After three years of turbulent development and murky promises, Overwatch 2 finally came out this week as an early access-style release. However, while many are excited to get their hands on the follow-up to one of the most beloved games of the 2010s, one particular aspect of it is drawing fire from the game’s fans: the decision to lock many of the original game’s heroes behind a match limit for new players.

Players who haven’t played Overwatch 1 will be required to notch 100 matches in order to select all of the first game’s heroes, from Ana to Zenyatta. According to Blizzard, this is all part of the studio’s “First Time User Experience” plan, which also involves locking basic features like in-game chat and competitive matches to new users until they complete certain milestones, such as winning a certain number of games. However, while I understand the resistance to this move, I ultimately think it’s a reasonable one–if not an outright positive for the game.

In theory, I can understand why veteran players are annoyed by this lockdown. The original crop of heroes are cultural icons that extend far beyond the reach of multiplayer gaming–even if you haven’t ever played an Overwatch match, you probably know D.Va, Roadhog, and Tracer. Players coming to the series for the first time are likely excited to try out the likes of Genji and Hanzo for the first time. And especially considering that Blizzard decided to permanently shutter Overwatch 1 prior to this release, this is the only way you can play those fun kits anymore–it’s not like you can go back to the old game for a nostalgic thrill.

However, though I don’t begrudge fans for their honest reactions, I think the logic behind these changes is mostly sound. For one thing, it seems like a bit of an imagined problem to me. The people who are most passionate about playing Overwatch 1 heroes are, obviously, the people who bought and played Overwatch 1–the exact group that isn’t affected by this move. If you’re a self-proclaimed Overwatch fan who’s mad about this, but you never actually bought the game, how much of a fan are you, really? As such, it can come across as concern trolling on the part of people who aren’t happy with the franchise’s new free-to-play approach.

Remember these guys? It’ll take 100 matches to unlock them all.

For one thing, we should consider the fact that Overwatch 2 launched with 35 playable heroes, all with their own strengths, weaknesses, and little nuances that take players some time (sometimes dozens of hours) to master. Regardless of who you”main,” I think we can all agree that some heroes are more newbie-friendly than others–after all, Soldier 76 was designed exactly for that particular niche. An unrefined wall of 35 names is simply going to intimidate and confuse new players into picking someone at random based on aesthetics or role alone, which might lead to a negative first impression.

Considering this, it makes sense to lock away hard-to-master heroes like Genji and Sombra for newbies in favor of point-and-shoot alternatives like Soldier 76 and Moira. Ideally, the game would have short tutorials to introduce all these characters to new players, which would then slowly increase in complexity as your hour-count balloons. But then again, given that Overwatch 2 is launching in an obviously unfinished state–even down to the incomplete character redesigns–that’s maybe a little too much to ask.

Game balance aside, there’s a more sinister issue to address by locking these sort of features behind playtime–the ever-present specter of online griefing. Popular online shooters such as Overwatch, Valorant, and Apex Legends have become breeding grounds for toxicity, hacking, and outright harassment. We’ve already seen Blizzard take major steps to prevent this kind of behavior, including forcing Battle.net accounts to add phone numbers to play the game, as well as recording voice chat to root out gamer rage. Locking these features behind hours of play will ostensibly help prevent “smurfs” from practicing on inexperienced players, and raise the stakes for those users who find themselves on the bad end of the banhammer.

New hero Kiriko has a chance to shine in Overwatch 2.

As a whole, I think the volcanic response to this design decision ultimately has more to do with Overwatch 2’s somewhat tenuous place in today’s gaming market than some hypothetical concern over new players missing out on D.Va’s awesome kit on day one. Let’s face it: In many ways, Overwatch was the game that brought loot box-based cosmetics to the mainstream. Now that the industry has abandoned that model in favor of free-to-play games with premium battle passes–and Overwatch itself has followed suit–there’s a real sense of unease about the whole project, and I’m not sure it’s going away anytime soon. Similarly, the lack of the much-anticipated PvE modes puts a damper on this supposed “sequel.

We’ve known that Overwatch 2 will lock characters behind battle pass tiers for a few weeks now, but the community’s response to these changes still ranges from resigned acceptance to exasperation–and perhaps worse at times. Given that the games industry has all but abandoned the loot box model entirely, we can’t exactly be surprised that Blizzard would surrender to the battle pass behemoth once and for all.

