Overwatch 2’s rank distribution is crucial for understanding your standing within the game, yet it remains somewhat of a mystery. Once you’ve mastered the game and enter Competitive mode, your rank will be determined after completing a series of placement matches.
But what does your rank genuinely signify? While discussing rank perception with fellow players and tuning into content creators can provide some insight, it often remains an imprecise estimate. Blizzard has been reticent about openly sharing the specifics of rank distribution, thus making it challenging to assess exactly how the player base is distributed across different ranks. However, thanks to a previous post, we now have a clearer picture of Overwatch 2’s rank distribution. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
So, just how skilled are you in Overwatch 2?
What is Rank Distribution?
Rank distribution in Overwatch 2 refers to the percentage of players within each rank.
Understanding how you compare to the rest of the player base is crucial, as it helps you gauge where you need to improve. It also offers insight into the volume of players that share your rank.
What Percentage of the Player Base Fits Into Each Rank?
Curious about your skills in Overwatch 2?
For years, information about rank distribution was scarce, with the only insights coming from an old message by former Overwatch director Jeff Kaplan. However, during Season 5, Team 4 released a blog detailing competitive and ranked play, complete with a graph illustrating how the Overwatch 2 player base is divided among the various ranks.
While the graph does not provide specific numbers (lacking values on the y-axis), it has 15 lines from which we can approximate the distribution by estimating the size of each bar.
Here’s an overview of Overwatch 2’s rank distribution from Season 5
Blizzard forum user Rezeak has reverse-engineered these numbers to provide an idea about the distribution of Overwatch 2 ranks (assuming the graph provided by Blizzard is accurate):
- Bronze: 10.2%
- Silver: 19.2% (Above 10.2% of players)
- Gold: 26.7% (Above 29.4% of players)
- Platinum: 26.2% (Above 56.1% of players)
- Diamond: 12.2% (Above 82.3% of players)
- Masters: 3.9% (Above 94.5% of players)
- Grandmasters: 1.6% (Above 98.4% of players)
Keep in mind that these figures are estimates and based on a visual representation rather than solid data from Blizzard. Nevertheless, this remains our best understanding of the rank distribution in Overwatch 2 to date.
It’s also important to note that these distributions may have been significantly affected by recent Seasons.
During Seasons 9 and 12, rank resets occurred, and a new rank, Champion, was introduced. How this impacted rank distribution is unknown, but it likely hasn’t altered the lower ranks too drastically.
At What Rank Are You Considered “Good”?
This is largely subjective, but based purely on statistics, if you’re at least in Diamond, you can confidently say you’re a good player.
Diamond rank places you in the upper tier of the ranked system, often pairing you with skilled amateurs, especially at the higher levels of Diamond.
Once you reach Diamond, you can claim you’re a “good” player.
That said, it’s also valid to argue that being in the top half of Platinum (specifically Platinum 1 and 2) indicates a degree of skill, as you will frequently compete against Diamond players.
Reaching Diamond does not mean you’re among the elite; the pinnacle of talent is typically found at the Grandmaster and Champion ranks, where the majority of top-tier professionals play.
What is the Average Rank for an Overwatch Player?
The statistics imply that the average Overwatch player is around Gold 3. Consequently, if you are in Platinum, you are above average.
If you find yourself in Diamond or higher, you belong to the top 20% of the entire player base.
While the rank resets from Season 9 and the introduction of the Champion rank may have altered these figures, it’s likely the average remains largely unchanged since those modifications predominantly affect high levels of play.
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