Update November 12: Thanks to the high demand of Overwatch: Classic, we're going to keep the no hero limits ruleset turned on through the weekend to give everyone a little more time to enjoy the original style of the game. Single hero limits for Overwatch: Classic will begin on Tuesday, November 19.
Eight years ago, Blizzard released a completely new gaming world called Overwatch. Connected by a theme of fighting for the future, millions of you jumped in to experience new heroes like a time-jumping adventurer, an esports champion turned mech pilot, and a genetically-modified gorilla from the Moon. Together we all fought across fantastic battlegrounds from all corners of a future-earth including Temple of Anubis, Hanamura, King’s Row, and Dorado. Now you’ll be able to relive the nostalgia in a series of new limited-time events in Overwatch 2, where you can experience the original heroes, abilities, and maps in the classic 6v6 team-based action you remember. Get ready to answer the call for Overwatch: Classic.
Each Overwatch: Classic event will feature heroes and balance from popular moments in the game’s history, ranging from the fast paced and frantic gameplay of the 2017 Moth Meta to the triple-tank, triple-support style of “Goats.” In the first Overwatch: Classic event, we’re taking it all the way back to the original 1.0 release from May 2016, which includes many abilities that haven’t been seen for years and all the chaotic gameplay from that era.
Patch 1.0 first introduced us to the first 21 heroes and 12 maps across four different game modes. Many of the heroes had high-risk, but high-reward gameplay. You’ll also be able to flex with one, two, or even six tanks to form your frontline defense, plant multiple turrets on the payload, and constantly boop or hook your opponents into the Ilios well. Expect heroes like Widowmaker to be a constant threat or be careful as you try to peak around corners as Hanzo’s Scatter Arrow can strike you before you can see it. Junkrat and D.Va mains will need to watch out as their own weaponry can harm them. And you’ll be extra pressured to attack or defend the objectives as Symmetra’s teleporter will be able to transport players from their spawn directly back into the action. Finally, watch out for Mercy to swoop in after you make that stunning quintuple elimination as her Resurrect Ultimate will instantly revive all her fallen allies at once.
Explore the Original Abilities
We’re grouping heroes in their four original classes, but you are not required to play Attackers when on attack or Defenders when defending. Pick the heroes that work best for you! Also in the first few days, Overwatch: Classic will play with the No Hero Limits rule as the original release didn’t enforce hero limits. So you can have up to six of the same hero for any meme comp you want. After that, we will enable single hero limits for the remainder of this first Overwatch: Classic event.
In general, each hero will be able to power up their Ultimate ability a lot faster than in Overwatch 2, as the general Ultimate Charge cost was much lower back then. Also, any heroes that can be interrupted out of their ultimate can have a portion of their Ultimate charge salvaged depending on when the interruption occurred. Health pools, damage outputs, and projectile sizes are also reverted to before the Overwatch 2: Season 9 update.
Offense Heroes
Cassidy- Peacekeeper
Accurate, powerful revolver - Peacekeeper
Wildly fire remaining rounds - Combat Roll
Roll in the direction you're moving and reload - Flashbang
Stun enemies in front of you - Deadeye
Face off against your enemies. Press your Ultimate to lock on, then Primary Fire to fire.
What’s different? Cassidy’s truly brings Wild West action in Overwatch: Classic. His damage output will be more increased than what you may be used to in Overwatch 2 with damage from fanning the hammer dealing 70 damage per projectile. Cassidy’s Flashbang is restored to its original form where heroes caught in its blast will be immobilized for a few seconds, leaving them vulnerable to attack. Finally, Deadeye has more versatility as Cassidy can cancel from firing and save up to half of his Ultimate charge.
Genji- Cyber-Agility
Climb on walls and double jump - Shuriken
Throw an accurate burst of 3 projectiles - Shuriken
Throw a fan of 3 projectiles in an arc - Swift Strike
Rapidly dash forward and inflict damage on enemies. Eliminations reset the cooldown - Deflect
Deflect incoming projectiles towards the direction you are aiming and block melee attacks - Dragonblade
Unsheathe a deadly melee weapon
What’s different? Genji’s Dragonblade won’t be able to be ignored so easily as he can attack for up to eight seconds. Genji is also more mobile as Double Jump will reset as you wall climb.
Pharah- Rocket Launcher
Long-range explosive projectile weapon - Jump Jet
Fly rapidly upwards - Concussive Blast
Launch an explosive blast to knock back enemies - Barrage
Launch a continuous volley of mini-rockets - Hover Jets
Hold Jump to hover
What’s different? Pharah’s original kit allows her more opportunities to stay in the air longer and can have more potential to boop opponents from ledges using her Concussive Blast. She also deals more damage with higher splash explosion damage from the rockets in her Rocket Launcher.
