Overwatch 2 Season 18 has brought the usual new additions, like a small map overhaul, a new hero, and an upcoming rank reset. But the best part of the new season, in my humble opinion, has to be the truckloads of loot boxes that have been left for players like myself to open.
My evening plans were somewhat interrupted last night after I saw one of my group chats light up. On further inspection, I found the spark that lit the fire, a lone screenshot from one of my mates showing that he had 53 loot boxes waiting for him in the Overwatch 2 menu. What followed was everyone else clamouring to find out how he pulled this heist off, as we all raced to load up Overwatch 2 and open all our loot boxes before they could be taken away from us.
It was only after the fact that I put two and two together to realise how these loot boxes were rewarded as part of the updated progression system.
Progression 2.0 revamps the hero progression system that was introduced in Overwatch 2. Now it's both easier to level up heroes earlier on and there are more rewards to gather along the way. Originally, you could just earn hero-specific name cards and player titles, but now there's the added benefit of earning silver currency along with both epic and legendary loot boxes.
Between levels 20 to 60, there are six loot boxes to earn. But progress hasn't been reset, so if you've played a fair amount of different characters over the last couple of years, chances are you've already earned a ton of loot boxes and silver coins. I managed to get 34 loot boxes (18 regular, 10 epic, and 6 legendary) alongside about 30,000 silver coins.
While gold currency is used to buy new skins in the shop or upgrade the battle pass, silver coins can be used to purchase old skins from Overwatch 1. If you go into the hero menu and browse through individual character skins, victory poses, highlight intros etc, you can purchase cosmetics using the silver currency there.
But as if all of that wasn't enough, there's also an ongoing event in Overwatch 2, which can grant up to 77 loot boxes to participating players. The Play like Luka event has 20 days left on the clock, and for every 11 games you play (wins grant double progress), you get 11 regular loot boxes alongside some basketball items—if you weren't aware, the Luka in question is Luka Doncic, NBA all-star and top 500 Overwatch player.
Overwatch 2 has taken a pretty big U-turn over the last six months or so, where in-game cosmetics are concerned. Loot boxes were reintroduced as part of its big update last February after being ditched when Overwatch 2 launched.
Issues of promoting gambling were cited as part of the decision to do away with them. While I'm all for promoting safe spaces for younger players, the updated version of loot boxes gives as much of a rush as packing Pokémon TCG. You can't even buy them anymore, so players need to wait to be drip-fed the dopamine either through hero progression or via promotions like the Play like Luka event.
This age of loot box abundance probably won't last much longer, but I'm unashamed of the fact that I'll open every last one of them, and likely enjoy it no matter what kind of tat I get.
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