How Overwatch 2's New Story Missions And Progression System Work

Following the announcement that Blizzard would no longer be adding Hero Missions to Overwatch 2, the team behind the hit first-person shooter has made a concentrated effort to explain what features are still on the way. In a recent livestream dedicated to discussing the game's future and upcoming season, Invasion, the team elaborated on a number of upcoming features including Story missions and a never-before-seen hero progression system.

The team opened the presentation by explaining more about the game's upcoming Story missions. While these might not be taking the same shape fans expected when the sequel was first announced, they will effectively move Overwatch's canonical story forward, something fans of the series have been waiting for for quite some time. According the studio, these missions will take place after Winston gathers all the former agents of Overwatch together, and prior to some operators meeting, such as Lucio and Reinhardt. These Story missions will give players a chance to see how certain characters first met each other, as well as what they were doing during Overwatch's downtime.

Blizzard then explained that the maps these Story missions will take place on will be "four or five times larger" than PvP maps, contain new enemies, and will use environmental features the team avoids using on PvP maps, such as tight tunnels. However, this isn't to say these maps will be entirely unfamiliar. The team confirmed that many of the maps created for these PvE experiences are largely new areas of maps already included in the game, such as King's Row and Junkertown.

In addition, Blizzard will also be adding Event missions to the game. According to the developers, these missions are designed to be played repeatedly after players complete a season's Story missions. Furthermore, Event missions will not be strictly canonical, meaning you might see certain creative liberties taken during these adventures.

Lastly, Overwatch 2 creative director Aaron Keller took to the stage to explain the game's upcoming Hero Progression system. While the team will no longer be implementing the branching hero skill tree they once said would be included in Overwatch 2, this system aims to deliver each player a unique story about their playstyle, according to Keller.

Starting with Season 6, Invasion, Overwatch 2 players will be able to level up and "master" characters simply by playing as them. As players use various characters, their individual Hero level will gradually rise and show new stats, such as time played, total wins, damage dealt, number of times a particular skill was used, and more. The more players use a certain character, the more experience these character will gain, ultimately unlocking Hero Emblems and exclusive name cards for that particular hero. All of these updates, as well as both Story and Event missions, are scheduled to launch with the start of Season 6 on August 10.

However, Blizzard has faced some backlash over just how much partaking in Story missions will cost. While you don't need to purchase Overwatch 2's premium battle pass to play through its Story missions, you do need to pay for the missions themselves. Blizzard confirmed the first three missions--which will launch simultaneously with Season 6 and take place in Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, and Gothenburg--will cost $15. In addition to permanent access to the missions, player will also receive 1,000 Overwatch coins, a new Sojourn legendary skin, and permanent access to Sojourn as a playable hero (if they haven't already unlocked her) with their purchase. While these features make the deal somewhat sweeter, critics have stated that putting Story missions behind a paywall shortly after canceling Hero missions rubs them the wrong way.