The fastest ways to level up and get XP in Overwatch 2

Here's how to get on that battle pass grind.

Ana shoots a healing dart toward Zarya.
Screengrab via Blizzard Entertainment

In the first Overwatch, players would gain experience points after every match. These experience points, or XP, went toward your player level. The higher your player level, the more elaborate the portrait around your chosen hero in each match would become. Your numeric level was also displayed right above your username in matches. Generally speaking, player level was an indication of how long you’d played the game more than anything else.

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Player levels have been removed in Overwatch 2. Instead, you’ll earn XP at the end of every match as usual, but it will go toward the new battle pass. The battle pass is split into tiers, and each tier requires 10,000 XP to complete. Completing a tier unlocks its reward, which could be a skin, spray, souvenir, voice line, or even a new hero like Kiriko.

If you’re looking to grind out the battle pass as quickly as possible, here’s how to level up and gain XP quickly in Overwatch 2.

Overwatch 2 XP grind tips

The best thing you can do to gain lots of XP quickly in Overwatch 2 is complete daily and weekly challenges. These special activities require you to perform certain actions in-game, whether that’s winning a certain number of matches on a specific map or playing a specific category of hero several times. Daily challenges refresh every day, while weekly challenges refresh once a week, giving you extra time to complete their requirements.

Completing a single daily challenge awards 3,000 XP. Three daily challenges are offered every day, meaning you can earn a maximum of 9,000 XP per day just by completing them. Each battle pass tier requires 10,000 XP to unlock, so completing one day’s challenges will get you very close to unlocking a single day’s tier.

Weekly challenges are generally a little more difficult and therefore award more XP on completion. Fulfilling a weekly challenge grants 5,000 XP, and there are 11 available each week. This means that you can earn a maximum of 55,000 XP, or 5.5 battle pass tiers, per week by doing only weekly challenges. If you complete each day’s daily challenges over the course of a week, you’ll earn 63,000 XP from that, which is another 6.3 battle pass levels. When combined, this adds up to a total of 118,000 XP, which equates to 11.8 tiers during a single week.

While challenges are definitely the fastest way to level up your battle pass, they aren’t the only way. XP can also be gained by completing seasonal challenges, which are generally much more specific than daily and weekly challenges and are meant to be completed over the course of an entire season. These challenges offer fewer XP comparatively because there are so many of them each season.

A small amount of XP is awarded simply for completing a match as well. If you have an XP boost, which can be obtained through the premium battle pass, you’ll receive a 20-percent boost to battle pass XP all season, which will help you level up even more quickly. Finally, Blizzard will often incentivize playing certain roles with XP: for example, if fewer players are playing tank, the game might offer 500 XP for completing a game as a tank.

All told, if you want to level up your battle pass as fast as possible, make sure to buy the premium pass, complete all of your daily and weekly challenges as soon as they’re available, and try out lesser-played roles if additional XP is being offered for them. You’ll achieve that coveted cosmetic for your favorite hero before you know it.

Author
Image of Emily Morrow
Emily Morrow
Emily is a staff writer covering Apex Legends, Overwatch, Pokemon, and general gaming for Dot Esports. Her other bylines include Digital Trends, Screen Rant, and GameSpew. She also works as a narrative designer in games. Get in touch with her on Twitter @thepokeflute.