Hello everyone, my name is Librarian Husky, and I’m a top 100 DPS player. Today, I want to share with you 10 tips and tricks that helped me climb from bronze to the top 100 while playing DPS. These are strategies I still use today and can help you improve, regardless of your ELO. Stick around to learn as much as possible.

Strafing and Unpredictable Movement

The first tip is simple but essential: always strafe, jump, crouch, and move unpredictably while shooting. There are no penalties for moving while shooting, and it makes you a significantly harder target to hit at any skill level. Constant movement also makes your gameplay more fluid, enabling quicker decision-making and faster access to cover when needed. Standing still provides no advantages and leaves you vulnerable to enemy attacks, especially given how fragile DPS characters are.

Prioritizing Important Targets

The second tip is learning to prioritize key targets. While it may be tempting to focus on eliminating the enemy tank to weaken their defenses, tanks are designed to absorb damage and are difficult to eliminate through brute force. Instead, think of the tank as a wall and focus on squishier, high-value targets like enemy healers or DPS heroes to disrupt the opposing team’s effectiveness.

Understanding the Challenge of Targeting Tanks

Tanks are already difficult to eliminate due to their armor and shielding, which makes them like a nearly indestructible wall. Now imagine that wall is constantly being repaired—every brick you break is replaced by two more. This is what happens when you focus on trying to kill the enemy tank. For instance, if you play Cassidy, you might throw your grenade, use all your ammo, roll to reload, and shoot again. After all that effort, you’ve accomplished nothing except wasting your grenade and 30 seconds of time, as their supports will heal the tank to full.

Why Prioritizing Squishy Targets is Critical

A better strategy is to stop the “wall” from being repaired by targeting squishy heroes. Using the same combo—grenade and a few shots—you can easily eliminate a vulnerable target. This opens opportunities to pressure another squishy target with your remaining ammo and automatic reload. Once you apply consistent pressure to their backline, the enemy tank becomes less sustainable, forcing them to retreat or be eliminated due to lack of support.

Learning to Play Around Your Team

The third tip emphasizes the importance of playing around your team. Many players make the mistake of acting too independently, ignoring how their actions can either support or hinder the overall team strategy. By coordinating with your team, you maximize your impact and set up better opportunities to secure wins.

Avoiding the “Main Character” Syndrome

A common mistake low ELO DPS players make is trying to be the “main character,” attempting flashy 1v5 plays they’ve seen content creators pull off. These plays have a lower chance of success than winning the lottery. Remember, as a DPS player, you usually only have 150 to 200 HP, making you very easy to kill. It’s crucial to stick by your tank and supports, who can heal and protect you, allowing you to deal maximum damage while staying alive.

Leveraging Team Synergy Over Risky Solo Plays

Imagine you’re playing Reaper. While it’s tempting to teleport away from your team and try to pick off enemies alone, the chances of this succeeding are extremely low. Instead, staying close to your tank and supports lets you deal consistent, massive damage to the enemy tank during their duel. This strategy also reduces pressure on your team, as the enemy is forced to focus on you. With Reaper’s 35% lifesteal and the proximity of your supports, you can stay healthy and contribute effectively.

The Importance of Proper Positioning

Tip number four focuses on positioning. The best way to ensure you’re in the right spot is by using a positioning checklist. Many players struggle with this concept, but developing a clear and consistent approach to positioning will improve your survivability and impact in every game.

The Impact of Poor Positioning

One of the most common issues I see with low ELO DPS players is poor positioning. This significantly hampers their performance and is one of the primary reasons they struggle to climb the ranks. While good aim and mechanics are important, they are not enough to succeed without proper positioning. If you haven’t reviewed tip number three, I strongly recommend revisiting it, as it’s the foundation of the positioning checklist.

The Positioning Checklist for DPS Players

As a DPS player, you should always have a mental checklist before engaging in any situation. The first item on this checklist is ensuring you’re close enough to resources—such as tanks and supports—that can peel and heal you. Straying too far from your team makes you an easy target, depriving your team of a key damage dealer and leaving them at a disadvantage.

Effective Range and Damage Maximization

The second item is making sure you’re within your hero’s effective range to deal consistent damage. For instance, if your hero does 10 damage per shot up to 10 meters, but the damage drops by one per meter after that, it’s better to stay at 13 meters, dealing 7 damage per shot while being protected, than risking death for 10 damage per shot at closer range. Learn your hero’s effective range by referring to reliable sources, like a hero wiki.

Planning Safe Escape Routes

The final item on the checklist is ensuring you have a safe place to retreat to if things go wrong. Plans won’t always work as expected, but that doesn’t mean you should accept defeat. Always keep track of nearby escape routes to avoid dying unnecessarily and to quickly regroup with your team.

