Competitive Mode Explained: Ranks, Placements, and How to Unlock


Competitive Mode Banner
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!

How to Unlock Competitive Mode

Win 50 Quick Play Games

Competitive Play Challenge
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.

October 13, 2022 Patch Notes

All Ranked Tiers and Rewards

List of All Ranked Tiers

All Overwatch 2 Ranks
Bronze Rank Overwatch 2 Bronze
Silver Rank Overwatch 2 Silver
Gold Rank Overwatch 2 Gold
Platinum Rank Overwatch 2 Platinum
Diamond Rank Overwatch 2 Diamond
Master Rank Overwatch 2 Master
Grandmaster Rank Overwatch 2 Grandmaster
Top 500 Rank Overwatch 2 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 Rank Overwatch 2Bronze Silver Rank Overwatch 2Silver Gold Rank Overwatch 2Gold Platinum Rank Overwatch 2Platinum Diamond Rank Overwatch 2Diamond
Bronze Rank Overwatch 2Bronze Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Silver Rank Overwatch 2Silver Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Gold Rank Overwatch 2Gold Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Platinum Rank Overwatch 2Platinum Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Diamond Rank Overwatch 2Diamond Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark

Cells with checkmarks are able to group with each other.

Diamond+ Grouping Chart
Diamond Rank Overwatch 2Diamond Master Rank Overwatch 2Master Grandmaster Rank Overwatch 2Grandmaster Top 500 Rank Overwatch 2Top 500
Diamond Rank Overwatch 2Diamond Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Master Rank Overwatch 2Master Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Grandmaster Rank Overwatch 2Grandmaster Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark
Top 500 Rank Overwatch 2Top 500 Overwatch Ultimate Checkmark

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 Rank Overwatch 2Bronze 65 CP
Silver Rank Overwatch 2Silver 125 CP
Gold Rank Overwatch 2Gold 250 CP
Platinum Rank Overwatch 2Platinum 500 CP
Diamond Rank Overwatch 2Diamond 750 CP and Diamond Challenger Title
Master Rank Overwatch 2Master 1,200 cp and Master Challenger Title
Grandmaster Rank Overwatch 2Grandmaster 1,750 CP and Grandmaster Challenger Title
Top 500 Rank Overwatch 2 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

Golden Gun
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.

Overwatch 2 Related Guides

Tips and Tricks Partial Banner

Beginner's Guide to Overwatch

All Overwatch 2 Tips and Tricks Guides

Overwatch 2 Tips and Tricks
How to Use the Ping System How to Get and Use Souvenirs
Competitive Mode Explained How to Unlock Golden Guns
Recommended Settings All Achievements
How to Get Skins All New Designs: New Modes, Maps, and Heroes
All Stats Explained: What Does MIT Mean? How to Level Up Battle Pass Fast
Crosshair Settings Guide How to Fix Latency Issues
How to Get Overwatch League Tokens How to Get Legacy Credits
How to Get Overwatch Coins Endorsement Guide: Levels and Rewards
How to Get Competitive Points How to Invite Friends
List of All Unlockables How to Check Stats
How to Spectate Matches How to Ignore Players: What is Squelch Chat?
How to Unlock Player Titles All Game Modes
How to Join Voice Channel Best Workshop Codes
How to Get Prestige Titles
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