How To Form A Group For Competitive Climbing

Solo queuing competitive mode in Overwatch can feel like you're playing the lottery at times. Get the right team mates, and enjoy your steamroll. Get matched with a troll or toxic player, and all you can do is just pray for a minimal hit to your skill rating.

For better or for worse, Overwatch was designed to be a team game. That means no one person can carry an entire team unless you happen to be a misplaced Master rank player. The most reliable way to get good players on your team is really to group up.

Optimal Group Sizes

There's no definite answer to this. Some people have reported finding success in a full six stack. Others swear by duo queuing. Others will tell you queuing as a group of three, where each player covers one role, results in higher winrates.

The answer really, is whether the group you bring to competitive can create a balanced comp for matches and work together well. The current meta for competitive is 2/2/2 — two tanks, two DPS and two supports. You may find variants like the increasingly popular 3/3 — 3 tanks, 3 supports, but those typically require practice to pull off as a team. The most stable team compositions in competitive under Diamond rank is still currently 2/2/2. 

So what this means for forming groups is that you don't want to be in a group with six players who play mostly DPS in a competitive setting. Having a group of four players who can cover a tank, DPS and support role well, with the fourth filling in any role based on your random teammates' choices is much better. This is because your team can create and comfortably play a balanced team composition, dramatically increasing your chances of a victory. 

Do note that queuing in a group of 4 to 5 increases your chances of facing off against a full six-stack. While that does stack the odds against you, it's nothing that can't be overcome by communicating with your randomly assigned teammate. On the other hand, queuing as a group of six is hardly easy mode, since you'll also be matched against other six stacks. This means your games require more coordination and team work to win.

Finding Teammates

Figuring out the roles you need on your group is easy, finding the people who can fill them, not so much.

Start with your own circle of friends. Do you have friends who've played other games together with you? Chances are you've developed a rapport with them, and they should be your first choice to group with. A team of average players that can communicate and are willing to work together will always be better than a team of lone wolves with good mechanics.

If you don't have enough friends who play Overwatch, keep an eye out for other solo queue players in your competitive games. When you find a team that you can play well with and win together, be sure to send a friend request. Lots of solo queue players are in the same position and would like to get a group. Someone just needs to be the organiser.

Alternatively, you could post on the weekly LFG megathread on the Overwatch Competitive sub-Reddit or the official forums, where potential teammates post looking for people to play with.  

Practice

The bigger your group, the more you'll want to get some practice in. Going into competitive as a six stack when you've just met each other is little better than throwing a group of solo queue players against coordinated groups. You might get lucky, but don't count on it. 

Be sure to decide on your roles and set up sessions to Quick Play regularly. If you find that you're not getting proper practice in due to running into hero stacking cheese, consider joining servers like the Overwatch Coaching Group, which organises daily scrims with coaches to go over your gameplay. Servers like these also typically contain players who are serious about climbing the ranks and improving their game, so it may be a good place to look for like-minded teammates for competitive. 

Don't Fixate On Skill Ratings

At least in the short term. New teams will always require a period of time to iron out the kinks as they get used to playing as a team. Depending on your FPS experience and how quickly people adapt, it could take a month or two before your team starts working like a well-oiled machine.  

In the meantime, be prepared to take losses while your team is still learning to work together in a competitive environment. Stick with it and you might just find yourself having an enjoyable time playing with friends on the way to Master rank.