Overwatch 2 season five is poised to take players on a journey through a fictional land of role-play created by Tracer’s partner, Emily, and there’s a hefty amount of content for players to chew on, including some notable changes to the way Blizzard approaches the battle pass.
Along with adding a “Questwatch” element to the season five battle pass, Blizzard is giving players a chance to unlock a Mythic skin before level 80 for the first time ever and level it up to give a greater sense of progression throughout the season.
Meanwhile, new game modes, features, and the return of the Summer Games will make Season five a busy time for players that might have a little bit of extra free time on their hands this summer.
Related: Here are the Overwatch 2 season 5 patch notes
With so much content to take advantage of, we’ve created a quick breakdown of what to expect this season to go along with the roadmap that Blizzard published on Monday. Here are some of the biggest and best things to expect in Overwatch 2 season five.
Questwatch, Summer Games, and more: All new Overwatch 2 season 5 content
Questwatch
The first thing players will notice when they enter Overwatch 2 for the first time in season five is the new layout for the battle pass that includes a fun little side story. As players level up, they will gain access to new parts of a role-play campaign akin to Dungeons & Dragons that Tracer is playing alongside a few familiar heroes.
The canonical premise of Questwatch is that Tracer’s partner Emily has created a campaign for Tracer to play with her friends, and players get to experience heroes embracing the role-play game together as they earn cosmetics through the game’s battle pass.
Related: 3 biggest changes coming to Overwatch 2 in season 5
Meanwhile, the added progression element is being paired with the thematically aligned Mythic Adventurer Tracer skin that players will unlock at Tier 45 and upgrade at Tiers 65 and 80. Initially players will earn access to light armor for the skin before unlocking heavier plated armor as they progress.
Additionally, the season will start with a new creator-made game mode called “Defeat the Demon Lord,” which will celebrate the role-play fantasy theme of the season. The four-vs-one game mode will have four heroes fight a juiced up, villainous version of Reinhardt, which appears to also be a part of the Questwatch storyline.
Fantasy-themed skins and cosmetics
Cosmetics in season five will largely fall into the fantasy genre theme of the battle pass, with at least a handful of shop skins also matching the theme. As an avid fan of the genre myself, the aesthetics we’re getting from these battle pass and shop skins makes this easily my favorite overall season thus far in Overwatch 2.
Many of the hero skins in the game are set to emulate the class or character you’d expect a hero to be in a D&D or fantasy MMO crossover. For instance, Lucio is getting a bard skin in the shop, and battle pass skins include Astronomer Zenyatta, Alchemist Mei, Royal Guard Genji, and GR-iffen Orisa.
Related: All battle pass skins in Overwatch 2 season 5
No matter what heroes you main, there’s some fun fantasy skin action that is likely coming to at least one of the characters you play regularly, and I personally think they’re all worth equipping.
Summer Games
The Summer Games are back once again with a new beachy game mode starting July 11. Along with the return of the popular Rocket League-adjacent Lucio Ball mini-game, players will be able to participate in “Winston’s Beach Volleyball” as well.
Teasers for the new volleyball gamemode weren’t especially detailed, but the game requires as much mobility as real-life beach volleyball, expect to be using a lot of high-mobility heroes to tackle what looks to be a fast-paced mini-game.
This is the first time the Summer Games are taking place in Overwatch 2, so it’s unclear if they will last their typical three-week period or be a week shorter. However, the event will come with challenges that represent five levels of battle pass experience and a chance to get a tropical-themed Doomfist skin.
Meanwhile, players will get a chance to unlock some legacy Legendary-quality Summer Games skins at no cost, and the highly-anticipated Lifeguard Mercy skin and Baywatch highlight intro will come to the shop.
Mini-competitive modes
Competitive Mystery Heroes is making a return in season five after feedback suggested that fans weirdly enjoyed taking the rather chaotic gamemode a little bit more seriously. The mode was added as a mini-competitive option in season three, and last season, players had a short opportunity to play competitive free-for-all deathmatch.
Unlike other mini-competitive seasons though, competitive Mystery Heroes will begin today, June 13, with the start of the season, and another mid-season comp mode will come after the mid-cycle patch.
In response to more feedback players, especially those in Grand Master that have limited group queueing options, the mid-season competitive mode for season five is a Team Queue. Regardless of rating, players can group up as a five-stack to try their hand at Blizzard’s first attempt at a full-team-only competitive mode. It’s worth noting that a full five players is required for this competitive mode, so no two, three, or four stacks are allowed. I guess it’s time to make some friends that know how to frag out.
