Overwatch is one of the most popular team-based first-person shooters out there. With the number of players that participate in matches, it can get quite competitive at times. To do well in a match, proper communication with your teammates is key. In this article, we’ll show you how to send messages on Overwatch along with other ways to communicate while in-game.
Overwatch Text Chat
One of the main means of communicating with others in Overwatch is through the in-game text chat. The chat window itself is located at the lower left corner of the screen and can be opened by either clicking on the chat window when your mouse is unbound or hitting enter.
On the Home screen, you can only send messages to the General chat or send whispers to players that you know. General chat can be seen by any random player that is also currently on the Home menu screen. Whispers or private messages can only be sent to players on your friends list.
When you’re in-game, messages are categorized to a Match chat that can be seen by all players in the current match, Team Chat which can be read by all members of your team, Group chat, which can be seen by members of your group even those who are members of the opposing team, and Whispers.
To send a message type in enter, input your message then press enter again. To switch from one channel to another, press enter then type in any of these commands:
- To enter match chat, type in /m or /match
- To enter group chat, type in /g or /group
- To whisper to a player, type in /w, /whisper, /tell, or /send followed by the player’s name then the message you wish to send.
- To enter team chat, type in /t or /team
- To go back to General chat, type in /a, /all, /general or /1
If you’re playing on the console version of Overwatch, you won’t be able to enter your own messages onto the text chat and will have to rely on the communication wheel feature.
Chat Commands
There are other chat commands available for players in-game. These can be used by pressing enter, typing in / then followed by the appropriate command. These commands along with their uses are:
- cg or customgame – switches you to the custom game chat channel.
- decline – this will decline any current group invitation.
- hidechat – this will hide the chat window. Press enter to reveal the chat window again.
- invite [player name] – will invite the indicated player to a group.
- join [player name] – will join a game where the indicated player is in.
- kick [player name] – this will only work if you’re the leader of a group. This will kick the player indicated out of your group.
- leader [player name] or promote [player name] – this will make the player indicated in your group into the leader.
- leave – this will make you leave the current group that you’re in.
- list – this will show you a list of all the current players on your channel.
- logout – this will cause you to log out of the game.
- r or reply – this will send a message to the last person who sent you a whisper.
- removefriend [player name] – this will remove the indicated player from your friends list.
- spectate [player name] – this will make you watch the game that the indicated player is in. The player must be in your friends list to spectate.
The Communication Wheel
There are times when the match is so frantic that there’s no time for you to type in a message in yourself. This is where the Communication Wheel comes in handy. With this, a radial menu appears on your screen that you can easily select a quick message from.
By default, on a PC, the Communication Wheel can be accessed by pressing C. If you’re using a console, it can be accessed by pressing the down button on your D-pad. On a PC, all you need to do is to hold C then hover over a particular radial menu selection. When you release C the action that you hovered over will be performed. The available quick messages are as follows listed clockwise from the top:
- Emote – This will cause the camera to go into third person and will perform the currently equipped character emote.
- Hello – The player will wave while in first person and audibly say hello. A text message saying “Hello!” will also appear on text chat.
- Need healing – The player will audibly ask for healing while sending a text message “I need healing!” on the text chat. Only characters with healing skills will hear the audio message.
- Group Up – an audio message asking for players to group up will play. The message “Group up with me!” will appear in text chat.
- Ultimate Status – This will cause the character to call out their Ultimate Status and a text message corresponding to that status will appear on the text chat.
- Voice Line – This will play the currently equipped character voice line.
- Acknowledge – The character will verbally state acknowledgment while displaying the message “Understood!” on text chat.
- Thanks – the character will verbally say thank you while displaying “Thanks” in text chat.
Clicking on the right or left mouse button while the Communication Wheel is open will display two further radial menus for the player to use.
The Difference Between Victory and Defeat
Being able to quickly communicate with your team can be the difference between victory and defeat in an Overwatch match. Familiarizing yourself with how the text chat and Communication Wheel works will work wonders in coordinating your team.
Do you know of other ways to send messages on Overwatch? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
