What are Wide Matches in Overwatch 2?

Overwatch 2 continues to introduce a wide array of new features; some that players enjoy and others that aren’t really looked favorably upon. One of the more controversial feature is called the wide match feature, which is something you’ve likely seen if you’ve queued up with your friends a lot recently.

Today, we’re here to explain what that Wide Match feature is in Overwatch 2. In addition to telling what Wide Matches are, we’ll also dive into Narrow Matches and give an in-depth explanation of everything you need to know before queuing up with friends of varying ranks and skill levels.

So, without further ado, here’s what wide matches are in Overwatch 2. If you don’t like waiting for a wide match, you can always hire a professional-level booster from Eloking to rank up either you or your friends so your ranks are high enough to play together. You can even use the code “BoostToday” to get an exceptional 20% discount on all Overwatch 2 services.

Overwatch 2 Wide Matches explained

Getting right into the brunt of the conversation, wide matches in Overwatch 2 are when players queue up in competitive mode despite having a significant gap or difference in their skills and ranks. 

In the past, players with a significant gap in rank wouldn’t be able to queue up at all as the game would consider it to be unfair. However, with the wide match system, you can queue as a duo, trio, or even a five-stack with friends in any rank, although it’s still impossible to queue in a four-stack as that would be unfair for the last person. This restriction is more common than you might think, as even games like Valorant don’t allow a 4-stack to queue in competitive.

Another thing to keep in mind is that there are a couple of things that set wide matches apart from other matches. Firstly, the queue time is significantly longer for wide matches than for regular ones. Additionally, a team queuing up wide matches will only come up against other teams queuing up the same type of matches.

Perhaps the biggest difference between regular and wide matches, however, is that wide matches have a smaller impact on your rank regardless of whether you win or lose. This is because Blizzard understands that with varying skill levels, things could sometimes get overly difficult or unfair, and therefore, players shouldn’t be penalized for losing against significantly better enemies and vice versa.

What are Narrow Matches in Overwatch 2?

Narrow Matches are literally the opposites of Wide Matches. While Wide Matches entail a gap in skill and rank, Narrow Matches are when the members of a party have similar ranks and skills. This makes for a fairer and more enjoyable experience for most, as it means the enemy is also usually of similar ranks.

The term narrow matches is actually rather rare, as most players tend to just call them regular competitive matches, as they’ve been around for as long as the first Overwatch has. However, thanks to the introduction of Wide Matches, an official name has been given to them.

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FAQs

Why were wide matches introduced in Overwatch 2?

Many games don’t allow players of different ranks to play together, resulting in friends not being able to play with each other. Wide Matches are Blizzard’s answer to this problem, as they allow friends to play together, regardless of how big the gap in their rank or skill is.