Hello friends! I'm back to talk about this video game I've been into for the past couple of months - Overwatch 2! Beware - this will be a pretty long post about game stuff, so please bear with me.
OW2 is a team-based 5v5 first-person shooter (FPS) video game. I have been watching my hubby play it for years now, and I've never really been interested in it. I've also heard about it from other people (all guys) who play it, and seems like it's pretty popular among adults even in their late twenties and thirties. Interesting.
Then my hubby got a new PC and handed off his old PC, keyboard and headphones to me - which meant I could play video games now! I was attracted by the pretty colors and graphics in OW2 and the cool-looking heroes, so I decided to try it out. I haven't really played an FPS - I did try playing my brother's Quake III Arena game a looong time ago when I was a kid, but I got so dizzy I just gave up after 1 or 2 tries.
So yes this is definitely my first team-based FPS game! I started off by playing support (there were support, damage (DPS) or tank heroes), as healing was easier than having to actually shoot in the game. So my aim was horrible, I had no game sense, no awareness of environment, and was constantly dying because people would come from behind me or from the sides (what they call "flanking" or "off-angle"). I even felt dizzy or had a headache after playing for a while. Over time, I got used to it and stopped feeling dizzy, and learned that I could hear people from behind, above me or from the sides, and their footsteps sound louder when they're close by! Now that helped me not die as much.
Then I learned that when I'm getting hit, there would be this red blotching graphic outlining my screen that shows which direction I'm being hit from. So if I'm being hit from behind, it would outline the bottom of my screen, whereas if I'm hit from the left, it would outline the left-side of the screen. Also helped me figure out where to hide / not die as much.
Then I learned there were different secret rooms / areas in the different maps, and watched videos to learn how I can play better. Then I learned that there are certain team compositions that could work better together, and also different heroes to counter certain enemy heroes' abilities.
It was such a steep learning curve to learning not just how to play an FPS, but also the game rules, movement mechanics, aim, the maps, and the different hero abilities, and how to play well as a team. I can understand now the allure of OW2 and why folks play it for years and years, and still come back to it. That it's even a competitive esport! (though it seems like that may be going away).
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When I first started, I was so afraid to play with real people, as I didn't want to mess things up and cause my team to lose constantly. I knew I was bad, and I felt so bad bringing the team down. So I kept playing in the practice range and in custom AI-games where I'm playing with/against bots. I pretty much told myself I prefer playing it safe with AI bots, it's less stressful and was fun this way too!
However, my hubby was constantly encouraging me and pushing me out of my comfort zone. He said I could just turn off chat so I couldn't see anything toxic / mean that people say (and OW2 is known for people being mean in team and match chats). I learned this the hard way when someone said "healer diff" and that was referring to me. I didn't know what that meant and had to look it up! One guy even said I should learn the proper game mechanics, and I felt so sad. (That was also for the support hero Mercy - she requires a lot of practice with how to fly and move around in the game).
But none of them were wrong, they were absolutely right! After I turned off chat, I improved significantly as I just focused on learning the game, and focusing on one thing at a time. I focused on using better cover, better positioning. I experimented with high ground, and different heroes. I also focused on better aim by doing aim training (and my aim + strafing is much better now!) I then focused on turning around every few seconds, making sure I'm aware of where my team is at all times, but also where enemies might be coming from. I almost expect the enemy to be coming from behind, above and the sides to kill me in the back, so I remind myself to turn to check. Checking the blind spots. It's just like checking the mirrors and blind spots while driving xD, except under much higher stress circumstances.
While I still kept losing, I stopped losing as much! I remember that my win rate used to be a third for the longest time, around 33-40%, and my hubby told me the average should be around 50% (as >50% helps you rank up, and <50% makes you rank down). One day, before I knew it, I started winning 40%, then 50+% of my games! I have no idea how it happened, but that did help me gain some confidence to move to the next stage...
Where I started playing competitive ranked matches! This was even more stressful, but the matchmaking would be more balanced, so I could really see if I'm improving. I was placed in the lowest possible rank - Bronze 5. (For context, there's Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Masters, Grandmasters - and 5 levels within each of those ranks. So yes I am pretty bad). I did console myself that it's ok I'm in Bronze 5, because a lot of other people who have experience playing FPS also get stuck in Bronze 5 with me.
Because Bronze 5 is a catch-all rank at the bottom, it's impossibly hard to get out of it as there are many players who are new to the game or just not very good, who can be on your team and make you lose. Unless I'm good enough to "carry" my team and win -- which is difficult to do as a support hero. Also, I think the OW2 matchmaking does something where they match you with much lower ranked teammates as you get higher ranked, which is tougher in Bronze 5 as there's high skill variability and high chance of getting people who have no idea how to play.
