Overwatch 2 has arrived on console and PC, and as part of its new free-to-play seasonal content model, it has introduced a Battle Pass-based progression system. Each of Overwatch 2's seasons will bring a new Battle Pass to the game, providing players with a linear series of unlocks to earn as they play.
Here's an in-depth overview of everything you need to know about the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass, including how it works, how to rank it up, the types of rewards that are available, and more.
Overwatch 2 Battle Pass: What you need to know
Overwatch 2 has become the latest game to embrace a Battle Pass progression system. Battle Passes have quickly become a mainstay in the industry since they work well with the popular seasonal content release model, and since Blizzard has nine-week seasons planned for Overwatch 2 moving forward, it's no surprise that the studio has adopted the Battle Pass approach.
Like the Battle Passes found in shooters like Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, and Halo Infinite, the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass will offer fans a large variety of cosmetic rewards across 80 separate unlock tiers. Players will be able to progress through these tiers by earning XP, which is done by playing the game normally and by completing daily, weekly, seasonal, and lifetime gameplay challenges. This progression can be sped up with the 20% XP boost you get from grouping up and playing with friends.
The Overwatch 2 Battle Pass features both a Free and Premium reward track that players can earn rewards from. The Free Battle Pass track is available to all players, but offers fewer and simpler cosmetic items. The Premium Battle Pass track requires a purchase to opt into, but allows players to earn all 80 rewards from the Battle Pass and also provides a 20% XP boost that stays on for the remainder of the current season (it stacks with the group XP boost). Premium Battle Pass owners also get access to Priority Queue, a feature that helps them find matches faster while searching for games.
Note that unlocking new heroes in Overwatch 2 will be tied to the Battle Pass system. Both Free and Premium Battle Pass owners get access to new heroes, with free-to-play users unlocking them at Tier 55 of the Battle Pass and Premium owners getting access to them instantly.
Similar to the way Battle Passes expire in other games, Overwatch 2's Battle Passes will go away at the end of each season as well. It's currently unclear if cosmetic rewards from past Battle Passes will return in the in-game Shop in the future, though we do know that heroes from past seasons will be unlockable through the completion of special gameplay challenges. Alternatively, players will also be able to purchase them from the Shop.
Overwatch 2 Battle Pass price
Like most Battle Passes found in other games, Overwatch 2's Premium Battle Pass costs $10 (1,000 Overwatch Coins) to purchase. This makes Blizzard's version of the popular system reasonably priced, giving players the opportunity to earn a variety of high-quality cosmetics while also offering them instant access to new heroes that free-to-play users have to unlock through gameplay.
The Premium Battle Pass is available through the in-game Shop where players can spend Overwatch Coins on various items and unlocks. Overwatch Coins are primarily acquired through direct purchases at a rate of 100 coins per dollar spent, but they can also be earned from completing the same weekly gameplay challenges that players will be doing to accrue XP quickly. Notably, this means that it's possible to get the Premium Battle Pass by using Overwatch Coins earned through gameplay, with Blizzard confirming that players will be able to earn enough Overwatch Coins to purchase Premium access every two seasons.
Another alternative is the Overwatch 2: Watchpoint Pack, which gives players instant access to the Overwatch 2 Season 1 Premium Battle Pass as well as 2,000 Overwatch Coins and a variety of skins for some of the game's characters.
Overwatch 2 Battle Pass rewards list: Skins, heroes, and more
While Overwatch's cosmetic and customization suite has traditionally featured character skins, sprays, emotes, victory poses, profile icons, and voice lines, Overwatch 2 is adding some additional item types in its Battle Passes. One of the new reward types players can earn are weapon charms, which are small decorations that can be attached to a hero's main weapon. The charm will then visibly dangle from the weapon during gameplay.
Another new cosmetic type is souvenirs, which are 3D models that players can display while in-game using an emote. The new support hero Kiriko is also available from the Season 1 Battle Pass as a Tier 55 reward, marking the start of Blizzard's new approach to releasing new characters.
Most interestingly, Overwatch 2 is introducing Mythic skins, which are a new tier of hero skin above the Legendary rarity. Unlike all other skin types in Overwatch, Mythic skins are unique in that their color, design, and shape can be customized by players. The first of these skins — the Cyber Demon Genji skin that features a demonic cyberpunk ninja theme — is the final reward available from the Season 1 Battle Pass and is exclusively available to Premium reward track owners.
A full list of the Overwatch 2 Season 1 Battle Pass rewards can be found below, including the tier you need to reach in order to unlock and use them.
| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| Tier 1 | EDM D.Va Legendary Skin, Cybermari Weapon Charm |
| Tier 2 | Cybermari Player Icon |
| Tier 3 | Sky Centurion Name Card |
| Tier 4 | Moira "You Can Be Improved" Voice Line |
| Tier 5 | Reaper Cookies Emote |
| Tier 6 | Mei Fist Bump Victory Pose |
| Tier 7 | Winston Salute Spray |
| Tier 8 | Mechanical Brain Souvenir |
| Tier 9 | Lucio "Stand Up" Voice Line |
| Tier 10 | Tactical Winston Epic Skin |
| Tier 11 | Holo Sakura Player Icon |
| Tier 12 | Sakura Name Card |
| Tier 13 | Soldier: 76 Locked and Loaded Highlight Intro |
| Tier 14 | Cassidy Only You Spray |
| Tier 15 | Origami Crane Weapon Charm |
| Tier 16 | Sojourn Evaluate Victory Pose |
| Tier 17 | D.Va DJ Spray |
| Tier 18 | Great Waves Name Card |
| Tier 19 | Zenyatta "Exist" Voice Line |
| Tier 20 | Hinotori Kiriko Legendary Skin |
| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| Tier 21 | EDM Player Icon |
| Tier 22 | Dogtags Spray |
| Tier 23 | Pineapple Pizza Souvenir |
| Tier 24 | Sombra Translocator Victory Pose |
| Tier 25 | Kiriko "On My Bike" Voice Line |
| Tier 26 | Baptiste Raboday Emote |
| Tier 27 | Junker Queen Lion Slayer Spray |
| Tier 28 | Mitzi and Friends Name Card |
| Tier 29 | Hanzo "A Long Way Down" Voice Line |
| Tier 30 | Commando Sojourn Legendary Skin |
| Tier 31 | Commando Player Icon |
| Tier 32 | Pharah Sky Centurion Spray |
| Tier 33 | Tracer Nailed It Highlight Intro |
| Tier 34 | Cassidy "Neck of the Woods" Voice Line |
| Tier 35 | Tokki Keyring Weapon Charm |
| Tier 36 | Brigitte Noble Victory Pose |
| Tier 37 | Kiriko Cyber Phoenix Spray |
| Tier 38 | Omnicode Name Card |
| Tier 39 | Sojourn "It's All Connected" Voice Line |
| Tier 40 | Beast Junker Queen Epic Skin |
| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| Tier 41 | Kumihimo Player Icon |
| Tier 42 | Puzzle Cube Souvenir |
| Tier 43 | Cassidy Rise N' Shine Spray |
| Tier 44 | Moira Ponder Victory Pose |
| Tier 45 | Ana "High Tech, Low Tech..." Voice Line |
| Tier 46 | Junkrat Sipping Emote |
| Tier 47 | Mercy Crows Spray |
| Tier 48 | Hinotori Player Icon |
| Tier 49 | Sigma "Parts and Whole" Voice Line |
| Tier 50 | Miko Mercy Legendary Skin |
| Tier 51 | Arcade Spray |
| Tier 52 | EDM Tokki Player Icon |
| Tier 53 | D.Va Incoming! Highlight Intro |
| Tier 54 | Sojourn "Upgrades" Voice Line |
| Tier 55 | Kiriko Hero, Kitsune Weapon Charm |
| Tier 56 | Genji Just Breathe Spray |
| Tier 57 | Cyber Demon Name Card |
| Tier 58 | Genji "The Dragon and I are One" Voice Line |
| Tier 59 | Roadhog Hologram Victory Pose |
| Tier 60 | Sky Centurion Pharah Legendary Skin |
| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| Tier 61 | Brain Player Icon |
| Tier 62 | Kiriko "Run with Blades" Voice Line |
| Tier 63 | Rainbow Pool Name Card |
| Tier 64 | Itadakimasu Hanzo Emote |
| Tier 65 | Sojourn Commando Spray |
| Tier 66 | Echo Poised Victory Pose |
| Tier 67 | Junker Queen "I Do Love Neon" Voice Line |
| Tier 68 | Folded Crane Souvenir |
| Tier 69 | Kitsune Player Icon |
| Tier 70 | Forest Ranger Cassidy Epic Skin |
| Tier 71 | Junkrat Crime Boss Spray |
| Tier 72 | Forest Ranger Player Icon |
| Tier 73 | Orisa "I Do Not Cower" Voice Line |
| Tier 74 | Robothumb Souvenir |
| Tier 75 | Cyber Demon Mask Weapon Charm |
| Tier 76 | Sojourn Old Soldiers Spray |
| Tier 77 | Junker Queen Crowned Victory Pose |
| Tier 78 | Ashe Do Something Highlight Intro |
| Tier 79 | Synthwave Name Card |
| Tier 80 | Cyber Demon Genji Mythic Skin, Genji Demonic Deflection Spray, Cyber Demon Player Icon |
Is the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass worth it?
Whether or not the Overwatch 2 Battle Pass is worth it or not depends entirely on whether or not you care about unlocking new cosmetics. If you don't care about customization items and just want to have a fun time playing the game, you may want to save your money. However, fans that love customizing their heroes will likely find the Premium Battle Pass' rewards quite enticing.
The Premium Battle Pass is also worth buying if you care about getting access to new heroes as soon as possible, as free-to-play users will have to grind up to Tier 55 before they can use them. Something to keep in mind, though, is that new heroes are being locked out of Overwatch 2's Competitive mode for several weeks after they launch so that the developers can fine-tune their balancing, giving players a significant amount of time to unlock them. Therefore, you shouldn't feel pressured to buy the Premium Battle Pass to unlock new heroes so that you can use them in Competitive play.
Did Overwatch 2 get rid of loot boxes?
With Overwatch 2's shift to a free-to-play seasonal model with Battle Passes, the aging loot box system from the original Overwatch has been completely phased out. This means that players will no longer earn loot boxes from leveling up, and will instead rank up a tier on their Battle Pass.
Overwatch 2 is available now on Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. It's arguably one of the best Xbox shooters available, and since it's free-to-play, it doesn't cost anything to check it out.