Overall, I think that people are simply confused and anxious about Overwatch 2’s identity. Overwatch 1 was a one-in-a-lifetime game that captured lightning in a bottle and turned the heads of every gamer in the world in the process. With every change that Overwatch 2 brings, the game moves further and further away from the cultural hegemon status that it enjoyed in late 2016. If Overwatch 2 manages to regain its lost mojo and transfix the gaming world once again, it won’t be because of ticky-tack decisions like anti-smurfing initiatives–it’ll be because the game is just that damn good.

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To play Overwatch 2, you need to register a mobile phone number, but prepaid phones do not work in all instances. This situation has caused frustration amongst some in the community, and Blizzard will talk to fans about the situation very soon.

A spokesperson for Blizzard told GameSpot that the company will “address this situation soon.” This could happen as soon as this afternoon, the spokesperson said.

Whether or not Overwatch 2 will actually change its policy regarding the prepaid phone situation, however, is unknown. Keep checking back with GameSpot for the latest.

It appears Cricket Wireless is one of the prepaid phone companies affected by this Overwatch 2 requirement, as documented across Reddit and social media. Users of another popular pre-paid phone company, Mint Mobile, are reporting that their phone numbers are working.

blizzard isn’t letting people play overwatch 2 if they have… a prepaid phone plan?? pic.twitter.com/NkVOMuFGDJ

— Jack Saint (@lackingsaint) October 5, 2022

In another post, a father of four teenagers said it’s a shame that Blizzard is requiring players to register a mobile phone number to play Overwatch 2. “They were really excited about [Overwatch 2], but due to the SMS number requirement, they can’t play,” this person said.

Dear @PlayOverwatch:
I have four teenagers who enjoyed playing Overwatch together on their Switches. They played this way for well over a year and paid for the game from their own money.
They were really excited about OW2, but due to the SMS number requirement, they can’t play.

— Ryan Markel (@ryanmarkel) October 4, 2022

Overwatch 2 requires a phone number to play to help prevent bad actors from being able to use cheats and cycle through multiple additional accounts that all share the same phone number.

“We pretty actively are trying to detect and find users who have anomalous gameplay, with standout gameplay behavior, or are detected by the cheat fingerprints that we might make,” Overwatch 2 lead software engineer Bill Warnecke said. “But if that player gets that account banned and is able to immediately just rejoin with a new account, then all of the detection in the world won’t stop us from keeping bad actors out of the game. We need to make the cost for being willing to cheat a little bit higher for those players. Losing an account in Overwatch 2 is a much more significant penalty than it was in Overwatch 1.”

In addition to the phone number requirement causing headaches for some, not everyone who has Overwatch 2 can play it. The game is facing widespread server issues and “mass” DDoS attacks that are ruining the experience for many.

The Overwatch 1 servers were shut down on October 2 to prepare for the sequel’s launch.

In our Overwatch 2 review-in-progress, critic Jessica Howard mostly enjoyed her early hours with the game, though she questioned if it’s a true successor to the iconic original. “Where it counts, Overwatch 2 feels like a fantastic update to a multiplayer game with mechanics that enable thrilling skirmishes between teams of heroes,” she wrote. “However, as a separate entity and sequel, it stumbles.”

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PlayStation Stars, Sony’s new digital collectibles initiative, has officially gone live in North and South America. In case you missed it when it was first revealed, the free-to-join program allows PlayStation users to collect unique digital collectibles and earn rewards.

These rewards have zero connection to blockchain technology or NFTs, and are designed to be a celebration of gaming skills by earning points and completing campaigns, similar to collecting in-game Trophies. Registered users will be able to show off their collectibles in a digital display case on the PlayStation App.

PlayStation Stars has four tiers within its membership, and going from level 1 to level 4 requires earning 128 Trophies and and buying at least four games from the PlayStation Store. Controversially, level 4 members will be given priority in the chat order when they contact customer support. For the rewards, Sony has shown off digital collectibles of figurines and interesting technology from its long history, such as Punto the gondolier from Ape Escape 2 and the compact PocketStation.

Level 1

Milestones: Joined PlayStation Stars, started playing campaigns, and completed them.Benefits: Access to digital collectibles by completing campaigns and a celebration collectible.

Level 2

Milestones: Bought a full game from the PlayStation Store, and earned one uncommon trophy.Benefits: Receive a Level 2 celebration collectible and access to all collectibles from Level 1.

