Everything you need to know about Overwatch Endorsements

Overwatch has a toxicity problem. Players are just bad to each other, and Blizzard’s punishments alone haven’t been enough to stop it. Players cheat, bad-mouth each other, and troll through games. An overhauled reporting system in Overwatch focuses on wiping out bad behavior, but there’s been little emphasis on good players. That’s changing.

Endorsements are one of two social features added to Overwatch with the Symmetra rework patch. With Looking for Group, Endorsements were added to the live game on June 26. The idea is simple: reward players for being good teammates.

How does it work?

Overwatch’s Endorsement system is simple. Once an Overwatch match has completed, players have the option of doling out Endorsements. The menu will show up automatically after the Play of the Game system, but you can also push “N” to bring it up early.

You get three Endorsements per match, and you can only give out one Endorsement per player. (You can only endorse a single player every 12 hours, too.) There are three Endorsement types to choose from: Shot Caller, for leaders; Good Teammate, for helpful and effective communication; and Sportsmanship, for positive and respectful players.

You get experience points for Endorsing other players, but you’ll get rewards for receiving them, too. With each Endorsement received, you’ll level up. There are five levels total, and colored rings designate the Endorsements received.

What do I get for being Endorsed?

Rewards are coming for players that consistently stay highly Endorsed, but Blizzard hasn’t given out details yet. All the developer has said is that “periodic rewards” will be given out. But for now, Endorsements do have benefits. In Blizzard’s new Looking for Group feature, there’s a setting for Endorsement levels. You can adjust this setting to create groups only for highly Endorsed players, which means they come recommended from other Overwatch players.

But beyond actual rewards handed out by Blizzard, Endorsements are just making Overwatch a bit more positive. Even if all players aren’t being genuinely nice, there’s a chance that toxicity could be reduced because of the system.