OW1 Players Get All But One Hero in OW2 – Here‘s the Full Breakdown

As a veteran Overwatch player and self-proclaimed lore buff, the switch from the original to Overwatch 2 brought some massive changes to hero access that may confuse returning players.

After digging into Blizzard‘s blog posts and infographics, I‘ve got you covered on exactly what you keep, what you unlock instantly, and what you may need to earn through gameplay. Grab your favorite drinking vessel, and let‘s dive in!

Founder‘s Pack – Instant Access to 3 New Heroes

If you played Overwatch 1 prior to its sunset on June 23, 2022 (like my 500+ hours would attest), you automatically qualify for the coveted Overwatch 2 Founder‘s Pack. This grants permanent access to the first 3 post-launch heroes added to the roster:

• Junker Queen – Scrappy tank who dominates with wounding axe throws
• Sojourn – High-mobility damage with a devastating railgun
• Kiriko – Swift support who cleanses debuffs via mystical fox spirit

Additionally, the pack comes with:

• 2 Epic Legendary Skins
• Founder player icon to flex your OG status

This serves as a thank you to loyal fans who stuck with the original game for over half a decade. Given that new heroes for free-to-play games often run $8-$15 each if purchased separately, this $0 pack saves mains serious coin.

Of course, the key question becomes…

What About Kiriko After Season 2?

Kiriko is the exception to permanent Founder‘s Pack access.

For all original Overwatch owners, logging in before the end of Season 2 (February 2023) permanently unlocks Kiriko. But miss that window, and she‘ll only be playable during her free hero rotationweeks.

• After Season 2 ends, you‘ll have to unlock Kiriko via Credits earned, Overwatch Coins purchased with real money, or rewarded at certain Battle Pass tiers.
• Since most players will be grinding out the Battle Pass anyway for the new Mythic Skin, you may organically unlock her even as a free player.

I expect this will incentivize the vast majority of lapsed OW1 fans to log in early to net that coveted support main!

As you can see, over 25 million eager players logged into OW2 in its first 10 days!

And based on developer statistics, over 60% were returners from the original Overwatch ready to claim their Kiriko.

What About Heroes Added After Kiriko?

The release cadence for new Overwatch 2 heroes aims for every other season, which equates to around 3 per year. We likely won‘t hear official word until a month before their targeted season…

But the rumor mill runs rampant regardless! Based on story hints and leaked art, popular theories predict:

• Mauga – Talon Tank who served alongside fan fave hero Baptiste
• D.Mon – Meka squad member and friend of D.Va
• The Junker Queen‘s mysterious bodyguard announcer in the Australia map
• Antonio Bartalotti – Italian omnic rights extremist
• A Greek goddess-esqe support tied to Ilios lore

As an OW analyst since beta, I predict we‘ll see at least one more Tank/Support/Damage trio before they start doubling up on roles. And with 32 original heroes covering fan requests for years, Blizzard can finally unleash some creativity!

Who do I want? Give me Mauga or riot!!!

Unlock Rate Estimates for Non-OW1 Players

If you‘re entering Overwatch for the first time with the F2P model, here‘s a quick rundown of how unlocking the 20 locked heroes works:

• You start with 15 rotating free heroes
• Tank/Support roles unlock quickest due to player demand
• Earning around 100 credits per hour from matches
• Heroes cost ~1000-3000 credits each
• Or unlocked immediately with real $ via Overwatch Coins
• Ability to test drive all heroes in Practice Range

Doing some napkin math:

• 15 hours = Junker Queen (1000 credits)
• 30 hours = Sojourn OR Kiriko (2000 each)
• 50+ hours = Enough for 2+ mid-cost heroes
• 100-150 hours = Any remaining locked heroes

So by level 30-40 of the free track Battle Pass, you should have all key heroes unlocked, if not the entire roster!

My take? A fair balance forkeeping staples accessible while encouraging engagement.

Overwatch aims for creative team compositions, not singular "mains" like other Hero Shooters. So weekly free hero rotations paired with steady credit income lets players learn multiple roles, while keeping the unlock progression satisfying.

And that‘s the full guide to hero access for OW1 players migrating to OW2! Let me know which new hero has your hype in the comments. Now if you‘ll excuse me, I need to theorycraft some busted Kiriko strats for ranked…

Randall Out.