Overwatch 2: How to unlock heroes
Overwatch 2 is finally here, marking the beginning of a new era for Blizzard’s award-winning hero shooter. It shifts Overwatch to a 5v5 PvP format and overhauls the game with an all-new free-to-play model featuring Battle Passes, an overhauled Competitive Play system, and more.
One of the biggest changes Overwatch 2 brings to the table is the addition of the First-Time User Experience, a tutorial-like system that slowly introduces new players to the game by limiting which heroes they can play. Most of the game’s cast can be unlocked as players gain some experience, but how exactly can you do that? And how do you unlock new Overwatch 2 heroes like new support character Kiriko? In this guide, we’re going to go over everything you need to know about unlocking heroes in Overwatch 2.
How to Unlock All Overwatch 2 Heroes
As a new player, you only get access to 13 heroes right away. This is to help you get started with the Overwatch experience and avoid being overwhelmed with choices. These characters are listed below:
- Tank: Reinhardt, Winston, Orisa, Zarya
- Damage: Soldier: 76, Reaper, Pharah, Torbjorn, Tracer, Widowmaker
- Support: Mercy, Lucio, Moira
As you become familiar with the game and how it works, you will no doubt be interested in trying out other characters as well.
To unlock most of the rest of the squad, you’ll need to spend time completing many unranked Quick Play matches. As you do so, the rest of Overwatch 2’s heroes will become available. Notably, you’ll need to play 150 games to unlock every single character from the original game, although you’ll also start unlocking heroes well before that threshold.
The table below shows how many Quick Play games you need to complete to unlock each hero, with Genji being the easiest character to access and Echo being the most difficult.
| hero | How to open |
|---|---|
| Genji | play 1 game |
| D Va | Play 2 games |
| Cassidy | Play 3 games |
| ann | Play 4 games |
| Hanzo | Play 9 games |
| Junkrat | Play 12 games |
| traffic rowdy | Play 15 games |
| Symmetra | Play 20 games |
| Zenyatta | Play 25 games |
| bastion | Play 30 games |
| Sigma | Play 40 games |
| As he | Play 50 games |
| Bridget | Play 60 games |
| mei | Play 70 games |
| doom fist | Play 85 games |
| Baptiste | Play 100 games |
| sombra | Play 115 games |
| wrecking ball | Play 130 games |
| echo | Play 150 games |
| visit | Log in during Overwatch 2 Season 1 |
| squire queen | Log in during Overwatch 2 Season 1 |
| Kiriko | Reach level 55 with the Season 1 Battle Pass or purchase the Premium Battle Pass |
Note that Overwatch 2’s new heroes, like Kiriko, are unlocked in a different way, which we’ll detail in the following section.
How to unlock new Overwatch 2 heroes
Unlocking Overwatch 2’s new heroes works differently than unlocking the traditional Overwatch cast (note that Sojourn and Junker Queen are unlocked by logging in during Overwatch 2 Season 1, and are unique that way). To gain access to new heroes like Kiriko, Players must reach tier 55 in the season Overwatch 2 Battle Pass this corresponds to the season in which the new hero came out. For example, to unlock Kiriko, you need to reach Tier 55 in the Season 1 Battle Pass.
In order to level up the Battle Pass, you need to earn XP and level up, which is done by completing games and completing daily and weekly gameplay challenges. Alternatively, you can also purchase the Premium Battle Pass Reward Track for instant access to the new hero it contains.
If you’re late to the party and couldn’t unlock a new hero before the end of the season they were released in, don’t worry. Blizzard has confirmed that heroes from previous seasons can be unlocked by completing specific gameplay challenges. Players also have the option to purchase heroes from past seasons in the Overwatch 2 Store using Overwatch Coins.
Overwatch 2 is available now for Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC and Nintendo Switch. It’s probably one of the The best Xbox shooters available, and since it’s free to play, it doesn’t cost anything to try it. Alternatively, players can purchase the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Bundle, which provides access to Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and a bundle of unique Legendary skins.