If you’ve ever queued up for a competitive Overwatch 2 match and spotted an enemy DPS rocking a shiny gold weapon mid-fight, you’ve probably wondered can you get golden guns in Overwatch 2 for your own favorite heroes too. These iconic skins are one of the most prestigious cosmetic rewards in the entire game, and they’re not just for show—they signal you’ve put in serious hours grinding ranked play to earn them. I’ve unlocked three golden guns myself for my most played heroes, so I’m breaking down exactly how the system works, what you’ll need to do to get yours, and common mistakes to avoid along the way.
Can You Get Golden Guns in Overwatch 2? Core Eligibility Rules
The short answer is yes, golden guns are fully available to earn for all Overwatch 2 players, no paid battle pass or premium purchase required. Every hero in the current roster is eligible for a golden gun, including new heroes added in post-launch seasons, so you don’t have to worry about your main being locked out of the reward. Golden guns are purely cosmetic—they don’t boost your damage, reduce recoil, or give you any gameplay advantage at all, so you don’t have to stress about pay-to-win gaps between players who have them and those who don’t.
One common misconception I see new players spread is that golden guns are locked to specific game modes, but that’s not true. Once you unlock one, you can use it in quick play, arcade, custom games, even PvE missions if you have access to that content. The only restriction is that you can’t transfer a golden gun from one hero to another—each unlock is tied permanently to the hero you purchase it for. That means if you main both Tracer and Genji, you’ll need to earn 6000 competitive points total to get golden guns for both.
I picked my first golden gun for Tracer right after I hit platinum for the first time, and it’s still my favorite skin in my collection 18 months later. It feels like a little trophy for all the chaotic team fights I won while learning to play her well enough to climb out of gold rank.
How to Earn Competitive Points for Golden Guns
Golden guns can only be purchased with competitive points, a special currency that is exclusively earned through ranked play. You cannot purchase golden guns with real money, Overwatch Coins, legacy credits, or any other in-game currency, so you’ll have to jump into competitive matches if you want to earn one. The system is designed to reward consistent play and improvement in ranked, rather than letting players pay to skip the grind.
There are four main ways to earn competitive points right now:
- Win a competitive match: 15 competitive points per win, regardless of your rank or the match length
- Draw a competitive match: 5 competitive points per tie, a nice consolation prize for close, hard-fought games
- End of season competitive rank rewards: 30 points for Bronze, 75 for Silver, 125 for Gold, 250 for Platinum, 500 for Diamond, 750 for Master, 1000 for Grandmaster, and 1750 points for Top 500 players per role
- Special competitive event rewards: occasional bonus points for limited-time ranked modes like Competitive Mystery Heroes or Competitive Capture the Flag
Each golden gun costs 3000 competitive points total, so you’ll need to grind a fair number of matches to hit that number. For example, if you have a 50% win rate, you’re looking at around 400 matches per golden gun, not counting end of season rewards. If you rank higher, you can cut that down a lot—last season I finished in Diamond on support, got 1200 points as a season reward, so I only needed to grind 1800 more points for my Mercy golden gun.
If you’re new to competitive play, don’t let the 3000 point cost scare you off. Even if you only play a few matches a week, you can earn enough points for a golden gun in 2-3 seasons if you claim all your end of season rewards. I know players who only play competitive during their free time on weekends, and they unlock a new golden gun every 6 months or so without grinding nonstop.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Golden Guns
I’ve seen so many new players waste their hard-earned competitive points on choices they regret later, so there are a few key rules to follow if you want to get the most out of your grind. Always unlock golden guns for your top 2-3 most played heroes first—you’ll get way more use out of them than you will a skin for a hero you only play once every few months. I made this mistake early on, buying a golden gun for Hanzo because I thought it looked cool, only to realize I barely play him and would have gotten way more use out of a Lucio golden gun for my support games.
Another big mistake is quitting competitive matches early. If you leave a match before it ends, you don’t get any points even if your team ends up winning, and you get a leaver penalty that can block you from queuing for 15 minutes or more. Even if your team is getting crushed, it’s better to stick out the match and learn from the loss than to leave and lose out on any potential rewards or rank progress.
Don’t ignore role queue rewards either. If you play all three roles (Tank, DPS, Support) during a season, you get separate rank rewards for each role, so you can stack points way faster than sticking to one role only. You don’t have to hit a high rank on every role either—even finishing bronze on tank and DPS will give you an extra 60 points per season on top of your main role rewards.
Last, don’t force yourself to play ranked modes you don’t enjoy just to grind points faster. If you hate competitive open queue, don’t make yourself play it just for extra points. You’ll play worse, lose more matches, and burn out way faster than if you stick to the ranked mode you actually enjoy playing. I only play role queue support, and I still earn enough points for a new golden gun every other season without any stress.
Customizing and Using Your Golden Gun After Unlock
Once you buy a golden gun for a hero, you don’t have to stick to the default gold look if you don’t want to. You can toggle the golden gun effect on or off for any skin for that hero, so you don’t have to give up your favorite legendary skin to use the gold finish. For example, I have my Tracer golden gun paired with her Punk skin, and the gold accents look way better with the bright pink design than they do on her default base skin.
Some hero skins have unique weapon models that change the look of the golden gun entirely, so it’s worth testing out different combinations in the hero gallery before you take it into a match. For example, Reaper’s Plague Doctor skin changes his shotguns to have a curved, ornate design, so the golden gun effect makes them look like carved gold instead of the standard blocky shotgun model.
Some players worry that golden guns make you a bigger target for enemies, but in my experience, that’s rarely the case. Most players are too focused on their own positioning and ability cooldowns to notice your weapon skin mid-fight. If you’re concerned about it, you can always toggle the golden effect off for specific matches if you want to fly under the radar, though I’ve never had a reason to do that myself.
One nice bonus is that your golden gun will automatically update if the hero gets a visual rework or new base weapon model. When Torbjörn got his rework a few seasons back, everyone who owned his golden gun automatically got the updated gold version of his new rivet gun, no extra points required.
At the end of the day, if you were asking can you get golden guns in Overwatch 2, the answer is a resounding yes—if you’re willing to put in the work in competitive play. These skins are a fun, low-stakes reward for grinding ranked, and they’re a great way to show off your dedication to your favorite heroes. Don’t rush the process, focus on playing well and having fun in your matches, and you’ll have enough points for your first golden gun before you know it. If you’ve already unlocked a golden gun, drop a comment below to let us know which hero you picked first!