How to stay focused in Overwatch

Players tend to go autopilot in Overwatch that hurts their performance. It’s important to know how to focus and not let your guard down, to be on top of your game in every match. If you are experiencing games where you just perform badly losing a lot of SR and don’t understand the causes, we are going to explain why!

You must have heard about the term autopilot in different competitive games, including Overwatch. Autopilot or the loss of focus is happening to gamers at all skill levels, however there are only a few who know what to do about it. This thing is usually not recognized by the players, however it can hurt their performance and take the fun away from the game. We are going to dissect the main causes and offer you remedies to stay sharp and win more games, or to stop the huge SR loss and get back on track.

Autopilot in Overwatch

When someone goes autopilot during a game, we mean that they are not present in the moment, not paying their full attention to the game. These players are letting their emotions and usual actions control them instead of being control themselves. The more you play a given game or sport, the more likely you will spend some fraction of the game time in autopilot mode. This is happening to us because our brains are easy to get bored with tasks it finds repetitive or to lose focus due to certain things. Even if we enjoy what we are doing, we can still easily go into the state of mind where everything happens automatically and we just follow the flow of the game.

However the lack of focus can hurt a player’s performance really badly. You are not focusing on the game 100%. When you let your experience take over and guide your movements, you will likely oversee small events in the game that you would otherwise notice. You are just playing how you usually play without paying attention to the details of the specific game. These are all symptoms of losing your focus on the game and should serve you as an alert to get your mind back on the game if you happen to identify any of these symptoms.

Not being present in the moment

A cause of letting things happen to you in game in not being present in the moment. This means that you are just clicking on the competitive matchmaking and alt tabbing to the browser, watching something else. Then the game loads, you tab back, pick a hero and start thinking about how was your day or what do you want to eat after the match. These are all things non game related and if you want to perform really well, you should put these aside during the game.

Why not being present hurts your game

Not being present hurts your game because your thoughts are not 100% about what you are doing. If you want to win, you need to be actively engaged with the specific match you are participating in, there shouldn’t be any half measures. 

What to do against it

In order to be present, you need to be engaged with the game. While the match loads, watch and study the loading screen, see who you are teamed up with, and who makes the enemy team. Look for premades because they can help carrying a game more easily. Then when the game loads, pick a hero, and start thinking about where you should leave the spawn, what route to take when attacking, or which point to defend when setting up. A lot of things goes in this topic, the idea is to take an active part in the game and use your mind, not just your reflexes.

Doing some active exercises help a lot as well, like tracking the head of your teammates, or repeating some ability combos, etc. Just make sure that you are present in the game, watching what is happening and reacting to anything that comes in your way.

Not having goals

Another cause of autopilot generally is not having goals. We are talking about small, match related goals, and longer goals where your improvement or achievements are in the focus. Having some goals defined helps you to keep on track and engage your brain to pay deliberate attention to the game. 

Why is not having goals kicks in autopilot

Not having goals kicks you in autopilot, because being engaged is not just about reacting to the stimuli happening right now, but it usually needs you to think a little bit long term. You may win the current 1v1 against Genji, but then what? Where should you go? Who should you try to pick from the enemy team? What is the general goal of your team right now? What is the goal after the next engage?

What to do against not having goals

So what you should do against not having goals? Thinking about your goals and draft a plan up. This plan can be changed in reaction to how the events unfold during a given match, but it will help you remain focused during the game. You are engaging yourself mechanically and mentally, and this leads to a high level of focus and better quality play.

Coaching helps a lot with your goals

If you don’t exactly know how to proceed with your goals, or how to fix your game and accelerate your improvement, we are here to help you improve. Join our Discord and ask around.

A mental checklist

If you want to make sure you are really present in the game all the time, construct a mental checklist that helps you to know what actions to take and what to think about. This will keep you engaged and help your game sense to perform better. 

Here is an example checklist:

• How many players do we have present for the next engage?
• How many does the enemy have?
• What is the preferable route to to attack or defend?
• How many ults can come in play during the fight?
• What should I personally do during the next engage?

And the list goes on and on. Reading this is long, but getting to the habit of going through your personalized checklist should be short and help you a lot. Try to compile something and post it in the comment section below.

We are waiting for your on our Discord server.

This article was created with the professional support of Overwatchdojo