Blizzard Injects More MOBA Energy Into Overwatch 2 With New Perks System

Overwatch 2 is set for a big shake-up with the launch of Season 15 on February 18, with Blizzard introducing a new Perk system that will see players augmenting their heroes' existing abilities in powerful, and potentially game-changing, ways.

As detailed by Blizzard during its Overwatch 2 Spotlight livestream, Perks will come in both Major and Minor versions. Over the course of a match, players will earn XP and eventually be able to select between two Major and two Minor Perk options to augment their playstyle. Minor Perks will come fairly early in a match and will boost specific abilities, but not change how they fundamentally function, Blizzard said.

Major Perks will change how a hero functions in a significant way.

Major Perks, however, are another story. Blizzard said these Perks are about adding new abilities or shifting a hero's core gameplay loop, and described obtaining it as "a big moment" that can "totally change how you approach an engagement." It gave an example of a Major Perk for Reaper giving him a secondary fire option that can deal good damage at mid range, or the return of Hanzo's Scatter Arrows as a Major Perk option for that hero. Perks are per hero, so swapping to a different one in the middle of a match will require players to earn the Perks again, even if they had already earned Perks on a previous hero. However, swapping back to a hero that had their Perks unlocked already won't require players to earn them again.