Overwatch 2 — Season 18: Progression 2.0 (Aug 26)
Season 18 of Overwatch 2 launches on August 26 and introduces Progression 2.0, a major overhaul of the hero progression and cosmetic systems designed to make your accomplishments more visible and easier to manage.
Key features
- Ascended portrait frames: New animated portrait borders awarded every 20 hero levels, capping at level 60. These display when you pick a hero.
- Hero badges & cards: Five tiers of hero badges and a hero card shown in Hero Select with your top heroes. Teammates see cards in Hero Select; enemies see portrait borders and cards only after 10–15 seconds into Competitive or after kills.
- Progression menu: A dedicated hero progression screen showing unlocked rewards, 3D hero model, and the ability to equip hero-specific rewards directly from the menu.
- Retroactive & adjusted rewards: Progression levels and associated rewards are granted retroactively at season start. The first 20 levels are faster to complete for new players and grant more credits and cosmetics.
- Free loot & quality-of-life: Occasional Epic/Legendary loot box freebies as you rank up; new console keyboard+mouse option added permanently.
- New hero: Wuyang (support) is added permanently this season.
Progression 2.0 aims to make progression feel meaningful in-match and simpler to track outside of it. Competitive visibility timing was added to prevent opponents from using your hero card during bans or picks.
Sources
- Blizzard — Weekly Recall / Progression 2.0 overview: https://overwatch.blizzard.com/en-us/news/24224138/weekly-recall-gaining-progress/
- Blizzard Retail Patch Notes (Aug 26, 2025): https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/overwatch/t/overwatch-2-retail-patch-notes-%E2%80%93-august-26-2025/977669
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