Blizzard isn’t going to let Marvel Rivals have all the fun. In Overwatch 2’s next season, everyone is getting swimsuit skins for a summer-themed battle pass.
Plenty of other new things are coming when season 18 starts on August 26—a whole new support hero, for example—but I think we all know what the draw will be. Lifeweaver, Reinhardt, Mercy, Junker Queen, Illari, and new hero Wuyang are all getting skins that show more skin than I’m used to seeing in Overwatch.
Wuyang is joining Reinhardt and Junker Queen at the gun show in their new skins, and even a character as reserved as Illari looks like she’s ready for a beach party in hers. For the longest time Blizzard made fairly modest skins despite how horny people are for its heroes, and now it’s apparently giving a little ground to the gooners.
The premium battle pass won’t have all the skins on it, according to the season 18 announcement blog post. Lifeweaver’s summer skin, along with skins for Kiriko, Pharah, Hanzo, and Lucio are on there, but the rest will likely be sold for Overwatch Coins in a shop bundle later on. Poolside Wuyang, however, requires buying the ultimate battle pass bundle, which also includes tier skips and Overwatch Coins.
Season 18 has a number of other changes that players have been waiting for, including:
- A Sojourn mythic skin
- An unranked mode for Stadium
- Stadium versions of Winston, Brigitte, and Pharah
- A new payload race mode (and three associated maps) for Stadium
- A third-person Lucio Ball arcade mode
- New and reworked hero perks
- A competitive rank reset
- Individual hero competitive ranks to track progress separate from your normal rank
- Reworked hero progression and animated “ascended” portrait borders
- The return of the Cowboy Bebop collab skins
- A Persona 5 collab event later in the season
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When you’re not drooling over the skins and actually playing the game, Overwatch 2 season 18 seems like it’s going to feel quite different.
The new hero and all the new perks are going to upend the meta as we currently know it. In the season trailer, it looks like Mei can leap off of her ice wall like a spring and flying space girl Juno can make her little blaster fully automatic. If Wuyang’s surprisingly lethal support playstyle is any indication, you won’t be safe from anyone no matter what role they’re supposed to play.
Overwatch season 18 starts on August 26.
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