Facebook
Reddit
Email
Learn all you need to know about the Overwatch 2 perk system and unlock the true potential of your heroes.
The perk system in Overwatch 2 is a major gameplay mechanic that was introduced in Season 15. It has a significant impact on how your heroes will perform going forward, with a range of powerful abilities and upgrades to unlock. So, it is crucial to understand what perks are, and how you can unlock and equip them.
In this guide, we’ll explain the Overwatch 2 perk system in detail, so that you can greatly improve your hero’s abilities in your future matches.
What Is the Overwatch 2 Perk System?
Perks are upgrades that unlock as you keep playing with a hero in both Competitive and Quickplay game modes. The perk progression system came into effect on February 18, 2025. You will see these unlock during matches and you can use them to access better abilities for your chosen heroes. The first minor perk unlocks at level 2, and a major perk will unlock when your hero reaches level 3.
In both cases, you will have to choose from two ability options when equipping the perks in question. Since there are 42 heroes currently in the game, that would mean 168 different perks to unlock, with two minor and two major perk options for each of them.
Minor perks offer slight improvements to your hero’s stats, such as reduced cooldowns. However, with major perks, you can expect significant boosts to your hero’s abilities.
Main Ways of Unlocking More Perks
In Overwatch 2, you can level up and unlock more perks for your heroes by doing all the basic activities in matches, including damaging and killing opponents, helping heal your allies, and more. If you can defeat a foe with a higher perk level compared to you, you can gain a decent amount of perk progression for your hero. So, it is always beneficial to face off against these higher-level opponents.
If you want to track your hero’s perk progression, look underneath the health bar. The blue meter will fill up as you progress through matches and you will be able to unlock a new perk when the meter becomes full and glows orange. Keep in mind that the rate at which this bar fills up increases as you progress through a match.
However, any perk or level you unlock is specific to the hero you are currently playing. So, if you decide to change heroes in the middle of a match, the new hero will begin their progression from scratch. However, the previous hero will retain their perk progression and will continue from that point on when you bring them back.
Using Perks in Overwatch 2
Before your heroes can take advantage of the perks unlocked, you will need to equip them. On a mouse and keyboard, hold down the left Alt button by default to open the perk selection screen. From here, you can choose the perks you want to equip on your hero. To open this screen when using controllers, press and hold the upward directional key.
The Overwatch 2 perk system puts the onus and choice in the player’s hands. They get to choose how their hero progresses, allowing them to tailor their abilities depending on their preferences and play styles.
Looking For More?
Thank you for reading the article. We provide the latest news and create guides for Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, ARK Survival Ascended, and more. Also, watch Deltia play games on Twitch or visit his YouTube channel!
