I’ve been playing Overwatch for a while now and as such I’ve started to notice that there are a few people out there with some irritating bad character traits that pop up a little too frequently for my liking. Before we get into the list of bad competitive Overwatch player types, it’s worth noting that sometimes people have very legitimate reasons for being as they might appear to be and this can actually drive the team to success.
However, in the more extreme cases they have a darker and more annoying side that goes against what the team is hoping to achieve. This list is only really for Competitive Mode. Quick play and Arcade Mode are a lot more flexible so are more resilient to these player types.
So the first in our list of bad Overwatch player types is…
This is the person that no sooner have you hit the character selection screen you’re faced with an endless stream of 2-2-2. No other combination of characters can be considered, it must be two tanks, two heal and two damage. The meta obsessive cannot imagine any other way of winning that doesn’t include 2-2-2. He neither knows nor cares what you play best at, and is much happier forcing someone into a role they don’t like just to hit their meta ideals. It won’t matter how good you actually are with a hero, if the meta says they’re bad then you’ll be moaned at to change before the match has even started.
Of course the meta needs to be understood and taken into consideration but to blindly follow it without first understanding your team is as much of a gamble as everyone just choosing the heroes they want.
This is the person who plays a certain hero all the time. Regardless of the type of map, or team compositions they will always play this hero. They could be getting their ass handed back to them over and over from a well-placed Torbjorn of Bastion but they will automatically select that same hero and end up dying the same way over and over. It’s like their hero select screen only has the one option. Regardless of what problem they face they will stoically believe it can be overcome without them needing to change character.
Having a favourite character is good, and there can’t be many players out there who don’t have a character they prefer to play, but you always need to adapt to the situation you’re in. A good player will have a number of heroes they are at least competent with so they can flex with the teams requirements.
The Switcher is the opposite of The Unchanging, in that they constantly switch heroes sometimes once each time they die. These are often players whose main has already been chosen and they haven’t got any other players they feel skilled at. So they constantly switch to new characters, and die quickly before switching to another one. As far as the rest of the team goes, they are little too no help. Sometimes they get lucky and their main hero becomes available but often the damage to the game has already been done.
Just like The Unchanged, and I’ll re-iterate it here, it never hurts having more than one hero that you feel comfortable playing. In Competitive Mode you can’t always (or should always) play your main, so you need two or three others at least, that you can switch to, ideally including at least one tank or support.
The Blamer is completely unable to understand the concept of a team and shared responsibility. If you lose with a Blamer on your team, then they will clearly and in no uncertain terms tell everyone in the team just whose fault the loss was. Oh, and guess what? It’s never The Blamer’s fault. In fact sometimes they will shout and moan about always being put in a team with such ‘losers’ completely failing to understand that they are in that team, because they are (in the most part) at the same level as them. Criticisms from this player are curt, offensive and very unhelpful. Of all the bad Overwatch player types The Blamer is the worst. Because they are so angry and aggressive, they can cause other players to doubt themselves and their skill own for no good reason.
We get it, losing is frustrating and when it seems that one or more of your team members are not having the greatest day it can piss you off. However, resorting to name calling and angry blame shouting is just going to make you look like the dick you are. Have some decorum, people.
Have I missed anyone off? Are there any other bad competitive Overwatch player types I’ve missed off the list? Add in the comments, if there are.
