[Update #2]: Overwatch 2's likely final Season 2 update has now nerfed Roadhog, Sojourn, Kiriko and Orisa.

[Update]: Overwatch 2's Lunar New Year 2023 event has now landed alongside Capture the Flag and very little else.

In order to add a little bit extra pizazz to the currently ongoing Season 2, Blizzard has now unleashed the new Battle for Olympus free-for-all deathmatch mode. The whole event will last until January 19th and, true to its name, offer you a gigantic brawl between seven heroes (Junker Queen, Reinhardt, Ramattra, Roadhog, Pharah, Widowmaker and Lucio) with super-powered ultimates and ridiculous power spikes.

Widowmaker is able to petrify her enemies, Pharah can soar across the sky while using her rocket barrage, Junker Queen wields the power of lightning, and Roadhog has decided that chucking boulders out of his gun is a highly entertaining way to spend the evening. Needless to say, the new game mode is an enjoyable little distraction, though definitely not something you'd want to commit a serious amount of hours into given that it's more of a novelty than anything else.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what Blizzard expects of you as the accompanying achievements are some of the most tedious the two games have ever seen. Seven of them want you to score 25 killing blows on each hero using your ultimate, which is fairly time-consuming but manageable in the span of two weeks, and another seven want you to reach 300 killing blows (not just eliminations) with each of the playable heroes!

And what do you get for all of that effort? Well, the first ones give you a voice line, while the second ones grant you a hero specific title. If you manage to complete six out of eighteen achievements, which thankfully do include another three relatively easy ones, you'll also be granted a Legendary tier skin for your troubles. There's a catch, however!

I say this because the reward is the Winged Victory Mercy skin from the original Overwatch. In other words, if you're a long-term player that has stuck with the game through the massive content droughts, I'm afraid all you really have to look forward to now is a couple of meaningless titles and some voice lines. It's not the end of the world as both Overwatch 2 and the Battle for Olympus mode are entirely free, but good lord does it feel like a massive downgrade from the stuff we used to get in the early days of Overwatch 1.

The skin is admittedly quite nice, so at least some new players will be happy

To end all of this on a positive note, I'm happy to say that the Battle for Olympus event has been accompanied by a small balance update. This one has brought with it some nifty buffs for Junker Queen and Zarya, as well as some tiny yet still welcome buffs for Moira and Brigitte. You can check out the full list of changes over at the official website.

Once the next big update goes live, most likely later this month, I'll make sure to let you know. Until then, I'll leave you with the brief trailer showcasing the new Battle for Olympus mode. Enjoy, and do try not to burn yourself out on the challenges - they really aren't worth the trouble!