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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 06/02/2026

The Anran Hero Trial has begun! And with it, two new modifier indicators appear above players. 1. A progress bar towards Ignition 2. An Ignition status indicator icon No similar HUD element appears for the person with the effect. #Overwatch

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/02/2026

A TON of #Overwatch2 UI news today. Excited to analyse in detail! In the meantime, the UI in the live game has reverted to Overwatch instead of Talon - BUT the logo has officially removed the "2"!

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 24/01/2026

Talon has taken control! Various areas of the UI have been adapted to Talon's branding: the main menu, the pause menu, and the Finding Game screen. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 11/12/2025

Season 20 now prioritises Favourites in the Select Skin menu during Hero Select and shows the star indicator, making it easier to find your favourite skins. The currently equipped skin appears at the very top, even if not marked favourite. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 10/12/2025

Season 20 reintroduces the "environmental kill" indicator that has been missing since Overwatch 1. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 10/12/2025

Season 20 updates the post-match Summary screen with Player Cards, progression & additional (generic) stats for each character played, similar to the Game Reports screen. Combined stats are still available via the Scoreboard. This reintroduces concepts previously seen in Overwatch 1. #Overwatch2

Overwatch 2 Season 20 post-match Summary: DPS, Hero 1

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 12/11/2025

Wuyang's ultimate ability, Tidal Blast, now displays a countdown on the target player. This makes it easier to time positioning. It uses similar text to Tracer's ultimate. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 11/11/2025

All legacy progression has been moved to a new Legacy screen on the Career Profile, including Overwatch 1 Hero Level. This contains all the #Overwatch2 Progression 1.0 menus: Showcase, Heroes, Roles, and Game Modes. Levels displayed, even for heroes, are not updated based on Progression 2.0 stats.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 11/11/2025

The S19 mid-season patch introduces a new Story screen, available from the main menu. It contains 1 cinematic, 3 motion comics, 2 hero trailers, and 1 lore drop, plus 2 empty slots. The video player itself is the same barebones one used in other areas, with just a pause/play button. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 16/10/2025

Hero SR is now displayed in the Statistics tab of the Career Profile. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

The Haunted Masquerade event mode brings some unique UI elements worth mentioning! On first launch, you are informed how the mode works, with a fun spooky background. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

In Stadium, numbers for healing and damage (excluding shields) now appear above players, with the initial hit displayed larger. These can be customized or disabled via Controls → Stadium → Stadium Combat Text. This includes opacity and text size. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

The "View Career Profile" menu item now disappears from the context menu when a player's profile is marked as Private. This is unlike other menu items which simply grey out when unavailable but matches the behaviour of View Steam Profile (which only appears for Steam accounts). #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

Competitive Rank & Portraits are now displayed in Hero Select & Kill Cam for those who have completed placements. Competitive portraits appear *on top* of hero portraits, providing an enhanced, combined look. Unranked players only display the hero portrait, and no hero level text. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

The Mythic Skin Shop now displays icons representing which cosmetics are available at each level, similar to Mythic Weapons. This is not displayed for fully unlocked Mythics. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

The grid of DPS heroes in the Hero Gallery has been adjusted again, now with 6 columns instead of 5. This change can also be seen in Hero Challenges and Hero Controls. Portraits for all heroes were made smaller as a result. #Overwatch2

Season 19. Grid of Damage is 6 across, with 3 rows full and only Widowmaker in the final row.

Season 18. Grid of Damage is 5 across, with Torbjorn, Tracer, Venture, and Widowmaker in the final row.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

For Competitive, Hero Skill Rating Predicted Rank now appears in the Career Profile. This was previously hidden until placement was finished. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

The Stadium Armory has moved Items into their own menu with additional sub-menus. Gadgets and Filtering have been added. Filtering is similar to Hero Gallery filters, with options for stats, cost, and more. Sorting is by Cost (low/high) by default. Filters do not affect other tabs. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

Bats fly out when hovering over Haunted Masquerade in the Main Menu. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

Hero Info now includes additional core information about heroes, including: Health (in its various forms), regeneration, melee damage, and move speed - with visuals! Advanced Hero Info is still not available in the Hero Gallery. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/10/2025

