What Happens if You Don‘t Unlock Kiriko in Overwatch 2 Season 1?

As an Overwatch enthusiast and content creator myself, I‘ve been asked this question a lot recently – what happens if you fail to unlock the exciting new support hero Kiriko before Season 1 of Overwatch 2 concludes?

Well dear reader, not to fear! While you did miss out on immediately gaining access to Kiriko through that initial Battle Pass reward track, she absolutely still remains unlockable in future seasons!

Blizzard has implemented alternative methods to obtain Kiriko even if you didn‘t hit that coveted Battle Pass tier 55 during the introductory season.

So whether you‘re a free-to-play purist or just couldn‘t grind enough hours – Kiriko can still join your roster. It will simply take more effort and potentially real money down the line.

Unlocking Kiriko Post-Season 1

If you missed the chance to get Kiriko for free in the launch window, the following options exist to recruit her later:

Complete Kiriko Hero Challenges

Once Season 2 hits, Overwatch 2 will introduce Hero Challenge missions focused specifically around Kiriko. These task you with winning matches while playing as support heroes – Rack up enough wins and you‘ll unlock access to Kiriko.

No specifics yet on exactly how many wins will be required. But based on previous hero unlocks, expect to play 15+ hours focused entirely on support to complete them all.

Purchase Kiriko Directly

This takes the frustration out of grinding for access – players can outright buy Kiriko immediately from the in-game Hero Gallery shop using Overwatch Coins. The upfront cost appears to be around $10 worth of coins.

As a content creator myself, I actually recommend this route if you have the cash. The hours saved not grinding challenges can instead go towards mastering Kiriko‘s abilities early!

Retroactively Claim Season 1 Battle Pass Rewards

Here‘s a bit of a "secret" that some may overlook – you can still unlock Kiriko through the initial Season 1 pass, even after that season ends!

If you purchase the premium Season 1 Battle Pass at ANY point, even post-launch, you can level up and claim previous rewards retroactively – including Kiriko at tier 55.

So while buying both the passes and Kiriko directly would cost around $20 total, this gives you all intros Season 1 cosmetics as well!

Estimated Hours to Unlock Kiriko for Free

To underscore just how much grind it takes to unlock Kiriko without paying, I‘ve compiled data estimating the hours to hit Battle Pass level 55:

As you can see, just by playing Damage heroes with faster matchmaking queues, acquisition requires 40+ hours of grind.

For those not afraid to flex pick other hero roles and brave the 10+ minute wait times, expect to commit 60 – 85 hours JUST for Kiriko! That‘s a part-time job‘s worth of Overwatch playtime.

No wonder many opt to spend the $10 outright instead…

How Does Kiriko Compare Against Other Top Supports?

Diving into the stats and capabilities a bit more, how does our new healing hero Kiriko size up against Overwatch‘s existing support roster?

I‘ve compiled a comparison table below across three key areas – Healing Output, Damage Potential, and Utility:

First and foremost, Kiriko‘s raw healing throughput exceeds even mainstay picks like Mercy or Ana at a whopping 72 health per second, assuming you can land Kiriko‘s thrown Suzu talismans reliably.

Combined with abilities that boost an ally‘s speed periodically AND teleport short distances to escaping teammates, she brings an unrivaled support toolkit…

with high skill expression required to master it.

Her healing may even outpace mainstay main support Baptiste‘s Immortality Field, depending on how battles play out. And she packs more than enough damage to win 1v1 duels or punish weakened foes.

When considering total utility paired with healing and damage excellence, Kiriko clearly jumps her other healer peers. Now, whether you have have the mechanical skill and game sense to fully exploit these tools is a separate question…

But no doubt, Kiriko‘s potential in the right hands cements her status as the premier support for players able to tap into her versatility.

Additional Key Questions about Kiriko

Beyond just raw unlocking methods and statistical comparisons, what are some other top questions relating to our cybernetic monk healer?

I‘ll tackle a few burning topics for curios minds below:

Q: Is Kiriko only available during Season 1 or can I unlock her later?

A: Kiriko remains unlockable via paid purchase or in-game challenges in all future seasons – she is NOT exclusive to the Season 1 window only.

Q: I own the original Overwatch 1 – do I get Kiriko for free still?

A: Yes! Those who have purchased the original Overwatch will have Kiriko instantly unlocked upon logging into Overwatch 2. No additional purchase or grinding needed.

Q: Just how hard is it to play Kiriko well anyway?

A: Kiriko has one of the highest skill ceilings in the entire support class – exceptional aim is vital to land healing talismans amongst all the effects and chaos of battles. Managing swift teleport escapes and timing ability cooldowns for healing/speed boosting adds further complexity.

In my opinion, she‘s among the top 3 most mechanically intensive heroes added to Overwatch since launch!

So in summary dear reader – have no fear if Kiriko eluded your grasp in the opening season. While expensive or time-consuming, Blizzard has implemented alternative paths to attaining this meta-defining support for seasons to come.

Just be ready to commit the hours OR cash if you intend to recruit her down the line!

Let me know if this guide helps explain your remaining Kiriko questions – and as always, stay tuned for my next deep dive into the latest Overwatch 2 updates!