Level 3

Milestones: Bought two games from the PlayStation Store, and earned 32 uncommon trophies.Benefits: Receive a Level 3 celebration collectible and a birthday collectible.

Level 4

Milestones: Bought four games from the PlayStation Store, and earned 128 uncommon trophies.Benefits: Receive a celebration collectible, chat priority routing, and keep all collectibles from Levels 1, 2, and 3.

To join PlayStation Stars, you can either sign in with your PlayStation account through this link or you can apply through the PlayStation App on your smartphone. Once you’re signed up you can start earning points and then redeem them for digital collectibles, games, or digital wallet funds from the PlayStation Stars rewards catalog. PlayStation Plus members earn points for eligible purchases on the PlayStation Store, such as games and add-ons.

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For several weeks, Void Hunters in Destiny 2 have had to make do without one of the best Exotics in the game for that particular subclass. Introduced in Season of Plunder, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk was quickly removed from play due to an exploit that would allow some class abilities to be used for longer than intended when the Exotic chest armor was equipped.

UPDATE: A fix for the Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk Hunter Exotic has been identified and is scheduled to be shipped out mid-October. https://t.co/rsYCFfDPxS

— Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) October 4, 2022

A fix for those Exotic will be available in mid-October according to Bungie, as the studio has identified the fault in the armor and has begun working on it. Ordinarily, Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk primary perks include a weapon damage bonus for five seconds after leaving invisibility, and while using a finisher in that state, it can grant an overshield and improved class ability regeneration to its user and nearby allies.

The problem here was that Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk could be used to give fellow Titans wearing the Loreley Splendor helm extra healing, making them almost unstoppable. Hunters could go invisible, deliver a quick killing blow, and give Titans extra class ability energy that they could exploit with their Exotic, derailing the balance of the Destiny 2 sandbox.

This week’s patch provided a handy fix for Season of Plunder’s annoying weapon-crafting issue, giving players a guaranteed means of getting their hands on Deepsight-modded seasonal weapons. In other news from Destiny 2’s technical department, a fix is also on the way for Bungie’s new cheat detection software, which has been responsible for several incorrect bans in the game. The software will stay switched off until the error is found, but preexisting anti-cheat measures are still in effect.

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A sequel to Cyberpunk 2077 is officially underway, with development being handled by a new Boston-based team. Cyberpunk 2077 quest director Pawel Sasko tweeted that he would be relocating from CD Projekt Red in Poland to the new US studio after work concludes on the Phantom Liberty expansion, and will be joined by several members of the “core team” for the sequel.

“After the release of Cyberpunk 2077 Phantom Liberty I’m going to focus primarily on the new Cyberpunk 2077 project, codename Orion,” Sasko tweeted. “I’m moving to Boston together with the core team responsible for Cyberpunk 2077 to establish new studio and be the foundation for the North American team. Working together with the Vancouver crew and the devs from Warsaw we are going to deliver you a banging next game!”

I’m moving to Boston together with the core team responsible for Cyberpunk 2077 to establish new studio and be the foundation for the North American team.
Working together with the Vancouver crew and the devs from Warsaw we are going to deliver you a banging next game! 🔥❤️ pic.twitter.com/1UYEzQFCSW

— Paweł Sasko (@PaweSasko) October 4, 2022

After a rocky launch in late 2020, Cyberpunk 2077 began a long road to recovery that saw several updates drastically overhaul the sci-fi sandbox. The release of the Cyberpunk Edgerunners anime series on Netflix has seen a resurgence of interest in the game, and millions of people have flocked back to Night City to experience the story of V and Johnny Silverhand.

CD Projekt revealed an ambitious strategy this week to focus on multiple AAA game projects, and in addition to a Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, several Witcher games and a brand-new IP are in various stages of development.

Project Orion, the working title for the Cyberpunk 2077 sequel, will “prove the full power and potential of the Cyberpunk universe” according to CD Projekt when it’s eventually released. Before it arrives though, Cyberpunk 2077’s Phantom Liberty expansion in 2023 will drop players into a new district in Night City and tackle an adventure that has been described as a spy-thriller.

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YouTuber DarkViperAU has finally completed his “Pacifist%” run of Grand Theft Auto V, a process he says took much longer than he expected it to. Having started the attempt in May 2019, DarkViper finally uploaded his final video this week, completing the game with a total of 96 kills, as picked up by GamesRadar.

