For those coming into Overwatch 2 while owning the first game, good news: Not only are all the heroes available from the outset, but you can also access new heroes like Junker Queen, Sojourn and Kiriko for free. Of course, you must log in before Season 3 starts and claim the Founder’s Pack. Those coming into the game for the first time receive Junker Queen and Sojourn for free until Season 2 starts on December 5th. Afterwards, you’ll likely need to complete Hero Challenges to unlock them or spend 1000 Overwatch Coins or $10.
Now for the bad news: Those new to the game must go through the First Time User Experience or FTUE. The number of available modes and heroes is restricted, but by completing “approximately 100 matches,” almost everything should become available (except for Competitive). That “100 matches” number is somewhat misleading, though.
When progressing unlocks for some heroes, wins count for two games, while losses count for one. So unlocking Baptiste may require completing 100 games, but if you win all those matches, it only takes 50 games. All your completed matches go towards unlocking heroes instead of one by one.
If you’re losing all of those matches, which is somewhat impossible, but it is Overwatch, after all, it will take significantly longer to unlock everyone. Here are all of the heroes available as part of the FTUE at the start:
- Lúcio
- Winston
- Zarya
- Reaper
- Mercy
- Orisa
- Pharah
- Torbjörn
- Tracer
- Reinhardt
- Soldier: 76
- Widowmaker
- Moira
- Junker Queen (Season 1 only)
- Sojourn (Season 1 only)
Here are all the heroes that unlock afterwards and the number of completed matches required.
- Genji – Complete one match.
- D.Va – Complete two matches.
- Cassidy – Complete three matches.
- Ana – You must complete four matches.
- Hanzo – You must complete nine matches. Double progress applies to wins, so it may take roughly four won matches and a lost match.
- Junkrat – Complete 12 matches. Double progress applies to wins, so it may take six matches only.
- Roadhog – Complete 15 matches. Double progress applies to wins. This means seven won matches and a lost match.
- Symmetra – Complete 20 matches. Double progress applies to wins, so it could only take ten matches to unlock.
- Zenyatta – Complete 25 matches. Since double progress applies to wins, you must win 12 matches and lose one.
- Bastion – Complete 30 matches. Win 15 matches, since double progress applies to wins.
- Sigma – Complete 40 matches. Win 20 matches since double progress applies to wins.
- Ashe – Complete 50 matches. You need to win 25 matches since double progress applies to wins.
- Brigitte – Complete 60 matches. Double progress applies to wins, so only 30 wins are needed.
- Mei – Complete 70 matches. Double progress applies to wins, so only 35 wins are necessary.
- Doomfist – Complete 85 matches. Since double progress applies to wins, you must win 42 matches (at best) and lose one.
- Baptiste – Complete 100 matches. Win 50 matches, since double progress applies to wins.
- Sombra – Complete 115 matches. Win 57 matches and lose one match (at best) since double progress applies to wins.
- Wrecking Ball – Complete 130 matches. Double progress applies to wins, so only 65 matches are required.
- Echo – You must complete 150 matches. Since double progress applies to wins, you need to win 75 matches.
Finally, to unlock Kiriko, new players need to grind to Tier 55 in the free Battle Pass or purchase the Premium Battle Pass for 1000 Overwatch Coins for $10. If you don’t unlock her in Season 1, then you’ll need to complete Hero Challenges in the future to earn her.
Overwatch 2 is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Check out our official review here, and stay tuned for more details and guides in the meantime.
