Overwatch can be an appealing multiplayer romp for a multitude of reasons - one being the seemingly endless supply of aesthetic flair and personalized goodies you can unlock. Still, you need to unlock most, and to do that you'll need to obtain XP and stock up on those sweet loot boxes.
But with over 30 heroes, each with dozens upon dozens of unlockable skins, sprays, emotes, and other random items to personalize your avatar with, you can never have too many experience points. There's just about always something new to unearth and show off. And we know that in today's stressful world, spare time might be at a premium for you.
So let's go over the 10 best, most effective ways to stockpile as much XP as quickly as possible.
10 Bots And More Bots!
You might be aware that playing matches against bots nets you a slightly smaller percentage of XP overall. Still, stockpiling wins and medals against teams full of AI opponents often proves far easier than against players who are in it to win it.
Even though you'll only receive 90 percent of the total XP, you'll more than likely be raking in wins with greater frequency. And considering a win notches you a cool 500 XP off the bat, this will typically make up for the lower amounts offered in the long run. Also, playing against bots is a solid, low-risk means of practicing and landing medals more often than when playing actual matches.
9 Consecutive Matches
One of the simplest ways to notch some extra XP in Overwatch is to rattle off several consecutive matches without quitting. Disregarding extra bonuses, you'll get an extra 300 XP for every match you play in a row, meaning you haven't backed out and reentered a different game or quit playing. Regardless of your performance, time, or how few medals you may have landed, you'll get this 300 XP by default. Think of it as a small reward for your patience and persistence.
It's a good way to exploit those marathon sessions it's so easy to succumb to when playing this addictive shooter.
8 Play Regularly For Bonus XP
Like many games with prominent online features, Blizzard rewards players for frequently returning in several ways. Not only can you stay abreast of the rotating game modes in Arcade, catch the seasonal events, and keep your endorsement rating up there, but you'll also get bonus XP. Well, first you'll have to win a game, but surely you'll have success with notching at least one win on just about any given day.
Simply earning one win for the first time in a 24 hour stint will net you an additional 1500 XP on top of what you'd already been earning after a match.
7 Resist The Urge To Rage Quit Or Leave A Hopeless Match
Yes, it can be tantalizing to back out of a match before it has concluded. This writer can certainly attest to Overwatch's occasionally infuriating moments coaxing one to rage quit and throwing down that controller. But if XP is important to you, you'll want to try taking your lumps and sticking these rough games out.
Not only will you get that consecutive XP bonus, but you'll still notch 150 for merely finishing off a match. You'll also avoid the disastrous prospect of earning that harsh 75% reduction of experience points if the game has decided you've quit too many matches.
You might also have had the misfortune of being thrown into an utterly hopeless game as "backfill," where you're forced to try and dig your team out of a hole they've long-since dug themselves. But you should power through these too, as Blizzard will reward you with 400 just for hanging with your doomed squad.
6 Play With A Group
Overwatch makes it quite easy to party up with a team, so you'll often want to take advantage of this and stick with a squad that's particularly talented and/or has shown good cohesion with each other. You've got the obvious reason in heightening your chances of gaining those coveted victories, for one.
On top of this, though, you'll also be given extra experience points directly as part of a 20% "group bonus." It behooves you to have a go-to group of Overwatch pals to fall back on, or at least attempt to party up with people in your previous match. They may not all bite - especially if you're coming off a rough match - but there's no harm in trying!
5 More Competitive Games
The meaning of this one is two-fold. Yes, sticking with actual "Competitive Mode" is certainly beneficial in its own way, as you tend to be partnered with teammates who mean business, and you'll get an extra 15% of the total XP you would have received in other modes.
But also, you'll want to try for matches that are competitive in the literal sense - meaning games that are hotly contested and drag on. This is because you'll get more experience points for each minute, and indeed, each second that ticks by. Specifically, you'll be getting a "rate" of 3.4 XP per second, so basically - you'll want to be "on the clock" as much as possible in Overwatch.
This isn't to say you and your team should necessarily go out of their way to drag out a match if you're dominating. After all, you won't want to risk losing medals, or, god forbid, the match itself. Still, it certainly doesn't hurt to engage in long-running contests.
4 Try For Consecutive Wins
It might seem fairly obvious, but winning in Overwatch is definitely one of the biggest keys in notching experience - both in the literal and figurative sense. Each win will net you an additional 500 XP, and this is on top of your first win, which is three times that amount. Keep in mind, this will count towards any game mode, whether it's Quick Play, Arcade Mode, or even against AI bots, so jump into the match you're most confident in, and start lighting it up!
Considering this will be tacked onto the medals you'll likely earn after wins, along with the consecutive match bonus, and you can quickly gather tons of XP if you're having a good day of Overwatch.
3 Shoot For Medals
Speaking of medals, these things aren't just for show, a means to brag to your teammates, or a desperate attempt to illustrate to your friends that you were doing the most work. Nope, these also directly reward you with bonus XP.
Each bronze medal will get you 50, silvers bring in 100, and every gold brings in a cool 150. Obviously, you'll want to prioritize moves that are beneficial to the team first and foremost, but you'll want to get more aggressive and try to drive those numbers up when the situation calls for it. This could mean cranking out some extra healing as a support hero or hanging around the payload longer than you otherwise might have.
2 Take Part In Events
Unlike most on our list, you're basically at the mercy of Blizzard for this one. Still, you'll want to keep your eyes peeled and do your research on upcoming Overwatch events. The developers like to keep people playing, which they largely achieve through these limited-time events.
These range from the Winder Wonderland, which concludes each year, to the celebratory anniversary events, which offers new rewards and often bonus XP just for playing. Sometimes you'll even spot random events that will reward players double the XP for participating.
1 Stress The DPS
This somewhat boils down to personal preference, but if XP is your goal, and you've even got a casual interest in rocking DPS players and/or slotting into this role more often, you may want to consider it.
Not only can talented DPS players better dictate the pacing and outcome of a game, but they tend to be a bit more susceptible to notching more medals. Healing will be a bit harder to obtain - unless you're a self-healing player like Reaper - but you'll typically have a better shot of earning medals for eliminations, objective kills, and overall damage done.