Click here for the previous part, Overwatch Review Part 2 – Be A Hero! – Xbox Redeem Code, and here for part 1!

Steam Account Value: The Loot and Leveling System of Overwatch

There’s a concept of leveling in Overwatch, as it is custom in Blizzard’s games. It’s not exactly character leveling like in MOBAs or in MMORPGs like WoW as we know them, but more akin to account level in League of Legends. It’s nothing but a vanity number and is, as of now, unknown what the level cap is, but each level nets you a nifty loot box that has 4-5 random items inside for your characters. There’s nothing obtainable in a loot box that has the concept of a gear progression for your heroes (as those simply do not exist in the game), but only contain cosmetic items to enhance your experience. Skins, colors, spray tags, emotes, and victory poses are about the only things you can get from those. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on perspective), there doesn’t seem to be any form of trading in Overwatch like other Steam account based shooter games like CS:GO or Team Fortress 2, so players won’t be able to monetize any of they extra items they receive.

In my opinion, it’s a great way to keep players engaged but, at the same time, isn’t overbearing where getting stronger has a level of RNG tied to it. These loot boxes are not at all important to the game and you can continue on playing without ever even opening a single one if cosmetic items aren’t your thing. The cash shop of Overwatch also contains nothing more than offers for loot boxes if you want to get some cosmetic stuff immediately rather than waiting for your 1 per level. Blizzard has, apparently, made good on their promise to focus more on gameplay of Overwatch rather than monetizing it with incessant cash shop items. I’m not saying that it’s bad to have items in the cash shop because how else can Blizzard make any more money to sustain the servers of the game? I certainly won’t mind if they do so eventually in the future, but they only mean that they won’t be prioritizing it and would rather maintain a gaming platform, like LoL or DoTA, with an extremely long lifespan. Still, I’m hoping to see if Overwatch can maintain itself in some way like how Steam accounts based games do it for themselves. While Overwatch may have toppled Team Fortress 2 outright, it’s certainly a different story in CS:GO. Let’s see where this heads to.

Steam Account Value: The Verdict

The Overwatch hype is real. There is no doubt that this game is as amazing as a team-based shooter/FPS MOBA can be. We’re already passed the point where we say that Overwatch is promising; it’s already delivered on that promise and continues to deliver more with each passing game played all over the world. It’s proven itself that it certainly is the next best thing, already overshadowing the recently released Battleborn launched recently for Steam accounts, and completely eclipsing Team Fortress 2 even before it was launched.

Perhaps the only demographic that Overwatch won’t appeal to are the non-competitive gamers that would rather have a chill and relaxing single-player campaign with their shooters like Fallout or Half-Life. Lucky for those folks, it’s easy to access them through their Steam account and don’t have to resort to downloading Battlenet.

So, tl;dr? If you love shooters and PvP, buy Overwatch. If you hate shooters but love PvP? Buy Overwatch! I swear, no matter what end of the spectrum you are in the gaming landscape, this is a game you can get into and it’s a game that you really will like. You don’t even have to be hardcore; the game is also made for casuals. It’s one of the very inclusive games in the past years to be developed and launched, and I hope that this continues well into the future. The last thing I’m going to say about Overwatch that it is definitely Esports material. Begin your watch now!