How to rank up fast in Overwatch 2 Competitive: Tips for Heroes, maps, teamplay, more

Overwatch 2’s Competitive mode can be difficult to rank up in, especially if you continuously lose games. Here is your comprehensive guide to rank up fast in Overwatch 2. 

Ranking in Overwatch 2 can be challenging if you are not sure what to do with your Hero, but also because different roles call for different methods of play. There are quite a few things that you need to consider before hopping into a Competitive game. 

Overwatch 2 comes with different maps, which means that each map type calls for a different playstyle. Then there are counters and other Heroes on your team to consider, and each Hero can also be tweaked with specific settings to make things easier. It can all be a little overwhelming, so here is your guide on how to rank up fast in Overwatch 2. 

• General tips for Overwatch 2 Competitive Play
• How to rank up fast in Overwatch 2’s Competitive
• How to play in each map mode in Overwatch 2
• Settings to consider in Overwatch 2 

General tips for Overwatch 2 Competitive Play

While Overwatch 2 has three different roles, there are rules of thumb for team play that you should follow every time you get into a match. 

There are three golden rules to follow for Competitive: 

1. Communicate with your teammates 
2. Play the win condition 
3. Work together with your team and avoid being toxic 

Communication is key in Overwatch 2, and thankfully they introduced the ping system to make it easier for players to tell each other about threats and plans in-game. If you don’t have a mic or are uncomfortable with talking in-game, make sure to use it.

Each map has a different win condition, but the main point of the game is to push or capture the objective. It doesn’t matter how many kills you get, if you don’t focus on the objective of the game, you will lose. 

On the subject of focusing on an objective, it may be best to leave toxicity behind when you are playing. It may be a frustrating experience, but toxicity could make you angrier and lose focus, and have the same negative effect on your teammates. If you are worried someone else may be toxic, then you can always hide chat by using the /hidechat command and make use of the ping system for communication. 

How to rank up fast in Overwatch 2 Competitive

Ranking up fast in Overwatch 2 has to do with knowing your Heroes, understanding positioning, and getting your timing right. 

On a mechanical level, there are three things to remember when playing Overwatch 2: 

1. Have a diverse roster of Heroes 
2. Gain an understanding of where to position on the map 
3. Time your Ultimates and abilities intelligently

A diverse roster of Heroes doesn’t necessarily mean you need to know how to play all the Heroes on Overwatch 2’s roster, but you should have one to three Heroes on each role you feel comfortable playing. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the game, you’re not always going to have the same influence on the game if you’re being hard-countered by the enemy team. This is where diversifying your role comes in, just to make sure you have a good roster for most situations. 

Positioning is an essential skill in Overwatch 2. You want to make sure you aren’t peeking a sniper like Hanzo and Widowmaker unnecessarily – especially if you are not a sniper or countering them yourself. Otherwise, some Heroes need to be more aggressive than others. A rule of thumb for positioning is to make use of high ground whenever you can, as it usually gives you an advantage over the enemy team in a meaningful way. 

More than knowing where to position yourself for optimal damage and damage reduction, make sure that you don’t run in without your team and die alone. This doesn’t only waste time, but puts your team on a backfoot in the upcoming fight. 

Each Hero has powerful abilities and Ultimates, but sometimes they can become useless if not timed correctly. You may be tempted to shatter as Reinhardt when you see a good opportunity, but if the rest of your team is dead, nothing much will come from it.

Make sure you are using your Ultimates and abilities in key moments, and to escape when your team dies so you don’t waste time respawning when you had the chance to get out.

How to play in each map mode in Overwatch 2

There are five different map modes in Overwatch 2, and each of them have a different objective. 

Simply put, when you load into a map, know what the objective is and ensure it is a priority: 

• Capture points in Control maps 
• Push the payload in Escort maps 
• Escort the payload and capture points in Hybrid maps 
• Escort the robot in Push maps 
• Capture the points in Flashpoint 

Settings to consider in Overwatch 2

Overwatch 2 has settings for the game in general and for each Hero that players can customize for a smoother experience. 

Customizing your settings in Overwatch 2 isn’t a must for ranking up, but it can make your experience a lot better and help you play your Heroes in a way you’re comfortable with.

To change your Overwatch settings: 

1. Go to ‘options’ in the Overwatch menu 
2. Click on the ‘controls’ tab on the top of the screen to change Hero settings 
3. Click on the ‘video’ tab on the top of the screen to optimize game performance

A better gameplay experience comes with higher frames per second. Overwatch 2 has a few graphics settings you can play around with to find the one that suits your setup, and thankfully they all look pretty good. 

For each Hero, you can change sensitivity settings and crosshair settings. You can change these depending on what you need personally to make sure you hit those shots. There isn’t a one-size-fits-all option for these settings, so the best way to do it is to play around with them and test them out in the Practice Range before heading into a game. 

By following these practices, you are more likely than not to rank up quickly. The most important thing to remember is that not every game is winnable, but every game has the opportunity to be a fun experience.

For more Overwatch 2 guides, check out the list below.

Best Overwatch 2 PC settings | How to get Golden Guns in Overwatch 2 | Best Overwatch 2 Heroes | Who is the most popular Overwatch 2 Hero | Is Overwatch 2 split-screen? | How to spectate matches in Overwatch 2 | Best Overwatch 2 controller settings: Controller layout, sensitivity, Aim Assist, Gyro, more | Overwatch 2 ranks: SR, skill tiers, rewards