Competitive Play is the ranked Play Mode of Overwatch. In this mode, players stay on the same team for multiple rounds. If the player leaves before the match's end, they cannot join another game until the match ends. In addition, continued leaving may result in being restricted from Competitive Play. Bots do not replace departed players.
Different rules are applied depending on the Game Mode:
- On Escort, Assault and Hybrid maps, teams will play one round as Offense, and one round as Defense. In each round, the attacking team gains points based on their progress on the objective. After two rounds, if both teams complete the objective while attacking, the match will enter Sudden Death. Sudden Death takes place on the same map as the previous rounds.
- Control winning condition is changed to three rounds out of five, as opposed to the usual two out of three.
Scoring
- On Escort maps, the attacking team gains one point for each checkpoint they reach.
- On Assault maps, the attackers gain point point for each control point they capture.
- On Hybrid maps, the first control point is worth one point, and the following checkpoints are worth one point each.
Sudden Death
During Sudden Death, another partial round will be played. The team which is attacking is chosen via a coin flip. The attackers must capture the first control point on the map. If they succeed, they will win the match. Otherwise, the defending team will win. Overtime is allowed during Sudden Death.
Ranking
A player must complete 10 placement matches to receive their rank. After each 3-month season, players must complete another set of placement matches. The player's ranking is represented as a Skill Rank between 1 and 100, where a higher Skill Rank represents a higher skill level. After each game, a player will either gain or lose progress towards their rank. The amount of progress gained or lost depends on the difference between each team's average Skill Rank.
Rewards
The following rewards are available for completing 10 placement matches in Competitive Play each season:
- A season-exclusive player icon
- A season-exclusive spray
Players who finish in the top 500 ranks in a particular season also receive an exclusive animated spray.
1 Ranked Point is awarded for winning a match in Competitive Play. These points can be used to unlock special cosmetic items, such as Golden weapon skins. Players also receive Ranked Points at the end of a season based on the final rank that season.