It's that time again! The Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 has arrived, and it's bringing with it a bunch of cool new skins for players to enjoy and the return of seasonal brawls.
Check out the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 trailer to see some of the new stuff in motion!
It's been four years since Overwatch first launched on PC and consoles. As always, Blizzard celebrates the game's anniversary with a bunch of strange skins.
As with many past events. the Epic Skins are being split off into Weekly Challenges; let's take a look at what's new!
What Are the Overwatch Anniversary Event Legendary Skins?
As with most events, the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 features a batch of Legendary Skins to choose from. This year's event has five Legendary Skins in total. Each of these are Event Skins, so they'll cost 3,000 Credits if you want to buy them outright.
There are some upsides, though! Everyone is getting one Legendary Lootbox which guarantees at least one Legendary Skin that you don't have!
This is also the only time of the year where you can buy skins from any other event! Skins are priced at 3,000 Credits for those that debuted in the most recent version of an event and 1,000 Credits for those which debuted one year ago or longer. A similar pricing difference is in place for emotes, highlight intros, voice lines, sprays, and other cosmetics. It's never been a better time to stock up!
What Are the Overwatch Anniversary Event Epic Skins?
Also arriving in the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 is a batch of Epic Skins. Just as with the last few events, players must win 9 games in most game modes in the space of a week to unlock these new cosmetics along with other rewards.
What are the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 Weekly Challenges?
- Week 1 (May 19–26, 2020)
- Win 3 Games - Carbon Fiber Sigma Player Icon
- Win 6 Games - Carbon Fiber Sigma Spray
- Win 9 Games - Carbon Fiber Sigma Epic Skin
- Week 2 (May 26–June 2, 2020)
- Win 3 Games - Fleur de Lis Widowmaker Player Icon
- Win 6 Games - Fleur de Lis Widowmaker Spray
- Win 9 Games - Fleur de Lis Widowmaker Epic Skin
- Week 3 (June 2–June 9, 2020)
- Win 3 Games - Masked Man McCree Player Icon
- Win 6 Games - Masked Man McCree Spray
- Win 9 Games - Masked Man McCree Epic Skin
What Else is New in the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020?
The skins are often the highlight of an event, but the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 doesn't stop there!
Three new dances are also arriving in this event. Newest characters Echo and Sigma are each getting their own floaty dancing styles, finally rounding out the dance collection for all of the game's characters.
For the first time ever, one of the game's characters is getting a second dance for their repertoire! Roadhog is getting some cool new moves to supplement his dance from a few years back.
Three new Victory Poses are also arriving alongside a bunch of new sprays and voice lines. Unfortunately, this year's event doesn't debut any new Highlight Intros.
Overwatch Brawls Return
As with past Anniversary Events, the various Arcade Brawls in Overwatch are making their return! Each Brawl will only be available for a limited time, but the schedule is available on the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 landing page:
- May 19, 2020 / May 27, 2020 / June 4, 2020
- Lúcioball
- May 20, 2020 / May 28, 2020 / June 5, 2020
- Junkenstein's Revenge
- Junkenstein's Endless
- May 21, 2020 / May 29, 2020 / June 6, 2020
- Snowball Deathmatch
- Mei's Snowball Offensive
- Yeti Hunter
- May 22,, 2020 / May 30, 2020 / June 7, 2020
- Capture the Flag Blitz
- May 23, 2020 / May 31, 2020 / June 8, 2020
- Uprising (Story)
- Uprising (All Heroes)
- May 24, 2020 / June 1, 2020 / June 9, 2020
- Retribution (Story)
- Retribution (All Heroes)
- May 25, 2020 / June 2, 2020
- Storm Rising (Story)
- Storm Rising (All Heroes)
- May 26, 2020 / June 3, 2020
- Uprising (Molten Cores)
- Uprising (Glass Cannon)
- Retribution (Surgical Strike)
- Retribution (Close Quarters)
- Storm Rising (Blood Moon Rising)
- Storm Rising (Storm Raging
Overwatch Patch 1.48.0.0 Patch Notes
Aside from launching this event, Overwatch Patch 1.48.0.0 is also bringing some new minor updates to the game's UI and heroes.
Improvements to the communication wheel have arrived, allowing players to customize their characters even more. You can adjust your setup in Options > Controls > Communication Wheel.
Patch Notes will now pop up in the client instead of opening up an external web browser. This new menu item will now be marked "new" when new patch notes arrive.
Finally, some hero balance changes that have been in testing on the PTR have deployed. Here's what's different about some of the game's characters:
Ana
Biotic Rifle
- Healing reduced from 75 to 70
Ashe
The Viper
- (Secondary Fire) Now reaches max zoom halfway through Ashe's aim down sights, instead of at its conclusion
Bastion
Configuration: Sentry
- Spread decreased 10%
- Shots until max spread reduction lowered from 60 to 40
Self-Repair
- Resource drain rate increased 20%
- Healing per second increased from 75 to 90
D.Va
General
- Restored functionality allowing D.Va to maintain her current aim pitch when de-meching
Doomfist
Seismic Slam
- Can now hold down the Ability 2 button to use Seismic Slam as soon as able (and valid, if using the aerial version)
- When landing very close or on top of enemies, the enemy will be pushed in front/away from Doomfist slightly, instead of sometimes having then end up beside/behind Doomfist
- Aerial Seismic Slam no longer has a slight acceleration time, which should make it arrive at the destination more reliably
Echo
General
- Reduced the height of Echo's head hit volume
Junkrat
Frag Launcher
- Projectiles [maintain] slightly more velocity on ricochet
Concussion Mine
- Projectile speed increased from 20 to 25
- Ricochet distance off of enemy players greatly reduced
Total Mayhem
- Bomb detonation time reduced from 1 sec to 0.7
- Bombs spread increased 50%
Mei
Cryo-Freeze
- Now behaves like Mei’s Ice Wall when it comes to interactions. Cryo-Freeze will block line of sight and collision in much the same way
Mercy
Caduceus Staff
- Healing per second increased from 50 to 55
Moira
Biotic Orb
- Damage radius reduced from 5 to 4 meters
- Projectile speed increased from 16 to 20
- Projectile duration reduced from 10 to 7 seconds
Reinhardt
General
- Reduced the height of Reinhardt's head hit volume, making it harder to hit him in the head from behind
Zenyatta
Orb of Discord
- Damage amplification increased from 25% to 30%
These are just some of the highlights in this patch; be sure to check out the full Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020 patch notes for all the minutiae. Don't forget to pick up any of the Event Skins that you may be missing! You'll be able to play the Overwatch Anniversary Event from today until June 9, 2020.
What do you think of the Overwatch Anniversary Event 2020? Are you disappointed that no new events are making an appearance? Let us know in the comments below!