While it’s often not possible to progress in GTA5 without killing an enemy or NPC, DarkViper’s so-called pacifist run was played with a set of rules that aim to lower the player character’s total body count. Those rules as listed on his YouTube are:

No personally ending anyone unless I must.If I have to do so, I must do so with melee.If I can’t melee, I use my weakest weapon.No armour unless I can’t progress.Mission must be completed without mods.

His final tally came to 96 kills, with all but 30 of those completed with melee attacks. While many other enemies died during the course of this run, most of them were handled by letting other NPCs do the shooting, or using other methods to indirectly cause enemies to die.

DarkViper also shared some other stats on his pacifist run, including the impact the 27-video series had on his channel as a whole. He says over 1000 hours of footage went into making the series, which earned him over 30 million views and 90,000 new subscribers.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

After a year without much in the way of new content, Red Dead Online has confirmed it’ll be running a Halloween event in 2022. Unfortunately the event won’t include any new themed cosmetics, with Rockstar instead re-running last year’s Halloween pass.

The new content for this Halloween includes a new Hardcore Telegram Mission, which is set to drop on October 18. Accessed through a Post Office or the Camp Lockbox, the new Hardcore mission comes from Ike Skelding, who has discovered a sinister cult practicing necromantic rituals. Completing this mission, or any of Skelding’s other Hardcore Telegram Missions will reward players with triple Gold, RDO$, and XP until October 31.

Rockstar is also bringing back its Halloween themed Call To Arms event for October, with new All Hallows locations rewarding triple RDO$ and XP. Features introduced in last year’s All Hallows Call To Arms will be returning, including the Ghost Train and Night Stalker masks, with three new maps added to the mode–Heartland Oil Fields, Limpany, and the Saint Denis Graveyard. Players who participate in the All Hallows Call To Arms will unlock four free Gun Oil.

While the new event won’t be bringing any new cosmetics, last year’s Halloween Pass 2 will be making a return, giving anyone who didn’t collect the items last year a new chance to unlock them. Anyone who already purchased the Pass last year but didn’t complete it will pick up where they left off, and everyone who unlocks all tiers of the pass (including those who did so last year) will get the Hired Gun Kit: a pack containing the Fierro Bandana, ammo and consumables, and 5 Gold Bars worth of Capitale.

Also returning are two Halloween-themed Featured Series: Fear of the Dark and Dead of the Night. Fear of the Dark sees players facing off against supernaturally strong Night Stalkers, with the option to collect the Night Stalkers’ skull masks from across the battlefield in order to power up their own attacks. Dead of the Night pits four teams against each other as well as a horde of the dead, with players scoring points for taking out either PC or NPC enemies.

Dead of Night will be playable between October 4 and 10, and again between October 18 and 24, while Fear of the Dark will be active from October 11 to 17, and October 25 to 31.

Freebies and bonuses this month include a free community outfit, two Potent Health Cures per week for logging in, and login bonuses of 2 Potent Snake Oil, 3 pieces of Big Game Meat, and 25 Capitale for the week of Halloween. Players can also unlock the red mane and tail customization for free all month, as well as enjoying 50% off Haircuts, Dentistry, Makeup, and all hunting knife customizations.

The Manhunt bounty hunter event will be rewarding double Gold, RDO$, and XP throughout October, and you can also redeem double rewards on The Bluewater Contract and the Covington Emerald Blood Money Opportunity.

Discounts

25% off all Halloween Masks at Madame Nazar’ shop35% off Split Point and Explosive Slug Ammo Pamphlets30% off Revolvers40% off American Paint Horses40% off the Howl emote50% off Throwing and Melee weapons50% off Shotgun Ammo50% off Candy and ChocolateRead MoreGameSpot – Game News

PlayStation has confirmed its commitment to timed exclusivity for its first-party games, with PlayStation Studios head Herman Hulst saying that future games will most likely have “at least a year” on PlayStation consoles before being released on PC.

In an interview with French gaming YouTuber Julien Chièze, Hulst was asked about the potential of future PlayStation Studios’ games launching simultaneously on both PlayStation and PC.

“We as PlayStation Studios have a very symbiotic relationship with the platform,” Hulst explained in response. “We’re often the first developers to try new hardware, to try new controllers… It’s been really great for the teams to see their wonderful creations also being released on PC, often with the help of our newly acquired team [Nixxies Software]. There are more players, and that’s really helpful. I think going forward we’ll see at least a year between releases on… PlayStation and on the PC platform.”

