Overwatch 2 is an addictive, fast-paced hero shooter that is reaching a whole new audience with its free-to-play sequel model. In doing so, you’ll also see Valorant/Apex Legends/Fortnite and OW1 veterans return to the game, and things can get overwhelming pretty quickly. So if you’re new to OW 2 or FPS games in general, don’t worry. Here are some tips you can remember to eventually become “good”newcomers to Overwatch 2 and earn those wins.
Overwatch 2 Beginner Tips for New Players
Let’s break down the most obvious advice for newcomers to Overwatch 2: practice is the main way to level up your skills. Keep playing every day and eventually you will be able to get those headshots, assists and the best team stats. With that said, let’s move on to the more specific things you need to do as a new player in Overwatch 2.
Try each hero, but choose a few
It is important to master the skills of several characters of each class (our list of levels can help with this). But it’s also important to try out each hero and learn about their abilities and ultimates. Start with heroes that are easier to learn. In my opinion, Lucio, Soldier 76, Mercy, D.va are good options to start with.
The practice range is almost perfect because it gives you the freedom to choose any hero you want and practice with all of their abilities. There are static bots, friendly bots, and moving bots to help you spot your angles and movements.
In addition, you can also put another OW 2 hero in front of you, shoot him or use an ability on him to see how it will affect him. Practice this with tanks, supports, and damage dealing heroes to see how you would potentially perform in a real game.
Another reason you need to have multiple heroes from each class is that character selection depends on the first click during hero selection. If someone else picks your main character, you’ll be left with picking someone you have no idea about. So while it’s good to have a network in every class, prepare a few options so you still have control over your second best options.
There is another reason why you should have an idea about the abilities of each character. You must know them in order to be able to counter them effectively. With this, you won’t be surprised when Zenyatta launches an Orb to increase your damage taken, or when Torbjorn sets up a turret that kills a lot of enemies on its own.
Stay with your team
That’s why voice chat will be useful. But if you prefer to turn it off due to a toxic VC, make sure you move around with your team and ping to deliver the needed information to the members. No matter how strong your character is, if he sets out alone, he will be surrounded by enemies and destroyed almost immediately.
Overwatch 2 is a team game, and whenever a team sticks together (and also if it’s a balanced team), they are hard to beat and survive much longer. Thanks to this, you will have a chance to prove yourself as a new player and get those kills or heal allies.
Prepare to fail, but learn from it
Even if you’re new to OW 2 (or FPS games in general), your opponents may be veterans of other games like Apex Legends or Valorant. In this situation, you can run into each other after matchmaking and they can completely destroy your team.
While winning and losing are part of the game, the best thing OW 2 has to offer is that you can watch match replays. Get a bird’s eye view of the battle and see how your enemies played. Try any of the characters that broke you and you never know, you might start playing them more often. Find out when someone made a certain move or used space in an interesting way. Learn, repeat, practice, and you’ll quickly start to improve.
Swap heroes
No two matches are the same, so you may need to change your strategy depending on who you face. Sometimes the created team is not balanced enough for opponents, and OW 2 gives you the opportunity to change the hero when respawning. If you need a tank, switch to it, and if you desperately need a healer, go for it.
Even during the initial character selection, you can see if the team will consist of only damage or most healers, and then switch your character accordingly to make it more balanced.
keep moving
In addition to practicing aiming at moving targets, remember to keep moving and jumping even when you’re not shooting. This will make it harder for the enemy to destroy you with a few hits. If you stay put, you become an easy target, especially for heroes like Cassidy who land accurate headshots.
Back off a bit if necessary, or hide behind the tank’s shield if you’re low on health, but keep moving until you stop somewhere to heal. And then move again – quickly.
Know the card inside out
It will take time, but watch each map and know the weak spots your enemy can find themselves in. This will help you catch them by surprise and eliminate them faster. There will also be places where you can heal yourself while out of sight. Also, many maps have a vertical element, so you need to know where you can get hit from.
Here are some tips that can help newcomers become a valuable part of the Overwatch 2 team. I hope this helps you master the game and ultimately become the best in it. To learn more about Overwatch 2, check out our guides.