Overwatch 2 heroes will no longer be locked behind Battle Passes or additional purchases. Blizzard has announced that the studio is removing the grind from the game giving all heroes to all players starting in Season 10.
When the new season launches, players will be able to unlock all existing and future heroes for free. This includes all heroes locked behind previous Battle Passes as well as the latest hero, Venture.
There is a small catch, however. Players will still need to complete the First Time User Experience in order to gain access to the heroes. This was a system implemented in the game at launch which tasked players to reach certain player levels to unlock different heroes. Blizzard is keeping this system but changing it slightly for both gameplay and hero unlocks.
Instead of reaching a set player rank to unlock a set of heroes, you’ll need to complete a set number of matches first. For example, players will gain access to all original Overwatch heroes over the course of 100 in-game matches.
Players will also have to win 50 Quick Play matches in order to unlock Competitive Play. Blizzard says this First Time User Experience system acts as an introduction to Overwatch 2 and prevents players from creating accounts just to jump into Competitive Play with any hero they choose.
The unlocked hero system is a return to form. The original Overwatch game had this feature available. Players could use any hero at any time. Even new heroes were available for everyone instead of being locked behind a paywall. Blizzard thought it was a good idea back in 2022 when they tried to monetize the life out of Overwatch 2. Of course, it hasn’t worked.
The game’s Battle Pass system will remain in place. Blizzard is also increasing the number of coins players can earn during a season from 540 to 600. This means you can purchase more cosmetics items with your earned rewards.
Season 10 is also adding a new Mythic Shop to the game. This menu will act as a destination for players to earn and unlock the game’s most expensive skins for their favourite heroes. The Mythic Shop will also give players the opportunity to unlock Mythic Skins without owning all the possible colour and model variations. It will also come with all previous skins dating back to Season 7.
Blizzard also announced two maps headed to the game. However, they won’t arrive in Season 10. The first push map is set in Peru and will launch in Season 11. The next map is a reworked Colosseo push map which will likely arrive during Season 12 or 13.
Source: Blizzard
