Overwatch
What Is Open Queue in Overwatch?
The Overwatch queue with no role limits: any player can pick any hero, and the mode has its own competitive rank.
What is Open Queue in Overwatch?
Open Queue is the Overwatch mode with no role restrictions. Every player can pick any hero, so a team can run two Tanks or no Support at all. In competitive, Open Queue has its own rank, separate from the Tank, Damage and Support ranks of Role Queue.
How Open Queue differs from Role Queue
In Role Queue, every team has one Tank, two Damage and two Support. Open Queue removes that rule: you choose a hero after the match starts and can swap to any role at any time. That freedom makes Open Queue more flexible, but also less predictable, because the strongest compositions change with the meta instead of following a fixed structure.
What changes in practice
- Flexible compositions: double Tank, triple Support or full dive are all possible.
- One rank for the whole queue, not one per role.
- Separate [MMR](term:mmr): results in Open Queue never move your Role Queue ranks.
- Adapting matters more: good players swap roles mid-match to counter the enemy team.
Example
A team loses the first fight to a double-shield composition. In Role Queue, only the Tank could answer it. In Open Queue, a Damage player swaps to a second Tank and the team mirrors the enemy composition for the next fight.
Boosting Open Queue
Because it is a separate ladder, Open Queue can be chosen as its own target in a rank boost, without touching the ranks you hold in Role Queue.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Open Queue harder than Role Queue?
It depends on the player. Open Queue rewards flexibility and hero pool, while Role Queue rewards mastery of one role. Many players rank differently in each.
Does Open Queue affect my Role Queue rank?
No. Open Queue uses a separate rank and matchmaking rating, so its results stay in that queue only.