Skill Tier Divisions

SR is being replaced by Skill Tier Divisions in Overwatch 2. We made the decision to remove SR as a numeric value to relieve the sense of being stuck at a certain rank. Seeing your SR go up and down after each match almost felt like taking a test with the teacher passing or failing you based on each individual question rather than your complete work. It was a lot of pressure, and it doesn’t give players an accurate representation of how they’re performing overall in Competitive.

Tiers still exist in Competitive—Bronze through Grand Master. Each tier will have five divisions ranking from 5 (lowest) to 1 (highest). As you progress through each tier, your division will count down until you rank up to the next tier. Top 500 will not have tier divisions.

Tier Divisions represent the same skill levels as SR, but they give players a higher-level view of where they’re placed in Competitive. Each division represents approximately a 100 SR range. Players will receive a competitive update every seven wins, or 20 losses, instead of every single game.

Looking at the past seven or 20 games as a collective helps you better understand how you're performing in Competitive rather than putting a ton of pressure on each individual game. We want you to feel like you’re improving and being rewarded for advancing from the first day you start playing Competitive in Overwatch 2.

Match-focused UI

We’re making some changes to the Competitive UI based on feedback that we’ve seen in the community. Portrait borders that symbolize player level are going away from all game modes in Overwatch 2, and Competitive skill tiers will no longer be displayed before each Competitive match. Skill tier and division aren’t completely aligned with the matchmaking rating we use to determine matches. To this end, this screen has been redesigned so you can instead display your name cards and titles.

The introduction of the new scoreboard will help you identify your team's needs and adjust your strategy accordingly. We’re removing medals from the scoreboard because they were too arbitrary to paint an accurate picture of a player’s contributions to their team. Our goal with this new scoreboard is to communicate information about how the match is progressing in a more open and transparent way.

Finally, the new ping system gives you a new tool to communicate with your team. It’s no surprise that teams with better synergy win games. You can use the ping system to better coordinate with your team without having to speak, and the system is also an effective way to enhance voice callouts with in-game cues.

Placement Matches and Season One

The placement system from past Competitive seasons is changing in Overwatch 2. Instead of playing five matches without a rank, you’ll be unranked until your first competitive update after the first seven wins or 20 losses. You can expect to start in lower Skill Tier Divisions after placement matches and progress the ranks throughout the season.

All players that were ranked in Competitive prior to Overwatch 2 will have their rank modified post-launch. Overwatch 2 is a very different game, so we applied a formula that gives returning players an opportunity to redefine their rank when they dive into updated Competitive. Most players will find their rank is slightly lower when they start out, as they will be learning new concepts and metas. However, players who got to learn more about the game in our betas, or who follow the Overwatch League, may find themselves ranked higher than ever.