Overwatch 2 introduces a significant hurdle for brand new gamers — one which it’s truly billing as a tutorial characteristic. When Overwatch 2 replaces the unique Overwatch servers on Tuesday, Oct. 4, Blizzard will lock brand-new gamers out of the unique recreation’s roster.

If Overwatch 2 is a participant’s first Overwatch, they’ll have entry to a subset of the sport’s 35-character roster. That means if newbies need to play as Doomfist, Wrecking Ball, Echo, and the remainder, they’ll must unlock them by taking part in dozens of matches. But, for brand new gamers trying ahead to Overwatch 2 there’s a technique to circumvent this downside: Play the unique Overwatch by this weekend. As lengthy as you’re not a “new” participant — even when that’s only one match within the previous recreation, it appears — you’ll immediately acquire entry to the collection’ unique roster on Tuesday.

Playing the unique Overwatch for the primary time this weekend is a bit of simpler stated than accomplished, nonetheless. So let’s shortly stroll by means of when the unique recreation will go offline perpetually, how one can bounce in to play earlier than it’s too late, and why this example is such an enormous deal for brand new gamers.

When does Overwatch go offline and Overwatch 2 launch?

The unique Overwatch will go offline at 9 a.m. PDT/midday EDT on Oct. 3. Servers might be down for 27 hours earlier than Overwatch 2 launches at 12 p.m. PDT/3 p.m. EDT on Oct. 4.

How can I play Overwatch 1 earlier than it goes offline?

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch 2 might be free to play, however you need to pay your approach into the unique Overwatch. Unfortunately, you possibly can not purchase vanilla Overwatch from the Battle.internet retailer. Instead you’ll want to purchase the Overwatch 2 Watchpoint Pack ($39.99), which comes with a small assortment of goodies:

• 2 Legendary hero skins for Soldier: 76 and Cassidy
• 2,000 Coins (sufficient to purchase the brand new premium battle cross)
• An unique participant icon
• Overwatch Legendary Edition (which comes with a bunch of skins)

This final entry, the unique Overwatch, is what we’re desirous about for this information.

If you get this pack, you possibly can set up Overwatch and play a match or two, and that may mechanically flag your account as a veteran earlier than Overwatch 2 comes out on Tuesday. Then, whenever you log in to the brand new recreation, you’ll have already got all of the characters unlocked, together with Junker Queen, Sojourn, and Kiriko (assuming you purchase the premium battle cross).

The downside with this answer is you have to select between lacking out on entry to 19 characters or 40 bucks, which is fairly steep for a recreation that’s in any other case free. This is very irritating if your entire motive you skipped the primary Overwatch to start with was since you didn’t need to spend cash on it.

However, there’s one different technique to get you into Overwatch earlier than Oct. 4: GameStop. Well, not GameStop particularly, however pre-owned copies of the sport. You can get a used copy of the unique Overwatch on the PS4 or Xbox One for about $10. If you could have an area retailer you possibly can seize it from — or perhaps a good friend who will allow you to borrow their soon-to-be defunct disc — it can save you some critical money and nonetheless flag your account as a veteran.

Note: It’s at the moment unclear if shopping for the Watchpoint Pack after Overwatch 2’s launch will immediately unlock all of the characters or not. We’ve reached out to Blizzard for clarification.

Why is that this account lock for brand new gamers so irritating?

Image: Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard says that the restriction on new participant accounts is designed to make Overwatch really feel much less overwhelming for brand new gamers, which is truthful. However, the issue is much less that Blizzard is locking these characters and extra that gamers haven’t any technique to decide out, or show mastery that proves they’re worthy of wielding extra advanced heroes early on.

If somebody who’s new to shooters jumps into Overwatch 2 as a result of it’s free and enjoyable, then it completely is sensible that Blizzard would need to assist ease that particular person in. However, if the brand new participant is coming from a recreation like League of Legends, which has 150-plus characters to study and perceive, they in all probability gained’t want the identical stage of assist. It’s like somebody telling an grownup that they want coaching wheels — identical to the toddlers do — to learn to experience a bicycle, even when they’ve been driving a bike for a decade.

Players of all talent ranges, whether or not they need to or not, might want to play “about 100 matches” to unlock each hero from the unique roster. And in a recreation all about cool-looking characters that may do flashy issues, and mixing skills collectively, that restriction sucks.

So, in case you can, get in there and develop into a veteran Overwatch participant this weekend earlier than Blizzard locks you out of among the coolest characters within the recreation. If you’re not prepared for Wrecking Ball or Echo, that’s OK! You don’t must play them till you’re prepared. But not less than this manner, you’ll be capable to dip your toes into extra advanced waters in your phrases, somewhat than Blizzard’s.