discussion
1

Overwatch is more than just a game. It’s a journey—a place where we’ve invested countless hours honing our skills, growing as players, and building memories. And yet, one of the most meaningful symbols of that journey has been stripped away: level borders. These weren’t just flashy cosmetics—they were badges of honor, representing our commitment, our grind, and our growth. It’s time we speak up and demand their return.

Here’s why level borders need to come back:

1. Celebrating Player Dedication

Every time you leveled up and earned a new border, it wasn’t just about hitting a number—it was proof of your dedication. Those borders were a trophy for the countless matches, the learning curves, and the grind that made you the player you are today. Without them, the journey feels incomplete. We deserve to show our dedication, and new players deserve to see what persistence looks like!

2. Restoring the Sense of Progress

Overwatch is a game of progression, both in skill and in experience. Level borders fueled that sense of growth—they gave us something to strive for beyond mere stats or rankings. It was a journey we could see every time we entered a match. By bringing them back, we can rekindle that motivation and sense of forward momentum that makes every match feel meaningful.

3. Acknowledging Veterans and Inspiring New Players

When new players saw a high-level border, it wasn’t about intimidation—it was about aspiration. Borders inspired newcomers, showing them what they could achieve if they stayed committed. Veterans earned those borders, and they served as a mark of wisdom and experience. The removal of level borders was a loss not just for veterans, but for the entire community. Let’s bring them back and reignite that spark of inspiration for all players, old and new.

4. Rebuilding the Community Spirit

Borders didn’t just identify experience—they were conversation starters, they built camaraderie. When you saw someone with a high-level border on your team, you felt a sense of trust—you knew they had been through the grind. It unified players in shared respect and acknowledgment. Bringing them back will reinvigorate the sense of belonging that made Overwatch a true team-based experience.

5. A Small Change, A Massive Impact

The return of level borders is a small ask, but the impact would be enormous. It’s not just about nostalgia—it’s about recognizing and rewarding the dedication we’ve all shown. It’s about Blizzard showing the community that they see us, they value our time, and they understand the importance of honoring our progress.

Overwatch is about heroes, and heroes deserve to be celebrated. Let’s bring back level borders to restore the pride in every player’s journey and revitalize the spirit of Overwatch. We are a community built on commitment, and it’s time for that commitment to be honored once again.

#BringBackLevelBorders
We’ve earned it. Now let’s make sure our voices are heard!

8 Likes
2

I miss Portrait Borders and Battle Pass Progression just doesn’t cut it and is useless beyond Rank 200

5 Likes
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+1. Old lvl borders looks really prestige and beautiful.

5 Likes
4

I don’t take any stance in whether they should return them or not because I don’t care enough about the matter but well written post :+1:

Just a question though: what is your solution for the negative aspect of borders? Because that was one of the reasons they removed it. For example: a Diamond level border that gets abuse for still being in insert rank. Or a low level newbie gets recognized for having (almost) no border.

1 Like
5

To address the negative aspects of borders, players could have the option to hide or display their border, allowing them to avoid unwanted judgment.

5 Likes
6

Borders were a great addition to the game.

2 Likes
7

They need to bring back borders as well as post match voting cards.

They also need to make the new ‘signatures’ permanent. Why make rewards seasonal? It’s ridiculous how much nonsense they manage to inject into this game without thinking, while they removed some of the best features from OG OW.

Why make us work our rear ends off for something, only to remove it every season? No common sense or logic involved in their feature planning.

They should make signatures permanent. Make signatures appearance based on the current and active battle pass season. Give people something in return for their time invested in this game.

3 Likes
8

This reminds me of football manager (an odd tangent I know). They said for the new game they were removing players weight as a stat… And people got angry.

It’s amazing what totally meaningless feature people pretend to miss when it’s gone.

Anyways. Didn’t they say they were going to do customisable ones at some point. Surely that’s better than what OW1 had.

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hmm currently OW1’s UI just wipes the floor with OW2’s Simplistic UI…
I’d even go so far and say that OW1 with the Ping System would be better than OW2

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I agree it was better. Maybe not to the same extremes. It’s gone from ok in OW1 to not quite as ok in 2 for me.

It would have been a great addition. Not sure that would have saved it though sadly.

11

the thing I want to see the most to comeback from the OW1 UI would be the Number Values when something is killed, funnily we have it in OW2 already with the Target Test Area in the Shooting Range

I’d say OW1’s UI is a pretty Good Foundation. OW2 just dropped the Ball pretty hard, I mean Season 1 of OW2 didn’t even had On-Fire ^^;

12

You could hear the heros say they were on fire, but other than that, no sign of it at all - if i remember right.

2 Likes
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Oh yeah. Forgot that was a thing. Personally, never really saw the point.

Yeah, dropping on fire was a weird choice. It was proven to be the best metric in OW1 to see if you were performing well.

If they made it more prominent, explained the metrics used, people would be less inclined to stat board flame

14

yeah, kinda like they wanted to remove on-fire completely but left the voicelines in the game ^^;

15

Remember when they said that they would make them customizable instead of level dependent when people got border shamed?

How naiv we were to believe that.

1 Like
16

The borders looked amazing and gave a sense of progression. Bring them back! Also bring back the original Lucio Ball without the new clunky maps