Staying Alive and Active

Tip number five focuses on staying alive and on the map for as long as possible. Your presence as a DPS is crucial for maintaining damage output and pressure. Proper positioning not only ensures your survival but also maximizes your impact in every fight.

The Importance of Staying Alive

As a DPS player, it’s natural to feel responsible for dealing as much damage as possible. However, you can’t maximize your damage output if you’re constantly respawning and walking back to the fight. Respawning takes approximately 10 seconds, and safely regrouping with your team adds another 15 seconds on average. This means your team is without a key source of pressure and damage for about 25 seconds. To minimize deaths, follow tips three and four closely, along with the next crucial tip.

Avoiding Tunnel Vision

Tip number six addresses a common struggle for DPS players: avoiding tunnel vision on one target. While securing kills on key targets is essential, it’s often better to deal safe, consistent damage than to risk everything for an uncertain play. Even as a top 100 player, I’ve fallen victim to this. For instance, when an enemy Widow is pressuring me, I sometimes fixate on eliminating her and leave myself vulnerable to other enemies. This often results in my death and wasted time off the map.

How to Overcome Tunnel Vision

The best way to combat tunnel vision is by periodically pausing and mentally checking yourself to see if you’re overly focused on a single target. While this might momentarily disrupt your gameplay, it helps train you to recognize when you’re tunneling. Over time, you’ll develop the ability to identify and avoid tunnel vision automatically, ensuring you stay effective in every match.

High Ground Strategy

Tip number seven emphasizes not rushing to secure high ground unnecessarily. While high ground is advantageous for poking and maintaining line of sight, it’s essential to assess the situation before committing to it. Proper use of positioning, combined with avoiding tunnel vision, will ensure you maintain consistent pressure without unnecessary risks.

The Misconception of Rushing to High Ground

Many players believe that the first thing a DPS should do is rush to high ground and poke the enemy. However, this is far from true. Mindlessly rushing to high ground is akin to being lost in a forest and running in the opposite direction of your group. It isolates you, as your tank will typically stay near the objective and your supports will remain close to your tank, leaving you defenseless. Instead, take your time to find high ground while following the positioning checklist. This ensures you gain the advantages of high ground—such as easier headshots and better map visibility—without compromising your safety.

Creating Pressure Beyond Dealing Damage

Tip number eight is about learning to create pressure beyond just dealing damage. Pressure is a concept I’ve mentioned before, and it goes beyond raw damage output. You can create pressure in many ways while still dealing damage. One of the simplest methods is diverting the enemy’s attention from your team by being a significant threat they must focus on. For example, if you’re playing Reaper alongside your tank, the enemy team will likely prioritize targeting you to reduce pressure on their tank. This not only draws focus but also allows you to bait out critical enemy abilities, such as sleep darts, to help your team gain the upper hand.

Creating Pressure Through Abilities

Creating pressure isn’t limited to dealing damage. For example, if you’re playing Echo and want to support your team in pushing the payload, you can use your flight and E + right-click combo on the enemy DPS. This forces them to respond, either by trying to damage you or by requiring support intervention to stay alive. By doing this, you pressure two out of five enemy team members, freeing your team to push forward and outnumber the remaining opponents.

Leveraging the Scoreboard for Information

Tip number nine is straightforward but highly effective: regularly check your scoreboard for vital information. During downtime, this habit can provide significant insights, such as ally and enemy respawn timers and ally ultimate charge levels. Being aware of when all your teammates are alive or when they have key ultimates ready allows you to set up game-winning plays with greater success. While simple, this habit has no downsides and is a powerful tool for improving your decision-making and overall gameplay.

The Power of Consistent Practice

Tip number ten, the final and arguably most important tip, is to play consistently with the goal of learning and improving rather than simply chasing a specific rank. This mindset shift is critical to achieving sustained growth and was the key reason I reached the top 100. By focusing on gradual improvement instead of immediate results, you’ll naturally become a better player over time.

Overcoming the Fear of Competitive Play

When I was new to Overwatch, I felt anxious about playing competitive matches. I avoided it because I was afraid of losing my first-ever rank placement, which was gold. Eventually, I realized that the only way to truly improve was to focus on learning and tackling the challenges I faced. This mindset shift led me to embrace limit testing, which caused my rank to drop from gold to bronze. While it felt discouraging at first, this experience taught me valuable lessons.

The Path to Improvement

Starting from bronze, I worked on my fundamentals, learned new concepts, and focused on overcoming specific weaknesses like positioning and tunnel vision. Slowly but steadily, I began to improve. From that point forward, the journey became about growth, not rankings. Stressing about your current rank will only hold you back in the long term, so embrace competitive play as an opportunity to learn and have fun.

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