Overwatch may have a soft, appealing surface but when it gets down to it, it’s tough as nails.
Whether you’re new to the hero shooter genre or have found yourself hard-stuck in your rank for the last few years, fear not—there are ways to improve and push you towards those all-impressive ranks of Masters and Grand Masters.
Of course, improvement doesn’t happen overnight. It takes commitment and dedication to see long-term improvements. But that doesn’t mean you can’t start improving today.
We’re going to run down six top tips to get you rising up the ranks in Overwatch, the game that you can get from Gamecamp.gg.
1. Pick Your Characters Carefully
While we all want to be the crux of a team composition, either securing all the eliminations of performing insane plays, it’s worth figuring out where your strengths really lie.
We’d all love to be popping heads, but the truth is we’re not all DPS players. Similarly many of us don’t have the calm restraint necessary in a tank, or the team-wide awareness required in support players. Thus, it’s worth homing in on exactly what type of player you are and choosing your primary role accordingly.
Of course, choosing a role isn’t as simple as picking DPS, Tank or Support. Within each role you have different styles of play—from main tank to off-tank, main heal to Lucio or aim-heavy DPS or utility.
Ultimately, the first step is finding the right characters for you to play. And be sure to notice the plural there. You’ll always want to be able to play at least two different characters from each role—nobody likes a one-trick.
2. Train Your Aim
With your character selected, it’s time to up your accuracy. No matter who you’re playing, whether it be Widowmaker or Winston, you need aim of some kind. Thus, you’ll want to get your reflexes sharp.
There are two key ways of approaching this problem.
The first is through hardware; ensuring that you have a capable mouse, with DPI adjustments, and a good mousepad.
The second is through practice. This can be done by taking to the practice range or by using third party aim training programs.
3. Learn All The Heroes
While you’re getting familiar with your heroes of choice, it’s worth noting that you can’t stop there. In order to reach the top tier of Overwatch play, you need to know how every hero works.
Before you disregard this point as obvious, stating that you’ve played every character many times, we mean really knowing each character.
For example, how long does it take for Widowmaker’s grapple to recharge? How often can Reaper use wraith form? What’s the recharge on Winston’s jump pack? What is the sound cue for Ana’s sleep dart?
Knowing every character inside out, including their ability recharge times and animations, will equip you to deal with every situation, cluing you in on what your opponent has available to them at any given moment.
Along with this, it’s worth gauging rough times for each character to build an ultimate—as knowing when the enemy team has ultimate’s can make or break an entire game.
4. Know The Maps Like The Back Of Your Hand
Sure, you’ve played on every maps multiple times. But do you truly know them? Could you be dropped down anywhere and find your way to the objective?
Knowing maps back to front isn’t just about reaching the objective or figuring out where enemies will come from, but it opens up the opportunity for strategizing. Perhaps you take a back route to loop around on the enemy before coming onto the objective in a King of the Hill, or maybe you can find a unique sniper perch that few players know about.
Ultimately, Overwatch is about outwitting your opponents as well as outskilling them. Thus, knowing each map perfectly can give you the edge.
5. Get Talking
Lots of us often forget it, but Overwatch is irrevocably a team game. Thus, you need to work as a team to win.
Hopping onto voice chat and providing useful communication is potentially the fastest way you will see improvements at Overwatch. Using voice to coordinate your team and provide callouts to enemy activity will not only help keep your team playing coherently, but it can also help keep you more aware as an individual.
Just be sure to plug in a good headset or mic, as you don’t want to scare off your teammates with your gameplay feedback!
6. Innovate New Tactics
With all there is to Overwatch under your belt, it’s time to go to the next level. Coming up with innovative tactics will truly set your gameplay apart from others, seeing you rise up the ranks.
New tactics can come in the form of routes through maps, team compositions or unlikely ultimate synergies. From comboing junk’s tyre with Sigma’s flux to spawn trapping enemy healers, creating solid strategies have the potential to see you improve immensely.
Did I say Overwatch was hard? With these tips it’s made easy. Alright… not quite, but with the right amount of commitment to improving your game, you’ll be flying up the ranks soon enough. Just be sure that you’re having a barrel of fun as you career up to GM.