Reaper- Hellfire Shotguns
Short-range spread weapons - Wraith Form
Move faster and become invulnerable, but you cannot shoot - Shadow Step
Teleport to a targeted location - Death Blossom
Damage all nearby enemies - The Reaping
Collect Soul Globes to restore health
What’s Different? Aside from the broader damage changes in Overwatch 2, Reaper’s passive The Reaping will return to its original form where soul orbs will be dropped from defeated enemies that Reaper can pick up to gain 50 HP. Also plan how you use Wraith Form as it cannot be cancelled early.
Solider: 76- Heavy Pulse Rifle
Automatic assault weapon - Helix Rockets
Launch a volley of explosive rockets - Sprint
Run faster while moving forward - Biotic Field
Deploy a field that heals you and your allies - Tactical Visor
Automatically aims your weapon at targets in view
What’s Different? Soldier: 76 has had mostly tuning changes throughout Overwatch’s history. His Heavy Pulse Rifle deals less damage at 17 damage per projectile, but the rifle has no recoil and will instead have increased spread the longer you hold it.
Tracer- Pulse Pistols
Short-range automatic weapons - Blink
Teleport in the direction you are moving - Recall
Travel back in time to your previous location and health - Pulse Bomb
Throw out a powerful sticky explosive
What’s different? Tracer’s time traveling playstyle has been relatively unchanged throughout Overwatch’s history, with tuning changes to her Pulse Pistols and Pulse Bomb being the biggest adjustments. Expect the Pulse Bomb to deal incredibly high damage that can finish off most heroes.
Defense Heroes
Bastion- Configuration: Recon
Mobile with a light automatic weapon - Configuration: Sentry
Immobile with a powerful rotary cannon - Configure
Switch between weapon configurations - Self-Repair
Heals yourself - Configuration: Tank
Mobile with a powerful cannon
What’s Different: Bastion’s original kit is much different than what you play with today. Bastion is a tricky hero that can keep chokeholds nearly unpassable when staged in Sentry Form, firing a volley of machine gun fire, though he cannot move and has a limited amount of ammo while in Sentry form. This makes his biggest weakness- getting attacked from behind- easy to exploit if the opponent can flank around him. Don’t forget to use the Self-Repair to heal Bastion when you are not dealing damage. Also watch out as Configuration: Tank will deal massive bursts of damage as he freely roams the battlefield in tank form.
Hanzo- Storm Bow
Hold to charge then release to launch arrows further - Sonic Arrow
Reveals enemies for a short time upon impact - Scatter Arrow
Splits into multiple ricochet arrows on impact - Dragonstrike
Launch a deadly Dragon Spirit that devastated enemies it passes through - Wall Climb
Jump at wall to climb up them
What’s Different? Hanzo’s most notable change was swapping his original specialty arrow, the Scatter Arrow. This is a powerful choke buster attack which will launch a volley of projectiles reflecting on the walls, which combined with the Sonic Arrow, is a great way to stop a flanking target that may be hiding around the corner. Hanzo won’t have his Lunge jump passive either, so his mobility is more limited.
Junkrat- Frag Launcher
Bouncing explosive projectile weapon - Concussion Mine
Throw a knockback mine with Ability 1 then detonate it with Alternate Fire - Steel Trap
Place an immobilizing trap - Rip-tire
Drive and detonate an exploding tire - Total Mayhem
Drop bombs on death
What’s Different? Junkrat has a lot more risk to his own health as damage from his Frag Launcher will be dealt on him as well. Concussion Mine only has one charge which will limit how Junkrat can use the ability to jump into action or deal damage to opponents.
Mei- Endothermic Blaster
Short-range spray weapon that freezes enemies - Endothermic Blaster
Long-range icicle launcher - Cryo-freeze
Become invulnerable and heal yourself - Ice Wall
Create a wall in front of you - Blizzard
Launch a weather control drone that freezes enemies in a wide area
What’s Different? Many of you will find Mei’s original kit to be much cooler… literally. The primary fire from Endothermic Blaster will quickly freeze individual enemies, allowing Mei to deal an icy-cold elimination with the Alternate Fire. Also, the Ice Wall will be a more formidable obstacle to take down with each pillar having 500 health.
