Overwatch is one of the most hectic multiplayer games on the market. One minute you’re brawling with an enemy Reinhardt while his team waits behind a choke and the next you’re dodging rockets from a Pharah. With so much going on, we often revert back to our instincts and forget all about planning and executing. And while it is hard to get a group of five other strangers to properly coordinate, there are things you can do to ensure that at least it isn’t you that’s feeding the enemy team. So here are five things to keep in mind and try to work into your subconscious while playing Overwatch.
Composition Doesn’t Equal Strategy
You’ve watched every game from the Overwatch League. You’ve watched analysts breakdown every team fight. You know what’s meta and what’s a throw pick. But when you get into game and even if your team selects all the “meta heroes”, you still lose to an enemy team running Roadhog and D.Va. That’s because you trying to play like a team of professionals that have spent hours practicing and have a staff of coaches figuring out everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. As mentioned above, in ranked, you are often playing with five random teammates that have no idea how you play or what your strengths are. You can’t watch players like Hwang “Tizi” Jang-hyeon set up halts for his teammates and expect to do the same in your ranked games. Play to your strengths and try to bolster your teammates’ strengths as well.
Abuse The Mute and Avoid Buttons
Some people just suck. It’s unavoidable in an age of anonymity and mass communication. You may find yourself paired with a player that has nothing good to say and you want to argue. The problem is, more often than not, it winds up going from one unhappy person to a team of unhappy people. The best solution is to simply mute the offending party and avoid them after the game. It may not increase your odds of winning, but it will save your mental game and allow you to play longer.
Don’t Be Afraid to Use Your Ult
Having Graviton Surge as Zarya can be a stressful time. You want to make sure you get the most amount of enemies caught while also making sure your teammates can get the most amount of value. But you can never find the perfect angle or your team has already won the fight. At this point you may be thinking “No problem, I’ll just wait to respawn and then I’ll get my six man Grav.” The problem with this line of thinking is that it’ll never come. The greatest moments are often ones that aren’t planned. So don’t be afraid to go aggressive with your Earthshatter or your Pulse Bomb. After all, missing one out of one shots is a 0% but missing one out of two shots is 50%.
Swapping is Your Most Powerful Tool
Imagine you’re playing Junkrat and are getting absolutely wrecked by an enemy Reaper. He’s constantly on your back and before you can escape, he kills you and proceeds to harass your teammates. If only you could sprout a jet pack and fly away and fight from a distance. Oh wait, you can! Swapping heroes is an element of Overwatch that is often overlooked. Mostly it’s just used as a talking point for “OK all, this isn’t working. We need to swap.” In actuality, swapping to get the upper hand on your opponent can turn a victory taken from the skin of their teeth, to an absolute blow out. Don’t be stubborn about sticking on a hero that has a disadvantage against your enemies. You may be sad that you can’t play your favorite hero, but it beats constantly dying and losing SR in the process.
It Is Just a Game
Cue the eye rolling. Yes, it’s been said to death, but it always bears repeating. In an age where influencers have hyperbole coursing through their veins and a lot of people constantly on edge, it might seem tempting to lash out against your Widowmaker who isn’t constantly getting a 6K or your Reinhardt that hasn’t left the choke.
But nine times out of nine, that just turns one unhappy person into two or more unhappy people. Instead, a five minute breather to reset your mental and then jumping back in is an essential task that we often neglect. The game won’t be going anywhere and unless you’re going pro, you don’t have to play all the time. It’s not rage quitting if you take a break after the game, and are self actualizing and taking steps to better your performance. A game is meant to be fun and taking a break every now and then is a great way to maximize your enjoyment.
Follow Brad on Twitter @BradKillion for the latest opinions and musing about the world of esports.
Featured image courtesy of Inven Global
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