Competitive Mode Explained: Ranks, Placements, and How to Unlock
Competitive Mode in Overwatch 2 contains 7 ranked tiers that players can achieve by winning in competitive placements. Read on to find out how to unlock competitive mode, earn your competitive ranking, and learn all ranked tiers and their rewards, and what competitive mode is!
List of Contents
How to Unlock Competitive Mode
Win 50 Quick Play Games
To get started with Competitive/Ranked Play, you'll have to complete go through the First Time User Experience (FTUE) and finish the Competitive Play Qualification challenge by winning 50 games in Quick Play.
You can check your progress for unlocking Competitive play by going to the Challenges Menu and selecting the Competitive Tab.
How to Rank Up
Get Your Starting Rank From Competitive Placements
Players looking to get their competitive placements need to obtain 7 wins or 20 losses/draws, after which the game will designate your ranking from Bronze to Diamond based on your performance and previous season rank.
If you're a newcomer playing competitive mode for the first time, expect your rankings to be placed at the lowest tier and division. Just keep playing and win consecutive games in competitive play to reach higher ranked tiers and divisions!
Rank Changes Every 7 Wins or 20 Losses
When ranking up in competitive mode, your rank will no longer be updated per game like in the previous title. Instead, ranks are updated after 7 wins or 20 losses/draws.
Depending on your stats, you will be assigned a rank afterwards, as well a division from 1 to 5, with 1 being the highest and 5 being the lowest. This, however, does not apply to players in the Top 500, as there are no divisions they can climb up to.
Update: Competitive Placements Gets a Boost!
In the recent patch on October 13, 2022, players whose ranks were placed too low during the first week of the game will be getting a placement boost. Players will now be able to climb their ranks during their placement update, assuming they're supposed to be higher based on their performance.
Players who have not touched competitive play before the update will not experience this issue anymore.
All Ranked Tiers and Rewards
List of All Ranked Tiers
| All Overwatch 2 Ranks | |
|---|---|
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Bronze |
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Silver |
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Gold |
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Platinum |
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Diamond |
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Master |
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Grandmaster |
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Top 500 |
Note that there are different Skill Tiers for each role (Damage, Support, and Tank, meaning players can have different Skill Tiers per role.
Grouping Restrictions in Ranked
The following 2 tables represent the grouping restrictions in ranked battles.
Cells with checkmarks are able to group with each other.
| Bronze-Diamond Grouping Chart | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze |
Silver |
Gold |
Platinum |
Diamond |
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| Bronze |
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| Silver |
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| Gold |
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| Platinum |
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| Diamond |
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Cells with checkmarks are able to group with each other.
| Diamond+ Grouping Chart | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond |
Master |
Grandmaster |
Top 500 |
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| Diamond |
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| Master |
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| Grandmaster |
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| Top 500 |
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Grandmaster Rank players can only group with 1 other players within 3 Divisions.
Top 500 Players may only group with 1 other top 500 players.
List of All Rewards in Competitive Mode
Match Results
| Overwatch 2 Match Result Rewards | |
|---|---|
| Win | 15 CP |
| Draw | 5 CP |
Rank Achievement
| Overwatch 2 Rank Achievement Rewards | |
|---|---|
| Bronze |
65 CP |
| Silver |
125 CP |
| Gold |
250 CP |
| Platinum |
500 CP |
| Diamond |
750 CP and Diamond Challenger Title |
| Master |
1,200 cp and Master Challenger Title |
| Grandmaster |
1,750 CP and Grandmaster Challenger Title |
| Top 500 |
1,750 CP and Top 500 Challenger Title |
Note that Competitive Points (CP) are rewarded separately for each role's skill tier.
Competitive Mode Features and Mechanics
Players are Matched with Equal Skill Level
Unlike Unranked games, Competitive mode or Ranked games will match players based on division and ranking, matching you to those of the same skill set. Your ranked tier changes depending on how often you win or lose a game and will always reset at the start of each season.
In these games, teams earn points by taking objectives in matches that can last multiple rounds. The team with the most points wins!
Competitive Cross-Play Restrictions
Cross-play between PC and console players will not be possible in competitive matches, as there are two seperate pools provided for each platform.
This is likely due to the different control schemes between platforms, where one might have an advantage over the other.
Cross-Play Guide: Is Overwatch 2 Cross-Platform?
Earn CP From Winning Competitive Play
Players gain CP for every win, draw, and rank up in Competitive Mode! By grinding and ranking up, players can earn enough CP to acquire the Golden Gun!
Golden Guns are special cosmetic items that can only be bought using 3,000 CP! Each hero has their own Golden Gun
version of their weapon that can be unlocked as you progress through the ranks!
Competitive Mode Seasons
Competitive mode is split into seasons, periods of time in which players can rank up! When a new season starts, the ranked tiers reset, but the previous season's ranks are accounted for in the new season.
This means players will only have a specified amount of time to rank up per season before their progress is reset.
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