Overwatch features a competitive mode where you can team up with your friends or play solo to team up with random individuals. After five matches in each of the game's three roles, you receive a ranking and competitive position for that role. If you're primarily playing in the support role, you'll probably rank better here than you would for a damage-based character, and fall into different, more demanding games. Your performance in a role comes with a series of different ratings.
The first five matches with any of the three roles put you in a skill rank between 1 and 5. The scores break down into these sections:
- Bronze: 1 to 1499
- Silver: 1500 to 1999
- Or: 2000 à 2499
- Platinum: 2500 to 2999
- Diamond: 3000 to 3499
- Master: 3500 to 3999
- Grandmaster: 4000 and more
- The Top 500
The first five levels, Bronze to Diamond, are the most common. A good majority of players will land here at the end of their first five games, then progress gradually in the game in an attempt to climb higher and higher. You can group up with your friends within 1 skills when playing in these ranks. When you reach Master, you can only play with players below 000 skill points, and at Grandmaster it's 500.
If you win a game, you increase your skill rating and progress steadily. When you lose, you lose the skill leaderboard and start to sink down the competitive ladder. For the first five levels, if you lose when you are below the minimum amount you need to maintain your current rank, you move on to the next. The same method works for winning. Players who are in the Master and Grandmaster rank automatically lose theirs if they do not have enough points.
The Overwatch competitive scene has a new season every two months. When the season cools off, players must start over with their first five games to qualify for a leaderboard again. Each season comes with a series of exclusive rewards. You can try playing games with your friends or do your best to work with random players you meet who are lining up for competitive fights. You have a chance to get a fresh start every two months, so make those precious games count every season.
