OVERWATCH: A Primer
 
Like so many competitive experiences, Overwatch can be simple to learn and very difficult to master. The goal of this introductory primer is to present basic game information, game play specifics, and a run-down of how the collegiate Overwatch league operates.
 
A BASIC INTRODUCTION
 
Overwatch is a team-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game which was developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment and released in 2016. It quickly shot to enormous popularity and has earned acclaim and numerous Game of the Year awards.
 
Overwatch features two teams of six players, with each player selecting from a roster of nearly 30 characters, known as “heroes”, each with their own unique abilities.
 
These heroes are divided into three character roles: Damage, Tank, and Support. These roles serve to categorize heroes based upon their characteristics and how they can be used in game play. In the simplest of terms, Damage heroes deal most of the damage in attack or on defense. Tank heroes can absorb a large amount of damage and Support heroes provide healing and have abilities that enhance their own team or weaken their enemies.
 
GAME PLAY
 
Basic gameplay involves two teams on a pre-selected “map” (game environment) playing one of four game modes. Each map has a specific game mode that it supports: Assault, Escort, Hybrid (Assault/Escort) and Control.
 
ASSAULT MAPS
(Hanamura, Temple of Anubis, Voskaya Industries, Horizon Lunar Colony)
In Assault game mode, the attacking team is tasked with capturing two target points in sequence on a map while the defending team must stop them. Play then reverses as the defensive team takes their shot on offense. Whichever team progresses further than their opponent wins.  
 
ESCORT MAPS
(Dorado, Route 66, Watchpoint: Gibraltar, Junkertown, Rialto)
In Escort mode, the attacking team is tasked with escorting a payload to a certain delivery point before time runs out, while the defending team must stop them. Like Assault mode, each team gets a turn on offense and defense and the team that moves the payload the furthest in the allotted time wins.
 
HYBRID MAPS
(Hollywood, King’s Row, Numbani, Eichenwalde, Blizzard World)
In Hybrid mode, the attacking team first has to capture the payload, as if it were a target point, and escort it back to its destination, while the defending team tries to hold them back. The winning team is that which moves the payload the furthest in the allotted time.
 
CONTROL MAPS
(Ilios, Nepal, Lijiang Tower, Oasis, Busan)
In Control mode, each team attempts to capture and maintain control over a common control point until their capture percentage reaches 100%. This game mode is played in a best-of-three format, in three different sub-sections of the map that is used.
  
COLLEGIATE COMPETITION
 
The basic collegiate “match” is played out in a best-of-three format with each of three games being played on different pre-determined maps. If one school wins the first two maps, the third is not played.
 
In collegiate competition, NCU is pitted up against students from colleges all around the country. The Beacons compete in the official Overwatch Collegiate Championship, which is run by Tespa, an esports organization headquartered in the offices of Blizzard Entertainment in Irvine, California.
 
There are three separate “leagues” being played concurrently in January and February 2019. This is when placement happens for elimination/playoffs and provide an opportunity for teams to qualify for the 64-team National Championship Tournament.
 
In the Regional League, NCU faces off against other teams from the same geographic part of the country. There are 14 regions. NCU is joined by 28 other schools in Region 1. At the end of the five-week regular season, all teams compete in a regional tournament with the top-two teams in each region earning a spot in the National Championship Tournament.
 
In the National League, NCU plays one or two matches each week against other schools in the USA and Canada. The top 28 teams in the National League earn qualification for the National Championship Tournament.
 
The Varsity League only includes schools similar to NCU that have a school-sanctioned Varsity-level program, either scholarship or club. The regular season consists of 6 games against teams within your own sub-region. NCU is joined in Region 1-A by Oregon Tech, Boise State, Utah Valley, Utah State, University of Utah, and University of Jamestown.
 
At the end of the Varsity regular season, teams will compete in a seeded tournament. All eight teams from each sub-region compete against each other with the two sub-region champions (1-A & 1-B, e.g.) going head-to-head for the regional championship. Those four regional champions compete in a Varsity Championship Tournament and also earn a spot in the National Championship Tournament.

The 64-Team National Championship Tournament is a single-elimination bracket with each match played best-of-five.