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Are you confused about how to rank up or play competitively in Overwatch 2? Do not worry, we have Overwatch 2 Ranks Explained to you.

A new player to Overwatch 2 or a returning veteran may find the competitive ranks system a little confusing at first, whether you’re a new player or a grizzled veteran. Unless you want to get bashed around in your first dozen matches, new account holders will also have to grind a little first to unlock competitive modes, which probably is a good thing.

The Overwatch 2 competitive modes are divided into two categories once ranking has been unlocked: Open Queue, where you can choose any hero in any role, or Role Queue, which is more competitive, where you choose a role to queue for as part of a set team composition. The difference between Open Queue and Role Queue is that Open Queue is pure mayhem, while Role Queue is more competitive.

You don’t have to deal with Open Queue at all if you don’t want to because both modes have their own related rankings. So to understand more about the rank system in Overwatch 2, read our article till the end because Overwatch 2 ranks explained here will assist you to understand better.

How to Unlock 

For competitive modes and ranks to unlock, you have to play through what Blizzard calls the First-Time User Experience and win 50 Quick Play matches if you opened a new Overwatch 2 account on or after October 4, 2022. It’s unclear how much your performance in Quick Play matches will influence the players you play against in your early comp matches, but it will influence matchmaking for those matches too.

Competitive placement

As soon as you qualify to play Competitive in Overwatch 2, you’ll need to complete placement matches and earn your rank. During Overwatch 2, you’ll get ranked after your first seven wins or twenty losses. The goal of Ranked is to improve and advance through the divisions, so do not be discouraged if you’re given a low rank.

Overwatch 2 Ranks Explained

The Overwatch 2 competitive update has completely removed SR, the number that changes every time you win or lose a match. With the Overwatch 2 Competitive update, you will change Skill Tier and Division every seven wins, or every 20 losses, instead of every game.

With each of these Competitive updates, your progress and Division will be adjusted. Overwatch 2 still offers the same Skill Tiers and Divisions, even though there is no longer an SR number. A Skill Tier ranges from Bronze to Grand Master with five divisions, with the highest division being the highest. These Divisions will not be available to the Top 500. Below you can see the Overwatch 2 Ranks Explained:

Overwatch 2 gameplay
Overwatch 2 gameplay

Bronze

  • Bronze 5
  • Bronze 4
  • Bronze 3
  • Bronze 2
  • Bronze 1

Silver

  • Silver 5
  • Silver 4
  • Silver 3
  • Silver 2
  • Silver 1

Diamond

  • Diamond 5
  • Diamond 4
  • Diamond 3
  • Diamond 2
  • Diamond 1

Master

  • Master 5
  • Master 4
  • Master 3
  • Master 2
  • Master 1

Grandmaster

  • Grandmaster 5
  • Grandmaster 4
  • Grandmaster 3
  • Grandmaster 2
  • Grandmaster 1

Top 500

Those who played Call of Duty: Vanguard or Apex Legends with their Predator rank should be familiar with the Top 500 Leaderboard which is separated by input pool. To qualify for a given role in Role Queue, you need to complete 25 games or 50 games in Open Queue, and cross-platform players can see different leaderboards.

Overwatch 2 Competitive rank Decay

You’ll notice that Overwatch 2’s rank decay mechanic is active if you take a break. As a result, your Competitive rank will slowly decline during your hiatus. Developers explain that players who take a break are less likely to maintain their skill level as they did when they left off, so matches are fairer. In order to get back to your appropriate Skill Tier and Division, you will be able to move up or down your rank more quickly after returning.

Overwatch 2 gameplay
Overwatch 2 gameplay

Overwatch 2 Competitive rewards

With commemorative sprays and icons removed from Overwatch 2, players will be able to earn limited Competitive titles for their name cards in order to demonstrate their Competitive prowess. Overwatch 2 players will earn limited Competitive titles to show off their competitive prowess. When the Competitive season ends, you’ll receive the new title, and you can only use it until it’s replaced.

For winning, drawing, and reaching your highest Skill Tier, you will also earn Competitive Points (CP). The maximum skill tiers you can attain in any of your roles are capped, so if you reach Master with Support but Diamond with Tank, you will receive only the Master CP. For any Hero, including Sojourn, Junker Queen, and Kiriko, reaching 3,000 CP will reward you with a Gold Weapon.

Overwatch 2 Competitive Points

As a result of completing games and achieving certain ranks for each role, you can earn Overwatch 2 Competitive Points. You can use them to buy golden weapons for each hero, but more options are expected later down the line. These golden skins, however, cost 3,000 CP each, so you will need a lot of playtimes to acquire them. This article has Overwatch 2 Ranks Explained, so you should know how to earn CP.

  • Win: 15 CP
  • Draw: 5 CP
  • Bronze: 65 CP
  • Silver: 125 CP
  • Gold: 250 CP
  • Platinum: 500 CP
  • Diamond: 750 CP
  • Master: 1,200 CP
  • Grandmaster: 1,750 CP

During each competitive season, you’ll be rewarded with titles, but you won’t have to buy them with points. Instead, titles are gained by playing matches, with the highest title, ‘Expert Competitor,’ only being awarded after 1,750 matches.

So, we have Overwatch 2 Ranks Explained for you. Once you understand the rank system, you can benefit from it a lot.

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