How do Overwatch 2 perks work? A huge change arrived with Season 15 of Overwatch 2, and we’re not talking about the return of loot boxes. Seeking to inject a little extra spice into OW2’s gameplay loop, Blizzard has introduced a brand-new perk system.
Overwatch 2 perks amp up the power of hero abilities, shaking up the Overwatch 2 tier list as another balance lever is added to the hit multiplayer game. Marking arguably the largest update to the OW2 experience ever, there’s a lot to get used to. Below, we’ll teach you all you need to know about the system so you won’t fly blind when you next drop in.
Overwatch 2 perks explained
Overwatch 2 perks provide mid-match upgrades to a hero’s ability, both in Quickplay and Competitive queues. These come in the form of minor and major perks. At launch, the feature provides all 42 heroes with two minor and two major upgrades to choose from each match, making for 168 total perks.
In the bottom-left corner of the in-game HUD, below your hero’s health bar, you’ll now find a level bar. At Level 2, you’ll unlock your minor perk. At Level 3, you get a major perk. Progress towards your next perk is accumulated by dishing out damage, eliminating enemies, and healing allies. The rate at which you generate perk progress increases as the match draws on. What’s more, eliminating an enemy with a higher perk level than you is worth extra progress.
It should be noted that perk progress does not carry over between heroes. If you swap from a Level 3 Roadhog to Winston, the latter will start at Level 1 and have to build up the progress bar. The good news is progression is retained even if you swap off a hero, so Hog will still be Level 3 when you switch back to him.
Once you’ve leveled up and become eligible to receive a perk, you can bring up the UI and make your choice. By default, this is the Left Alt key on keyboard or the up directional pad key on a controller.
You can also head into Settings > Controls > Interface and set up quick selection keybinds, so you can choose your desired perk without having to bring up the menu. Here you can also bind the perk selection menu to a toggle, rather than having to hold down your key of choice (we’d highly recommend doing so to free up your thumb).
You can check out the full suite of Overwatch 2 perks here. Note that the first two perks in each hero entry are minor perks, and the second two are major.
And that’s all you need to know about the Overwatch 2 perks you can kit out each of the Overwatch 2 characters with. If you’ve also been enjoying OW2’s hero shooter rival, Marvel Rivals, then peep our suite of Marvel Rivals guides to help elevate your gameplay.
