The new Overwatch 2 doesn't come with a full roster of heroes from the beginning, as players that are new to Overwatch start with only a few heroes to pick from. Here is how to unlock every hero in Overwatch.
Having to unlock heroes in Overwatch is something new. Everyone who has played the older version of the game before, knows that back in the days, everyone had the full roster of heroes from the beginning. But now Blizzard wants to make it easier for new players to get started in the game by locking some game modes at the beginning and letting them start with a smaller roster of heroes to choose from.
Unlocking Every Hero In Overwatch 2
Overwatch can be pretty overwhelming for players that just got introduced to the game. With 35 heroes, 8 standard game modes, and 36 maps, new players might have problems, finding their way around at first. Although Overwatch is pretty easy to learn, it is always helpful to have some guidance in the beginning, and that's why Blizzard introduced the "First Time User Experience" (FTUE).
Brand-new players begin with access to a limited set of game modes, heroes, and some other restrictions to onboard them more gradually. They will start with a total of 13 Heroes and will be able to unlock the rest simply by playing the game.
Every Starter Hero In Overwatch 2
Here is a list of all 13 heroes that will be available to anyone from the start:
Tanks
- Reinhardt
- Orisa
- Zarya
- Winston
Damage
- Pharah
- Reaper
- Tracer
- Torbjörn
- Widowmaker
- Soldier: 76
Support
- Lucio
- Mercy
- Moira
Overwatch veterans, who have played the earlier version before, start with the full roster from the beginning and don't have to unlock any hero, not even the new ones. New players will have to work their way up in order to unlock the full roster, but how many games do they have to play exactly?
Unlock Every Original Hero By Playing The Game
Most of the Overwatch 2 heroes will be unlocked over the course of approximately 100 matches of Quick Play. But that only applies to the original heroes of Overwatch. New ones like Sojourn, Junker Queen and Kiriko are a bit harder to unlock for newcomers, but certainly not impossible.
How many matches to unlock original heroes in Overwatch 2?
| Hero | Play a number of matches to unlock |
|---|---|
| Genji | 1 Match |
| D.Va | 2 Matches |
| Cassidy | 3 Matches |
| Ana | 4 Matches |
| Hanzo | 9 Matches |
| Junkrat | 12 Matches |
| Roadhog | 15 Matches |
| Symmetra | 20 Matches |
| Zenyatta | 25 Matches |
| Bastion | 30 Matches |
| Sigma | 40 Matches |
| Ashe | 50 Matches |
| Brigitte | 60 Matches |
| Mei | 70 Matches |
| Doomfist | 85 Matches |
| Baptiste | 100 Matches |
| Sombra | 115 Matches |
| Wrecking Ball | 130 Matches |
| Echo | 150 Matches |
How to unlock Kiriko, Sojourn and Junker Queen
Playing matches and unlocking all original heroes by doing so is quite easy. But what about the three new Heroes in Overwatch 2? If you're an Overwatch vet, the new heroes will unlock as soon as you enter the game for the first time, but if you are new to Overwatch, this is what you should do.
Unlocking Kiriko
To get the new support hero Kiriko, you don't necessarily have to buy the Premium Battle Pass, although it will spare you a lot of work because for premium buyers, Kiriko unlocks immediately. But if you don't want to spend money on the game, she will unlock when reaching tier 55 of the free battle pass.
Unlocking Sojourn and Junker Queen
No matter if you are a returning player or a newcomer in Overwatch 2, unlocking Sojourn and Junker Queen is very easy. After entering the game for the first time, you just complete the tutorials and play some basic matches et voilà, both heroes should get unlocked automatically.
Things you should know about Overwatch 2: