Playing as a team is incredibly important in Overwatch, especially ranked. However, sometimes solo queueing is unavoidable. Solo queue is a daunting experience for many players. What can you do to make your experience as positive as possible? In this Play of the Fortnight, we go through five tips for solo queueing in Overwatch. We’ve included general tips as well as some hero choice advice, so go forth and have a great time in solo queue!
1. Use voice chat for callouts
A lot of players avoid voice chat, especially in solo queue, because they’re shy or worried about toxicity. However, voice chat is key for receiving callouts, and can be useful if you get a player on your team who takes on a leadership role. You don’t have to use your microphone, even just being in voice chat and able to hear callouts makes a huge difference.
If you do feel confident enough to make callouts, voice chat is the easiest and quickest way to do so. Keep the information to a minimum, point out where enemies are and maybe even whether or not you’re pushing or falling back.
That’s not to say that toxicity isn’t an issue. Angry players can be even more difficult to deal with when they have direct and instant access to you through voice. We’ve talked about it before, and voice chat can definitely make a bad situation worse. That leads us into our next tip.
2. Don’t be afraid to use the mute button
In fact, to go further than “don’t be afraid to use the mute button:” use it liberally! There’s nothing worse than trying your best only to have your entire game thrown off by one overly mouthy, frustrated teammate. If your teammate is distracting you and not providing useful information whilst yelling about how Reaper just flanked them, use that mute button.
In fact, encourage your teammates to do the same. I’ve muted people in the past and had my teammates continue to engage with them and it defeats the purpose. The best thing you can do is ask your teammates to ignore or mute the offending person and focus on the game. You can pull it back, but it’s all the more difficult if everyone is focused on the tilted player instead of the game.
3. Pick heroes that allow you to carry
While you can absolutely pick whoever you want, there are certain heroes who will be more useful in a solo queue situation. Zarya, for example, is incredibly strong. Her shields allow you to protect teammates who are out of position whilst simultaneously charging up your own damage. She inflicts a lot of damage for a tank, and can shield herself to get out of harm’s way. On top of that, her ultimate can be an absolute game changer if you’re wise about when you use it. While I wouldn’t advise picking her as a solo tank, she can be fantastic for solo queueing and excellent when supporting another tank.
Moira is a great support to pick as well. She can deal out a lot of damage, has plenty of flexibility, and has an escape that gets her out of the way if her team don’t back her up. Zenyatta is another big game changer, as an accurate player will be devastating, and his utility is also extremely useful.
If you want to be a damage dealer, pick a flanker and practice with them. This one is a bit riskier as it can be easy to get shut down, but if you get good with a flanker you can ruin the enemy team’s day. It’s also worth noting that if the enemy team has someone in the backlines that needs taken out, if you’re playing the flanker you won’t have to rely on teammates you don’t know to do it. If you need something done well, do it yourself!
4. Focus on your own performance
While it may be frustrating when your team are underperforming, you cannot control that. The only performance you have any direct influence over is your own. For that reason, we recommend focusing on your own abilities. There’s always room for improvement, so after each match think about what you could have done better. Was there a mistake you made that you could try not to make in the future?
Obsessing over what your teammates did wrong is not only unhelpful to you, but can make you more frustrated which can directly influence your performance.
5. Finally, stay positive!
Never underestimate the power of staying positive in the face of an anger-inducing match. By this, we don’t mean don’t let a bad game affect you at all. Frankly, that seems impossible. However, if you have had a few losses in a row, take a break. Walk away from your PC or console, get a drink, and take a deep breath before you get back into it.
Repeatedly throwing yourself at the mercy of teammates you have no control over can be a frustrating experience. The more frustrated you get, the more likely you are to perform poorly yourself. Going into your next match with a refreshed mindset can make a huge difference to your performance and the outcome of the match.
Closing Thoughts
Solo queue can be a fun experience, and while challenging, it can be all the more rewarding when you start to see yourself climb. Using voice chat, picking the right heroes, and focusing on your own performance while staying positive are all so important. We hope the tips we’ve suggested above help you have an excellent solo queue experience!
What are some of your favorite ways to have a good time in solo queue? Let us know in the comments below!
