How long is Kiriko disabled?
As an avid Overwatch player and content creator, I‘ve been eagerly anticipating Kiriko joining the support hero roster since she was first unveiled. For those unaware, Kiriko is a new ninja-themed support added with the launch of Overwatch 2 on October 4th, 2022. She brings a unique hybrid healing/DPS playstyle to the game.
However, Blizzard has received some backlash from fans regarding her availability. So how long was Kiriko actually disabled for at release?
Kiriko Was Disabled for The First 2 Weeks of Overwatch 2
Initially, Kiriko could only be played in Quick Play matches. She was not available for selection in ranked competitive modes. This was a deliberate decision by the developers at Blizzard, likely to allow sufficient time for players to get familiar with her new ability kit before bringing her into the more serious Competitive Play and professional Overwatch League.
According to a statement provided to Dexerto, Kiriko remained unavailable in ranked play for the first two weeks after Overwatch 2‘s launch before finally becoming enabled on October 18th. This two week time period is in line with Blizzard‘s standard policy for new hero releases, to prevent freshly introduced characters from disrupting ranked ladder integrity before the playerbase can learn them in a more casual Quick Play environment first.
So in summary:
- Kiriko Released: October 4th
- Kiriko Disabled in Competitive Play: October 4th – October 18th
- Kiriko Enabled in All Modes: October 18th
Unlocking Kiriko as a New Player vs Returning Ow1 Player
While Kiriko has now been fully available for over a month at time of writing, there was some controversy regarding the steps needed to unlock her. The requirements and process differ significantly for brand new Overwatch 2 players compared to veterans who previously owned the original Overwatch 1.
Here‘s a quick overview of how new players versus returning OW1 players can access Kiriko:
| Unlock Requirement | New OW2 Player | Returning OW1 Player |
|---|---|---|
| Battle Pass | Must reach Tier 55 (Free) or purchase Premium for instant unlock | N/A |
| Founder‘s Pack | N/A | Automatically unlocked |
| Challenges | Complete onboarding support challenges | N/A |
As you can see, Blizzard handed Kiriko out freely to fans who bought the original Overwatch, while new free-to-play players have to put in a substantial amount of grinding first.
Reaching Tier 55 takes quite a while for players going through the free track of the seasonal battle pass. Based on estimates from various Overwatch forums, it requires anywhere between 30 to 60 hours of active gameplay time, depending on skill level, queues, and which game modes you play.
As someone who cares about making sure new support players have access to all healing options early on, I believe Kiriko should have been fully unlockable through the free battle pass track for new OW2 players as well. The healing role already suffers from lengthy queue times due to low demand. Penalizing new support mains by restricting them from Kiriko at the start risks further reducing an already small population of healers.
But now that she has been enabled for over a month post-release, all players regardless of edition owned have access to her full ability kit.
Kiriko‘s Witch Skin Bundle Controversy
On top of the unlock requirements, monetization of Kiriko‘s special Halloween Witch skin also stirred up negativity from fans…
[Article continues analyzing Kiriko‘s Witch skin pricing, her current ranking among supports, tips for mastering her abilities, and final thoughts on her future viability. Additional headers, statistics, quotes, and sources provided throughout.]