Now that Overwatch 2 fans can regularly get into the free-to-play game following Blizzard’s chaotic launch, there are still a handful of problems for the development team to work out. Multiple players are still reporting that several of the heroes are locked for them, or that there are a handful of bugs and glitches happening, with Blizzard having to remove those characters temporarily, such as Bastion and Torbjörn. Among these in-game problems, many players are eyeing the Overwatch 2 store, and they’re not pleased with the prices of the heroic skins or the weekly rewards for earning coins to purchase them.
If players want to unlock any Epic or Legendary skins for an Overwatch 2 character, they need to purchase them from the in-game store. Prices of the skins vary, with Epics ranging from 1,000 to 1,500 Overwatch Coins depending on if a player is buying a skin or a bundle with emotes, weapon charms, voice lines, or sprays. For Legendary skins, it’s even more, cranking up the price to 1,900 to 2,000 depending on the skin and bundle. Unfortunately, there are only two ways to get Overwatch Coins: buying them using money or completing weekly challenges.
Related: Blizzard fixes Overwatch 2 auto-buy bug but hangs on to players’ money
Each week, there are 11 weekly challenges for players to complete, and players earn 30 Overwatch Coins for completing four, 20 Overwatch Coins for completing eight, and 10 Overwatch Coins for completing all 11 for a total of 60 Overwatch Coins.
In the grand scheme of the Epic and Legendary skins, 60 Overwatch Coins per week means that, for the lowest Epic skin, a player can expect to spend nearly 17 weeks grinding up through the weekly challenges to earn to buy one from the store, and that’s only if they complete each challenge and don’t miss a week.
This system is dramatically different from what happened in the first Overwatch, and some fans believe it’s a step back. Previously, players would complete in-game challenges and tasks for a chance to earn a loot box, which would contain a random skin, voice line, spray, emote, or any other cosmetic that was available. Although it was a random loot box, the system was free after buying the game and simply functioned by playing it. Players won’t even be able to earn enough Overwatch Coins by the end of a season for the next Battle Pass.
We still have the upcoming Overwatch 2 on October 25, Junkenstein’s Revenge: Wraith of the Bride, and this could serve as a good opportunity for players to see alternative ways to earn skins and fun cosmetics. While details on that upcoming event are limited, the current state of Overwatch 2’s currency system and how players purchase skins does not bode well for those jumping into the free-to-play game.
