Are new heroes unlockable?

[DaaneS97]

Haven't played for a long time, wondered if you can unlock the newer heroes somehow or if you really have to buy them with real money?

[ddracarys]

You don't need to spend any money on unlocking any Overwatch heroes. While it is true you can spend money on gaining instant access to new heroes with the paid battle pass, or by purchasing various microtransactions (Overwatch Coins or the Complete Hero Collection), this is not mandatory as they can also be unlocked via the free battle pass and in-game challenges.

 

Returning Players

The original roster from Overwatch is unlocked immediately, subsequent new heroes added to Overwatch 2 are then unlocked by completing the hero's role and practice range challenges (of which are detailed in-game) OR by progressing through the free battle pass. A full breakdown of said challenges for the latest heroes can be found on Blizzard's official support portal here.

 

New Players

If you have never played Overwatch before, you are in for quite a grind to unlock the entire roster. First, you'll need to complete Blizzard's First-Time User Experience to gain access to the game's tutorials and subsequent modes, unlocking 13 playable heroes from the overall roster (Orisa, Reinhardt, Winston, Zarya, Lucio, Mercy, Moira, Pharah, Reaper, Soldier 76, Torbjorn, Tracer and Widowmaker). To unlock the remaining heroes, you'll need to play a total of 150 games, progressively unlocking the remaining heroes as you go (Genji unlocks after 1 game, D.Va after 2, Cassidy after 3, Ana after 4, Hanzo after 9, Junkrat after 12, Roadhog after 15, Symmetra after 20, Zenyatta after 25, Bastion after 30, Sigma after 40, Ashe after 50, Brigitte after 60, Mei after 70, Doomfist after 85, Baptiste after 100, Sombra after 115, Wrecking Ball after 130 and finally, Echo will unlock after completing 150 games).

 

EDIT: I probably should have prefaced my previous post by saying, the original roster from Overwatch is unlocked immediately IF you played a substantial amount of Overwatch back then. If you just loaded into Overwatch once, played one game, and are returning to Overwatch 2 for the first time since then, you are treated as a new player and must go through the process of unlocking the full roster as detailed above. Good luck!

Edited February 8 by ddracarys

[meterano7]

thanks for the detailed post but holy fuck is this a scam

[ddracarys]

11 hours ago, meterano7 said:

thanks for the detailed post but holy fuck is this a scam

 

You are most welcome, happy to help! Yes, it is quite a tedious grind to be able to just play the game normally. I'm unsure why Blizzard decided to lock most of the heroes behind match progression, as this wasn't the case in the first game.

[Creasy007]

11 hours ago, meterano7 said:

thanks for the detailed post but holy fuck is this a scam

I'll get over the monetization by ignoring it outright, but essentially locking heroes behind lengthy playtimes or a Battle Pass grind was a joke to me. Took me three days to finally try out OW2 and I ducked out for good after a couple of matches. Such a waste, how far that game dropped off with its unnecessary "sequel." 

[ddracarys]

1 minute ago, Creasy007 said:

I'll get over the monetization by ignoring it outright, but essentially locking heroes behind lengthy playtimes or a Battle Pass grind was a joke to me. Took me three days to finally try out OW2 and I ducked out for good after a couple of matches. Such a waste, how far that game dropped off with its unnecessary "sequel." 

 

A sign of the times, I suppose. Sad to see a once original idea turn into a generic live-service offering. Ironically, I still think the best version of Overwatch was the very first version of it that we received on launch in 2016, before all of the "improvements".

[Creasy007]

15 minutes ago, ddracarys said:

 

A sign of the times, I suppose. Sad to see a once original idea turn into a generic live-service offering. Ironically, I still think the best version of Overwatch was the very first version of it that we received on launch in 2016, before all of the "improvements".

Too right. And yes, those launch days weren't perfect but were absolutely my favorite state of the game. Even getting to run a whole team with just Torbjorns was a wild blast. 

[meterano7]

I'll eat my words, they announced today that all heroes will be free starting in season 10, april 16 onwards. Yes, old heroes too

[ddracarys]

6 hours ago, Creasy007 said:

Too right. And yes, those launch days weren't perfect but were absolutely my favorite state of the game. Even getting to run a whole team with just Torbjorns was a wild blast. 

 

Haha! Such fun, wacky and wild times those launch days were - not exactly perfect, but just the right amount of chaos. I really do miss Mercy's group rez as well.

 

1 hour ago, meterano7 said:

I'll eat my words, they announced today that all heroes will be free starting in season 10, april 16 onwards. Yes, old heroes too

 

Oh? Does this mean anybody loading into the game (both returning and new players) will be able to play as every hero from the get-go? Does this also apply to heroes announced after season 10? I assume that future heroes will do their initial battle pass run, then become free during the next season that they are announced.

[Maxie_M0us3]

6 hours ago, ddracarys said:

Oh? Does this mean anybody loading into the game (both returning and new players) will be able to play as every hero from the get-go? Does this also apply to heroes announced after season 10? I assume that future heroes will do their initial battle pass run, then become free during the next season that they are announced.

New heroes will not release behind a battle pass anymore, neither behind a 30 wins chore challenge the next season, or a premium unlock. They’ll be released like the original true Overwatch: playable right away. Incredible it took them 10 seasons to finally realize it was such a stupid idea (and a greedy one).

 

For completely new players, they still will need to play matches to gradually unlock the original roster while learning the game, then all heroes since OW “”””2””””” is out (Sojourn, Junker Queen, Keriko, etc.) will unlock immediately.

Edited March 20 by Maxie_M0us3

[ddracarys]

17 hours ago, Maxie_M0us3 said:

New heroes will not release behind a battle pass anymore, neither behind a 30 wins chore challenge the next season, or a premium unlock. They’ll be released like the original true Overwatch: playable right away. Incredible it took them 10 seasons to finally realize it was such a stupid idea (and a greedy one).

 

For completely new players, they still will need to play matches to gradually unlock the original roster while learning the game, then all heroes since OW “”””2””””” is out (Sojourn, Junker Queen, Keriko, etc.) will unlock immediately.

 

Thank you for the information and clear explanation. I think this is a step in the right direction, for both new and returning Overwatch players.