For those eager to prove themselves, Overwatch 2's Competitive Play mode is the place to go. Though it plays a lot like Unranked mode, Competitive Play gives two opposing teams an equal chance to win when it comes to attacking and defending on certain maps. There have been several changes to Overwatch 2's Competitive Play mode, but it remains similar to how it used to function in the original Overwatch during its final days.
Unfortunately, this desire to keep with tradition hasn't done the sequel many favors. There are tons of problems with Competitive Play, from matchmaking to queue times to the ever-present issue of cheaters. But one of the longest-running difficulties in the Overwatch franchise is how it fails to give players any information on how their competitive ranks are calculated.
Entering The Competitive Fray in Overwatch
For players to enter Competitive Play, they must first win at least 50 Unranked games on a single Overwatch account. Once they complete this assignment, they can start their Competitive Play placement matches. Placement matches can take up to seven wins or 20 losses/draws depending on which milestone players reach first. These matches will determine what ranks a player gets, with the lowest rank in Overwatch 2 being Bronze and the highest being Top 500. Save for Top 500, each rank has 5 tier levels per-division, with 5 being the lowest and 1 being the highest. To give an example, a Bronze 1 player is ranked higher than a Bronze 4 player.
After players' ranks have been set, they must do the same thing over and over to adjust. Reaching either the required seven wins or 20 losses/draws will update players' ranks until the end of a particular Overwatch 2 season, whereupon players will be given different rewards based on their final seasonal ranking. There are a few odds and ends that should be mentioned, such as prematurely leaving matches counting as losses and the start of new seasons reshuffling ranks, but that is when Competitive Play ranks are calculated - for the most part.
Ranked Calculation in Overwatch 2 is a Conundrum
While many Overwatch 2 players know when their ranks are calculated, no one knows exactly how they are done. This dates back to the original Overwatch, where the game would update players' competitive ranks without so much as an explanation. Since Overwatch 2 ranks are determined after a certain number of wins, losses, or draws, it can be safe to assume that the outcome of a match plays heavily into how ranks are calculated. It is also likely that since role queue is still a thing, playing as a certain hero role affects what factors are taken into consideration.
Damage heroes like Genji and Sojourn might have their eliminations and damage done calculated for their Competitive Play ranking. Tank heroes such as Reinhardt and Ramattra could have the amount of damage they mitigated evaluated. Finally, Support heroes like Mercy and Kiriko may have their healing numbers scrutinized by an unseen Competitive Play algorithm. Other than the outcome of the match and hero roles, there is not much else that could determine what a player's rank could be before their placement matches are completed.
It would be extremely advantageous to Competitive Play for Activision Blizzard to give a detailed breakdown after each match. Not only would this let players know how well they did, but can also help them improve certain aspects of their gameplay. A Moira player might see that they aren't as focused on healing their teammates based on the number of competitive points they earned at the end of the match, for example. This drive to climb higher in the ranks would then translate to helping their team in future matches, which brings about a more cooperative and better competitive scene.
Divulging information about how Competitive Play ranks are calculated would also give players a better idea of how Overwatch 2 is supposed to be played (in the developers' eyes). This won't just give the audience an idea of how to better play the game, but will allow them to communicate which parts of Competitive Play are working and which aren't. The communication struggle between the Overwatch 2 development team and players is a tale as old as time, but hopefully a more transparent Competitive Play calculator will make interactions easier.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
