OW2 Season 6: Invasion Brings Sun Priestess and $15 Story Missions

August 14, 2023

Season 6: Invasion launched August 10, finally delivering the PvE story content that was the entire reason Overwatch 2 exists. The catch? It's $15 for three missions. After Season 5's content drought, at least we're getting something substantial, even if it costs extra.

Illari: High-Skill Sun Support

The Peruvian sun warrior brings a skill-based support kit that'll either dominate or feed, no in-between. Her Solar Rifle charges automatically for bigger damage numbers - think Widowmaker meets Ana. The healing beam works like a smoother Zarya laser, satisfying to track but punishing if you can't aim.

Healing Pylon gives her area sustain like Soldier's biotic field, while Outburst provides mobility to escape flankers. Her ultimate, Captive Sun, launches an explosive that damages and slows enemies in a wide area. Basically Solar Grav without the pull.

If your aim sucks, play Mercy. Illari demands precision to get value, which support players have been begging for since Ana. Finally, another healer where mechanical skill matters.

Flashpoint: King of the Hill 2.0

The new mode features massive maps (Suravasa and New Junk City) with rotating control points. Think KOTH but the point moves after each capture. Forces constant repositioning and makes one-trick pony comps harder to maintain. Actually innovative for once.

The $15 PvE Elephant

Three story missions - Rio, Toronto, Gothenburg - locked behind the Invasion Bundle. Four-player co-op against Null Sector with restricted hero pools for "lore accuracy." Four difficulty levels ranging from tourist mode to masochistic.

This is literally the PvE content that justified killing Overwatch 1. Remember when Jeff promised a full campaign? Now we get three missions for the price of an indie game. At least they're canon story progression - the first in seven years.

Quality of Life Crumbs

Firing Range: Actual aim training instead of shooting bots
Hero Progression: Meaningless levels for each hero to grind
Ana Mythic Skin: Because of course the battle pass needs another $10 carrot

The Reality Check

Season 6 delivers more actual content than the past three seasons combined, which isn't saying much. Illari's a welcome addition for skilled supports tired of heal-botting. Flashpoint shows they can still design interesting modes. But charging for PvE missions that were supposed to be the core game feels like Blizzard testing how much monetization players will tolerate.

Spoiler: Based on the battle pass sales, apparently infinite amounts.

Season 6 runs through October 2023. PvE missions stay permanently if you buy them, small comfort for what should've been free.