When Overwatch 2 launches next week, it’ll mark an all-new era for Blizzard’s popular FPS. Unfortunately for newbies, older heroes will take some grinding to unlock.
On Tuesday, Blizzard shared a blog post that went into detail about Overwatch 2’s First Time User Experience (FTUE), an initiative that’ll ease new players into the hero shooter. New accounts, specifically those that didn’t play the original game, will initially have limited access to modes and heroes.
FTUE’s first phase will gradually open up casual game modes and in-game chat, though new players must win 50 Quick Play matches before Competitive is accessible. Then it’ll take 100 matches to unlock the original cast of Overwatch heroes. It’s all a little head-scratch-worthy, especially since there’s no clarification as to which heroes will be available at launch, but Blizzard claims this system will cut down on smurf accounts.
“While this process helps new players join the fun, it’s also an effective way to discourage disruptive behavior and cheating,” Blizzard said. “FTUE is an investment to complete because it takes time to unlock game features— Competitive, specifically, cannot be accessed without winning matches. Disruptive players are unable to immediately affect the larger community, with things like voice chat and match chat unlocking later in FTUE.”
Remember that none of this applies to accounts that played Overwatch, though most new heroes are only accessible via battle pass unlocks.
Overwatch 2 releases Tuesday, Oct. 4, 2022, for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It’ll be free-to-play, and there’s plenty of content coming in the first few months.
Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.