Herman Hulst: There will be at least a year between PlayStation console and PC game releases with exception to live service games (those will be day and date with PC and console) https://t.co/8rUbMJPNVl pic.twitter.com/Cg4Um8T24Q

— Wario64 (@Wario64) October 4, 2022

So far PlayStation has been committed to timed exclusivity for its big first-party titles, with games like Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, God of War, and Marvel’s Spider-Man only releasing on PC a few years after they debuted on PlayStation consoles. Hulst continued on to explain there was one type of game that could “possibly” be an exception to this rule: live service games.

“Live service games are a little bit different in nature, because you want to have really strong community, strong engagement right when you go live,” Hulst explained. “We might, in the case of our live service offerings, go day-and-date with PC and PlayStation.”

Sony has ambitious plans for live service games, with Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan saying this year that the company planned to launch 12 live service games by 2025.

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According to Bungie, human error related to new cheat detection software caused incorrect bans to occur in Destiny 2.

Human error on a new cheat detection caused some incorrect bans to occur this week. We’ve turned the new detection off while we investigate the error and process the related unbans. All preexisting anti-cheat systems are still in effect.

More details to come in this week’s TWAB.

— Bungie Help (@BungieHelp) October 3, 2022

The Bungie Help account posted the news on Twitter on October 3. The tweet also stated that the new cheat detection has since been turned off. The software will remain off until the error is found and the related unbans go through. However, the preexisting anti-cheat measures are still in effect, ensuring cheaters will not run rampant in the meantime.

The tweet offers no further details of what the error was, what specifically caused it or if unjustly banned players will receive compensation. However, the tweet does promise that the upcoming This Week At Bungie will contain more details concerning the error and upcoming fixes.

In other Destiny 2 news, Bungie identified a fix for the Gyrfalcon’s Hauberk Hunter Exotic, which will be rolling out in mid-October. This week saw the release of a new patch which addressed frustrations with weapon crafting in the ongoing Season of Plunder. Players can also now tackle the Week 7 Season challenges. With the upcoming closure of Google Stadia, Bungie in now looking into “next steps” for Stadia-dependent Destiny 2 players and will announce a plan once it has one.

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After spending the last few weeks playing Overwatch 2, I’ve learned quite a few tips and tricks that changed how I played going forward. This includes what the difference is between Overwatch 2’s battle passes, how to level up your battle pass quickly, how combat has evolved, and how Overwatch 2’s new heroes fit in with the old crew. Here’s everything I wish I knew about Overwatch 2 before jumping in to play, organized neatly so you can get the head start you need to find a main, compete in ranked matches, or just unlock that next irresistible skin.

The differences between battle passes

As part of its move to free-to-play, Overwatch 2 is adopting a battle pass system. This includes both a free battle pass and a premium battle pass, which players can buy for 1,000 Overwatch Coins or $10 USD. These battle passes will last the entire duration of an Overwatch 2 season, or roughly nine weeks, and offer a wide assortment of cosmetics and other goodies players can earn simply by playing the game and progressing through the passes’ 80+ tiers.

So, what are the differences between the two passes? For starters, players who purchase the premium battle pass will have access to any new heroes instantly, whereas those using the free pass will have to wait until they hit tier 55. Based on my experience with the game, this could take quite a bit of time, as an hour of gameplay will generally only raise you up a tier or two. The premium battle pass also grants players a 15% experience bonus, meaning they’ll progress through the pass much quicker, and access to other unlocks, including more intricate cosmetics and mythic skins.

Complete your challenges

Another new feature in Overwatch 2 are challenges, which can be divided into six categories: daily, weekly, season, Competitive, lifetime, and hero. Challenges range from simple tasks, such as winning matches or getting a certain number of kills, to more specific items, like getting a triple kill with a hero’s ultimate ability. I cannot emphasize how beneficial completing these challenges is. Not only are they the fastest ways to progress through your battle pass and earn some sweet Overwatch Coins, they will also just make you a better player, which will help both you and your teammates in the long run.

What the change to 5v5 means

Chances are, the first thing you’ll notice when jumping into a match of Overwatch 2 is its pivot to 5v5 matches. Whereas Overwatch featured six heroes on each team–generally two damage, two support, and two tanks–Overwatch 2 eliminates one of these tanks, shrinking each team by one and, subsequently, altering the dynamic of battles.

