Why DPS Is Important

DPS is a critical role in Overwatch 2. With the new format being 5v5 gameplay, DPS players need to take on a more important role than they did in the original Overwatch. Now, eliminations are much more impactful and can turn the tide of the battle. So how do DPS players meet these new demands?

15. Never Underestimate Your Opponents

One mistake DPS players make is underestimating their opponents. Many times, a DPS player will go for a defenseless Mercy, only for the Mercy to whip out her blaster and kill them with ease. If you underestimate your opponent, you’re going into the fight at a disadvantage. What mindset you take to each enemy massively impacts your performance.

To alleviate this, you should go at every opponent with the same fire. Don’t let your targets off easy and attack with the same momentum you would with other, more dangerous targets like enemy DPS. The last thing you want is to go into a fight against an enemy support and get killed because you got cocky or overconfident.

14. Know When To Leave A Fight

Playing DPS means you’re doing the majority of the combat for your team. However, this doesn’t mean you should be fighting all the time. If you don’t know when a fight is lost, you’re risking dying too long after your teammates and staggering the team. Thanks to you getting staggered, your team can’t team up and push as quickly as they would have if you left the fight.

Knowing when to leave a fight is easier than it sounds. If you’re the last one left, run. If you’re one of the last ones left, suggest pulling out. If there are situations where you’re outnumbered and overpowered, you should run away. In any situation where you know you aren’t going to win the fight, you should most likely back off.

There are a few exceptions, but in most cases, you should back off. The main exception is when you’re stalling. If the match is in overtime, then you shouldn’t back out of the fight. If you’re stalling so your team can come back, that’s okay too. And if you’re ever in doubt, ask your team if you should back out, and they’ll give you an answer depending on the specific situation you’re in.

13. Help Your Tanks

It’s tempting to go off and do your own thing when you’re a DPS, but even flankers have to help their tanks. Your tanks are taking damage to give you a chance to fight. Tanks can attack too, but when they’re under fire trying to protect your supports, help them out by targeting the enemies fighting your tanks. The longer your tanks stay alive, the longer your supports stay alive, and, by extension, the longer you and your fellow DPS stay alive.

If you notice that your tank is in trouble, go to them and offer your assistance. It’s your job as a DPS to eliminate the enemies, which means if enemies are attacking your tank, you need to get rid of them. Overwatch 2 is a team game. The more you work as a team, the more likely you are to win.

12. Stay In Your Support’s Line Of Sight

This tip can increase your lifespan massively. Supports can’t heal you if they can’t see you. In order to send healing your way, they have to have line of sight on you, especially heroes like Zen, Ana, and Mercy. When you’re playing DPS, you should strive to be mindful of where your support players are so you can stay in their line of sight. You’ll find you’ll get healed much more if you’re mindful of their position.

There’s also another benefit to this tip. If you’re in their line of sight, that means you have a better view of them as well. The better you can see your supports, the more likely you are to notice if they’re in trouble. If you can’t see them, you can’t help them, and they can’t help you. If both parties can see each other, then you can help each other.

11. Play With Your Fellow DPS

The DPS category on Overwatch 2 has two spots: you and one other person. If you ignore the other person, you’re likely not going to do well. Maybe you’ll perform well, but the rest of the team won’t. The DPS need to be coordinated with their attacks. If you’re targeting a Reinhardt and your fellow DPS is targeting a Lucio, the attack won’t flow.

To play with your fellow DPS, either watch their position, use your mic, or both. Both is the best option for competitive play, but in casual play, not everyone wants to use their mics. If that’s the case, then watch the positioning of your teammate. If you can see where they are, you can work with them and target the enemies they’re targeting.

10. Target The Backline

While on the topic of targeting, you should consider targeting the backline at the beginning of a fight. Supports keep the team alive. Without them, you die. The same applies to the enemy team. If you remove their supports first, you gain an advantage.

You should target the backline when possible. Although this is more difficult during huge team fights, try your best to work with your teammates to target the enemy backline. This will give you a great advantage during the battle, especially now that the 5v5 format allows for deaths to feel like they impact the game more.

9. Don’t Get Ambitious

When you see three enemies in front of you, your instinct is to go after all of them. However, don’t get too ambitious. If you’re targeting too many enemies at once, that likely won’t end well for you. Not only are you outnumbered, but your focus will waver between the targets. If two targets are low on health, it’s difficult to decide who to go after in the heat of the moment.

To combat your ambition, narrow your focus. Go for one target before you go for two, and try your best not to go for more than two at a time. This will reduce your deaths, and it can improve your chances of winning the fights you get into.

8. Finish Your Kills

If your target is alone and low on health, finish them off. Don’t let them get away; otherwise, your team will suffer for it. That’s one easy kill you could have added to your KDA while also doing your team a favor. Of course, if the target receives backup, there are valid reasons to back off. If your target is in a vulnerable state, finish them.

