Overwatch is one of the happiest games around. With its quirky collection of heroes and large volume of YouTube-able moments, it’s no surprise that the title attracted more than 7 million players in its first week.
Unfortunately, not all of those 7 million individuals are playing with the positive outlook and good vibes befitting the game. So when you settle in for a nice long play session, expect to run across these seven unfortunate situations from time to time. Be prepared, and don’t let them turn your frown (or your MMR) upside-down.
1. The Hanzo/Widowmaker specialist
We get it. You like to be a sniper. Snipers are cool. You’re so powerful, picking off enemies like tiny ants in the distance. That’s great. Except that when we’re attacking on this escort mission, there is no distance between you and the enemies so you are not helping in any way.
And somehow, these people always seem to get doubled up in quick play, so your team will wind up with two or even three snipers who can’t conceive of picking any other class. At least those matches end in defeat quickly thanks to the terrible team composition, so you can escape with a good old fashioned ragequit.
2. Mei the troll
Oh Mei. She’s so adorable and so eager to save the world. But she’s a difficult character to play well. In lesser hands, she can quickly become the most infuriating accidental troll. For example: You’ve lined up the perfect ultimate as McCree. High noon is here. And just before you can fire off your shots and decimate the enemy team, an ice wall blocks your view. Sigh.
Then there’s the intentional Mei troll, which is even worse. These are the players where you can practically hear them snickering, “You know what’d be funny? Putting ice walls in front of my teammates every eight seconds as they leave the base! Hahaha.” Just assume these people act so annoying to cover up their complete lack of skill in the game. And since they play Mei, they’ve already got plenty of ice for that sick burn.
3. Insta-rez Mercy
Mercy’s an amazing character, and her ability to resurrect dead teammates can turn the tide in a close match. It might seem like common sense that reviving a teammate who is surrounded by opponents is kind of a waste. Yet it seems some players see that flashing ultimate icon and just can’t help themselves from pressing it as soon as they can, regardless of whether that player will just be mowed down again. So I beg you, Mercy players, be an angel and don’t rez me within point blank range of an enemy shotgun.
4. Play of the Game hog
It’s nice to be recognized for your in-game skills, which is why the whole Play of the Game concept is awesome. From the game’s launch, though, the feature has been more than somewhat biased in its choices. The algorithms are improving on Blizzard’s end, but the best bet for getting your name on that screen is just to rack up the most kills in a short clip, regardless of whether it involves much skill or impact on the match. This goes to some players’ heads, and you’ll see them making selfish decisions, prioritizing a quick kill streak over the match objective. POTG is great, but PTFO is better.
5. The wannabe motivational speaker
With the advent of Competitive Mode, getting comfortable with team member communication via voice chat is even more crucial. Voice chat in a multiplayer game always comes with the risk of toxic individuals who make you lose your faith in humanity, and sadly, you will come across those. But Overwatch may be the only game that has the opposite issue as well. Some enterprising individuals take it upon themselves to inspire their teammates with a constant barrage of pep talks. “Go go go!” “We got this!” “Stick together!” These are all less helpful than actual strategic planning, but thanks for the vote of confidence.
6. The team that plays all Soldier: 76
To be fair, this is a really powerful team composition. You’ll probably stomp a lot of folks with it, especially if this isn’t your first FPS. But it also sucks the joy and magic out of Overwatch’s huge rotating cast of characters when you all turn to the one who’s most similar to the person in every other multiplayer shooter. This isn’t a game that you should play like Call of Duty. You know what is? Call of Duty.
7. The team that plays all Torbjörn
Nope. Just nope.
