The fourth season of Overwatch 2 has the hero shooter community pumped. The franchise will mark Pride Month for the first time, a community-created Talantis map will debut in May, and Starwatch will turn the game's heroes into space opera characters. The new hero Lifeweaver has also been made available, and she significantly alters the game. But an archival event isn't present in Overwatch 2's fourth season. In the game, players can prepare an ample amount of Overwatch 2 Coins.
Overwatch 2 season 4 spanned the months the archive would normally appear, even though it was nowhere to be seen. This has led fans to speculate that the event has either been pushed back to a later date, or has been retired entirely, since it's not necessarily a requirement for a full PvE event. Still, it would be a shame to lose three classic missions from the archives, so maybe this PvE campaign can find a way to repurpose them and make them feel fresh.
So far, Overwatch 2 has done a good job of bringing old content back so new players can experience it. While it's good to have more never-before-seen brawls and skin output in classic events, there's still value in bringing back seasonal modes like Yeti Hunter and Frankenstein's Revenge. After all, many free-to-play players who came into the Overwatch 2 series never played these modes, and neither did the archive missions, which is a shame because they're so much fun.
If Blizzard doesn't just move the save to another location in 2023, and indeed plans to cancel the event, its missions should be integrated into Overwatch 2's PvE campaign. Assuming Blizzard plans to let players pay to enter co-op, Archives could be made available for free, giving gamers a chance to try out PvE and see for themselves before spending money. Archive missions could have a separate "Legacy" menu, allowing players to learn about the lore leading up to Overwatch 2's main story.
Blizzard could make the archive missions more representative of the expanded PvE that Overwatch 2 will offer by integrating mechanics from the campaign into older content. Pickups like turrets and health kits could be introduced, while players can take advantage of abilities they've gained from the new Overwatch 2 skill tree. On top of that, some of the new enemy types from the campaign can be added to old missions, and just a simple conversation can provide a lore justification for their inclusion.
Considering how Overwatch 2 embraces challenges with unlockable skins and other cosmetics in its PvP content, perhaps players can earn old archive gear by beating remix quests or completing certain challenges on various difficulties. Turning the old Archives skins into in-game rewards will be a huge fan delight and will make players old and new more interested in spending time with classic content. While this is hardly necessary as visiting quests will suffice, it would be a great way to make other archive content permanently relevant if there is no annual event.
Whether it's Tracer's first mission in Uprising, Blackwatch's campaign in Retribution, or Ramattra's debut in Storm Rising, archival missions capture pivotal moments in Overwatch lore. So it doesn't make much sense to remove them entirely. While they did get a little old late in the original game, as only a few modifiers were added to change them, they would feel less repetitive if accompanied by hundreds of other Overwatch 2 quests. Hopefully, even if the archive dies, its mission will live on. For more game guides, please visit mmorpgm.com.