Torbjörn- Rivet Gun
Slow-firing long-ranged weapon - Forge Hammer
Swing to improve your turret or damage an enemy - Rivet Gun
Inaccurate but powerful short-range weapon - Build Turret
Build an upgradeable turret - Armor Pack
Build an armor power up - Molten Core
Increase your weapon attack speed, gain additional armor, and temporarily upgrade a level 2 turret to level 3 - Scrap Collector
Collect scrap to gain resources
What’s Different? Torbjorn’s original kit is about building his tools and resources out of the scraps fallen from both allies and opponents. Collect scrap to deploy Armor packs that you or your allies can pick up for additional Armor HP. When you use Deploy Turret, a small, low-damage Level 1 will be placed, but you can use your Forge Hammer to upgrade it Level 2 which is the same turret that now deploys automatically in the live game. With the original Molten Core ultimate, power up Torbjorn with additional armor and faster movement, and instantly upgrade a Level 2 turret to the missile-launching, rapid firing Level 3 turret to secure any battle ground.
Widowmaker- Widow's Kiss
Automatic assault weapon - Widow's Kiss
Hold for long-ranged sniper weapon - Grappling Hook
Launch a hook that pulls you towards a ledge - Venom Mine
Launch a poison trap - Infra-sight
Provide your team with a view of the enemy's location
What’s Different? Widowmaker is far more lethal with faster charge shots and more damage dealth at long-range. However, Widowmaker will be more vulnerable each time she uses Grappling Hook as it uses a longer cooldown.
Tank Heroes
D.Va- Fusion Cannons
Automatic short-range spread weapons - Light Gun
Automatic weapon - Boosters
Fly in the direction you are facing - Defense Matrix
Block projectiles in an area in front of you - Self-Destruct
Eject and overload your mech, causing it to explode after a short time - Call Mech
Call down a new mech - Eject!
Eject out of your mech when it is destroyed
What’s different? D.Va’s original kit is more static and lacks the Micro Missiles ability that would be added later in Overwatch. Notably her Defense Matrix continuously channels the field for several seconds between a 10 second cooldown, and Pilot D.Va can be damaged from the blast of her own Self Destruct ability which takes 4 seconds to explode, making it a challenge for Pilot D.Va to stay out of the blast radius of the devastating ability.
Reinhardt- Rocket Hammer
|Devastating melee weapon - Barrier Field
Deploy a frontal energy barrier - Charge
Charge forward and smash an enemy against a wall - Fire Strike
Launch a fiery projectile - Earthshatter
Knock down all enemies in front of you
What’s Different? While Reinhardt won’t have the advantage of two charges to his Fire Strike and a smaller HP pool, his Earthshatter will have more horizontal and vertical range to catch enemies off guard. Also, he will be able to mitigate incoming damage as his Barrier Health is much higher than in the live game.
Roadhog- Scrap Gun
Short-range spread weapon - Scrap Gun
Medium-range spread weapon - Chain Hook
Drag a targeted enemy to you - Take a Breather
Heal yourself over a short time - Whole Hog
Damage and knock back enemies in front of you
What’s different? Roadhog’s kit has often received tuning adjustments based around his ability to hook and catch opponents. Carefully avoid the hook as it will catch anything and everything around him and can deal a lethal one-two combo between his scrap gun and melee for an easy finishing blow to most low HP heroes.
Winston- Tesla Cannon
Electric frontal-cone weapon - Jump Pack
Leap forward into the air. Landing on an enemy damages them - Barrier Projector
Deploy a protective energy dome - Primal Rage
Gain immense health, but you can only leap and punch enemies
What’s Different? Winston’s kit will be missing the long-range attack from his Tesla Cannon that was introduced in Overwatch 2. Also, carefully time your placements of Barrier Projector, as cooldown starts only after the shield expires instead of when it is deployed.
Zarya- Particle Cannon
Short-range linear beam weapon - Particle Cannon
Energy grenade launcher - Particle Barrier
Create a damage barrier around you - Projected Barrier
Create a damage barrier around an ally - Graviton Surge
Launch a gravity well that pulls enemies to it
What’s different? Originally, Zarya had separate cooldowns for Particle Barrier and Projected Barrier, so be careful of when you use either to protect yourself or your teammates. However, Zarya’s ability to gain energy from these abilities is much higher than in the current live game.
Support Heroes
Lúcio- Sonic Amplifier
Sonic projectile launcher - Soundwave
Create a short-range blast wave to knock enemies away from you - Crossfade
Increases the effectiveness of your current song - Sound Barrier
Create temporary extra health for nearby allies
What’s different? While the identity of Lucio’s kit has remained the same, his Crossfade will feel the most different, as it provides a radius of 30 meters versus the 10-meter range in his current kit, but with less healing to his allies. However, this enables him to be a great character to help rush his team to the next team fight with ease.
Mercy- Caduceus Staff (Primary)
Hold to heal an ally - Caduceus Blaster
Automatic weapon - Caduceus Staff (Secondary)
Hold to increase an ally's damage inflicted - Guardian Angel
Fly towards an ally - Resurrect
Revive dead teammates - Angelic Descent
Fall very slowly - Regeneration
Restore your own health after not taking any damage
What’s Different? Mercy’s Resurrect as an ultimate works as a great teamfight counterplay, allowing her to target up to five allies in range to be resurrected immediately. Watch out if there are multiple Mercy players on your team as the benefit from her Damage boost can be multiplied.
