After several painful months of silence, the hype for Overwatch 2 finally seems to be building up once again. Fans are excited to hop into the private, PC-exclusive PvP beta later this month, getting a taste of 5v5 gameplay and some of the big hero reworks. While the game is likely still far off from its official debut, it is exciting to know that new maps and the Push game mode will soon be getting tested by the Overwatch fan base.
However, when Overwatch 2 eventually releases, it will be interesting to see how Blizzard approaches the game’s trophy and achievement list. With a PvE offering being an equally important aspect of the sequel, Blizzard has an opportunity to swap out some of the frustrating achievements that were seen in the original Overwatch’s list for some far more enjoyable objectives.
Overwatch’s Most Frustrating Trophies
As those that have gone after Overwatch’s Platinum trophy or 100% completion on its achievement list will know, there are a few trophies that require an absurd amount of luck and character mastery. One such achievement is Rapid Discord. This Zenyatta trophy essentially requires extreme skill with the character, with players needing four kills or assists with Zenyatta’s orb of Discord within six seconds. Given that players need to manually select targets for the orb, the window of time to meet this requirement is absurd.
Not only were some Overwatch achievements too focused on hero mastery, as expecting everyone to be great with each character is not really fair, but others were entirely based on luck. Even good Lucio players will struggle with The Floor is Lava, as they need to get three kills while wallriding without dying. Given how limited rideable walls are, this is very tough to pull off, as fans of the music-loving Support hero either need to finish off opponents or get lucky and boop several off the map. Due to the level of luck required, many gamers have had to boost this trophy, something that should not be necessary.
How Overwatch 2’s Achievement List Could Be Better
Obviously, PvP is going to be vital to Overwatch 2’s success, as it is where the franchise got its start. As such, removing PvP trophies entirely is a bad move. Instead, Blizzard should focus more on making trophies that are not hero-specific. Gamers can be tasked with getting a certain number of gold medals, reaching a certain competitive level, going on winstreaks, and finding map-specific Overwatch easter eggs. While hero-specific challenges for sprays is still a solid approach, they should not be used as trophies and achievements.
Obviously, Overwatch 2’s PvE mode provides an excellent opportunity for trophies and achievements. Not only can players get achievements for beating each main mission of the story, but some difficulty related trophies could be present as well. Players could need to beat several of Overwatch 2’s hero missions, defeat each enemy type a certain number of times, or max out a few different heroes’ skill trees. With a full campaign coming, a sequel could completely skip hero-specific multiplayer achievements in favor of more approachable challenges.
Obviously, not everybody cares about their Xbox gamerscore or their trophy count on Playstation. For those that do, though, Overwatch’s list can be seen as frustrating. Not only has the difficulty and luck required for some achievements prevented many from reaching full completion, but when Overwatch 2 fully launches, the original game’s Platinum will only become more difficult to acquire. By moving away from hero-specific trophies and keeping any PvP achievements simple, Overwatch 2’s list could be a lot more accessible.
Overwatch 2 is currently in development for PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.