'Overwatch' Competitive Play Tips: Everything You Need To Know Before Your Placement Matches

Competitive Play, the much-anticipated ranked mode for Overwatch, has finally been released on PC. Players have been rushing like Reinhardt into this new mode, wanting to prove how good they are at Blizzard’s MOBA/FPS hybrid.

You play ten matches in Competitive Play, which puts you in a tier between one and 100. Your ranked number does not equal skill level, so don't freak out if you end up lower than you deserve.

Here are a few important tips to keep in mind before jumping into your placement matches.

• Don’t Play When The Servers Are Acting Up- Last night a group of dillweeds decided it was a good idea to DDOS the Blizzard servers. Players were disconnecting from their games and lagging like crazy. Reddit is filled with posts about people losing their placement matches because of disconnected allies. When the servers are acting up, it’s best just to wait. I’ve been playing ranked in League of Legends for three years now, and if I see people complaining about disconnecting, I just play a normal.

• Don’t Rush Into Ranked If You Aren’t Ready- Competitive Play is brand new and shiny; everyone wants to get their new rank as quickly as possible. If you don’t feel like you're good enough at Overwatch yet, don’t start playing ranked. Does your aim suck? Do you not understand all the maps or heroes? Competitive Play isn’t going anywhere, waiting a few weeks will only help your chances of winning those placement matches.

• Play The Roles Needed, Not The Ones You Want - This reddit thread sums this up perfectly. If you only play one hero, you will have a hard time in your placement matches. Overwatch depends heavily on team compositions, and if you can’t switch on the fly you will definitely lose the game. I understand you only play Genji and playing support is beneath you, but if your team needs a Mercy, it’s your job to play her.

• Join Group Chat- Overwatch’s default vocal communication option is group chat, which does not include the people you are currently in a game with. On PC, press “p” and the group tab should open. Press the blue headset button and switch to team chat, that way you can at least attempt to communicate with your teammates before they flame you.

• People Will Flame You- On the internet, people tend to think they are invincible. They say things that would be totally unacceptable in real life because of that barrier of internet anonymity. Some players will be super toxic in your games, there’s no way to avoid it. You can’t mute a single player yet, so you just have to ignore the trolls. Try to keep a cool head about it, your game is on the line.

• Take Competitive Play Seriously- Ranked modes are where players come to prove they are good at the game. It’s not a place where you play just to unwind or relax. Your teammates are counting on you, and if you aren’t giving them 100 percent of what you can do, it’s just not fair. Your teammates are “tryhards,” and you should be too.

• Don’t Take Competitive Play To Seriously- Remember, it’s still a game and if you stop having fun, it might be time to take a break. When you lose a bunch of games you start to tilt, or go into a negative mindset. When you start to tilt, take a break from Overwatch . Winston will still be there after you cool down.

Did I miss anything all Overwatch players need to know? Tell us in the comments!