Leaving Kiriko out of Competitive meant that all Overwatch 2 players were playing on an even playing field. Unlike Overwatch 1, Overwatch 2 doesn’t give away new heroes for free. Instead, players either have to purchase the Overwatch 2 premium battle pass or grind all the way to level 55 to unlock her for use in the game. While it’s unlikely that anyone currently in Overwatch 2 Competitive doesn’t already have access to Kiriko, there’s a chance some might not, which could put them at a disadvantage if they are playing the Support role.

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Regardless, Kiriko is now available in Overwatch 2 Competitive, which should add another dimension to the game’s ranked mode. Kiriko is a formidable new Support hero, with an Ultimate that significantly buffs her team and an ability that gives her teammates brief immortality, saving them from otherwise game-changing Ultimate attacks. It’s likely that Overwatch 2 players will be seeing a lot of Kiriko in Competitive in the days ahead.

Kiriko isn’t the only Overwatch 2 hero that’s been kept out of Competitive. Damage hero Torbjorn has been removed from Overwatch 2 Competitive for an undetermined amount of time so Blizzard can fix a bug. Those that want to play as Torbjorn can still do so in the Quick Play game mode, but the same can’t be said for fellow Damage hero Bastion, who has not only been removed from the Competitive roster, but the game at large.

Blizzard has removed Bastion from Overwatch 2 completely as the bug impacting him is a bit more serious. Prior to his removal, Bastion was able to spam his Ultimate attack in a way that was not intended by the developers, making him significantly more powerful and creating an unfair advantage for those playing Bastion. Like Torbjorn, it’s unclear when Bastion will be added back to Overwatch 2, but one has to imagine that his return will happen at some point in the relatively near future.

Overwatch 2 is out now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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