How does Overwatch’s ranking system work?

Overwatch features a competitive mode where you can team up with your friends or play it solo to pair up with random individuals. After five games in each of the three roles in the game, you receive a ranking and a competitive position for that role. If you primarily play in the support role, you will likely rank better here than you would a damage-based character, and drop into different, more demanding games. Your performance in a role comes with a different series of ranks.

The first five games with any of the three roles put you in a skill rank in the range of one to 5,000. The ratings break into these sections:

• Bronze: 1 to 1,499
• Silver: 1,500 to 1,999
• Gold: 2,000 to 2,499
• Platinum: 2,500 to 2,999
• Diamond: 3,000 to 3,499
• Master: 3,500 to 3,999
• Grandmaster: 4,000 and up
• The Top 500

The first five tiers, Bronze to Diamond, are the most common. A good majority of players are going to land here when they finish their first five games, and then steadily work their way up through the game to attempt to scale higher and higher. You can group with your friends within 1,000 skill rating of you when you’re playing these ranks. When you reach Master, you can only play with players within 500 skill rating points of yours, and at Grandmaster, it’s 350 skill rating.

If you win a game, you increase your skill ranking and steadily work your way up. When you lose, you lose skill ranking and start to trickle down the competitive ladder. For the first five tiers, if you lose when you’re below the minimum amount you need to hold your current rank, you go down to the next one. The same method works for winning. Players who are in the Master and Grandmaster rank automatically lose theirs if they do not have enough points.

The Overwatch competitive scene has a new season every two months. When the season refreshes, players must start over with their first five games to qualify for a rank once again. Each season comes with a series of exclusive rewards. You can try to jump into games with your friends or do your best to work together with random players you encounter who queue up for the competitive fights. You have a chance for a fresh start every two months, so make those precious matches count each season.