The priority of items in the Main Menu has changed again. Progression has been bumped to the secondary list, after Loot Boxes. Social has moved below Challenges. This is the third time Social has been moved down in 2. It used to be first. In OW1, it was third, after OWL & Highlights. #Overwatch2

Season 19. Large: Haunted Masquerade (event, orange), Play, Heroes, Shop, Battle Pass. Small: Loot Boxes, Progression, Challenges, Social.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 14/10/2025

Team Text Chat Color can now be customized, under Social → Text Chat. While the Patch Notes specify every text chat color and Comms/Pings can also be customized, this does not seem to be available in-game at the moment. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 18/09/2025

The overall layout of Player Cards has been tweaked to make better space for Drive signatures, which would previously cause player titles to clip into the top 3 heroes. However, the black background behind the hero portrait is now misaligned. #Overwatch2

Season 18 mid-season. Top 3 heroes have shifted down, Drive Signature is smaller, hero level has moved up, and player portrait has moved down.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 18/09/2025

The broken endorsement level indicators on Player Cards released as part of Season 18 have been hidden in the mid-season patch. Hopefully they make a return in Season 19.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 29/08/2025

#Overwatch2 Season 18 includes a fancy new transition to & from triangle-based screens. This includes: Light: Launch Loading, Pause Menu, Social, Options, Career Profile, Custom Game Dark: Challenges, Patch Notes, Main Menu, Private Career Profile, Loot Box Here it is slowed to 10%:

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 24/08/2025

Further insights into #Overwatch2 Progression 2.0 UI: The left sidebar of "highest leveled" heroes can be individually clicked to easily switch between them. The "Change Hero" button at the bottom opens a drawer from the bottom of the screen, reusing the Hero Select grid with better headings.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 23/08/2025

The Season 18 Kill Cam also optionally shows player cards of the person you were eliminated by, which is very reminiscent of older first person shooters. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 23/08/2025

Hero Progression 2.0 in Season 18 brings a complete overhaul to progression & challenges, consolidating a complicated system into a streamlined one. - Portraits (20, 40, 60) + icons at set levels - Free cosmetics at low levels for new players!! - BP-style progress bar - Lootbox rewards #Overwatch2

Hero Progression 2.0, Widowmaker, level 28.

Hero Progression 1.0 Challenges. Difficult to navigate, lack of clear progress.

Hero Progression 1.0 Progression screen. Very noisy, too many icons and text, no clear progression - just a lot of progress bars.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 23/08/2025

Big changes. Starting with Hero Select "Choose Hero." - Adjustments to spacing & positioning of most elements - Hero Portrait and level icon only shows once a hero is selected - Endorsement level always visible - Role icon matches other UI - Player Cards not visible by default #Overwatch2

New Hero Select (Choose/Change Hero), Season 18.
- New button/hotkey for Show Player Cards
- Hero portraits with hero level and endorsement level, plus more consistent role icon
- Wider spacing between hero portraits to fit ascended borders
- Spacing between roles smaller
- Smaller text for "Assemble your team" and countdown

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 22/08/2025

It's confirmed! Hero Progression 2.0 brings "animated Ascended portrait borders" and the hero level badge to Hero Select, available at Hero levels 20, 40 and 60. This is a fantastic way to reuse the portraits from Overwatch 1. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 15/08/2025

Today's Wuyang Kit Showcase did *not* include the OW1-style indicators in hero select. This could mean they're not ready for Season 18, they're not coming at all, or they're disabled in custom games. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 14/08/2025

Today's Wuyang Kit Showcase included a sneak peek at the Advanced Info Panel coming in Season 18. It'll be accessible directly from the F1 Hero Info screen mid-game. It features separate headings for each function/effect for an ability, as well as tags to help categorise the ability. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 14/08/2025

The Competitive Drives countdown has been widened to indicate that it'll be coming to *both* Competitive and Stadium! #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 13/08/2025

