Tuesday, Feb. 18, “Overwatch 2” released Season 15, unveiling a variety of new content. Players got to embark on a new experience when queueing for both quick play and competitive matches, “perks.” Perks give the player four options total: two “minor perks” and two “major perks,” they can choose one of each.
The team released new cosmetics as well, with a free “rainy day” skin for the character Mercy that can be obtained by playing 18 games, as well as a matching name card and emote. This came as a shock to many players, seeing as “Overwatch 2” hadn’t come out with a free skin until after the release of Marvel Rivals.
The emote, while a cute idea, had some players questioning if it was initially meant for another character, Junker Queen. The skin itself, however, is a fan favorite, with Kiriko’s matching rainy day skin in the battle pass being another source of excitement for players.
Alongside some freebies, Blizzard Entertainment’s “Overwatch 2” team decided to bring back lootboxes, something players have been begging for since the game’s rerelease.
Perks as a concept have been well-received so far, with many online mentioning how much the new abilities shake up gameplay, and make them want to pick “Overwatch 2” back up again.
The game has been named ‘dead’ by many players, with many dropping it for Marvel Rivals. It’s no question that the pressure of Marvel Rivals’ popularity has encouraged Blizzard’s “Overwatch 2” team to diversify gameplay.
The new perks are intriguing, but only serve as a bandage over a much deeper wound. While they somewhat help the problem of hero balancing to counter enemies, perks on some heroes are much more oppressive than others, only further defining a meta. Players have already been picking the most overpowered heroes based around the meta, and now they’re just picking the most overpowered perks.
The addition of perks created some excitement surrounding the game after a long stretch of time where forum users and gaming content creators were discussing giving it up entirely. Perks will likely keep players invested in the game for a few more months, but it doesn’t seem like enough of a solution to permanently improve the game.
Blizzard should continue to listen to player feedback to maximize content, and focus on new gameplay styles. Hero bans are slated for Season 16.
