Overwatch Lets Go of 2 from Its Name & Starts Over with New Heroes
5 characters, including a cute cat, are coming in Season 1.
Blizzard
When Overwatch 2 was released, erasing its predecessor, many players didn't quite understand why it needed the number in the name, as the game was basically the same, with slightly different graphics and mechanics.
Well, perfectionists can sleep better now: Blizzard is getting rid of the "2" and refreshing the game on February 10, starting with Season 1 once again and rolling out 5 new heroes.
Players will get a tank, two DPS characters, and two supports, one of whom is Jetpack Cat, a cute feline, who, I'm sure, people will have to fight for.
Blizzard
All classes will now have sub-roles with special passives:
Tank
- Bruiser: Reduces critical damage received. While at critical health, gain movement speed. (Mauga, Orisa, Roadhog, Zarya)
- Initiator: Staying airborne lightly heals you. (D.Va, Doomfist, Winston, Wrecking Ball)
- Stalwart: Reduces knockbacks and slows received. (Domina, Hazard, Junker Queen, Ramattra, Reinhardt, Sigma)
Damage
- Sharpshooter: Critical hits reduce your movement ability cooldowns. (Ashe, Cassidy, Hanzo, Sojourn, Widowmaker)
- Flanker: Health packs restore more health. (Anran, Genji, Reaper, Tracer, Vendetta, Venture)
- Specialist: Eliminating an enemy briefly increases your reload speed. (Bastion, Emre, Junkrat, Mei, Soldier: 76, Symmetra, Torbjorn)
- Recon: You detect enemies below half health through walls after damaging them. (Echo, Freja, Pharah, Sombra)
Support
- Tactician: You can gain excess ultimate charge, which carries over after using your ultimate ability. (Ana, Baptiste, Jetpack Cat, Lucio, Zenyatta)
- Medic: Healing allies with your weapon also heals you. (Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Mercy, Moira)
- Survivor: Using a movement ability activates passive health regeneration. (Brigitte, Illari, Juno, Mizuki, Wuyang)
Blizzard
Season 1 will feature Conquest, a five-week meta event where you choose to fight for either Overwatch or Talon, completing missions tied to the lore, "with rewards going to the faction with the most successful missions. You can switch your allegiance once completing your current week’s faction pass, making every choice matter."
As expected, Season 1 means a competitive reset. Moreover, competitive titles will now have rarity applied, and Top 500 players will earn dynamic titles for their finishes.
Finally, Blizzard announced UI/UX Refresh, updating the screens to look more modern. "After 10 years, the menus felt a bit dated, and our hope is that this helps restore some personality and hero-centric vibes while in-game."
Blizzard
Another fun feature to look forward to is Praise, which allows players to use heroes' lines to provide positive feedback. "The team has actually been recording these lines for all of our Heroes for over 10 years, but we’ve never found a way to utilize them that has felt quite right to us. And we're really excited about what this subtle addition can mean for gameplay interactions."
As for Stadium, Vendetta is joining the roster, and Competitive Stadium: Power rounds will run 1/2/4/6, "delivering a faster, best-of-seven style flow while still letting builds evolve across a full match."
Furthermore, from February 10 to February 23, you can enjoy an Overwatch x Hello Kitty & Friends collaboration and the skins it brings.
Speaking of skins, Season 1 will grace us with two Mythic outfits at the beginning, which Mercy and Juno mains will definitely want, and another (Mei's first) mid-season.
Blizzard
Blizzard
Future seasons will add Mythics for Soldier: 76, Illari, and Mauga, as well as Mythic Weapon Skins for Genji, Hanzo, and Sojourn.
Learn more about the changes here and don't forget to subscribe to our Newsletter and join our 80 Level Talent platform, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Telegram, and Instagram, where we share breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.
