October is nearly upon is, and with it comes Overwatch 2 and it’s somewhat maligned Battle Pass. Gone are the days of loot boxes, instead we are all going to be earning special in-game bucks and levelling up our pass progress to get neato stuff.
So we are left with the hot questions: How does it work, and is it worth getting the premium version.
Unlike its predecessor, Overwatch 2 will be entirely free to play. Not just that, but cross-platform gameplay AND progression will see a huge influx of players. Coupled with a ‘seasonal’ release model for content, this is pretty much the optimal foundation for regular battle pass content drops.
When this was first announced I detailed some of the benefits of a good battle pass – the drip feed of goodies that simply exist alongside your gameplay experience. Maybe you have progressed 90% towards the next rung of the battle pass ladder; why not play one more game and get a new emote?
That’s the kind of stuff I am a fan of.
Thankfully that seems to be the method in which players will unlock goodies in Overwatch 2. It’s a predictable system – simply involve yourself with playing the game and you will gain XP to progress the battle pass. Simple enough.
You can also earn XP by completing new ‘challenges’ that are being introduced – be they Daily Challenges, Weekly Challenges, Seasonal Challenges of even Hero Specific Challenges. Apparently there will even be Competitive Challenges for those of you who enjoy the ranked experience.
(Spoiler: I don’t)
From here it’s a case of what those goodies may be – and if they tickle your pickle enough to inspire chasing them. Personally I have always found the range of neat cosmetic stuff in Overwatch to be of a spectacular quality, I am hard pressed to find a character skin that I could describe as ‘lazy’ – even the simplistic recolours of existing skins only dip as low as ‘kind of plain’.
Emotes, voice lines, sprays – all of the original Overwatch staples are there, and honestly serve as generic filler in your birthday goodie bag; but the introduction of weapon charms and special souvenir things that can display a visual object when emoting – like an in-game emoji – give people new quirks to add to their Witch Mercy, or Undead Reaper. I am on the fence regarding the souvenirs, the idea of visually spamming a 3D object to your enemies sounds very close to League of Legends’ emoji system, which exists solely to dunk on people after you have pantsed them. And I get pantsed a lot.
Perhaps the most vocal complaint about the battle pass system was the reveal that the free track of rewards would actually include the ability to unlock new characters within the game. Many players made the point that if Overwatch is to be considered a competitive, strategical game, then players should have unmetered access to any and every hero at all times – for the sake of team composition and situational need.
Overwatch 2 actually launches with three new characters that cross the gamut of roles – new tank character Junker Queen, damage class character Sojourn and the newly revealed Kiriko, a ninja support.
While I understand the criticism from most, it was also mentioned by Blizzard that their deployment strategy for new characters – particularly within the competitive scene – could mean that the casual unlock period for players does not even align with the existing season duration for a ranked player. It makes a great deal of sense to perhaps keep the newer characters at arms length during their initial release window, if only to make sure that any strange kinks that could impact the serious ranked scene are quarantined to a more casual gameplay experience.
I’d also argue that there are more egregious examples of character-based locking (I am looking at you, League of Legends) and they don’t seem to suffer for it as much as one would suggest.
They also made mention that there is a system in place for ‘Character Challenges’, that are designed to focus on unlocking a specific character that best suits your playstyle. This was designed using as much Overwatch 1 data that could be mustered to identify how players approach the game, and how a person may have very specific roles that cater to their playstyle.
This leaves the final query: Is it worth purchasing the ‘Premium’ battle pass.
While it doesn’t need explanation that the premium battle pass track clearly has more stuff in it, what needs to be highlighted is how the Overwatch team will be using their seasonal content cycle to ‘theme’ the special unlocks you get. The very first season is themed around ‘cyberpunk’ (the aesthetic, not the game) and includes a range of crazy cyber-skins for characters.
Then, there is the new ultra-detailed Cyber Demon Genji skin.
Highlighted as being the big kahuna unlock of the battle pass, it may be the most over the top Overwatch cosmetic I have ever seen. This crazy skin completely shifts the Shimada ninja into a bonkers robo-geist, with a range of customisation options and some of the coolest (but creepy) effects you can have on a mask.
I am not even a Genji player, but I still look at this thing with awe. I don’t need it – but I will admit it is indeed super duper cool.
…If you want to invest both time and money into unlocking it.
And what of cost? Well, the Overwatch 2 Premium Battle Pass costs 1000 Overwatch Coins (or the equivalent of $14.95AUD). Arguably quite a reasonable cost of investment, and really it fits snugly in the realm of passable costs if the content appeals to you. Especially when you consider the old method of fishing for coins/costumes via the dreaded Loot Boxes.
I personally will be looking closely at both how quickly stuff unlocks for a casual player such as myself, and what the full extent of unlocks may be – a real strength of a battle pass is that you can always choose to invest later down the track (but before the season ends) to make the most of your time investment. TRY before you BUY, people.
It’s also worth mentioning that the Overwatch 2 Premium Battle Pass is already included in the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack if you have pre-ordered it, so you may already have access to the above premium goodies.
Really, the only conclusion I can offer is that it’s a fairly standard battle pass in a time when every game seems to have some kind of system like this within it – and the only person who can consciously recommend it’s purchase would be you, as an Overwatch 2 player/enjoyer.
Take a squiz and see how it sits with you when Overwatch 2 launches on October 4, 2022, on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4/5 and PC.