The reason you should finish your kills is because it gives you a huge advantage. As mentioned earlier, the 5v5 format allows for kills to feel more permanent and impactful. Even one kill is a massive advantage in Overwatch 2. Whenever you can, finish your kills, and don’t leave a low-health hero alive.

7. Use Ultimate Combos

Ultimates are powerful on their own, but they’re even more powerful when they’re combined with other ults. For example, if you’re playing Soldier 76, you should pay attention to who your supports are. If you have an Ana or Baptiste, tell them about your ult so you can combine it with theirs to get the best results.

Or, you can use smaller combos such as a Mercy damage boost or a Zenyatta discord orb. Combos make deadly ultimates even deadlier, giving your team an advantage and increasing your chances of harming the enemy team. Even defensive DPS heroes can impact the fight. For example, Symmetra’s teleporter can be placed behind the enemy, giving an offensive hero like Reaper the chance to flank and use his Death Blossom ultimate.

6. Time Your Ultimates

While on the topic of ultimates, you need to know when to use them at the proper time. Flanking DPS are especially prone to making the mistake of thinking their team is with them when they’re not. Flankers tend to stay in the enemy backline and pay little attention to their teammates, making it easy for them to use their ultimates while thinking their team is nearby.

You shouldn’t use your ultimate when you’re alone. If you’re 5v1ing the enemy team, you’re probably going to die even with your powerful ultimate. You should use it with your team by your side, supporting you. If not for the combos, then for the reassurance that if you get kills with your ultimate, your team will be there to capitalize on them.

Even if you get kills with your ultimate while outnumbered, you’ll still lose the fight since your team isn’t there. That’s why you should wait to use your ultimate. It’s better to wait for your team than to get some kills that no one is there to capitalize on.

5. Reduce Your Deaths

In video games, dying happens. There’s not much you can do to prevent dying at least once, especially in a long match. Overwatch 2 matches take a long time, typically up to ten minutes. During this period, you’re going to die, and that’s okay. What you should do is try to eliminate the unnecessary deaths.

To eliminate unnecessary deaths, you should communicate, use health packs, use the map, and use your abilities wisely. Communicate with your teammates so they can help you out. Even if you don’t want to use your mic, use the communication wheel so your teammates know when you need help.

By knowing the map, you know where the health packs are, but you also know all the escape routes. The better you know the map, the higher your chance of survival. Lastly, don’t waste your abilities. Only use them when you need them, since you never know when you’ll have to use them as a way to escape your foes.

4. Change Your Controls

Your controls are crucial to how you play the game. If you hate your crosshair, you need to change it so you can perform better. If your sensitivity is too slow, you need to change that too. Even if you like your current settings, you can play around with them in the practice range or in casual play to see if you find even better settings.

The practice range is there for a reason. You should be using the practice range while waiting to get into a game. Since DPS has a high queue time, utilize it to play around with settings and push the boundaries of what your current settings can do. The more you experiment, the more you’ll discover, and the more comfortable you’ll become with your settings.

3. Know When To Swap

Overwatch 2 relies on the hero swapping mechanic that’s powered the game for years. If you don’t swap heroes when needed, you’re hurting your team and the odds of victory. It’s not a shameful thing to swap heroes if it isn’t working. Swapping doesn’t make you a bad player. On the contrary, it shows you know the game well and are willing to compromise to help your team.

If you’re playing someone like Genji and getting countered by the enemy, you should consider switching. Even pro players get countered by the enemy team’s comp, meaning they switch to someone who can counter them. It’s a back and forth of switching, which is what makes Overwatch 2 such a unique game.

Switching isn’t something that will happen every game, but be open to the possibility of swapping when needed. If you aren’t contributing enough to the team, that’s a sign to switch.

2. Environment, Environment, Environment

Overwatch 2 is a game with countless heroes meant to fit all different types of playstyles. Thanks to this, Overwatch 2 isn’t a game where aim is the most important factor. Sure, having great aim will help a lot, but knowledge of the game and its maps is even more important. If you don’t know the map you’re playing on, you don’t have an advantage over the enemy team.

For example, if you’re playing on the fan-favorite map King’s Row, you should know where the high ground points are. Widowmakers love to camp on the high ground, so you should know where they are so you can use those points while also hunting for long-ranged heroes that may want to stay there.

1. Targeting And Coordinating

Targeting and coordinating have been mentioned a few times in this list. This is because targeting and coordinating are two crucial elements of DPS gameplay. If a DPS player doesn’t coordinate with their team about who to target, their attacks will be flimsy at best and a complete disaster at worst. As much as good players can do well without their teammates, Overwatch 2 is a team game. Play like a team for the best results.

You should call out who you’re going to target, then use the help of your team to target that enemy. Make callouts and coordinate your attacks. Without proper communication and targets, your attacks will look like a football team running in the wrong direction. Try your best to communicate and target, since it will bring you a gigantic advantage.

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