Overwatch Esports Game Review & Analysis The World Needs Heroes!

For a long time, gamers and fans have awaited Blizzard’s stab at the FPS genre. The company behind expansive titles such as World of Warcraft, StarCraft II, Heartstone, Heroes of the Storm and Diablo have finally added an FPS to their roster, Overwatch.

Blizzard Entertainment and their unbridled talent for creating perfection has sprung a unique genre and competitive esports discipline known as “Hero shooter”. Over the past two years this game and genre have gained mass appeal and popularized esports to new heights and audiences.

Overwatch is three years down the product pipeline. Ever expanding in content and ingenuity, the title now features an expansive competitive league, amateur divisions and viewership numbers on pair with the largest esports titles out there.

From Shanghai through London to Los Angeles. The world is engulfed in the world of Overwatch.

Learn the Basics of Overwatch Not just Overwatch news

At its most basic level Overwatch is a First Person Shooter (FPS). Layered on top of that is a Hero system akin to all Blizzard games, where your chosen champion uses unique abilities in order to achieve competitive advantage over the opponents.

Currently, Overwatch has a diverse cast of 31 unique heroes to choose from across three main ‘categories’:

  • Damage
  • Tank
  • Support

Each class of hero brings a different dynamic to the game and can complement certain team set ups while also countering specific OW heroes on the opposing team.

While the 3 categories are used to group heroes with similar attributes like Tanks having more health and offensive heroes being nimbler, with more attack and less defense, the categories are more guidelines and each character brings a unique style of play to the game that may benefit one player more than another in how they decide to play the game.

Overwatch Game Modes There are 15 different maps in overwatch which are split into 4 different Overwatch gameplay modes.

The different games modes of Overwatch offer differences in gameplay, allowing you to hone your skills and test your mettle across the different maps.


Assault

The assault mode is a defence and attack affair, with teams defending or capturing the objectives. Assault contains the standard Overwatch Gameplay of team vs team.


Control

The outcome of Control game modes is dictated by the progress meter of each team. Control involves both teams fighting for various control points on the map, once one team maxes their progress meter they win a point and the next round begins.


Escort

Escort is a particularly fun game mode with a moving payload that one team has to protect and stay within close proximity to in order for it to move to the end destination. The role of the opposing team is to remove players from the payload, freezing it and keeping it away from the goal until the timer is up.


Hybrid

Hybrid maps are a mix-up of Assault and Escort mode. They involve the attacking team conquering control points then in succession, escorting a payload to it’s destination. The mode involves a lot of mixing of team comps and heroes and is overall a fun, challenging experience and a welcome addition to Overwatch’s gameplay.


Leveling & Loot Learn more about game experience and loot boxes in Overwatch.

Items can make or break your team, and your hero, so make sure to scout out the areas for these caches. Alongside the items you find, earn more XP to ensure your character levels up.
Progression: what happens when players level up?

You level up in Overwatch by earning experience points (XP) from matches. Quick matches earn more XP than AI matches as the level of difficulty is increased. The amount of XP you earn is affected by whether you win or lose a match (500 bonus XP for a win) or through your person performance in that match.
Currently, there is no cap to what level can be achieved in Overwatch, but you need to be at least level 25 before unlocking competitive play.
Loot Boxes

Why rank up? Well, if not only to show your skill to other players, it’s to have the opportunity to gain cosmetic items from Loot Boxes.

To go ahead and start using your loot, head off to the Hero Gallery from the main game menu and select the character the loot is attached to. If you have an item you want to unlock but can’t yet, there is the option to unlock it with your currency (this can be obtained from Loot Boxes). Overwatch’s origins edition of the game introduced some exclusive skins not obtainable in-game.

Competitive Play All you need to know about Blizzard's Overwatch Competitive Esports

Unlocked at level 25, competitive play adds a ranking system into the mix for players to establish themselves in the competitive scene. This begin with 10 matches to decide a player’s placement; after-which players continue to play competitive matches in order to boost their ranking. The rankings are Bronze (1-1,499), Silver (1,500-1,900), Gold (2,000-2,499), Platinum (2,500-2,900), Diamond (3,000-3,499), Master (3,500-3,900), GrandMaster (4,000+) and Top 500 – among the 500 best players of that region.

Tournaments and Leagues

Over the past year Overwatch esports has grown into a global esports power title. The Overwatch League (OWL), is the penultimate global competitive league in Overwatch and a one of a kind competitive system in the entire esports world. Select teams from all across the globe represent their franchises and cities in a six-month regular season crowned with season playoffs and attractive prize pools at the season end. The 2019 Season featured 20 teams from across the globe with Blizzard announcing a possible expansion to 28 in upcoming seasons.

In order to keep a stable competitive pipeline, Overwatch also features a minor league called Overwatch Contenders and an amateur league called Open Division. Both of the minor leagues are set up in the eight global competitive regions. The idea behind the Contenders and Open Division is to create a path-to-pro for players seeking to pursue a career in competitive Overwatch.

In theory, you can log in and start playing Overwatch today and within months represent your team in one of the minor leagues before going full pro and signed with one of the franchised teams in the OWL.

Overwatch: Our Conclusion Our best gaming experience in Shooting Games

Fantastically perfected and brilliantly maintained, Overwatch is truly a Blizzard game and lives up to the high standards the company has laid out over a career of spectacular titles. With regular updates and a focus on competitive play, Overwatch looks to set in stone its place in the esports community, becoming a breeding ground for new talent.

It’s cross platform appeal has developed its audience and manifested support from all regions of the globe. With 2016-2017 being the first year of the game’s success, the last two years bring forth unbridled growth for the tile and the FPS genre in a competitive sense. With more heroes and skin releases to come in the following years, an evolving esports system and massive appeal, Overwatch is seeking to become the new First Person Shooter game king and the sole owner of the Hero Shooter genre.