What is a trade in a team fight?

A trade is when the enemy kills your teammate and you kill that enemy straight away. One player lost on each side. The fight stays even instead of tipping against you.

I play Overwatch as Zarya (Master, 1200 DPI) and WoW as Devastation Evoker (2849 Blitz). The word shows up in both, in my Zarya guide, my Evoker PvP guide and in how to review an Overwatch loss.

Why a trade works

The player who just got a kill is usually at their weakest. They may be reloading or hurt. They have just shown where they are. Their crosshair is often still on the spot where your teammate fell. That is the trade window. It is short, often a second or two, and then they recover.

A teammate’s death also tells you something. You heard the shots and saw where they came from. A trade turns that into a kill. Without one, the death is only a loss.

On Zarya the window is a bubble and a beam. The person who just killed your support is often still in the open. On Evoker the window is a kick and a burst on the player whose cast or melee just landed. The scroll-wheel interrupt exists for that bar, not for a later revenge.

How far apart to stand

Most failed trades are a spacing problem. Too far back, and by the time you arrive the enemy has reloaded and moved. Too close, and one enemy can hit you both in the same burst.

Stand where you can see your teammate’s fight and shoot back at once. Come from a slightly different angle if you can. The enemy is aiming where they got the kill, so a player coming from the side has a better chance than one walking through the same doorway. That is the same edge as peeker’s advantage.

High ground is a spacing tool: you see the death, you drop on the killer. Living on the ledge while they die on the cart is baiting with a view.

Agree who goes first

A trade is easier when you plan it. Before a push, one player goes in first and the next follows close behind. The first takes the fight. The second takes the trade. Two players arriving at different moments give one enemy two separate fights to win.

In role queue that is often tank first, then the rest. I am the tank. If I walk in alone and the beam dies in a room nobody can see, there was no trade planned.

Baiting is the opposite

Baiting is hanging back while your teammate fights, then arriving late or not at all. It feels safe. It is not. Your team is now one player down, and the enemy is ready for you. If you keep surviving fights your teammates lose, check whether you are close enough to trade them.

When not to force it

A trade is not revenge. If the enemy is in a spot you cannot reach without crossing open ground, or there are several of them, running in can turn one death into two. Then the better move is to step back, tell your team where the enemy is, and use that on the next fight.

Battlefield maps (32 a side, Battlefield 6 launched 10 October 2025) spread a squad until nobody can trade. Call of Duty short maps shrink the window. The rule is still: a player nobody can trade is a free kill.

One for one. Then stop. The next queue does not need a hero play on a 3v5.

Related: WoW guides, Best WoW PvP addons (2026), left-handed mouse, keyboard guides, Midnight 12.1.5 news.

Common questions

What does trading mean in a shooter?

Trading means killing the enemy who just killed your teammate, right away. Your side loses one player and so does theirs, so the numbers stay even instead of falling behind.

How fast does a trade need to be?

Within a second or two. Right after a kill the enemy is often reloading, moving, or still aiming at the spot where your teammate fell. Once they recover, you are just taking a new fight alone.

How far should I stand from my teammate to trade?

Close enough to see where they die and shoot back at once, but far enough that one enemy cannot hit you both in the same burst. Coming from a slightly different angle helps.

What is baiting?

Baiting is staying back while a teammate fights, then arriving too late or not at all. Your teammate dies for nothing and the enemy gets a free kill.

Should I always try to trade?

No. If the enemy is in a spot you cannot reach safely, or there are several of them, going in can turn one death into two. A Zarya who beams into three people after a support dies is not trading — she is feeding charge to nobody.