Competitive Play is the ranked Play Mode of Overwatch. Players are assigned a skill rating (SR) between 1 to 5000 per the Elo rating system as they play in this mode. Unlike Quick Play, Competitive Play will have each team take turns attacking and defending until the match is decided. In addition, players who exit the match prematurely will not be able to join another game of any Play Mode until their original match is concluded, and departed players will not be backfilled. Players that fail to rejoin their match before it ends will be temporarily suspended from Competitive Play, with repeated offenses extending the duration of the suspension until an eventual permanent ban from the game mode.
Players must achieve level 25 before this game mode is unlocked.
Scoring
- On Escort maps, the attacking team which escorts the payload the farthest wins. If both teams manage to move the payload the exact same distance without reaching the destination or fail to move it at all, the match ends in a draw. Note that the furthest distance the payload has been moved is what counts, even if the payload moves back. If both teams reach the destination, a new rotation is played using the time bank rules.
- On Assault maps, the attacking team which captures the most control points and/or makes the most progress on capturing a control point wins. If the first attacking team does not capture a given control point but makes at least 33.3% capture progress (equivalent to the first "tick" on the capture meter), then the second attacking team must exceed the first team's capture percentage (the highest progress made counts, even if it went back down). Otherwise, the second attacking team must reach at least 33.3% progress on that control point. If neither team reaches at least 33.3% capture progress on the same control point or if both teams reach the exact same capture percentage (<100%) on the same control point, the match ends in a draw. If both teams capture both control points, a new rotation is played using time bank rules.
- On Hybrid maps, the attacking team which achieves the most capture progress on the control point and/or escorts the payload the farthest wins. If neither team reaches at least 33.3% capture progress on the control point, if both teams reach the exact same capture percentage (<100%) on the control point or both teams capture the control point but then manage to move the payload the exact same distance or fail to move it at all, the match ends in a draw. If both teams escort the payload to its destination, time bank rules are used.
- Control maps are a best-of-three, same as Quick Play.
Time Bank (Extra Rounds)
If a match is tied after both teams have played on attack and defense, a new attack/defend rotation will start, using the time bank system.
Escort Rules
If both teams have escorted the payload to the final objective, the game examines their remaining time:
- If both teams have 120 seconds or more left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins. The team with the smaller amount of remaining time has their time decreased to 120 seconds, while the other team's remaining time is also decreased the same amount (i.e. if Team A has 165 seconds and Team B has 250 seconds after a full rotation, Team A's time bank is reduced by 45 seconds for a total of 120 seconds, while Team B's time bank is also reduced by 45 seconds for a total of 205 seconds).
- If both teams have between 60 seconds and 119 seconds left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins with both teams playing an attacking round with no changes to their time bank.
- If Team A's remaining time is between 0 seconds and 59.9 seconds, and Team B has 60 seconds or more, then a new rotation begins. Team A is granted additional time to increase their remaining time to 60 seconds, and Team B is also granted the same amount of additional time to their time bank. This rule also applies if both teams have between 0 seconds and 59.9 seconds remaining. (i.e. if Team A has 20 seconds and Team B has 150 seconds after a full rotation, Team A's time bank is increased by 40 seconds for a total of 60 seconds, while Team B's time bank is also increased by 40 seconds for a total of 190 seconds).
Whenever a new rotation starts, the team with the least time remaining starts the next rotation on attack. No bonus time will be added when the payload reaches a checkpoint in the extra rounds.
Assault Rules
If a match is tied after both teams have played on attack and defense, the game examines their remaining time:
- If both teams have 120 seconds or more left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins. The team with the smaller amount of remaining time has their time decreased to 120 seconds, while the other team's remaining time is also decreased the same amount.
- If both team's remaining times are between 60 seconds and 119 seconds, then a new rotation begins with both teams playing an attacking round with no changes to their time bank.
- If Team A's remaining time is between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds, and Team B has 60 seconds or more, then a new rotation begins. Team A is granted additional time to increase their remaining time to 60 seconds, and Team B is also granted the same amount of additional time to their time bank. This rule also applies if both teams have between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds remaining.
- If Team A has no remaining time but Team B has at least 60 seconds of time left, then only Team B plays an attacking round with their remaining time. If Team B reaches at least 33.3% progress on the first map objective during their remaining time, they win. If they do not, the match results in a draw.
- If neither team has any remaining time left after capturing point B, both teams are given one minute to their time bank and a new rotation begins.
Whenever a new rotation starts, the team with the least time remaining starts the next rotation on attack. Only 30 seconds of additional time will be added to the attacking team if point A is captured in the extra rounds, instead of 3 minutes.
Hybrid Rules
If a match is tied after both teams have played on attack and defense, the game examines their remaining time:
- If both teams have 120 seconds or more left in their time bank, then a new rotation begins. The team with the smaller amount of remaining time has their time decreased to 120 seconds, while the other team's remaining time is also decreased the same amount.
- If both team's remaining times are between 60 seconds and 119 seconds, then a new rotation begins with both teams playing an attacking round with no changes to their time bank.
