Overwatch 2 Beginners Guide – Tips For New Players

If you've never played Overwatch 1 or other FPS games, and looking for tips, tricks, and strategies to win as a new player of OW 2, check out our beginner's guide.

Overwatch 2 is a thrilling, fast-paced hero shooter that gets a brand new audience due to its free-to-play model for the sequel. With this, you will also see veteran Valorant/Apex Legends/Fortnite and OW1 players come back to the game and things can get overwhelming pretty fast. So, if you are completely new to OW 2 or to FPS games in general, don’t worry. Here are some tips you can keep in mind to eventually “get good” as beginners in Overwatch 2 and earn those wins.

Overwatch 2 Beginners Tips for New Players

Let’s get the most obvious Overwatch 2 beginners tip out of the way – 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 best stats on the team. With that said, let’s get into the more specific things you need to do as a new player in OW 2.

Try Every Hero but Main a Few

learn about heroes beginner in overwatch 2

It’s important to master the skills of a few characters in every class (our tier list may help with that). But it’s also crucial to try every hero and know about their abilities and ultimates. Start with heroes which are easier to learn. For me, Lucio, Soldier 76, Mercy, D.va are some good ones to start with.

The practice range is almost-perfect because it gives you the option to choose any hero you want and practice with all their powers. There are static bots, friendly bots, and moving bots to help you figure out your angles and movement.

Also Read | Best OW 2 Heroes for Beginners

Moreover, you can also place another OW 2 hero in front of you, shoot at them, or use an ability on them to see how it affects them. Practice this with tanks, supports, and damage heroes to see how you will potentially perform in the actual game.

Another reason why you need to have a hold on multiple heroes from every class is that choosing characters is dependent on a first-click basis during hero selection. If someone else picks your main hero, you will be left choosing someone you have no idea about. So, while it’s good to have mains in every class, have multiple choices ready so that you still have a grip on your second-best choices.

There’s one more reason why you should have an idea about every character’s powers. You need to know them to be able to counter them effectively. Due to this, you won’t be surprised when Zenyatta launches an Orb to increase the damage you take, or when Torbjorn deploys a turret that does a lot of killing on its own.

Stay with your Team

stay with your team

This is why voice chat will be useful. But if you prefer to turn it off due to toxic VC, make sure you move with your team and ping to deliver the necessary information to the members. No matter how powerful your character is, if they head out alone, they will be surrounded by enemies and taken down almost immediately.

Also Read | Best Heroes to Pair with Kiriko in OW 2

Overwatch 2 is a team-based game and whenever the team sticks together (and also if it’s a balanced team), it is tough to overpower them and they survive for much longer. Due to this, you will get a chance to shine as a new player and get those kills or provide healing to allies.

Be Ready for Defeat, But Learn from it

Even though you may be a new player in OW 2 (or FPS games in general), your opponents may be veterans in other games like Apex Legends or Valorant. In this situation, you could end up against each other after matchmaking and they might completely wipe your team out.

watch replays to learn strategies

While winning and losing are a part of the game, the best thing that OW 2 provides is that you can watch replays of matches. Get a bird’s eye view of the battle and observe how your enemies played. Try out any of the characters that took you down and, you never know, you might start playing as them more frequently. Figure out the moments when someone performed a certain move, or used space in an interesting manner. Study, replicate, practice and you will start getting better quickly.

Swap Heroes

Overwatch 2 Beginners tips tricks

No two matches are created equal and so, you may have to change your strategy based on who you face. Sometimes, the team created isn’t balanced enough for the opponents and OW 2 gives you the chance to change your hero when you respawn. If you are in the need of a Tank, switch to one and if you desperately need a healer, go for it.

Even during the initial character selection, you can see if the team is turning out to be all damage or most healers and then switch up your character accordingly to make it more balanced.

Keep Moving

Overwatch 2 Beginners Guide

Besides practicing your aim on moving targets, remember to keep moving and jumping even when you are not shooting. This makes it tougher for the enemy to eliminate you with a few hits. If you stay static, you are an easy target, especially for heroes like Cassidy who hit accurate headshots.

Back off for a bit if needed or move behind a tank’s shield if your health is low, but keep moving until you have to stop somewhere to heal up. And then move again – quickly.

Know the Map Inside Out

know maps ow 2

This will take time, but observe every map and know the vulnerable locations where your enemy might end up in. This will help you catch them by surprise and eliminate them faster. There will also be spots where you can heal yourself while being out of sight. Plus, many maps have a vertical element, so you need to know where you can get hit from.

These were a few of the tips that can help beginners become a valuable part of the Overwatch 2 team. I hope this helps you get a hang of the game and eventually be the best at it. For more related to Overwatch 2, check out our guides.