overwatch 7 Tips for Competitive Overwatch!

[Valks 2,375]

In preparation for the influx of new players queuing up in competitive, we've put together 7 of the most important factors that you need to consider before playing! Check them out!

1. Make sure you have enough time to play the games: This one is incredibly simple, yet it is constantly overlooked. In competitive, you're going to be playing much longer sets of matches given how the system works. If you don't have enough time to play a full game (could be 5+ king-of-the-hill matches), don't queue up! There's nothing worse than having to leave early and then abandoning your team to a loss.
    
2. Communication is key: Overwatch is, by definition, a team game. Trying to escort a payload by yourself is just making things harder for yourself. Whether you are using the team chat or your mic, speak to your team mates and organise a strategy, even if it's just to let your team know your ultimate is ready.
    
3. You can't always choose the role you want: In an ideal world, we would all be matched up with perfect team mates and the ability to fill the role we play best. Unfortunately, this won't always happen. If you go into a game with the mindset of "I only play snipers", you might find yourself trying to fill a role that isn't required. Someone that doesn't normally play tank might have just picked tank to help the team, so why not pick a support when it is needed? 
   
   If you're about to fill a role you aren't sure about, I'd suggest the following heroes for each:
   
   Offense: Soldier: 76 or Reaper
   Defense: Mei or Junkrat
   Tank: Reinhardt
   Support: Lucio for Attack and Mercy for Defense
    
4. You aren't an X main: Overwatch is specifically designed to allow for in-game fluidity with team compositions. It doesn't matter if you have 200+ hours played with Bastion, you shouldn't be picking him on attack. You're going to severely frustrate your team, as well as most likely lose the game. The game is made around versatility, so be versatile.
    
5. Overtime: This is one of those concepts that, for some reason, many players are yet to grasp. I understand that your K:D ratio is incredibly important, but so is winning the game. If you're playing, for example, Pharah and you just watched your team get wiped in overtime, it's your job to get on that point. There's no point flying around the edges and never triggering the overtime clock-restart, just for the sake of not dying. It doesn't matter if you're alive and the game is lost.
    
6. Focus the objective: Again, this is so important and yet often so overlooked. I understand that heroes such as Genji and Tracer like to flank; however, there is a very clear distinction between flanking for kills and flanking for a purpose. If you're single-mindedly flanking to kill the Widowmaker that shot you once and dying in the process, you're not only denying your team the aid of their 6th player, you're also feeding the ultimates on the enemy team. If you are playing a flanking hero, make sure your plays have a purpose. Clear the way for your team by eliminating important threats. If it's not working, whether due to heroes like Symmetra defending their backliners or a strong chokepoint position, then swap heroes and rejoin your team. 3 minutes of dying alone helps nobody but the other team.
    
7. Be friendly: This is the key point. Overwatch will often irritate us as we lose, whether due to a hero we hate (looking at you, Mei) or a lack of teamplay. The worst thing you can do is to provoke other players by flaming them or trying to argue with them. If you come across toxic players that refuse to be polite, simply ignore them. If you enter into a slanging match in the middle of a game, you're severely decreasing your chances of winning. Be friendly, be polite and work together!

If you've got any of your own tips, make sure to put them down below! Good luck in all the placement matches that will no doubt be taking place and make sure to work together, heroes!

 

[demonardvark 556]

number 4 is such a big one, even for normal mode its just a good courtesy, if your team has 4 reinhardts DON'T PICK REINHARDT.

[Wally 0]

I feel like this goes without saying, but trying your very hardest should be priority number one. You're playing ranked/competitive to get better, so going 5 Hanzos or 2 Widows is not okay.

[Valks 2,375]

13 minutes ago, demonardvark said:

number 4 is such a big one, even for normal mode its just a good courtesy, if your team has 4 reinhardts DON'T PICK REINHARDT.

Yeah, this happened to me in one of my placement matches. 2 guys said they torb mains, both refused to change. Attack Numbani.

4 minutes ago, Wally said:

I feel like this goes without saying, but trying your very hardest should be priority number one. You're playing ranked/competitive to get better, so going 5 Hanzos or 2 Widows is not okay.

I saw a post on Reddit recently that was straight on point. For ages, people have said in quick matches: why are you mad about losing? It's not competitive, so who cares?

Now, we have people trying out new heroes for fun in competitive and then telling people to "get a life" when they are upset about losing. Yeah, it's a game, but competitive isn't the place to try out weird new things. You play there to win.

[demonardvark 556]

20 hours ago, Blainie said:

Yeah, this happened to me in one of my placement matches. 2 guys said they torb mains, both refused to change. Attack Numbani.

I saw a post on Reddit recently that was straight on point. For ages, people have said in quick matches: why are you mad about losing? It's not competitive, so who cares?

Now, we have people trying out new heroes for fun in competitive and then telling people to "get a life" when they are upset about losing. Yeah, it's a game, but competitive isn't the place to try out weird new things. You play there to win.

I mean torb is pretty glorious (for now) so can you really blame them? :P

[Valks 2,375]

3 hours ago, demonardvark said:

I mean torb is pretty glorious (for now) so can you really blame them? :P

Thing is, they didn't even leave the base area. They sat in/near our spawn building their turret and waiting for the enemy to come and spawn camp us. No attempts at pushing, nothing.

[demonardvark 556]

3 hours ago, Blainie said:

Thing is, they didn't even leave the base area. They sat in/near our spawn building their turret and waiting for the enemy to come and spawn camp us. No attempts at pushing, nothing.

So, I'm at work screaming at my computer screen because just reading your story filled me with rage. Just because you are a "defensive" hero doesn't mean you can't be aggressive or go on the attack. I think this just shows there is a big difference between always playing a specific character and actually being good at it (LoL anyone?).

[Damien 1,514]

It's missing the most basic advice is to aim properly :p 

[Thelivingroomhero 1]

Learning movement around all the maps, specific jumps, shortcuts, vantage points etc. Create custom game modes to practice, this will help you and your team.

Also learn how to move unpredictable when trading fire or moving in general, don't strafe in just one direction it will get you killed and mix that strafing with some jumps it has saved me and gotten me many 1 v 2 kills which helps not only you but your team if applied correctly.

And last but not least... Custom game vs AI or quick matches to warm up before ranked it will always help you out.

[KingMe 289]

31 minutes ago, Thelivingroomhero said:

Learning movement around all the maps, specific jumps, shortcuts, vantage points etc. Create custom game modes to practice, this will help you and your team.

Also learn how to move unpredictable when trading fire or moving in general, don't strafe in just one direction it will get you killed and mix that strafing with some jumps it has saved me and gotten me many 1 v 2 kills which helps not only you but your team if applied correctly.

And last but not least... Custom game vs AI or quick matches to warm up before ranked it will always help you out.

Thanks for this, it is very good advice for people just starting out. :) 

[Valks 2,375]

On 12/25/2016 at 2:04 AM, Thelivingroomhero said:

mix that strafing with some jumps it has saved me

Funnily enough, jumping is actually one of the worst things you can do. Jumping means your position is perfectly trackable, since you can't adjust movement swiftly while in mid air. If the enemy team has a Widowmaker/McCree etc., you'll find yourself getting headshot a huge amount while jumping, simply because it's so easy to track the hitbox movement!