Keeping this in mind, I urge players to focus on the objective. Now more than ever, engaging in little side scraps can cost your team the game. I also encourage you to take note of what heroes work best together and which ones take advantage of opponents weaknesses. For example, flying heroes like Pharah greatly benefit from having someone with ranged healing to keep them healthy, such as Mercy or Kiriko. In turn, Pharah is incredibly effective against barrier tanks like Reinhardt thanks to her large splash damage. While it might sound like a lot to keep track of, it does get easier with time and soon it will become second nature.

How to transfer all your Overwatch skins to Overwatch 2

After years of fans longing for a way to merge their Overwatch profiles across various consoles, Blizzard is finally adding cross-progression to the popular first-person hero shooter. With the addition of this feature, players will gain access to all their in-game cosmetics and statistics regardless of what platform they are playing on. So, looking to transfer all your Overwatch skins to Overwatch 2? The process is actually pretty simple.

First things first, you’re going to need to log in to whatever console you were playing Overwatch on. Once you are logged in, you should be immediately prompted to identify, select, and confirm the accounts you wish to merge. Players will be able to merge one account from each of the following platforms: Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Once you complete these steps, Blizzard will prepare your accounts for synchronization. Be warned, however, that if you do not go through the steps to merge your profiles when the game prompts you to, you will forfeit the ability to do so at a later date. Furthermore, once you merge a console account, you will be unable to link to a different console account on the same platform.

All players looking to merge their accounts must have a Battle.net account, which you should theoretically have already if you’ve previously played Overwatch. Once you elect to merge your accounts, all your cosmetics and progress across systems will be stored using this account, which will then share the content across your system profiles.

The new characters

So, you’ve got your new skins and a bit of a grasp on how the combat has changed. Let’s talk about characters. Three new heroes are coming to Overwatch, and all of them are extremely viable options to consider when building your team.

Sojourn is the first Black woman and Canadian hero to grace the game and has a role “right at the center of the story of Overwatch 2,” according to former Overwatch 2 director Jeff Kaplan. A DPS hero, Sojourn is a mid-range specialist with incredible mobility and artillery skills. Her primary weapon is a railgun that generates energy on each successful hit, and can then consume that power for a high-impact shot. Much like Soldier 76, Sojourn specializes in dishing out moderate-yet-high-speed damage from a medium distance. This makes her pretty effective at taking down tanks, but puts her at risk of snipers.

Junker Queen is the not-so-benevolent ruler of the post-apocalyptic wasteland Junkertown. Equipped with a mohawk, six-pack abs, a shotgun, and a battle axe, Junker Queen is the game’s newest tank, and seems more than capable of leading her team to victory. Described as a fierce and resourceful survivalist, many of Junker Queen’s moves are most impactful at close-range, including Scattergun and Carnage, or inflict a status ailment making it impossible for opponents to heal. Junker Queen is great at taking out lower health heroes quickly, whether they’re support or DPS, but is at risk against other tanks and long-range heroes.

Called the “Protector of Kanezaka,” Kiriko is a Japanese ninja who trained alongside Hanzo and Genji under the tutelage of her mother. This support hero draws much of her power from her spiritualism, which is seen in her homing ofuda, protection suzu, and ability to summon a kitsune to lead her team into battle. Kiriko also boasts some impressive movement abilities, such as wall climb and swift step, the latter of which even allows her to pass through walls. Kiriko is a great asset to more mobile heroes, such as Pharah and Genji, and can counter a great deal of massive AOE attacks, such as Junkrat’s Riptire. However, as a support character, Kiriko can’t take too much of a beating, meaning her ability to reach allies in the heat of the battle could lead to her downfall if a DPS hero is around.

Character reworks

Although these three heroes might be the only fresh faces–well, so far at least–that doesn’t mean Blizzard didn’t freshen up some fan favorites for the journey ahead. Many of the adjustments made to characters focus on making gameplay more aggressive and high-speed. These include eliminating Orisa’s shields, Mei’s ability to freeze enemies solid, and Cassidy’s flashbang. Furthermore, Bastion will be losing their ability to self-heal, Doomfist is being converted into a much beefier tank, and Sombra will become significantly more deadly, with reduced cooldowns and more damage-dealing attacks. With all this in mind, my advice is this: lean into what Overwatch 2 is encouraging, synergize, and play aggressively.

For more on Blizzard’s big hero shooter sequel, check out GameSpot’s Overwatch 2 review.

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