Overwatch 2 gives a fresh start for veterans and opens the door for newcomers who never hopped on Blizzard's hero shooter. Say goodbye to loot boxes, and hello, to reworked characters and new content. While many people are starting for their first time, there is a lot to learn that is unique to the sequel.

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People have had time to become masters of the first entry, and as some have played the sequel before its official release, there are experts already playing against the new heroes. If you are getting your feet wet, there are some useful things for you to learn.

5 Change Heroes Mid-Game, If Needed

Overwatch 2 Mei, Tracer, Reinhardt, Mercy, Lucio

Both games make it easy to swap heroes at any point. While skill can carry you to victory, how your team is put together will make a huge difference. The hero shooter genre is all about who picked which character, which can be a detriment if they don't complement one another. It may seem like a bold move that can go wrong, but don't be afraid if you or someone else in your squad needs to make a switch.

Assess who the other team is playing. You may need to swap to someone who can counter an enemy hero. For example, D.Va can block out gunfire, but her Defense Matrix will not block any beam like Zarya or the sucking power of Moira.

Another aspect is to change heroes based on who is on your team. Select people who work together to aid them properly. Mercy works well as a healer for Reinhardt or Pharah, while you can have another healer like Moira taking care of everyone else.

4 Master Heroes Across All Three Categories

Overwatch 2 pro tips classes tank dps support Winston, Reinhardt, Bridgette, Genji, Mercy, Mei, Echo

Traditional archetypes in many games are tank, support, and damage/dps. Both Overwatch games make it easy to read all their heroes in their select categories. There are numerous reasons to master several characters, like someone taking your main or the balance is off between your team or the enemy's; you may need to opt for someone who you don't usually play.

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Regardless of the mode you select, you should find time against AI or other players to test out various characters. A real skilled Overwatch player can be flexible on who they play. If you have two or three options in each category, you won't run into a wall of not having someone to play, not getting bored of the same hero you play for every match, and you can help your team when needed.

3 Mix Up Your Communication

Overwatch 2 pro tips communication Bob and Ash

Skill and the heroes you select matter, but communicating with your team is essential to guarantee a win. You can talk to people on the mic, through typing or quick chats, and with the new ping system, which you might be familiar with if you play games like Rainbow Six Siege and Apex Legends.

Everyone's situation is different as you may not have a mic or are unable to type on console. To effectively and quickly communicate, you can ping enemies or locations. It is contextual and will give audio cues, too, as your character will tell the squad what you are communicating. For example, Tracer will tell everyone that she spotted a Winston if you ping the guerilla.

2 Use Boosts To Your Advantage

Overwatch 2 pro tips eliminations explosion

While Overwatch 2 sees major changes for heroes who have been around since the first game, there are sweeping changes that affect everyone. Some of these will temporarily boost your speed, and ultimate power bar, and pro players will keep these things in mind while they play and make quick decisions.

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On the movement front, you receive a 25 percent boost in movement and reloading when you get an elimination. Keep in mind; this does not stack like if you were to use your ultimate as Reaper and wipe out an entire team, you wouldn't become the Flash. It refreshes with eliminations, so it can come in handy if you need to move or reload.

Ultimate power grows as you deal damage. That was the standard, but a new change gives you some if you swap heroes. You will receive up to 30 percent after swapping.

1 Timing Is Everything

Overwatch 2 pro tips ultimate timing With Kiriko's ultimate Fox, Zarya, Reaper and Bridgette

You may have a strong ability for who you are playing, but it won't be much use if not used right. Everyone has various scenarios that open them up for a strong move that can support teammates or devastate foes. When it comes to basic attacks, you should play around with heroes to see how you can tactically use their powers for easy eliminations.

For example, you can utilize Reinhardt's new ability to stop his charge. Reinhardt would have to slam into a wall or let his blast charge run out before stopping, but now it can be stopped manually. People would previously fly enemies off the map, but now you can stay alive as you take someone off the edge and stop to prevent sacrificing yourself.

This goes the same for ultimates, as sometimes it is best to time when you unleash your greatest ability rather than using it as soon as you can. You can get kills with D.Va's Self-Destruct or Reaper's Death Blossom, or you can wait for Reinhardt to knock people down to blow them up.

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