Overwatch 2 Competitive: Placements Explained and How to Unlock
surveillance 2 is finally available on PC, PlayStation 4 and PS5, Xbox One and Series X/S and even Nintendo Switch. As the game embraces a new free-to-play model, you’ll find out new heroes like Kiriko; a battle pass system; and gameplay changes, such as switching to 5v5 combat.
Overwatch 2 also changes the game’s competitive mode. In competitive matches, players take turns in attacking and defending, each vying to increase their rank through wins. Overwatch ranks start at Bronze and advance to Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, and Grandmaster, with each rank broken down into five tiers (e.g., Silver 5 through Silver 1).
Here’s what you need to know about unlocking competitions and how the game’s ranking system works.
How to unlock Overwatch 2 competitive mode
If you’ve played Overwatch with a Battle.net account, you’ll be able to jump right into ranked matches, although I’d recommend spending some time in quick play to get used to the pace of the new game and adjust to some of it the hero revised and new heroes in the game.
Newer players must unlock Competitive Mode by completing the first-time user experience tutorials and winning 50 quickplay matches. That’s 50 wins, not just 50 games. Overwatch developers outlined the reasons for the change in a blog post, saying, “This gives new players time to prepare for the higher expectations that come with Competitive, while veteran players don’t get discouraged by teammates who have less experience. “
After winning your 50th Quick Play match, you can choose the competitive mode in both reel queue and open queue modes. The Role Queue puts you in a match with one tank, two damage heroes, and two supports. Open queue matches mean anyone can play any number of heroes from any role.
How do placements work in Overwatch 2?
To find out your rank you need to win seven competitive games. That means you need to play at least seven games to complete your rankings, but you could theoretically have to play as many as 26. In reel queue, that means at least 21 games to finish your placements in all three reels. If you also play Open Queue, add another seven games to this minimum.
After your initial placement, your rank will update after every seven wins (or 20 losses, whichever comes first). You can see this rank go up, down, or stay the same depending on how your games are going.
The biggest difference from Overwatch 1 is that you can no longer see your skill rating, meaning you don’t have to (or can’t) watch it go up and down after individual games. Instead, after every seven wins or 20 losses, you see what skill level you end up in. In Overwatch 1, you may see that you were Silver ranked with a skill rating of 1,650. In Overwatch 2 you simply see that you are in Silver 4.
After each win you will see this screen update after your game. After your seventh win, click Next to see your updated rank.
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Do I get the same rank as Overwatch 1?
Overwatch 2 gave players a soft matchmaking record, or MMR, which was reset to reflect the changes in Overwatch 2 compared to the original. As explained in the blog post, “Overwatch 2 is a whole different game, so we applied a formula that gives returning players the ability to redefine their rank as they dive into the updated Competitive.”
What does that mean in practice? Anecdotally, returning players reported being placed about two ranks lower than they were in Overwatch 1. For example, a Diamond player might be placed in Gold rank, a Masters player might be placed in Platinum, and anyone who was Gold or lower Rank can end in bronze. The last time I played Overwatch 1 competitively, I was in Platinum for Assist, and I was placed in Silver 4 after winning 7-1 in the placements.
The initial placement might be a little disappointing, but if you belong to a higher rank you should be able to level up fairly quickly. With a high enough win rate, some players have reported moving up a full rank by their next seven wins.
Are new heroes available in the competition?
New heroes will be locked out of the leaderboard for up to two weeks after their release. For Kiriko, the newest heroine, that means she’ll be available in competitive mode on Tuesday, October 18th. Blizzard is banning heroes for the first two weeks to give players a chance to learn and unlock the hero before going into competitive mode.
For more information on Overwatch 2, visit how to set up SMS protection for new players and What you need to know about unlocking heroes in the Battle Pass.