The "Select Hero" screen for hero-specific controls is one of the few areas where hero portraits are the drawn variant (like the scoreboard) rather than 3D rendered. While the Hero Gallery, Hero Challenges, and Hero Mastery screens all use the same layout, they use the 3D rendered portraits.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 07/08/2025

In Season 15, the Overtime indicator was restored to the primary font and gradient, matching Overwatch 1. Some of the UI dynamically shifts and resizes to fit the larger font. The only elements missing now are the text glow and lightning. #Overwatch2

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 06/08/2025

In Season 14, the "Overwatch 1 yellow" friends online counter made its return, replacing the "Overwatch 2 orange" counter originally introduced in Season 1. This is one of many examples of Blizzard subtly restoring previous UI elements piece by piece. I'll be posting more as I find screenshots!

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 06/08/2025

Season 6 restored the Overwatch 1 italic primary font on the main menu. Season 1-5 used the secondary font, which is less iconic and more "blocky." It is still used for secondary menu items, but it was one of many larger changes to upgrade the rushed menus from Overwatch 2's release.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 06/08/2025

Player Career Profiles have gone through many iterations throughout Overwatch 2's life. There are more gradients and less solid colours, providing a "cleaner" look.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

The perk level progress bar introduced in Season 15 is a clever reintroduction of the flaming progress bar that was previously used to indicate On Fire state.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

Fun fact: the team-coloured side indicators in Clash turn orange to indicate match point.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

Season 15 brought back the iconic blue/red VS icon and particles from Overwatch 1, replacing the white hexagon. This screen has actually gone through a few iterations though 2's life, including a diagonal look at one point.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

Season 17 brought a design refresh to the active events screen, which previously had a solid background on the main content.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

A recent game update brought back a variant of the Overwatch 1 triangles with a modern twist, including the light and sparks (along the side edges) that were a signature part of Overwatch's original visual language.

The current Overwatch 2 pause menu, with a grid of triangles, and lights & sparks moving out of the sides of the screen.

The previous Overwatch 2 pause menu, more plain with barely any textures, just light streaming from the top right corner.

The Overwatch 1 pause menu, with lights, triangles, and sparks coming from the edges of the screen.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

The Season 18 Mythic Hero Reveal livestream showed us that hero and endorsement level indicators may be coming to Hero Select, alongside a new indicator for the player's role. Live and OW1 style examples included. This is closer to Overwatch 1's style.

Season 18 Sneak Peek: the current player's hero selection portrait, with a role indicator on the top left, an endorsement level on the top right, and the hero level on the bottom center.

Live indicator: a role indicator along the left edge of the current hero selection portrait.

Overwatch 1: hero selection portrait with the role indicator next to the player's name, and the endorsement level on the top right of the portrait.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

OWCS gave us a peek at Payload Race, a new Stadium game mode, which includes some nice QoL UI! 1: Progress bar above the payload at checkpoints. 2: Slightly transparent payload progress bar when between checkpoints; an orange line for the "final stretch" 3: Zoomed in "final stretch" #Overwatch2

The payload, parked in front of a door in the process of opening, with a "P" indicator above it, which has a progress bar around it, two-thirds completed.

A grey line in 4 segments, separated by diamonds, with the final segment yellow. Indicating the full track of the map, including the final stretch.
Above it, a blue line indicating blue's progress, with the first segment filled in a solid blue, and the second segment partially filled in with a partially transparent bar, indicating incomplete progress.
Below both bars, a red line indicating red's progress, with two segments solid red, indicating completed progress.

A yellow horizontal line indicating the length of the "final stretch", with 3 white diamonds on the left end to indicate previous checkpoints, and a yellow diamond on the right end to indicate the final objective.
Above it, a transparent blue line about 20% of the width, indicating blue's progress.
Below it, a transparent red line about 10% of the width, indicating red's progress.

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Overwatch UI Appreciation @ow2ui.wizardcm.com · 04/08/2025

Hello. 👋 Overwatch's UI has gone through many iterations, especially throughout Overwatch 2's life. I'm going to be highlighting the subtle (and not so subtle) changes as they appear! I also have a backlog of recent things to appreciate, so I'll mix those in too!

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