Season 18 for Overwatch 2 arrives August 26 with a large Stadium update, a new aquatic Support hero, a full PvP refresh with Perks, two evolving Mythic skins, and a Summer Games event that shifts Lucio Ball into third-person. There’s a lot here to try and learn, so let’s take it step by step.
Stadium Report
Stadium gets a broad set of additions – more playable Heroes, fresh maps, new modes, and a reworked Item pool. Winston, Brigitte, Pharah, and later this season Tracer will join the Stadium rotation, letting teams mix up their lineups in ways that can change match tempo.
Quick Play Queue offers shorter matches with a faster economy, plus Backfill and Cross Play support. Draft Mode gives teams a moment to counter-pick before the action starts. The new Payload Race mode runs two parallel payloads to checkpoints where the only win condition is taking the payload all the way to the end.
Maps arriving this season include Powder Keg Mine, Thames District, and Oasis Gardens. The Item pool grows with three added items, ten major reworks, and nine balance updates. Elite Rank rewards include Epic Mei, Reinhardt, Ana, and Legendary All-Star D.Va, so Stadium feels a bit more competitive and varied than before.
New Support Hero: Wuyang
Wuyang joins the roster as an aquatic Support who blends precise aim with mobility. His Xuanwu Staff fires guided mid-air water orbs that you can detonate for burst damage or to interrupt enemies. Guardian Wave pushes enemies back while boosting ally healing, and Restorative Stream scales healing over time to fit the fight.
Rushing Torrent gives Wuyang fast repositioning by letting him surf currents to avoid danger or get back to teammates. His Tidal Blast Ultimate grants overhealth to a target – ally or self – then erupts in a knockback wave that can flip clutch moments.
Perks like Overflow and Balance lean into steady regeneration, while Ebb and Flow and Falling Rain are aimed at high-impact plays. Who wouldn’t want to try a hero who surfs water currents and can swing a match with smart timing?
PvP Refresh & Perks Update
Season 18 starts with a full-system refresh that resets Competitive ranks and adds over 50 new Hero-specific Perks. Every Hero receives at least one new Perk option, and adjustments for Heroes like Lacio, Winston, and Pharah open different team-building possibilities. There’s room to experiment and try combos you hadn’t considered before.
The Competitive reset includes fresh placement matches and a soft MMR reset intended to tighten matchmaking from the first game. Rank thresholds are adjusted, particularly at higher tiers, and narrower MMR ranges make it easier to queue with friends without outlandish mismatches.
Double Mythics
This season adds two Mythic items that evolve visually and audibly across four tiers. Sojourn’s Mythic Ultraviolet Sentinel Hero Skin offers progressive visual and sound changes, customizable hairstyles, and toggleable ambient VFX at the highest tier. The skin moves through distinct colorways and styles as it levels.
- Level 1 unlocks the base skin with a new cybernetic outfit and fresh audio/visual effects.
- Level 2 switches to a spiked hairstyle and a pink colorway.
- Level 3 brings long braids and a black and red colorway.
- Level 4 adds fully toggleable ambient VFX.
Cassidy’s Mythic Blazing Sunsetter Weapon Skin reacts to gameplay, visually overheating as you fire and revealing molten cores over time. It includes a flourish animation and a Level 4 kill effect that highlights a finishing blow.
- Level 1 gives the base Blazing Sunsetter model.
- Level 2 adds dynamic reactivity where the weapon will overheat and eject casing pieces.
- Level 3 unlocks a custom flourish animation.
- Level 4 includes a deadly kill effect.
Battle Passes
The Premium Battle Pass offers Mythics, summer streetwear, and more. Legendary skins for Kiriko, Lifeweaver, Pharah, Hanzo, and Lucio are on the track, plus emotes, souvenirs, charms, name cards, and voice lines. You can earn up to 80 Mythic Prisms to unlock either Sojourn’s Mythic skin, Cassidy’s Mythic weapon, or other Mythic content.
The Ultimate Battle Pass Bundle includes everything in the Premium Pass plus 20 Tier Skips, 2,000 Overwatch Coins, and two Legendary skins: Poolside Wuyang and Lily Roadhog. Free players still get progression rewards like a Legendary Loot Box, 600 Coins, 1,500 Credits, and two Epic skins.
Summer Games
Summer Games runs from September 2 to September 15 and brings Lucio Ball and Lucio Ball Remix into third-person for the first time. Winston Volleyball returns for high-flying matches, and logging in will net a summer-colored World Cup Lucio skin along with other seasonal items. Oh, and there are rewards just for playing a few matches.
Hero Skill Rating
Hero Skill Rating gives each Hero its own Competitive score from 0 to 5000, with visual tiers and post-match feedback. A Hero’s SR unlocks after five placement matches; before that you’ll see a Predicted SR to preview your range. After each match, your top three most-used Heroes will show SR gains or losses so you can track how individual picks are improving.
The system integrates into Competitive Overview and Career Profile so you can track Hero SR alongside your overall rank. It’s focused on personal mastery and showing progress at the Hero level rather than replacing your main Competitive rating.
Hero Progression 2.0
Hero Progression 2.0 overhauls leveling with faster early progress, a cleaner UI, and a permanent prestige feature. Each Hero levels independently and the Ascended system gives animated portrait borders at milestone levels 20, 40, and 60. Those borders display in Hero Select for everyone to see and stay with you forever.
Early levels come quickly, then settle to roughly 100 minutes per level after level 21. Loot Box rewards arrive at milestones: a base Loot Box at level 5, Epic Loot Boxes at 25, 35, and 45, and Legendary Loot Boxes at 30, 40, and 50. While Ascended isn’t tied to Hero-specific cosmetics, it’s a visible way to show long-term investment on a Hero.
Advanced Info Panel
The Advanced Info Panel will break down exact numbers for damage, healing, cooldowns, and other key stats so you can get more precise feedback on what your Hero actually does. That should help you fine tune aim and ability usage in Competitive.
The developer team is also preparing a Hero Stats webpage where you can check Win and Pick Rates for more context while you work on your Hero SR and progression. It should make planning changes to your playstyle a little easier. Whew. Season 18 goes live on August 26, and it invites you to explore Stadium, try Wuyang, test new Perks, and enjoy Summer Games.
Share your thoughts below and tell us what you want to test first in Season 18.
