If you’ve never played Overwatch and plan to join Overwatch 2if you want to add heroes from the original game to your roster, you will need to do some work.
In a blog post on the Overwatch website, Blizzard revealed that new players need to complete about 100 matches to unlock characters from the original game.
According to Blizzard, this is part of what it calls the First User Experience (FTUE), an introduction to Overwatch 2 designed for brand new players.
The studio says it wants to welcome players to Overwatch 2 “gradually” so they aren’t overwhelmed by the number of game modes and heroes.
To that end, new players will have access to a limited set of game modes, heroes, and other restrictions when they start the game to “step in.” The first phase unlocks all game modes and in-game chat quickly, and the second phase unlocks all original Overwatch heroes after about 100 games.
“This focused experience teaches new players the different modes, rules, and other advanced aspects of the game in an approachable way, making it easy for them to enter the world of Overwatch,” Blizzard said.
Most restrictions are lifted when teaming up, thus allowing new players to team up with friends anytime and play almost any game mode. Competitive is the exception to this rule, as new players must complete certain challenges to access this game mode.
Blizzard says the requirements for entering Competitive Mode in Overwatch 2 are changing. Since teams are removing player levels from the game, rather than having to reach a specific level, new players are now challenged to win 50 quick matches before Competitive Mode unlocks.
This will give newbies enough time to prepare for the “higher expectations that come with competition” and prevent long-term players from getting frustrated with inexperienced teammates.
“While this process can help new players join the fun, it’s also an effective way to deter disruptive behavior and cheating,” Blizzard said. “FTUE is an investment that needs to be done as it takes time to unlock game features. Competitive in particular, cannot be accessed without winning the game. Disruptive players can’t immediately impact the larger community, voice chat and voice chat will be unlocked later in FTUE Match chat and other features.
“Brand new accounts created by cheaters or disruptive players have to go through this experience, giving us the opportunity to identify suspicious accounts before they enter other game modes.”
The first user experience will only affect accounts created on or after the October 4 launch date.
Anyone who’s played it before, as well as Watchpoint Pack owners, doesn’t have to play the first user experience.