Overwatch 2’s First Mythic Weapon Is A Demonic Beast

Overwatch 2 has aggressively stepped up its cosmetic game. With the introduction of the “Mythic” skin tier, each season has seen a supercharged makeover arrive for the iconic cast – with arguably more hits than misses.

The next evolution of this seasonal strategy was the addition of Mythic Prisms as a currency to purchase a Mythic skin, awarded by progressing the game’s battle pass. This was to allow players to skip over a particular Mythic entry if it didn’t bring them joy, by moving the skin itself out of the battle pass track and into a defined store that conveniently held a revolving selection of past Mythic skins.

With this newfound ability to choose, Blizzard has then widened the scope of choice by diversifying what you can spend your Mythic Prisms on – by now promising that each future season will also include a ‘Mythic Weapon’ option as well.

And the first of these have arrived, by way of the Bound Demon Reinhardt Mythic Weapon Skin:

Forge your way to victory with the Mythic Bound Demon Reinhardt Weapon Skin

Lv 1: Base Weapon
Lv 2: Weapon Reactivity
Lv 3: Weapon Flourish
Lv 4: Kill Effects

Get the Reinhardt Mythic Weapon Skin Bundle today pic.twitter.com/pC6EZaXHDj

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 23, 2024

It’s a fitting weapon for the big guy – a colossal great axe, with a fiery maw that belches flame. It follows many of the standards that one would expect from a regular Mythic skin item, in the sense that it can be purchase at a lower tier and then upgraded with further prisms to add more panache and pizazz. Feeding your coveted crystals to the beast will unlock up to three levels of additional effects – including a neat weapon flourish animation, in-game visual progression and unique fiery elimination effects. I have said it before, and I will say it forever – the art team does not miss.

Rein's weapon skin after 0/5/10 kills
byu/tomoneill1991 inOverwatch

Where it differs from prior Mythic skins offerings is the lack of additional customisation. One of the biggest perks of Mythic items in the game so far is that they would come with their own tweakable set of palettes and greeblies to subtly differentiate your appearance from someone else wearing the same skin – something that is missing here.

And sure, you might apply the logic that since it is ‘just’ a weapon skin you’d expect it to be a little less involved than a full Mythic offering – but there is one rather sturdy boundary to that logic.

It is priced exactly the same as a full Mythic offering.

Eighty dollars is genuinely ridiculous

— daws__ (@TTVdaws__) July 23, 2024

Now, it is a sticky argument to discern. Technically, all the Mythic Prisms you need to buy a Mythic offering are available in a single battle pass – should you be willing to A. Purchase the battle pass and B. progress it to completion. This is arguably quite easy to do (and affordable) with even a small amount of investment in playing the game. I can routinely finish a battle pass with even the most casual of play.

So where does the $80 USD argument come from?

Well, you wouldn’t be surprised to learn that Mythic Prisms are also conveniently available to purchase separately at a premium price. As an example, 50 Mythic Prisms will cost $58.95 AUD. And the full amount needed to purchase the giant flaming axe in it’s final most complete form, will be 80 Prisms. And no, there is no bundle for 80 Prisms – the usual funny money in-game currency rules apply.

So the dilemma is simple – people who have been gleefully unlocking their Mythic skin season to season are now seeing the first peek behind the curtain of what it will cost them to continue being flashy completionists. And it aint cheap.

And the reception isn’t surprising.

Mythic weapon extortion
byu/Substantial_Ratio_88 inOverwatch

New rein mythic weapon skin price?
byu/NairbBrian1230 inOverwatch

80 Prisms for Weapon Skins is a scam
byu/SupremelyPerfect inOverwatch

I am similarly shocked to the full cost – if only because I thought that the very structure of Mythic Prisms was being deliberately done to allow lower tier items to exist. Allow me to math with you for just a moment:

• A Mythic skin, at a basic tier, costs 50 Mythic Prisms
• You can then upgrade it an additional three cosmetic tiers, unlocking additional looks and goodies, for 10 Mythic Prisms a tier
• A fully upgraded Mythic would set you back 80 Prisms – the amount available within a seasonal battle pass

So for some reason, within my mind, I thought that maybe Blizzard was going to cheekily split the difference – allowing players to unlock both Mythic items for a season at their lowest tier as a trade off. Basic Mythic skin, 50 Prisms → Basic Mythic weapon, 30 Prisms. You want the fancy stuff? Either get more Prisms next season or shell out some cash in the (sigh) Mythic Prism store.

Instead it feels that Blizzard really do intend for the big Mythic release each season to be a lot more binary – a real choice between a snazzy weapon, or a snazzy hero skin, given that the method to bypass this is conveniently quite pricey.

Hammers down, pencils up

Learn more about the very first Mythic weapon and unlock it today in the Reinhardt Mythic Weapon Skin bundle pic.twitter.com/YzQF1SBnRu

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) July 23, 2024

I will openly admit that I yearn for the days when the ‘micro’ in ‘microtransaction’ made sense. Is the new weapon awesome? Absolutely. And as a reward for your battle pass progress, it’s a great way to round out your seasonal goodies.

But as a stand alone purchase, the price aggressively rubs me the wrong way – and I sincerely hope it gets addressed sooner rather than later.