Overwatch 2 players are taking issue with Blizzard's most recent Pharah skins in the battle pass for Season 1 and Season 2, saying that they're lacking something all the hero's other skins feature. Criticism of Overwatch 2 has come in waves since the game's launch on October 4, 2022. Each new season has brought new content, but also reinvigorated frustrations with decisions Blizzard has made that have yet to be improved. The Overwatch 2 battle pass is a key part of this criticism, and the Pharah skins are a new focus for that frustration.
In the scheme of things, Overwatch 2 has much larger issues surrounding its battle pass monetization. Other online games, for example, allow players to earn back what they spend on battle passes just by completing the battle pass. Another criticism of the Overwatch 2 battle pass is how Blizzard puts an immediate character unlock within it. Blizzard has made improvements, of course, like the inclusion of Legacy Credits in Season 3's pass, but that's just one part of the problem.
The latest criticism coming from Overwatch 2 players isn't major, but it ties into a lot of other frustrations with Blizzard at the moment. A Redditor named sagiyy called attention to an issue with the Pharah skins in the Season 1 and Season 2 battle passes. Both of these unlockable Pharah skins don't have customized rockets, as is typically showcased in Pharah's Barrage Highlight Intro. Instead, they have the rockets of Pharah's base skin. These customized rockets are in all of Pharah's other alternate skins.
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It's a relatively small thing to complain about, but the issue with Pharah's new skins ties into other Overwatch 2 player issues, too. One is players' relative disappointment in the quality of Overwatch 2's premium skins. Many players don't feel like Overwatch 2 is delivering the skin quality that Blizzard promised, or that it's putting lesser skins in its battle passes and preferring to release nicer ones through its store.
Another criticism is that the Blizzard that made Overwatch 2 isn't paying attention to the details like the Blizzard that made the original Overwatch did. This is a very complicated issue, of course, with many Overwatch fans still harboring negative feelings regarding the departure of former game director Jeff Kaplan. Whether current Blizzard is more or less capable of paying attention to the details isn't clear, but some Overwatch fans are persuaded things have gotten worse.
It wouldn't be surprising if Blizzard fixed or improved these two Pharah skins now that attention has been drawn to the issue. Perhaps the skin-specific rockets weren't implemented correctly, or perhaps the skin creators forgot and will be able to hammer them out with urgency. This is one thing Blizzard can, and should, deliver on now that the community has called attention to it. Solving the broader negative tone the community has at times is another matter entirely.
Overwatch 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.