Overwatch is a very, very popular game. And for good reason! It features an excellent cast of unique and interesting characters that encourage team-play and have lots of personality to boot. Your favorite character could be anything from a walking beam of death in the form of Roadhog , Tracer ‘s loveable goofball attitude as she blinks around the map, Widowmaker ‘s cold and calculating demeanor as she turns her sights on enemy after enemy or maybe even Zarya ‘s imposing and powerful figure.
If you’re reading this article then there is a chance that you play Overwatch too! And if that’s true then we can probably understand why; Blizzard has done an excellent job at making the game engaging, rewarding you for honing your skills and giving you goals to work towards. But maybe you’d like more insight into how Overwatch ranks players?
how placement matches work overwatch
There’s a lot to take in when you start playing Overwatch for the first time and ranking systems can be one of those things. But don’t worry, we’re here to help! In this article we’ll break down how exactly the ranking system works and what that means for players who just started off the game. Before we dive into explaining the ranking system, let’s first give some background on where players usually start off when playing competitive video games.
When you play Overwatch for the first time and que up for a game with matchmaking enabled (you can learn more about that here ), you’ll be seeded into what is called “placement matches”. These are essentially just random games that place you somewhere near your skill level with other players in the game so that they can get an accurate assessment of who they are matched up against.
The different ranks in Overwatch and what they mean
Once you complete your ‘placement matches’ you will be assigned a rank based on how well you performed in them. There are currently six different ranks that fall into five tiers each. These ranks and tiers aren’t just thought up, they follow a very specific formula to help Blizzard get an accurate read of the skill level of each player so that they can be placed in matches that are challenging but not frustrating to play.
How your rank is determined in Overwatch
When it comes to determining your rank, Blizzard has a very interesting system in place. First off, while player level is a factor in deciding the ranks of others it isn’t a straight indicator. Your actual rank doesn’t directly correlate with how many experience points you have earned or what your overall level is. While this may seem odd it has actually been done as a way to help prevent smurfs (people who create new accounts and play the game ranked as low as possible as a way to get an advantage over other players).
The benefits of ranking up in Overwatch
So how exactly does Blizzard determine your skill level? Well it’s a pretty simple process and can be broken down into two different parts: winning and losing streaks. Each match you play will give weight to either the winning or losing side of things. These streaks are what actually determine your rank, not how many games you win or lose as a whole. This makes it so that individual games are given less weight towards your overall rank, making the matchmaking system slightly less punishing if you have a bad game or two. Refer to using Overwatch 2 esp to level up faster.
How much time until you reach max rank?
The final aspect of Overwatch ‘s ranking system can be considered rather simple: just how long it takes players to reach max rank. There are just six ranks to go through before you reach max level, which usually takes between fifteen and twenty five games of play depending on several factors including whether or not you lose any matches along the way. Ranking up can be both an engaging experience as well as a frustrating one if you find yourself unable to win games more often than lose them. But that’s all part of the fun!