Overwatch 2 asks new players to unlock characters over 100 matches

Players new to the Overwatch series will slowly unlock its character roster over the course of 100 matches of Overwatch 2, Blizzard has revealed.

The upcoming sequel’s First User Experience (FTUE) will also see players “quickly” unlock game modes and the ability to chat in-game.

Blizzard said this FTUE was designed to introduce newcomers to the game’s many characters, systems, and modes in an accessible way – without putting those who have already played at a disadvantage.

Indeed, Blizzard’s suggestion is that this content blocking will actually benefit veteran players, as it will prevent newbies from being matched with experienced teammates and reduce the ease with which cheaters can simply create new accounts.

Most of these restrictions will be lifted when playing with others who have access to them – with the exception of entering the game’s Competitive Mode, which will require 50 Quick Match wins.

“FTUE was designed to make Overwatch 2 a welcoming, accessible, and fun game for anyone who chooses to play,” Blizzard wrote. “This experience only affects accounts created on or after the October 4 release date: anyone who has played before, as well as Watchpoint Pack owners, will not have to play through the first user experience.”

Details are included in a dense blog post designed to promote Blizzard’s desire to protect the game from cheating and abuse, via a vaguely sounding but vague initiative named Defense Matrix, and the addition of two-way authentication. factors via mobile phone text.

Further down, Blizzard reveals that it will begin using audio transcription software to record voice chat from “reported” players and analyze it for bad behavior. Players should report disruptive behavior as soon as possible for this system to kick in, Blizzard says. Text files are then kept for a maximum of 30 days before being deleted.

There are also new features added (like a ping system) and removed (like the general in-game chat in the menus).