There are certain unwritten rules in the Overwatch Community that have come from the years of time with the game. One of those rules pertains to the decorum in the pre-match Free-For-All mini-game players can opt into while waiting for a competitive match. Rather than stare at a menu and a random Overwatch hero staring back at the player, they can be placed into one of the Deathmatch maps where they can lounge around with friends.
Usually, an Overwatch player that emotes in the mode signals that their friendly, pacifistic, and don't want to engage in the mode to "warm up" the mechanics. Sometimes a player intentionally or unintentionally does damage or kills a peaceful player just waiting for the real match to start. Either the other players all turn and get the person that disturbed the peace, or ignores them. One hilarious interaction was posted to Reddit that served up a side of instant karma to the offender.
Reddit user needusernameplease posted this clip where they were hanging out in the cat cafe of Kanezaka with a Sombra and Mei. A chill moment in one of Overwatch's cutest rooms is interrupted as a Hanzo player comes in just as the Tracer player starts an emote with her back turned to the door. Usually being stuck in an emote with an enemy player bearing down is instant death. Somehow, in this player's infinite foresight, they picked the "Warmup" emote that has Tracer doing athletic bounces in place before darting into her trademark blinks.
The Hanzo player fires arrows into the room of non-combatants and at the Tracer, but Tracer's emote blinks at the perfect time and the Hanzo misses. They coil and fire at the Tracer's new position, but misses again. In an act of frustration, shame, and dishonor, the Hanzo player uses Storm Arrows to less rely on aim and finish the kill against the elusive Tracer. The clip ends there, but fans can assume that the Sombra and Mei in the room doled out some street punishment afterward.
The clip is funny primarily because Tracer has her back turned and is seemingly unaware of the threat. But like an overpowered anime character, she dodges incoming attacks without acknowledging Hanzo's presence. Using the Storm Arrows may have killed the Tracer, but only amplified the slapstick hilarity of the interaction. It's a desperate play to re-assert dominance in a situation that could have been avoided if the Hanzo just stuck to the rules of engagement in the Overwatch Deathmatch queue.
Overwatch 2 is in development and Early Access starts on October 4th, 2022.
