We’ve all been there: you log into Overwatch 2 with 48 hours left in the current season, stare at your battle pass progress, and realize you’re 7 tiers away from that limited-edition mythic skin you’ve been craving all month. No matter how many quick play matches you grind, you don’t think you’ll hit that target before the season wraps. The first question that pops into your head is simple: can you buy battle pass tiers in Overwatch 2? We tested the system, crunched the numbers, and put together everything you need to know about buying tiers, how much it costs, and when it’s actually a smart call for your playstyle.
Can You Buy Battle Pass Tiers in Overwatch 2: The Short Answer
The short answer is yes, you can purchase extra battle pass tiers during an active season, but there are a few key restrictions you need to know first. You cannot purchase tiers for the free battle pass track – the option only unlocks after you buy the premium battle pass for the current season. If you’ve ever asked can you buy battle pass tiers in Overwatch 2 after missing a season’s limited skins in the past, you’ll be glad to know the process is straightforward now, as long as you meet that premium pass requirement.
Each individual battle pass tier costs 200 Overwatch Coins, the game’s premium in-game currency. For context, 100 Overwatch Coins roughly equals $1 USD, so one tier costs about $2, and a full 80-tier battle pass would cost $160 if you bought every tier outright. That’s far more expensive than the $10 premium battle pass base price, so buying individual tiers is only ever intended as a last resort for players who are close to their unlock goal.
If you buy the premium battle pass bundle when a season first launches, you get 20 tiers included automatically for an extra $10, which works out to half the cost of buying those 20 tiers individually later. That’s a far better deal if you know you want to unlock higher tier rewards quickly at the start of a season.
How to Purchase Battle Pass Tiers in Overwatch 2 Step by Step
Buying tiers only takes a few clicks once you have the premium pass, and the unlocks show up on your account immediately. First, navigate to the battle pass tab from the main game menu, right next to the hero gallery and shop tabs. You’ll see your current progress bar near the top of the screen, showing how many tiers you’ve completed and how much XP you have toward the next one.
Look for the “Buy Tiers” button in the top right corner of the battle pass screen, right next to your tier count. Click that, and you’ll see options to buy 1 tier, 10 tiers, 20 tiers, or a custom number of tiers up to the maximum remaining tiers you need to hit level 80 (the current cap for all standard seasons). You can only buy as many tiers as you have Overwatch Coins to cover, so you won’t be able to accidentally overspend.
Any XP you’ve already earned toward your next uncompleted tier will carry over after your purchase, so you don’t lose progress you’ve already put in. I’ve done this twice when I was a few tiers short of a limited event skin, and the whole process takes less than 30 seconds, no delays or glitches so far in my experience. You don’t even have to restart the game to access your new unlocks.
Pros and Cons of Buying Overwatch 2 Battle Pass Tiers
Before you drop coins on extra tiers, it’s smart to weigh the upsides and downsides to make sure you’re not wasting your money. The value of buying tiers varies wildly depending on your playstyle, how much you care about the current season’s cosmetics, and your budget:
- Pros: Instant access to limited-time skins, emotes, and mythic cosmetics that will never be available again once the season ends. If you don’t have time to grind 10+ hours of matches in the final days of a season, buying tiers is the only way to secure those unlocks. You also don’t lose any existing XP you’ve earned, so you only pay for the tiers you actually haven’t worked toward yet.
- Cons: Buying tiers individually is far more expensive than earning them through gameplay, or buying the premium battle pass bundle at the start of the season. 5 tiers cost 1000 Overwatch Coins, which is the same price as the full premium battle pass itself. There’s also no way to get a refund for tiers you buy, even if you end up earning enough XP to unlock them before the season ends.
- Neutral consideration: Buying tiers does not give you any extra competitive advantage, as all battle pass unlocks are purely cosmetic. You won’t get stronger heroes, better weapons, or faster queue times for spending extra on tiers, so you don’t have to worry about falling behind other players if you choose not to buy extra tiers.
I usually only buy tiers if I’m 5 or fewer tiers away from a mythic skin I really want, and I know I won’t have time to grind the required XP in the remaining season window. If I’m 15+ tiers away, I usually just skip it, since the cost adds up way too fast for a set of cosmetics I’ll probably only use for a few months.
When It Makes Sense to Buy Battle Pass Tiers (And When It Doesn’t)
There are a few specific scenarios where buying tiers is a reasonable choice, and a lot more where it’s a waste of money. First, it’s worth considering if you’ve already put dozens of hours into the season, and you’re only a couple tiers away from a skin or cosmetic you’ve been working toward all season. The small cost of 1 or 2 tiers is worth it to not waste all that prior progress.
It’s also a fine call if you’re a collector who wants every limited-edition Overwatch 2 cosmetic, and you don’t have the free time to grind 2+ hours a day for the rest of the season. Always wait until the final 72 hours of the season to buy tiers, so you can get as much XP as possible through gameplay first, and minimize how many you have to pay for. You’d be surprised how much XP you can earn from daily and weekly challenges in those last few days, which can cut down the number of tiers you need to buy significantly.
On the other hand, there’s no reason to buy tiers if you’re a casual player who only logs in a couple times a week, and you don’t care about missing a specific skin. Next season’s battle pass will have a whole new set of cosmetics to earn, and you can save your Overwatch Coins for the premium pass instead. Never buy tiers if you’re only chasing free track rewards, since you can’t unlock free track items by purchasing premium tiers unless you already earned them through XP. If you’re still on the free track, buying the premium pass first will unlock all the premium rewards for tiers you’ve already earned, but you still have to earn the free track rewards through gameplay.
If you have leftover Overwatch Coins from Twitch drops, event challenges, or previous season rewards, using those for tiers is a better call than spending real money out of pocket. You don’t get any extra bonus for buying tiers with real money versus free earned coins, so always use your free currency first if you have it available.
At the end of the day, whether you choose to spend extra on tiers comes down to your budget, how much you care about the current season’s cosmetics, and how much time you have to play. We’ve covered that the answer to can you buy battle pass tiers in Overwatch 2 is yes, but it’s not always the best financial choice for every player. If you do decide to buy tiers, wait until the last few days of the season, only buy as many as you absolutely need, and always use leftover free Overwatch Coins first if you have them. That way, you get the skins you want without wasting money you could put toward future season passes or other in-game content.