Currently, the community seems split on Overwatch 2. While many are enjoying the quality-of-life improvements for heroes like Zenyatta, others are frustrated with the balancing adjustments to Mercy. Similarly, while fans love some of the new hero interactions, complaints about certain features like the scoreboard are still being brought up. Fans are also concerned about the switch to free-to-play.
One of the reasons the free-to-play model for Overwatch 2 has some fans worried is the removal of loot boxes. Though the loot box system certainly had its problems, and some fans outright hated the approach, it has become familiar over the years and fans have found ways to make it work in their favor. With Overwatch 2, players are not only worried that the Battle Pass could make it harder to acquire cosmetics, but that working through it could feel like a chore.
Overwatch 2 Fans’ Fears Are Tied To Recent Battle Pass Mistakes
While one can argue that fans should wait and see what Blizzard has planned for Overwatch 2’s Battle Pass before they get too concerned, these doubts do make sense. After all, gamers have recently seen some pretty major Battle Pass flubs in two big live service games. Fall Guys just went free-to-play, and one of the first things that fans were quick to point out is how slow the new Battle Pass progression felt. However, an even more prominent example of a flawed Battle Pass was seen with Halo Infinite.
While fans were initially excited for Halo Infinite’s Battle Pass due to 343 Industries’ wise decision to make old Battle Passes accessible even after a new one was added, the launch of the game showed that the system had some huge flaws. Players needed to play for an absurd amount of time to progress through the Battle Pass, and for the first several weeks, all the discussion around the game was centered around this poor progression. Overwatch 2 needs to avoid a similar situation, as it took far too long for Halo Infinite’s progression to be fixed.
How Overwatch 2 Could Deliver a Satisfying Battle Pass
While the success of a Battle Pass can be determined by the quality of items within, Overwatch 2’s Mythic skins and other new cosmetics seem guaranteed to be a hit with fans. As such, the focus needs to be on making it fun for players to get through the Battle Pass, letting those who play the game often get through it much faster than those who only play occasionally. Fortunately, the in-progress image of the Battle Pass is a good sign that progression should be fair.
The in-progress image for Overwatch 2’s Battle Pass showed that there will apparently be challenges to complete, and if Blizzard wants to find success, it should adopt the same challenge system that is seen in Fortnite. Daily, weekly, and seasonal challenges are a given, but the developer should also have special event challenges that let players get bonus Battle Pass XP at certain points in the Season. If Overwatch 2’s Virtual Currency is not offered as an incentive for playing the less-used Support role, then extra Battle Pass XP would be the next best thing.
So long as players are constantly making meaningful progress on the Battle Pass with every match they play, then the move away from Loot Boxes could prove to be beneficial for Overwatch 2 in the long term. When done right like in Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Fortnite, Battle Passes can be hugely popular. However, a situation like Halo Infinite is something Blizzard must avoid, so it should be extremely careful when crafting the progression system for Overwatch 2’s first Battle Pass.
Overwatch 2 launches on October 4 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