Symmetra- Photon Projector
Short-range beam weapon with increasing damage - Photon Projector
Hold to charge, release to fire orb - Sentry Turret
Deploy a small turret that damages and slows enemies - Photon Shield
Give shields to an ally - Teleporter
Deploy a teleporter that connects to the spawn room
What’s Different? Originally categorized as a Support hero, Symmetra’s kit was more geared to providing utility to her allies than dealing damage directly. Her Photon Shield ability grants your allies with additional Shield Health, which can regenerate as long as they are not eliminated. With Teleporter as her ultimate, you can place the exit teleporter anywhere on the map and be linked directly to your active spawn room. Consider playing more than one Symmetra to create complex sentry turret fortifications to wash clean any chokeholds from your opponents.
Zenyatta- Orb Of Destruction
Energy projectile weapon - Orb Of Destruction
Charge to release more projectiles - Orb of Harmony
Launch this orb at an ally to heal them - Orb Of Discord
Launch this orb at an enemy to increase the damage they take - Transcendence
Become invulnerable and heal nearby allies
What’s Different? Zenyatta’s kit remains relatively unchanged, short of not having his Snap Kick passive that was added later. However, watch out for his Orb of Discord, as damage amplification increases 50% of the damage received on its target.
Maps Section
You’ll play on the twelve original launch maps that appeared in Overwatch Patch 1.0 across the four original game modes, Assault, Escort, Hybrid, and Control.
Assault
Assault maps are challenging maps where a team must try to capture two objective points that are defended by the opposing team within the time limit.
Hanamura
Temple of Anubis
Volskaya Industries
Control
Control maps are an all-out brawl as both teams work to capture an objective point and hold it long enough to score without letting the other team do the same. Best two out of three wins.
Ilios
Lijang Tower
Nepal
Escort
Escort Maps will have a team help escort a payload throughout a map. Reach checkpoints to extend your time and complete the map to win. Opponents work to stop the payload from completing the route.
Dorado
Route 66
Watchpoint: Gibraltar
Hybrid
Hybrid maps combine Assault and Escort modes to create a challenging course where the attacking team must capture an objective then escort a payload throughout the rest of the map. Opponents need to stop the payload from reaching the end.
Hollywood
King’s Row
Numbani
F.A.Q.
Q. When can I play Overwatch: Classic?
Overwatch: Classic is a limited-time event from November 12 to December 2.
Q: Is Overwatch Classic the team’s answer to bringing back 6v6?
A: Overwatch Classic is separate from our broader 6v6 plans. Overwatch Classic is meant to be a nostalgic experience, taking heroes, players, and the game back to moments in the game’s history for limited time events
Q: Is it a way to test bringing back 6v6 permanently in Overwatch 2?
A: Nope! We are running separate 6v6 test modes in future seasons to gather feedback and gauge player interest on that format. See our recent Director’s Take for more information on those tests
Q. Is this a separate game from Overwatch 2 that I have to install?
A. This is not a separate game. This is a mode that will be playable in Overwatch 2, which you’ll find in the Events Hub and in the Arcade in the Main Menu.
Q. What is the game mode for Overwatch: Classic Patch 1.0?
You’ll play the Quick Play ruleset using the original 21 heroes and the twelve original launch maps. In spirit of the patch 1.0 balance, there will be no hero limits and no role limits as you play for the first few days of the event. After that we will enable the single hero limit rule for the remainder of the event. Heroes will be organized in their four original classes, Offense, Defense, Tanks, and Supports.
Q. Will maps be restored to their original design when Overwatch Patch 1.0 was released?
A. Overwatch: Classic will use the 12 original maps that first launched, however, maps will appear the same as they do in other Overwatch 2 game modes. This includes major reworks for Dorado, Numbani, Route 66, and Watchpoint: Gibraltar. Things like match timing and how elevator platforms work will still be the same as they appear in Overwatch 2 game modes.
Q. Can I equip my favorite skins including Overwatch 2 skins when playing?
A. As part of the nostalgia of playing Overwatch: Classic, players will be using only the original Overwatch default skins for this event.
Q: Why weren’t legacy features like loot boxes, the original UI, or Competitive mode included in Overwatch: Classic?
A: We focused on our heroes, maps, and overall gameplay with Overwatch: Classic, and the scope allows us the flexibility to balance these events with other exciting new gameplay.
Q: Will Overwatch: Classic ever return? Is this just a one-time thing?
A: While we’re not planning for this to be a single event, we will be measuring player response to inform our future plans.