So here I am, struggling, and I started off somewhere around 34% better than other players in Bronze 5. Over time I started winning more than I lost, and got to around 50% in Bronze 5. I made friends with a really good tank who's also been stuck at Bronze 5 forever, and he's at 75%, so I set that as my goal to improve and get to 75%. I thought that if I could get to his level, that meant I was really good, since he's so good at playing.
When I finally hit that goal, I then set my next goal to get out of Bronze 5 (i.e., get to Bronze 4).
Last season, I ended up at my all-time high of 92% (with the help of grouping with friends)! But then I couldn't win anymore on my own, and lost a series of 7-10 games and dropped back down to 60+%, and then climbed back up to 76%. I realized that on my own, I would consistently just be around 75-80%, and couldn't win more. The moment I got past 80%, I kept losing as I kept getting bad DPS and tanks on my team.
Anyhow, this season I all but gave up on ever climbing out of Bronze 5. I was set on doing it on my own, as I believed that I'm getting better, except that I'm not so sure anymore with each loss I had.
3 weeks ago, my tank friend got out of Bronze 5. I was happy for him, but felt demoralized that I'm still stuck. And then another friend ranked out of Bronze 5, then yet another, then yet another! 3 other friends, one-by-one, did it and I felt so left behind. So abandoned, but also even more demoralized that I would never be able to make it.
One of my friends even ranked up to Silver 4 within 1 week! I was amazed and soooo jealous! I'm just thinking, I could never make it on my own. So I started playing competitive games only with my friends who are good players, so at least we had a more consistent level of quality in teamwork and gameplay.
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And yesterday, I finally did it!! I ranked up to Bronze 4 yesterday, and that felt like a dream come true. After months and months of trying, and improving, and losing, and feeling so demoralized, it felt like a hero's journey to be able to say I did it!
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I feel like I learned so much by spending time in a video game like this, as it's completely different from any other games I've played. It's just so much harder, as it required actual practice and physical endurance, hand-eye coordination, split-second decision making, and repetitive aim training and mechanics. In a way, I understand now why it's a sport. There are many similarities with other typical sports!
I learned how to be a good team player, but also when's the right time to be selfish and just save myself. Or when I should go flank / dive and kill other enemies instead of healing. I have to make so many split-second, semi-conscious decisions, that made it extra challenging. I'm surprised and impressed that I took such a risk to play this game, and that when I turned chat back on, I'm not as affected by the toxic comments. In fact I started getting compliments / shoutouts like "godlike healer" and "ily supports" (short for "i love you"). It was validating - to feel that I'm now a good, useful team player instead of just being deadweight!
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Oh yes, and I learned a ton of gamer acronyms - and am still constantly learning new terms. GG, GR, GLHF, MB, LOS, flank, dive, poke, brawl, group up, fall back, carry, among other terms. I feel so cool now everytime I learn something new.
Hm I also learned slang that Gen Z folks are using. There are a lot of high school and college-age kids who play OW2, and in one funny instance - I found out that one of my OW2 friends was in high school and when I told him my age, he's like "Is it weird to say that my mom is your age"? That definitely left me dumbfounded. It made me feel old, but also - what have I been doing with my life?! I could have a kid in high school playing OW2!! xD
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The best parts of the game are the "hail mary" miracle moments, which make up for all the bad, tough times. Just like in any sport, sometimes we are losing badly, but we take a risky move and end up carrying the game and win! That feels SOOO GOOD. Having the feeling of giving up, hopelessness, disappointment, that "sigh we'll never win this", then "omg I can't believe we did it!!" That made me feel it viscerally - that you should never give up until the very very end. Play your best game - you never know what can happen!
The feelings of camaraderie, of teamwork making the dream work - that absolutely makes me want to keep playing OW2. It compensates for the feelings of sadness, frustration and disappointment when I lose. In some cases, even when I lose, I still feel happy or good if our team fought the good fight and did our best!
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I still have a long way to go in getting better - I still flinch, and physically move my body away when someone is shooting at me. I need better game sense, aim, taking risks, learning more about the game, each character and dynamics.
It's by no means the end of OW2 for me yet - I will continue to try and see if I can improve and get to Bronze 3, or even (dare I say it)...Silver? We shall see.
P.S. feel free to reach out to me if you'd like to fangirl/boy over OW2 (or other FPS games). These days, the only thing I enjoy more than playing OW2 is talking about it :)
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