Overwatch 2 players lash out at Blizzard for “locking” heroes behind games
BlizzardAn Overwatch 2 player has lashed out at Blizzard for “locking” heroes behind a game-played requirement for players new to the hero shooter.
Blizzard’s hero shooter Overwatch 2 has been through quite the ringer recently. With the announcement that the game’s PvE mode would be reduced significantly, players have been left with disappointment in the prospects of the game’s future. The reduction of the PvE mode caused massive outcry from the community, with content creators from outside of the community wondering why a sequel was needed in the first place.
One of the largest changes that came with Overwatch’s sequel release was the transition to a free-to-play model. Overwatch 2 allowed anyone to come and join in on the action, without the need to pay for the game at all. However, this meant the rotation of lootboxes and the introduction of battle passes, which Blizzard locks the new hero behind.
The developers have made measures to ensure that the battle pass system isn’t too predatory, by reducing the level requirement to grab the hero. However, it appears that Blizzard has also done the complete opposite for new players recently, resulting in some backlash from players.
According to the Reddit post, brand-new players are required to play a certain number of games before unlocking every character within the original Overwatch 1. The precursor game offered all the characters to everyone, with any older accounts maintaining the previous heroes on the transition.
The Reddit user explained the situation, “Almost every single character was locked and he has to play games to unlock them. Not just talking a out the OW2 heros but almost all the classic heros from OW1 are locked and you have to play a certain amount of games to unlock them.”
The worst hero to unlock was the last hero to be released into Overwatch 1, Echo, which takes 150 games played before unlocking.
Some commenters have agreed with the post, criticizing Blizzard’s decision to lock heroes in the sequel of their hero shooter.
However, some have brought in the reasoning for discouraging smurfs as a potential answer as to why this change was implemented.
“I’m guessing it was one of their attempts to discourage smurfing, it definitely made making an alt account a more annoying process than it used to be, my console account was the first one that had to unlock anything and I just haven’t bothered playing it.” a user stated.
It’s not quite certain why Blizzard made this decision, but it appears to be one that may stick around with Overwatch 2 for quite some time.
