It is almost impossible for a single player to carry a team in a game of Overwatch. A team must work together coherently to win. However, a team cannot work together if no one is in a positive mindset. Although it can seem hard at times to maintain high morale, it will soon become naturally if you continuously practice it.

The Importance of Team Morale

If you want to accomplish something, you need the confidence to do it. In this case, it's to win a game of Overwatch. Keeping a positive mindset and always thinking about winning the game is crucial to actually winning it. Since Overwatch is a team game, if you are the only person on your team that has confidence, the chances for you and your team winning are slim. But for you to be the only confident person on your team is very unlikely, at least for the start of the game. Whenever people queue for competitive, they have the intention to win their next game. However, as the game progresses, some people tend to become toxic if the game doesn't go their way and this negatively affects their ability to perform well and their teammate's ability. Blaming your teammates for your team losing is the worst thing you can do. You not only start unnecessary drama, but you are taking the focus off of the game and onto an argument. The goal now is not to win the game, but to find out who/what is the reason why your team is losing. This is why you need to sustain high morale throughout the game to avoid situations like this from happening.

But keeping team morale high isn't only important to just win a game, its also important for you to have a great time. No one wants to play a game where people are toxic and intentionally throwing, it just isn't fun. A game is fun when your team is working together to complete the objective and everyone is giving it their all. Even meeting new, positive people through solo queue is fun. You don't need to win the game to have fun, you just need a good time to have fun. Overwatch, at its core, is meant to be fun. However, this principle gets lost when people start being toxic. Don't ruin the game for others whenever you get frustrated. In the end, no one comes out on top.

How to Keep Team Morale High

Having a good first impression is key. Whenever a game starts, it's always beneficial to ask nice questions so that people become more comfortable talking and staying positive. Positive questions such as "How's everyone's day going?" or "How's everyone doing?" can help start a casual conversation and make you seem like a nice guy. Who would be toxic to a guy who has no intention to do harm? Continue the positivity by commending your teammates during the game. This can be to a specific teammate or to your team in general. Simple comments like "good kill soldier" or "nice job everyone" goes a long way even though you might not realize it right away. Your teammates will be encouraged to continue doing their best and continue trying to win.

Now, in some cases, there are players who are difficult to work with. Whether it be refusing to switch off their current hero or refusing to stick with the team, players like this can be hard and frustrating to deal with, but never be negative towards them, even though you really want to. Instead, give positive suggestions. For example, instead of saying "Pharah switch off you haven't gotten a single kill", you could say, "Pharah they have two hitscan heroes, so Pharah might not be the best pick here". By doing this, you avoid saying anything negative about the player and you instead give a reasonable explanation as to why they should switch off. People are less likely to take offense to these types of statements, and it keeps them in a positive mindset. In addition, they are more likely to listen to you.

The goal of keeping everyone's morale high is to prevent people from becoming toxic and ruining the game. This includes yourself. Whenever you get frustrated at the game, don't blame others for your mistake. Keep everything to yourself and don't let your negative thoughts leak into the voice chat. If you really need to let out your frustration, do it when your muted and when no one else is listening. Even when there is someone who is intentionally griefing the game and has no intention of playing the game properly, don't fuel them with your negativity. People throwing feed off the negativity of others, and you being negative just encourages them to throw more. Never give up. Find ways to work around them. No matter the situation, a team always has a chance to pull off the victory.

Even when you are trying your best to keep you and everyone else positive, never giving up on a game, and holding in your frustration, sometimes a loss is unavoidable, but having fun while playing Overwatch is something everyone can experience all the time. Whenever you are staring at the red and black defeat screen at the end of the game, ask yourself if you had a fun time. Sometimes the answer will be no, other times it will be yes, but if you actively try to have fun, the answer will certainly be yes most of the time.