How to unlock every hero in Overwatch 2
Blizzard EntertainmentWith 38 Overwatch 2 characters available to play, there are plenty of heroes to try and unlock. Here’s how you can get a full roster of heroes.
Everyone has their favorite hero when it comes to Overwatch, but not all characters are available at the beginning of Overwatch 2. Thankfully, most of them aren’t too hard to unlock, all they take is a little dedication and quite a bit of gameplay.
We’ve compiled all the available heroes in Overwatch 2 and worked out how you can unlock them so you can get back to destroying the enemy as your favorite character.
Full starting roster for new players
BlizzardWhether you’re a new player or a veteran of the original game, then you will start Overwatch 2 with these heroes.
- Lucio
- Mercy
- Moira
- Orisa
- Pharah
- Reinhardt
- Reaper
- Soldier 76
- Torbjorn
- Tracer
- Widowmaker
- Winston
- Zarya
How to unlock all heroes in Overwatch 2
Unlocking the rest of the heroes in Overwatch 2 requires you to complete a fair few matches or, for the newer heroes like Junker Queen, you’ll need to do something a little different.
The way you unlock the majority of the heroes is to simply take part in matches, which then completes the challenge they are linked to. Some are only a few whereas others will undoubtedly take some time to complete, like Baptiste. After you’ve completed four matches, each win will count as two, making your life a little easier in the long run.
As for heroes released in Overwatch 2, they will need to be unlocked by completing hero challenges. The challenges can be found in the challenges section under the hero tab.
Many of the hero’s challenges are quite similar, with most just requiring you to use all their abilities in the practice range. The tricky part is the requirement to win 35 games queued as either All Roles or the role the hero is.
Additionally, if you don’t want to complete the challenges, Blizzard does give the option to purchase a hero starter packs which immediately unlocks the Overwatch 2 heroes.
Below is how to unlock each hero in Overwatch 2.
| Hero | Role | How to Unlock (Matches to play) |
|---|---|---|
| Genji | Damage | Complete 1 matches |
| D.VA | Tank | Complete 2 matches |
| Cassidy | Damage | Complete 3 matches |
| Ana | Support | Complete 4 matches |
| Hanzo | Damage | Complete 9 matches |
| Junkrat | Damage | Complete 12 matches |
| Roadhog | Tank | Complete 15 matches |
| Symmetra | Damage | Complete 20 matches |
| Zenyatta | Support | Complete 25 matches |
| Bastion | Damage | Complete 30 matches |
| Sigma | Tank | Complete 40 matches |
| Ashe | Damage | Complete 50 matches |
| Brigitte | Support | Complete 60 matches |
| Mei | Damage | Complete 70 matches |
| Doomfist | Tank | Complete 85 matches |
| Baptiste | Support | Complete 100 matches |
| Sombra | Damage | Complete 115 matches |
| Wrecking Ball | Tank | Complete 130 matches |
| Echo | Damage | Complete 150 matches |
| Kiriko | Support | Complete Kiriko hero challenges |
| Junker Queen | Tank | Complete Junker Queen hero challenges |
| Sojourn | Damage | Complete Sojourn hero challenges |
| Lifeweaver | Support | Complete Lifeweaver hero challenges |
| Illari | Support | Complete Illari hero challenges |
Those are all the characters present within Overwatch 2 currently, along with how you can unlock these heroes.
While working towards getting your favorite hero, take a look at some of our other handy Overwatch 2 guides:
Overwatch 2 release time | All Overwatch 2 characters | Overwatch 2 review | Season 1 Battle Pass | Sojourn guide | Junker Queen guide | Kiriko guide | Overwatch 2 support tier list | DPS tier list | Best tank heroes | Overwatch 2 server status | How to download Overwatch 2