- If Team A's remaining time is between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds, and Team B has 60 seconds or more, then a new rotation begins. Team A is granted additional time to increase their remaining time to 60 seconds, and Team B is also granted the same amount of additional time to their time bank. This rule also applies if both teams have between 0.1 seconds and 59.9 seconds remaining.
- If Team A has no remaining time but Team B has at least 60 seconds of time left, then only Team B plays an attacking round with their remaining time. If Team B reaches at least 33.3% progress on the first map objective during their remaining time, they win. If they do not, the match results in a draw.
Whenever a new rotation starts, the team with the least time remaining starts the next rotation on attack. No bonus time will be added when the payload reaches a checkpoint in the extra rounds.
Ranking
A player must play five placement matches to receive their ranks, with the ranks in each of the three roles (tank, damage, support) being separate. The player's ranking is represented as a Skill Rating (SR) between 1 and 5000, with a higher number representing a higher level of skill. After each match, players will gain or lose a certain amount of SR. The amount gained or lost depends on several factors, including the difference between each team's average SR, the win rates of heroes on a given map, and individual performance. Players do not gain or lose any SR when a match ends in a draw.
Alongside the 1 - 5000 scale, players are assigned tiers depending on their SR which is publicly displayed on their portrait:
Bronze - 1 - 1499 SR
Silver - 1500 - 1999 SR
Gold - 2000 - 2499 SR
Platinum - 2500 - 2999 SR
Diamond - 3000 - 3499 SR
Master - 3500 - 3999 SR
Grandmaster - 4000+
File:Badge 8 Top 500.pngTop 500 - Given to players that have 1st to 500th highest SR in their respective region and platform (Americas. Asia, Europe), (PC, PS4, XBox, Switch).
Players in Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond will be moved into lower skill tiers if they cannot maintain the minimum skill rating for that tier over five games, while players in Master and Grandmaster will be immediately moved into lower skill tiers if they fail to maintain the minimum skill rating for that tier.
Players can participate Competitive Play as a group, though the following restrictions will be applied:
- For Diamond and below, the SR of each group member must be within 1000 of the participating group members. This SR range between the group members is reduced to 500 for Master players, and 350 for Grandmaster players.
- Players who have not completed their placement matches may not group up with any player at Diamond tier or above.
Top 500
Two weeks after the start of a season, the Top 500 system starts.[1][2] After that point, if a player manages to attain a Skill Rank in the top 500 of all ranked players within their region (PlayStation 4, Xbox and Nintendo Switch each count as a region) and has played 25 or more competitive games that season, they will achieve Heroic status (represented by a special icon), as well as a player icon and an animated spray. PC players must have Blizzard SMS Protect enabled on their account to be eligible for the Top 500[3]. It should also be noted that to be eligible, players need to play 25 competitive games after they have enabled SMS Protect.
Seasons
Season are two months long. At the end of every season, rewards are distributed based on the player's rank.
| Season | Start Date | End Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun 28, 2016[1] | Aug 17, 2016[4] | Had a 1-100 skill rating scale, no tiers, and a Sudden Death system. During Sudden Death, another abbreviated round was played, with the attacking team chosen by a coin flip. The attackers had to capture or escort the payload to the first point within 1 minute and 45 seconds.[1] |
| 2 | Sep 02, 2016[5] | Nov 24, 2016[6] | |
| 3 | Dec 01, 2016[6] | Feb 21, 2017[7] | |
| 4 | Feb 28, 2017[7] | May 28, 2017[7] | |
| 5 | June 1, 2017 | August 28, 2017 | |
| 6 | September 1, 2017 | October 28, 2017 | Duration of competitive seasons reduced from three months to two months. |
| 7 | November 1, 2017 | December 29, 2017 | |
| 8 | Jan 1, 2018 | Feb 25, 2018 | |
| 9 | Feb 28, 2018 | Apr 28, 2018 | |
| 10 | May 1, 2018 | July 1, 2018 | |
| 11 | July 02, 2018 | Aug 28, 2018 | |
| 12 | August 31, 2018 | October 28, 2018 | |
| 13 | November 1, 2018 | December 31, 2018 | |
| 14 | January 1, 2019 | February 28, 2019 | |
| 15 | March 1, 2019 | April 29, 2019 | |
| 16 | May 1, 2019 | June 30, 2019 | |
| 17 | June 30, 2019 | Aug 13, 2019 | |
| 18 | Sep 3, 2019 | Nov 7, 2019 | A special two week season of Competitive Play that introduced Role Queue was held between season 17 and 18. Titled as "Role Queue Beta" in player profiles to those that participated in it. |
| 19 | Nov 9, 2019 | Jan 2, 2020 | Limited map pools introduced.
