Though the core of cheating on the console version of Overwatch, and players bemoaning being judged for the efforts of their team rather than their individual skill. While not correcting these issues entirely, Blizzard has made adjustments to Competitive in Overwatch 2 that should hopefully make things fairer in the long run.
Competitive in Overwatch 2 works similarly to Quickplay, except that on Hybrid and Escort maps, both teams will get a chance to attack and defend until one has more points. Competitive also has a Role Lock or Open Queue option, so players are free to play whichever system they like more. It is important to note that players entirely new to Overwatch will have to win 50 Quickplay matches to unlock Competitive Play, which is one of the features some think has gone wrong with Overwatch 2's launch. Once players earn their rank, they will be placed in one of eight skill tiers, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster, and Top 500. These ranks will reset at the end of a season and will award Competitive Points based on their final placement.
For Overwatch 2, Blizzard has removed the old number system and replaced it with Divisions. Each tier will have Divisions from five to one - five being the lowest and one being the highest. To move between these tiers, players partaking in Overwatch 2's first two seasons must earn seven wins or 20 losses - a slower process than in the first game. This is the only time they will see their rank change, but it proves to be a fairer system than the original game. The group restrictions also changed with these new Divisions, where from Bronze to Diamond, players can group together if they are within two skill tiers. Once they hit Master, that is reduced to only one tier and then to three Divisions in Grandmaster. Finally, the Top 500 can only queue with other Top 500 players. It is also important to note that once in Grandmaster or above, players can only solo queue or play in a group of two.
Overwatch 2: How The New Ranking System Changes Competitive Points
The other large draw of Competitive is the Competitive Points players get as a reward. 3000 points can be used to buy golden weapons for characters, a perfect way to show off a given player's favorite hero in Overwatch's Competitive Play. In Overwatch 2, winning a Competitive game will award 15 points, a draw will award five, and a loss gives nothing. The end-of-season point rewards for final Rank placement break down as such:
- Bronze: 65
- Silver: 125
- Gold: 250
- Platinum: 500
- Diamond: 750
- Master: 1200
- Grandmaster: 1750
Along with points, players can earn Competitive exclusive titles that will unlock by playing games and earning different ranks. On this side of the Competitive Play, not much has changed, though it should be considered how the slower rank-up process of Overwatch 2 affects earning Competitive Points. Regardless, as Competitive is arguably the most played mode in Overwatch, it was vital for it to get some change. The old system was criticized heavily, and while it remains to be seen whether Overwatch 2 fixes this original game problem with these new changes, it should hopefully lead to a more enjoyable experience in Competitive Play.
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