Let’s face it–we’ve all been trying to gain as many experience points in Overwatch as we can, even though they don’t affect our skill rank.
However, there is something special about seeing your account pic framed in bronze, silver, and gold with stars shining all over.
The Overwatch leveling system won’t guarantee you’ll be as good as the bling of your profile says. However, it will bring some satisfaction in loot boxes and add another layer of match objectives to your game.
Of course, the only time it impacts your play experience is if you are a new player and you’ll need to reach level 25 in order to play competitive games.
Luckily, reaching the 25th level won’t be that hard. However, if you’re planning to advance even further, we suggest you learn the fastest ways to level up in Overwatch.
Here’s our list of the most important level-up tips that won’t affect your gameplay but will boost your XP gain significantly.
Play Together With Whatever Friends You Have Online
Although you might be playing with your friends by default, chances are you maybe didn’t know that you are farming more XP when doing so.
Overwatch tends to reward you and your friends if you play together on the same map. You won’t need to have a full team of your friends. Only one will be sufficient.
This so-called group bonus will give you 20% more XP than you might gain when playing solo.
Backfilling as One of the Fastest Ways to Level Up in Overwatch
Every PvP match that is not competitive will give you great XP if you backfill. Backfilling means replacing leavers from a game.
If the team you helped wins the match, you’ll earn XP points. If your team loses, you won’t lose anything.
This is one of the most lucrative ways to gain additional experience, as you’ll earn 400XP plus whatever medals you earn during the match if you win.
Stick to the Match and Win
Although advising you to play to win sounds like common sense, we actually need to put this here.
Every win will give you 500XP, and the sheer commitment to the match will guarantee you won’t get any penalties.
And by penalties, we mean Leaver negative XP. Anytime you leave a match, you get a -75% XP handicap that can last for hours, thus meaning you won’t farm as much XP as you need in the following matches.
Imagine farming tons of XP only to earn 25% of what you were supposed to in the first place?
Don’t forget that all players still earn XP at the end of the match. Why not grab those extra 150 XP points and avoid penalties that will handicap your future progress?
That’s why you should stick and play the match through, no matter if you’re losing or not. And that’s also why you should try to improve your game to win most of your matches.
Of course, if you want to maximize your win rate, try learning about all hero abilities and counters in the game to feel like you’re in control of every single match.
Practice with AI
If you are insecure about your game and hate getting trashed, we suggest playing with AI to get better and have more chances to earn XP when going competitive.
Playing against AI is a great and secure way to learn the game better and earn points in the process.
Even some top Overwatch players use this trick to test out their fresh ideas that will come in handy later in their tournaments.
For instance, you earn an impressive 90% of XP when playing against the computer. In other words, whenever you finish an AI match, you get 135XP instead of 150XP, which is still quite valuable.
Play in Streaks
If you are trying to maximize your XP gain, then you should organize your time so you can play consecutive matches.
The Consecutive Match bonus will reward any player that queues up for the next game immediately after they finish the match.
This is great for players that have enough luxury of time and concentration to maintain focus for more than a few matches.
Commit to an Objective
Don’t forget that Overwatch isn’t a battle royale game in which the last player standing is the winner.
There are plenty of objectives you can complete to squeeze out extra XP. These objectives will give you medals at the end of the match.
There are more than a few objectives you can try to complete, regardless of what your role in a team might be.
For instance, there are medals awarded for Eliminations, Objective Kills, Objective Time, Damage Done, and Healing Done.
You’ll be awarded a medal if you perform well in any of these categories. There are Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals.
So, if you end up being the player that dealt the most damage to enemies, you’ll earn the Gold medal for the Damage Done. The best part is that you don’t need to deal the finishing blow to make your damage count.
If you have the most frags on the map, you’re most likely getting the Gold medal for the most Eliminations.
And there is something for everyone. If you want to play around with the payload, then you can get a medal for eliminating your enemies around this area on Escort maps.
If your team needs to hold position, then you might excel in Objective Time quests in which you need to spend the most time defending a site on Control maps.
However, keep in mind that these medals don’t stack. So, if you, for instance, earn Gold and three Bronze medals during a single match, only the single highest award will earn you XP points.
Gold medals give you extra 150XP points, Silver give 100XP points, and Bronze medals will earn you 50XP points on top of other experiences you gain in the match.
Fastest Ways to Level Up in Overwatch: First Win XP
This is the most controversial and challenging way to get XP. However, it still gives a whopping 1,500XP if you’re able to claim it.
The main idea behind this reward is that you need to score the first win with your team as soon as the server restarts at 12 am GMT.
As soon as this award goes out, you’ll need to wait for additional 24 hours to try to reclaim it.
Set Daily XP Goals
As with everything in our lives, try to organize your Overwatch sessions to fit your daily routine in a healthy way.
If you manage your time effectively and set a daily goal of around 1,500XP to 2,000XP, you’ll level up in no time without stressing yourself.
That way, you won’t need to burden yourself with hitting objectives or chasing your friends to play for the Group bonus.
With a daily XP goal, you’ll get constant growth and will also get better and better each day you complete your challenge.
Fastest Ways to Level Up in Overwatch: Conclusion
As you saw, playing Overwatch has numerous ways to gain XP. The most important tip you can take from our list is to keep playing.
The second most important tip is not to leave your teammates during an ongoing match. This won’t only give you a negative 75% XP decrease but will make you the immature player that ruins the overall gaming experience.
Don’t forget to practice with AI if you’re not feeling comfortable at first, as you can gain a lot of XP just by doing so.
Another thing to keep in mind is that you shouldn’t stress if your team doesn’t win. Focus on other map objectives that will reward you with medals and give you something to look forward to even if you are losing.
Finally, remember that XP points are not a clear picture of your skills but show how dedicated you are to the game. Even if you don’t have enough XP, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to enjoy the game.
