If you’d like to contribute to keeping CS:GO free of cheaters and hackers, you can become an investigator by unlocking the Overwatch feature. You’ll become a CS:GO vigilante, with the power to determine if certain behaviors are evidence of cheats, bringing you a seat in the Overwatch virtual jury.
In this guide, we are going to show you how to get Overwatch CS:GO. We are going to check the requirements you must meet to be a member of Overwatch, as well as the exact steps you must follow.
The Requirements to Do Overwatch in CS:GO
Because it’s a powerful position, Valve has strict requirements for players interested in unlocking Overwatch to become part of this exclusive virtual jury. Here you have the standards you must meet:
Rank: Your rank must be “Gold Nova I” or better
Play Time: Your play time must be 350-400 hours or higher
Matches: Your number of competitive won matches must be 150 or higher
Trustworthiness: Your account must be free of bans and controversies
All in all, if you want to unlock CS:GO Overwatch, these are the requirements you must meet. Because Valve will only select seasoned active and trustworthy players for this important and powerful position.
From now we have to tell you that, even if you meet these requirements, it’s not possible to unlock Overwatch directly. It’s decided by Valve, and there’s no way to directly apply for it. All you can do is fulfill the eligibility criteria, and if you’re lucky, you’ll get contacted to join Overwatch.
Now that you are aware of the standards you must meet, we will go step by step on how to achieve them. Check out the tutorial below to get started.
How to Get Overwatch CS:GO – Step by Step
It’s time to take action and unlock Overwatch in CS:GO, so you can contribute to keeping the game free from cheaters and checkers. Here’s how.
1. Use the Right Mindset to Make Your Account Trustworthy
Because it’s such an important position in the ecosystem of Counter-Strike, as you directly have the power to decide if a player should be banned based on certain behaviors and data, only users with a trustworthy and clean account can be part of the Overwatch jury. In short, you need to keep the report count as low as possible.
Therefore, you should stay away from using cheats and avoid toxic behaviors such as attacking other players, blasting music through the microphone on public servers, going AFK, etc. If you keep your account clean, you’ll increase your chances of getting selected for Overwatch.
2. Accumulate the Necessary Play Time
Valve has not disclosed the exact number of hours you must have played the game to be able to unlock Overwatch. However, based on the available evidence, it’s fair to say you have to spend at least 350-400 hours playing the game to be eligible. And the more, the better.
Take note that there’s no mention you need to spend the 350-400 hours playing on a specific game mode. You’re free to play on MM servers, or with your friends, just make sure to accumulate the necessary play time, so you can become a member of the Overwatch jury.
However, you shouldn’t become obsessed with how many hours you have to play. Simply enjoy the game, track your time and have fun. Just remember to be as active as your free time allows it.
3. Tune Up Your Skills to Win the Necessary Number of Matches
It’s also important to note it’s not only about accumulating play time, as you also need to win a minimum of matches to be eligible for Overwatch. According to the requirements of Valve, you must win at least 150 matches in competitive mode.
Therefore, you need to tune up your skills to accomplish this goal. It’s a high number and it will take plenty of dedication and practice, especially if you’re a newcomer.
4. Climb Up the Ranks
To be eligible to unlock CS:GO Overwatch, your rank must be Gold Nova I or better, which is an incredible feat since it’s the first rank out of silvers. There’s no way to determine how many hours it will take you to get there. However, it’s fair to say players will have to invest at least 300 hours to achieve this rank.
Nonetheless, you shouldn’t just stop at Gold Nova I, because the point of CS:GO is to play and have fun. This is just the bare minimum, so keep playing to achieve higher ranks, as it can increase your chances of unlocking Overwatch.
5. Wait for the Valve Team to Select You
Congratulations, you have completed all the necessary steps to be eligible to unlock Overwatch. Since there’s no way to apply directly for it, all that’s left is waiting for Valve to contact you and invite you to become part of the virtual jury.
If you want to increase your chances of getting selected, simply keep playing the game. Keep your account trustworthy, achieve a higher rank, get more hours of playtime and win more matches. This way, you will attract more attention, and you’ll be more likely to unlock CS2 Overwatch.
Therefore, make sure to remain active by playing frequently, and it’s highly probable Valve will send you an invitation soon.
Your Responsibilities When Doing CS:GO Overwatch
While you wait for Valve to contact you to become part of Overwatch in CS2, let’s talk about your responsibilities as an investigator. Here you have a full breakdown.
Review Evidence Regarding a “Suspect”
If Valve has a new case for you to review, the Overwatch button will be set to “active”, meaning there’s evidence regarding a “suspect” (a player accused of cheating), which you need to review.
If you choose to participate in reviewing the case, you’ll have to watch 8 rounds worth of evidence from the suspect’s match, depicting the behaviors and events that have led the user to be reviewed by Overwatch.
Submit Your Verdict
After reviewing the evidence, you need to submit your verdict. To do it, you will have to mark all the offenses you have detected, using the following checkbox:
- Griefing: Losing a match on purpose, excessive team damage, killing teammates, etc.
- Aim Assistance: Using aimbot, silent aim, amongst other cheats
- External Assistance: Using automatic bunny hop, auto surf, anti-aim, spinbot, fake lag, etc.
- Vision Assistance: Using wallhack, no flash hack, smoke bypass, etc.
If you believe a player is guilty of a disruption, you have to mark it as “Evident Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”, and if you don’t believe there’s enough evidence, you have to mark it as “Insufficient Evidence”.
Wait for the Collective Judgment
Once you have submitted your verdict as a member of the Overwatch jury reviewing the case in question, all you need to do is to wait for the collective judgment. If the majority of Overwatch investigators agree one or more disruptions are “Evident Beyond a Reasonable Doubt”, the suspect will be issued a ban.
Similarly, if the majority of investigators mark all the disruptions as “Insufficient Evidence”, the case will be closed and dismissed.
If your verdicts are accurate, hence congruent with the majority of the other investigators assigned to a case, you will earn XP (experience) rewards. So here you have another reason to become part of CS:GO Overwatch.
However, take note that if your verdicts are inaccurate, hence they’re not congruent with the vast majority of other investigators, you’ll lose “Overwatch points”. If you want to make the most out of XP rewards, you need to keep your Overwatch score as high as possible.
Final Words
Now you know everything it takes to unlock Overwatch in CS:GO and become an investigator to earn exclusive XP Rewards. However, if you still have questions about the eligibility process, leave your comments below and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.