Why are people so mad about the hero progression in ‘Overwatch 2?’

Overwatch 2 is an action shooter game that has caused a lot of controversy out the gate, mostly upon release for not differentiating itself enough from the original game. However, now gamers are finding even more flaws after sinking several hours into it that has seemingly reaped no reward for them.

Specifically, the Hero Progression system has become a point of ire for users as long sessions reveal just what isn’t working as well as people had hoped. Originally, the Hero Progression system was put in place to make up for some of the game’s shortcomings, such as the lack of “complex skill trees and progression” for PvE missions, as Game Rant pointed out back in June. As the article explained, we were told that “By simply playing Overwatch 2, players will be leveling up all of a hero’s different stats, and with each new level gained, a new reward is given.” As meager as those promised rewards might’ve been, such as name cards and emblems, at least that was something.

What is it about the Hero Progression system fans are taking issue with?

However, now that the Hero Progression system has actually been implemented this month, some gamers are claiming it isn’t exactly working the way they expected it to. Namely, the Season 6 update doesn’t take into account hours you have previously logged as various characters. As Dexerto pointed out, “all Heroes will be set at Level 0 with no XP earned” even if you’ve previously grinded in the game for hours on end. One gamer even vented his frustration with Overwatch 2 in a Reddit post:

“I’m mildly infuriated the Hero Progression system doesn’t take into account the countless hours I’ve put into this game […] You really telling me that 200 hours on Doomfist= Mastermind Recruit? Don’t tell me they don’t have my stats. Edit: Don’t know why everyone, assuming anyone, expected it to autocomplete the whole progression upon login. Just give some acknowledgment of what you’ve done. If not for OW1, at least for OW2 seasons before this one.”

Though some in the comments of the thread defended the system, saying it gives users a reason to keep playing, many others seemed to agree with the original post. This includes users who said the non-retroactive progressive system was an abuse of “gamification” and simply an excuse to relegate “3000+ hours played” gamers to “newbie” status.