Map pool:
|
| 20 | Jan 2, 2020 | Mar 5, 2020 | Map pool:
|
| 21 | Mar 5, 2020 | May 7, 2020 | Hero pools introduced, changing weekly. Limited map pools were removed on April 14, 2020. Map pool (until Apr 14):
Hero pool (bans):
|
| 22 | May 7, 2020 | Jul 2, 2020 | Hero pools changed to be applied only to matches with an average team SR of 3500 or greater, and altered to be "based on usage from the Overwatch League" when in season, and "Grandmaster and Top 500 matches" when not in season.[8]
Hero pools were removed from Competitive Play on June 8th, 2020.[9] Hero pool (bans):
|
| 23 | Jul 2, 2020 | Sep 3, 2020 | |
| 24 | Sep 3, 2020 | Nov 5, 2020 | |
| 25 | Nov 5, 2020 | Jan 7, 2021 | |
| 26 | Jan 7, 2021 |
Arcade modes seasons
Starting with Copa Lùcioball, introduced with the Summer Games 2017 event, Blizzard started adding Competitive Arcade modes from time to time. Usually the season for a Competitive Arcade mode lasts about 3 weeks.
The rewards for Competitive Arcade modes differ from those from regular Competitive. As the seasons are shorter (as well as the matches duration), you earn less Competitive Points per win and less Competitive Points for your rank at the end of the season.
It should be noted that Blizzard has never released exact end dates for the seasons. When accompanying an event, the season should end when the event ends, however when no event is involved, the end date is not known (but is usually about 3 weeks after the start of the season, often when the "Arcade Lootboxes" reset and Arcade modes are changed).
| Mode | Season | Dates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copa Lúcioball | 1 | Aug. 2017 | Introduced with the Summer Games 2017 event. |
| Competitive CTF | 1 | Feb./Mar. 2018 | Introduced with the Lunar New Year 2018 event. |
| Competitive 6v6 Elimination | 1 | Apr./May 2018 | Was not part of an event. |
| Competitive Deathmatch | 1 | May/June 2018 | Introduced with the Anniversary 2018 event. |
| Competitive 3v3 Group Elimination | 1 | June/July 2018 | Was not part of an event. Introduced with the Looking For Group (LFG) feature.
You had to be in a group of 3 players to be able to queue for the mode. |
| Copa Lùcioball | 2 | Aug. 2018 | During the Summer Games 2018 event. |
| Competitive Team Deathmatch | 1 | Oct./Nov. 2018 | Was not part of an event. |
| Competitive CTF | 2 | Jan./Feb. 2019 | During the Lunar New Year 2019 event. |
| Competitive 6v6 Elimination | 2 | Mar./Apr. 2019 | Was not part of an event. |
| Competitive Deathmatch | 2 | June/July 2019 | Was not part of an event. |
| Copa Lùcioball | 3 | July/Aug. 2019 | During the Summer Games 2019 event. |
| Competitive 3v3 Elimination | 2 | Oct./Nov. 2019 | During the Halloween Terror 2019 event. |
| Competitive Team Deathmatch | 2 | Nov./Dec. 2019 | Was not part of an event. |
| Competitive CTF | 3 | Jan./Feb. 2020 | During the Lunar New Year 2020 event. |
| Competitive 6v6 Elimination | 3 | Mar./Apr. 2020 | During the Archives 2020 event. |
| Competitive Open Queue | 1 | Apr. 2020 | Was not part of an event. |
| Competitive Deathmatch | 3 | May/June 2020 | During the Anniversary 2020 event. |
| Competitive Open Queue | 2 | June/July 2020 | Was not part of an event. Is part of the main game now. |
| Competitive 3v3 Elimination | 3 | Sep./Oct. 2020 | Was not part of an event. |
| Competitive Team Deathmatch | 3 | Oct./Nov. 2020 | During the Halloween Terror 2020 event. |
Rewards
Eligible Maps
For Competitive Play only, certain Maps are ineligible for play, as given by the developers.
As of the 14 Apr 2020, Paris and Horizon Lunar Colony are not eligible to be played in competitive modes pending map design changes.
Trivia
- In Season 1, one competitive point was rewarded for each win. With the start of Season 2, all awarded competitive points were multiplied by 10, as well as the prices for Golden Weapons, to allow for partial rewards in the case of ties.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Welcome to Competitive Play, Play Overwatch.
- ↑ 2016-07-29, Overwatch Top 500 now live, Overwatch Forums. (Archived using the Wayback Machine.)
- ↑ 2018-06-26, June 26, 2018 Patch Notes, Play Overwatch.
- ↑ The First Season of Overwatch Competitive Play Ends Soon, The Escapist.
- ↑ 2016-09-01, Welcome to Season 2 of Competitive Play, Play Overwatch.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 2016-10-25, Season 3 Competitive Changes on PTR, Battle.net forums.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 2017-02-21, Season 3 Ending Soon, Battle.net Forums. Accessed on 2017-02-21
- ↑ 2020-05-13, Developer Update | Competitive Open Queue | Overwatch, YouTube
- ↑ Overwatch's Hero Pools are being removed from Competitive Play | https://www.polygon.com/2020/6/8/21284300/overwatch-hero-pools-removed-indefinitely-competitive-meta-update
- ↑ Previous Hero Pools | https://overwatchleague.com/en-us/news/23476684
External links
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