Overwatch has long been known as a team-based game where coordination and cooperation are key to success. However, for solo players, the climb through the competitive ranks has always been a challenging journey. In the past, skilled and dedicated solo players could still manage to grind their way up to the higher tiers like Diamond and beyond. But with the release of Overwatch 2, many solo players are finding the climb to be more arduous than ever before.
One player recently shared their experience trying to climb as a solo support player in Overwatch 2. Despite having previously reached Diamond on each role in the original Overwatch, they are now struggling to even get out of Silver. The player reports fighting tooth and nail for every bit of progress, only to have it wiped away by throwers, leavers, and uncooperative teammates.
As a support player, climbing in Overwatch 2 presents some unique challenges. Supports are highly team-dependent and their impact is often tied to the performance of their teammates. An amazing support can enable their team to make plays and survive team fights. But if the team is uncoordinated, trickling in one-by-one, or just getting outplayed, there’s only so much a support can do.
This puts solo support players in a difficult position. Do you focus solely on pumping out as much healing as possible and hope your team can capitalize? Or do you take a more aggressive approach, dealing damage and making plays yourself to try to carry? There’s no easy answer and in many cases, no amount of individual effort can make up for a team that just isn’t clicking.
The player’s experience of having to win three games to offset a single loss is a sentiment shared by many solo players. With the reliance on random teammates, losses often feel outside of your control. Throwers, leavers, smurfs, and just plain bad luck can quickly erase hard-fought progress. It’s a demoralizing cycle that makes the solo climb feel futile at times.
So what can be done? There’s no magic solution, but here are a few things solo players can focus on to maximize their chances of climbing:
- Master a high-impact hero. Some heroes like Ana, Zenyatta, Kiriko have the potential to make big plays that can turn the tide of a match. Mastering these kinds of heroes can help you carry games even with lackluster teammates.
- Shotcall and be a leader. Many players in lower ranks lack basic game sense and direction. If you can be the voice guiding your team and calling out important plays, you can have a massive impact without needing amazing mechanics.
- Adapt to your team. Don’t just stubbornly stick to a favorite hero or playstyle. Be flexible and adapt to what your particular team needs in each game. Sometimes that will be pure healing, other times you may need to take on a playmaking role.
- Focus on improvement, not SR. The climb can be a long and tilting process. Focus on getting better each game and learning from both your mistakes and your pop-off moments. With steady improvement, the SR gains will come.
- Find a duo partner. Even having one reliable teammate can make a world of difference. It won’t eliminate all the randomness, but it does give you someone to coordinate with and a degree of consistency from game to game. We would recommend settling for a pro Overwatch booster to ensure you win the games and enjoy the process.
Ultimately, there’s no denying that climbing as a solo player in Overwatch 2 is a daunting challenge, perhaps more so than ever before. The experience can often feel like a coinflip, hinging on the random teammates you get each game. But by playing smart, communicating, and steadily working to improve your own gameplay, it is still possible to climb the ranks. It may be a slow and grueling process, but success is achievable for dedicated solo players willing to endure the grind.
