Overwatch Basic Setup Bronze+

Competitive Discussion
1

I’m watching Jolson (a GM) offer a coaching session for a Bronze 870 player. At first it was a little comical, but some actual real basic errors were quickly identified which I wanted to draw attention to anyone who want to refine their setup and their expectations to climbing.

I’m Diamond, played for a couple of seasons, first placing in gold and on occasion dropping to silver. I’m going to address each subject in a different post

Mouse Setup
one of the most important aspects - mouse. 3 points.

  1. Get a comfortable mouse. It doesn’t have to be a gaming mouse, but it helps, but ultimately as long as it’s comfortable, if you got some spare cash, go into a computer shop, they usually have a bunch of mice on show that you can try, get a feel, and buy one… Definitely recommended

  2. DPI. Dots Per Inch. It’s the inbuilt sensitivity of your mouse. Find out what this is. You don’t have to understand what DPI is, but understand the higher it is, the higher your inbuilt sensitivity will be. Don’t worry that higher is better, just find out what it is so you can adjust your Overwatch sensitivity accordingly. Most pro players select DPIs between 400-1600 (despite many mice being able to go much higher)

  3. Overwatch sensitivity / aiming technique. loads of players at lower level, aim from the wrist only, pivoting on a point, never moving their arm. The best players play at a very low sensitivity, using their entire arm from the elbow to aim for large movements and wrist for smaller movements, with roughly 34cm / 13-14inches mouse movement required to do a 360 turn ingame.

Summary:
1- Get a comfortable mouse
2- Find out your Mouse’s native DPI (google)
3- Adjust Overwatch sensitivity for wrist AND arm aiming
(checkout youtube for wrist vs arm aiming)

Rough Guideline
400dpi mice = 10 sensitivity
800dpi mice = 5 sensitivity
1600dpi mice = 2.5. sensitivity

2

Regarding wrist aiming. Also makes sure whatever mouse you buy is capable of taking input from fast and long movements and your mouse area has a good surface for that mouse.

I believe the term is called “Polling Rate” - The rate that the mouse tells the computer it moved.
Polling Rate is different from DPI. DPI determines the minimum amount of movement required for your mouse to say it moved.

Wrist aimers usually don’t have a problem with this; because, even a simple, old office mouse is enough since you are playing at high sensitivity.

This doesn’t really work the same if you are trying to drop your sensitivity. If you drop your sensitivity, you need to start using your arm. When aiming with the arm, you are often moving your mouse over longer physical distances.

If you move your mouse too fast over a long distance, it might not be able to pick up all of the input which is a massive problem. It is more or less a soft-cap on how low your sensitivity can be and if you go past the soft cap, the game can become unplayable.

Regarding the surface, different types of mouse have certain types of surface where they are less effective. If you are using a mouse on a surface that is bad for them, it may not be able to pick up movements effectively.

According to the article Optical vs. laser mouse by Kevin Parrish on digitaltrends, Optical mice work best on non-glossy surfaces and mouse pads; Laser mice works best on hard, dark surfaces.

1 Like
3

I’ll bump this, and if anybody has any requests or scenarios where they are struggling I’ll offer some insight.

4

I like soons set up 800 dpi with 8 sensitivity. I used to play low sensitivity myself, but raising it has improved my game immensely. Mainly because I was always lifting my mouse. Regardless of the setting its a good practice to be able to do a 180 turn and still aim without lifting your mouse.

5

I have some issues aiming in this game. I play CS:GO a lot and not so bad rank wise (LEM in MM, Faceit and ESEA). But in this game i often have to adjust my sensitivity.
I often would like to have different mouse speed for different heros i fight. As for tracking a tracer as 76 i feel i need a higher sensitivity as for tracking a Phara up in the sky. As characters in this game all have different sized hitboxes and also move at different speeds it is somewhat odd coming from the CS:GO background

6

I understand what you mean. And I have noticed some pro’s do have up to 2-3 sensitivities for certain heroes (genji and tracer having slightly higher than usual)

In general I think looking for a “one sensitivity fits all” is unnecessary as it’s rare you have to consistently play all heroes in the game.

You should probably get away with playing a small handful of heroes and adjusting your sensitivity to cover them.

As a DPS main, i’d suggest lower sensitivity settings for heroes such as mccree / soldier who often play mid range. Higher sensitivities for tracer / genji / sombra / reaper

Pharah is a bit of a niche, where you can play at all distances, but primarily shes’s mid/long range so lower sensitivity is fine.

I’d focus on the average distance you’re likely to encounter enemies with the particular bunch of heroes you play and find a good balance of sensitivity.

An average starting point as mentioned is 5 @ 800dpi, but many mid-long range heroes will play better between 4-5 and many close range between 5-7

7

That’s pretty much a given I’d say. If your mousepad / desk can’t accommodate that low of a sense you should go up.

However the one downside I see of going too low is lazy aim but that’s something you should be able to work on…

8

I’m a freak
I play at 15,000 eDPI(1000 DPI, 15 in game)

I used to play at 35k eDPI… :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Got to diamond with 35k
Managed to hit masters at 15k(Probably still would’ve with 35k)

I’m not insane as Prolikechro though
He plays at 72,500 eDPI(14.5 ingame and 5000 DPI

9

well… Your main is junkrat :wink: sooo I don’t want to say he’s not aim specific, because you have to understand how his bullets fire. but he’s certainly not an accuracy-based hero IMO

1 Like