Overwatch 2: 10 Changes From The First Game

Overwatch 2 is a step in the right direction and continues the legacy of the original Overwatch in the same style. This article will cover the changes that set the original apart from Overwatch 2!

While a lot of it is confirmed not to be coming to the game on its release on October 4, Overwatch 2 has been confirmed to be free to play with a long-term plan to support the game over the course of many years.

1. Character Designs

From the stuff I have seen in both the closed beta and all the promotional content regarding Overwatch 2, one thing that’s been very noticeable across it is all subtle yet obvious changes made to the default outfits of just about all the characters in Overwatch 2 as compared to the first game.

This includes Tracer, Lucio, Widowmaker, and Genji, to name a few. For example, Genji’s default skin resembles modern techwear, certain aspects of Tracer‘s outfit are a lot more defined, and Lucio has a much more technical, futuristic outfit this time around.

2. New Maps

Overwatch 2 will be launching with seven brand new maps on release. One of the main complaints with Overwatch 1 was its very slow roll of new maps as well as the questionable quality of certain maps. Hopefully, in Overwatch 2, you can expect a much more consistent quality of maps across the board. These 7 maps include:

• New York City
• Toronto
• Rome
• Rio de Janeiro
• Gothenburg
• Monte Carlo
• India.

3. Free To Play

Possibly the biggest change from the first game is the fact that, unlike the first Overwatch, Overwatch 2 will be completely free-to-play for everyone. This includes all content accessible from the get-go at no price at all.

While the game was initially announced to be a full-priced $60 product, it appears that Blizzard realized that maybe the game just didn’t have enough to justify an entirely new purchase for content that most players expected to be added to Overwatch 1 for free.

Many big games are starting to become free-to-play. Another franchise that is well-known and decided to go free to play is Skate 4; find out more about it here: Skate 4: Everything We Know So Far.

4. Progression And Monetization

Courtesy of being free to play, Overwatch 2 will have a much different progression system compared to Overwatch 1. The first game rewarded you with loot boxes that gave you special skins or coins to buy skins of your choice or Golden Weapons for your main hero.

However, Overwatch 2 will be switching to a modern Battle Pass system akin to something like Fortnite or Apex Legends. As for what content is to be expected from the Battle Pass, it’s likely that it is going to be all cosmetic items or currency like skins, sprays, and coins.

5. New Hero: Sojourn

Starting off the slow rollout of new heroes, we’ll be getting Sojourn as the first hero added to Overwatch 2. Sojuorn is a DPS character who plays somewhat similar to Soldier 76 with a more traditional skillset and easy-to-understand abilities.

Sojuorn uses an automatic railgun that has two firing modes. Primary fire functions like any other assault rifle but using it will also charge up the weapon’s energy letting you fire off a more powerful secondary railgun shot.

If you love characters with a lot of power or are just generally into superheroes, definitely check out: Midnight Suns: Everything We Know So Far!

6. Visual Changes To Classic Maps

One of the more controversial changes in Overwatch 2 as compared to the first game, is the change in the aesthetic of many classic maps. Maps like Lijiang Tower and El Dorado that were set during the night are now set in the daytime, and certain maps that were set in the daytime now take place at night.

That is really all they did to change the classic maps, and while some players prefer the new changes, many are on the other side of the spectrum wondering, “Was this really necessary?”. In any case, this is what Blizzard has decided.

7. 4 Player Co-op/PvE

Perhaps the biggest change in Overwatch 2 is the addition of a PvE mode, something that the first game partially lacked.  Overwatch 1 featured many limited-time PvE events in the form of events like Junkenstein’s Revenge, the Anniversary events, and more.

But Overwatch 2 will include a full PvE campaign featuring actual missions with unique encounters and events instead of the more basic events you got in the first game. This aspect of the game will be fully fleshed out as much as the multiplayer portion and will feature its own unique skill trees for each of the playable heroes, as shown by Blizzard.

Co-op can make games much more interesting when done right or used in the right genre. Survival games are usually the greatest in co-op; find out more about a great upcoming survival game here: Sons of the Forest: Everything We Know!

8. 5v5 Matches

Instead of the traditional 6v6 matches, Blizzard has made the decision to scale down the matches to 5v5 affairs. According to the devs, this promotes the role of each role in any given team. It also couples with the balancing changes made to the characters in Overwatch 2. I hope that it’s a decision that pays off.

9. New Game Modes

Overwatch 2 will also feature some new game modes. Only one of them has been announced as of yet. Called “Push.” In it, players will have to fight for control of a robot that will push either team’s barricade into the other’s spawn.

10. Balance Changes

Overwatch 2 will feature a ton of new balance changes for most of the currently present heroes. This change has already started to begin in Overwatch 1 with complete reworks of certain characters like Orisa, and it’s going to be interesting to see how some of them will function in Overwatch 2.

My Thoughts On The Overwatch 2 Changes

In all honestly, I do agree that Overwatch 2 comes with extremely limited and subtle changes, and it’s to the point that the title itself can be considered an update patch rather than a new game. The first thing that I like about Overwatch 2 is it is free to play. In order to play Overwatch 1, players used to pay $60 to Blizzard, which was not very convenient.

As for the other changes, such as quite a few numbers of heroes getting a rework, new maps have been included along with changes to the previous one. These changes really earned positive feedback, and my thoughts are positive about these changes.

With that, I wrap up all the changes in Overwatch 2 from the first game. The game has some exciting changes, while others are worrying certain players. We’ll have to stick around to see how it turns out! 

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