Overwatch 2 update: season 2 new maps, hero, and events
Overwatch 2 Season 2 is currently live. In the spirit of setting you up for the win, here’s a guide with everything you need to know before heading into the next round of updates, skins, and heroes.
Where has all the time gone? Overwatch 2 has been released for two months, and we’re already in Season 2. Blizzard isn’t slowing down anytime soon; it has packed loads into this season, with even more content scheduled to arrive later. Like the previous season, we will have two months of fun lasting from December 6 until February 7.
As we pivot from the familiarity of classic Overwatch and follow Blizzard down the rabbit hole, even minor changes will be crucial to grasp as you head into your matches. We’ll update this guide regularly with all the information you need, so with that in mind, let’s jump into this new season.
Season Theme: Greek Mythology
For fans of Greek Mythology (or anyone who just thinks it looks cool), this season’s for you. This theme will run through the Battle Pass, with most voice lines, sprays, and skins having a discernibly deific quality.
Your reward for completing the Battle Pass will be a Mythic Junker Queen Zeus Skin. Like the Mythic Genji skin in the first season, this will also be customizable, with unique voice lines, special effects, and new weapon models.
Junker Queen won’t be the only hero getting some ancient attention. There will also be a Legendary Poseidon Ramattra skin and a Legendary Hades Pharah skin that you can unlock in the Battle Pass.
According to the Blizzard blog post, “these heroes and several others will be imbued with awesome god-like powers in our new Battle for Olympus game mode”. This limited-time event will run from January 5 to January 19. While we aren’t sure what it will entail as of yet, there may be clues to its design scattered among the new skins released this season. We’ll let you know if we find anything.
New Map: Shambali
This season will also bring us a much-needed new map in the form of Shambali. This Nepalese location and will be built around the three existing Nepal maps – Village, Shrine, and Temple – so if you look at it from a bird's eye view, you can see how they all connect.
The Shambali Monastery will be an escort map featuring a payload. The Blizzard Blog page details how you can follow the path “walked by countless Omnics who have sought refuge within its walls”. This points to the critical role that Nepal will play in the story, as well as the relationship between Zenyatta and new hero, Ramattra.
This monastery is where the characters meditated and reflected together, where they decided which path they will take to ensure the Omnic people's survival, one peaceful and one destructive. While we will get to play this map our own way, we will also hopefully see it down the line in comics or animations centered around the Omnics’ friendship.
New Rotation maps
Some eagle-eyed viewers may have also spotted the strange disappearance of a couple of well-known maps from Overwatch. If you’ve missed Blizzard World or Rialto, you’ll be happy to know that they will enter the map rotation for Season 2.
What’s a map rotation? This feature is new to Overwatch 2. As more maps are added, they will enter the round-robin rotation that will change each season. This time Blizzard World and Rialto will replace Hollywood and Gibraltar (though these two maps will still be accessible in custom games). Oasis and Nepal will also appear at different times throughout the day.
New Hero: Ramattra
Ramattra is the new tank hero for Season 2, which was announced at the Overwatch League finals. We have a Ramattra guide ready before you unlock his character in Season 2 where you can read up on his origin story, his abilities, and the effect he may have on other heroes. For example, Ramattra may make Doomfist redundant.
All you need to know is that those who purchase the premium Battle Pass will have Ramattra instantly unlocked for you to play. For those opting out of the premium payment, you will be able to secure this tank hero at Battle Pass Tier 45. Initially this was kept at Tier 55, but days before Season 2, Blizzard dropped the requirement level.
Catch-up hero challenges
There is also a new challenge mode being introduced in Season 2. Catch-up hero challenges are for old players who failed to unlock previous heroes like Kiriko in Season 1, or brand new players who didn’t get the chance.
You start by selecting the challenges for the hero you want to unlock, which will send you to the practice range so you can learn their abilities. You will then be challenged to win certain Overwatch 2 games under specific conditions. This will help you secure all the new heroes added to Overwatch 2.
If that all sounds like too much hassle, then there’s an option to unlock all the new heroes within the in-game shop.
Events: Winter Wonderland and Lunar New Year
Season 2 will also encompass two seasonal events. We got a small outline of how Blizzard plans to celebrate these with their approach to the Halloween event earlier in Season 1. From this, we can expect to see a small PVE game introduced, along with skins and cosmetics being added to the shop.
The Winter Wonderland event will run from December 13 to January 4. In comparison, the Lunar New Year event will be from January 17 to February 1. Thankfully both of these will have everything promised in the Halloween seasonal event and more. This time, Blizzard has promised certain skins you can collect by completing games and event-specific challenges. This includes Epic Ice Queen Brigitte, Legendary Winged Victory Mercy, and Legendary Kkachi Echo.
You will also be able to earn rewards and skins by watching Overwatch 2 streams on Twitch. Despite a shaky start to these viewing rewards from the Overwatch League handouts, Blizzard seems to be working on a solution.
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