Flashpoint is getting a glow-up!
We’re previewing some of the most substantial reworks we’ve ever rolled out, coming to New Junk City and Suravasa in the Season 17 mid-cycle patch. The goal is simple: make Flashpoint more fun, more navigable, and more competitive without losing the heart of what makes these maps—and the mode itself—unique. So, if you’ve ever felt a little lost in Suravasa’s streets, or struggled to get through New Junk City’s chokepoints without getting deleted, this update is for you.
Why We’re Reworking Flashpoint
Flashpoint has always sparked a range of passionate opinions, and with the new Morocco map Aatlis, we felt that we applied a lot of learnings from Suravasa and New Junk City, so it’s only fitting that we go back and update those too. These changes focus on three core areas:
- Readability: Navigating and understanding where you are (and where you need to go) should be easier. Entrances will be highlighted more clearly, plus the layouts and surrounding cover will get reworked. Building heights will also be reduced to help keep the focus on points of interest and spawn rooms.
- Stronger Themes: Understanding these maps is crucial, and having a clear visual distinction between areas is key. Many themes will be improved to ensure each area feels stronger, more distinct, and easier to recognize in the heat of battle.
- Flow through Objective Spaces: Objective Points are now less contained. The chokes are, as the team puts it, “less choky.” Various pieces of cover, new flank routes, and updated connecting paths have been added to give players more options—and a better shot at pushing onto and capturing points successfully.
So, what’s changing? A lot. Let’s break it down.
Suravasa: Smarter Streets and Sightlines
Suravasa has always been one of the most visually distinct maps in Overwatch 2, but taking in all that beauty can be distracting, especially when under pressure.
Major readability improvements will include:
- Lowering large blockers in the streets to open sightlines and reduce confusion.
- Adding taller art elements and lighting near entrances, highlighting where to go.
- Streamlining or removing unused side paths and clutter.
- Simplifying structures outside spawn to make the opening round moments faster.
The enclosed structure near the start has been replaced with a more open wall and recessed garden area, giving players a cleaner line of sight and making it easier to orient.
For Objective Points on the Temple and Ruins side, the entrance to those areas will get rotated and scaled up to feel more open and intuitive. The pavilion structure outside of spawn will be removed and there’s to be a new side route through the main choke, and water added to the Ruins to visually reinforce the point’s theme. There’s also a new back path connecting Temple and Ruins for strategic rotations. Another change will come to the center point, where new box placements allow easier access to the high ground, altering how you approach and defend this space. The Market and Garden areas will have cover adjustments, and one of the less-used side paths is getting removed entirely to simplify the layout.
These changes will work together to make Suravasa feel more playable without sacrificing its strong identity. It’s still going to be beautiful, but it’ll also be easier to navigate.
New Junk City: Smoother Routes, Less Choke
New Junk City is to be reworked across all control points. The result will be a map that’s opened up and feels more fluid and fun to navigate without losing its chaotic charm.
Right off the bat, forward spawn runbacks will be slightly reduced with new upper paths and overhangs, which means less time spent returning after respawn and more time in the action. It’s a small timing change that adds up over the course of a match.
In the Thunderdome, the Hammer Mill entrance is getting scaled up, the column inside slimmed down, and the side door is bigger. A new hallway will link both lower sides with grating that lets you see—but not shoot—onto the point, offering an easy connection to navigate the space without making you feel exposed.
The Bomb Flats area will see dramatic redesign with its cover. New bomb props and visual elements will make the area feel stronger thematically, while pathing and sightlines are being refined for better fights and easier comebacks for the attacking team.
The Junkyard point will have crane placements to help sell the setting and support player orientation. Chokepoints will be widened, trash piles will be scaled down, and ramps will be added to the center route for easier rotations around all entrances.
The Refinery will have bigger entrance doors, cleaner sightlines, and stronger thematic props around the exterior of the area. The cylinder props on the point will now have extended cover along the sides.
And then there’s the Ducts, which are getting a huge makeover. This area always felt a little clunky, and too many players funneled through the same paths. Now, everything will connect for better flow, with a proper entrance that’ll be highlighted, improved outside routes, and a new interior flank through the side chokes. These changes are meant to be a total flow fix.
Point Logic: No More Diagonal Confusion
We're also adding logic that changes the selection of which point will be active next. After the middle point is captured, the next control point is always going to be closer to the losing team's spawn. This, of course, gives a bit of a fair advantage to the losing team, but it also removes the possibility of diagonal movement across the map, which is typically the least intuitive way to navigate these maps. We think those diagonal transitions between points count for a lot of player frustration with Flashpoint—so it’s gone now. Yay!
Flashback to Flashpoint
If you’ve bounced off Flashpoint in the past, Season 17’s midseason update will be the perfect time to give it another shot. These reworks aren’t going to be visual polish only; they’ll be core gameplay improvements that’ll make your experience smoother and faster.
We want New Junk City and Suravasa to feel like fun and competitive maps that keep the action moving in the right direction. So, get ready to squad up and revisit Flashpoint!
-Ryan Smith & the Level Design Team