Overwatch Classic in OW2: Dates, maps, Heroes & abilities

After plenty of hints and teasers, Blizzard have officially announced Overwatch Classic, a brand-new Arcade mode that takes the game back to its 2016 launch state.

Ever since Overwatch 2 launched in 2022, there have been plenty of calls for the return of 6v6 matches and other classic features. Although the devs have confirmed some experiments in Season 14, long-time players have been desperate for an event that goes back in time, much like Fortnite’s Season OG.

Now, the calls have finally been answered with the announcement of Overwatch Classic, so here’s when it comes to Overwatch 2 and all the maps, Heroes, and abilities.

Overwatch 2 Classic start & end date

The Overwatch Classic event runs from Tuesday, November 12, 2024, until Monday, December 2. This gives players just under a month to relive the glory days of the game in Overwatch 2, but the devs have teased that it could return in the future if the mode is popular enough.

What is Overwatch Classic?

Overwatch Classic is an Arcade mode that takes the game back to the way it was in 2016. This means that only the 21 launch Heroes are available, matches are 6v6 instead of 5v5, and there are no role or Hero limits.

So, if you want to run a team of six Bastions or stick to the Tank class: you can. To really recapture the magic of OW 1.0, each Heroe’s kit has also been reverted to its original form, meaning there are abilities returning that have been missing for years.

Even the skills that are still present in OW2 to this day are being dialed back to how they worked on day one, so expect Mercy to be revving her entire team and Torbjorn to be upgrading his Turret.

Maps

Blizzard

Assault

• Hanamura
• Temple of Anubis
• Volskaya Industries

Control

• Ilios
• Lijiang Tower
• Nepal

Escort

• Dorado
• Route 66
• Watchpoint: Gibraltar

Hybrid

• Hollywood
• King’s Row
• Numbani

All 12 of the launch maps from the original Overwatch are set to return is past of OW2’s Classic mode. However, although they’ll all be present in the event, they won’t be exactly like fans remember from the 2016 version of the game.

Rather than reverting each map to its OG state, the mode will use the maps as they are in Overwatch 2. So, they’ll retain all of the changes that have rolled out over the last eight years, including major overhauls to the likes of Dorado and Numbani.

Heroes & abilities

Blizzard

There are 21 Heroes in Overwatch Classic, all of which have had their original kits restored. Many of these will be abilities still in Overwatch 2 to this day, but they’re stronger or weaker based on how they worked back in 2016.

They’ve also been broken into the four original roles instead of the current three. Check them all out below:

Support

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 all dead teammates
• Angelic Descent
  • Fall very slowly
• Regeneration
  • Restore your own health after not taking any damage

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

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

Offense

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.

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

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

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

Soldier 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

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

Defense

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

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 devastates enemies it passes through
• Wall Climb
  • Jump at walls to climb up them

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

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

Torbjorn

• 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

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

Tank

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 (can damage you)
• Call Mech
  • Call down a new mech
• Eject!
  • Eject out of your mech when it is destroyed

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

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

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

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

Season OG broke Steam records for Fortnite back in 2023, so Blizzard will be hoping that Overwatch Classic can have a similar effect. For more OW, check out the current player count and which are the best Tanks to run