If you’ve spent any time grinding Overwatch 2’s competitive lobbies, you’ve probably stared down an opponent wielding a shiny golden weapon and wondered can you still get golden guns in Overwatch 2 in the current patch. These flashy cosmetics are one of the most sought-after rewards in the game, serving as a permanent badge of how much time you’ve put into climbing the ranked ladder. Unlike temporary event skins or battle pass exclusives, golden guns feel like a true achievement for players who take competitive play seriously. I’ve unlocked three of them myself over the years, so I’m breaking down exactly how the system works right now, what’s changed from the original Overwatch, and common mistakes to avoid when grinding for your first golden weapon.
Can You Still Get Golden Guns in Overwatch 2 in 2024? (Yes, Here’s How)
Blizzard has not removed the golden gun system in any recent patches, so you can still unlock these shiny weapon skins for every hero on the roster as of today. I was worried they’d get scrapped when Overwatch 2 switched to the free-to-play model back in 2022, but the devs kept it as a core reward for loyal competitive players. That means if you’ve been putting off grinding because you thought the answer to can you still get golden guns in Overwatch 2 was no, you can get started right away.
Every golden gun costs 3000 competitive points (CP) to unlock, the same price as in the original Overwatch. Every hero currently in the Overwatch 2 roster has a golden gun variant available, even newer additions like Venture and Illari that launched after the game’s free-to-play shift. You don’t even need to own the hero to unlock their golden gun – if you unlock the hero later through the battle pass or in-game shop, the golden skin will be waiting for you in their cosmetics menu immediately.
How to Earn Competitive Points for Your Golden Gun Fast
There are two core ways to earn competitive points right now, plus a few small bonus sources to speed up your grind. The first is playing ranked competitive matches: you earn 15 CP for every win, 5 CP for a draw, and 0 CP for a loss. You don’t get CP for quick play, arcade, or battle pass progression, so you’ll have to spend time in ranked lobbies if you want a golden gun.
The second, and far faster, way to earn CP is through end-of-season rank rewards. The amount you get depends on the highest rank you hit in any role during the season, not the rank you end at when the season closes. The full breakdown of current end-of-season CP rewards is:
- Bronze: 65 CP per season
- Silver: 125 CP per season
- Gold: 250 CP per season
- Platinum: 500 CP per season
- Diamond: 750 CP per season
- Masters: 1200 CP per season
- Grandmaster: 1750 CP per season
- Top 500: 2000 CP per season
You don’t have to maintain your rank to get the end-of-season reward – even if you drop from Platinum to Gold right before the season ends, you’ll still get the Platinum tier reward. That’s a common misconception I see new players make all the time, so don’t be afraid to keep queuing even if you’re on a losing streak after hitting a new rank. You can also earn small amounts of CP from competitive weekly challenges, so make sure to complete those whenever they pop up to shave a few days off your grind time.
Common Golden Gun Unlock Mistakes to Avoid
I’ve seen a lot of players waste weeks or even months of grind time making avoidable mistakes when working toward their first golden gun. The biggest one is wasting CP on non-gun cosmetics. Competitive points can be used to unlock other cosmetic items besides golden guns, including limited-edition sprays, player icons, and victory poses. It’s tempting to blow 100 CP on a cool spray when you first start earning points, but that will set you back weeks of grinding for your golden gun. If your end goal is a golden weapon, save every single CP you earn until you hit 3000.
Another common mistake is not playing enough matches to qualify for end-of-season rewards. You need to play at least 7 placement matches in a role to get a ranked tier, and you have to complete at least one match every 7 days to avoid rank decay if you’re in Diamond or above. I made this mistake a few seasons back when I took a two week break from ranked, and I lost my Master rank right before the season ended, costing me 450 CP that would have gotten me my third golden gun a month earlier.
The last mistake to avoid is unlocking a golden gun for a hero you barely play. I see so many players unlock a golden weapon for a meta hero that falls out of favor a month later, and they end up never using it. Test the hero for at least 20 hours in quick play first to make sure you actually enjoy playing them before you spend 3000 CP on their gun. Golden guns are purely cosmetic, so there’s no reason to get one for a hero you don’t have fun playing.
What to Do After You Unlock Your First Golden Gun
Once you hit 3000 CP, you can buy your golden gun from the hero’s cosmetics menu in the “weapons” tab. It’s not automatically applied after purchase, so don’t panic if you don’t see it right away – you have to select it manually to equip it. You can toggle the golden skin on and off whenever you want, so you can switch back to a regular weapon skin if you get tired of the gold look, or if you think it makes you too visible to enemies (some players claim golden guns make you an easier target, though there’s no hard data to back that up).
If you want to unlock more golden guns, you can keep grinding CP the same way you did for your first one. There’s no limit to how many golden guns you can own, so you can eventually collect one for every hero in the roster if you put in the time. Once you’ve got all the golden guns you want, you can start spending extra CP on those other cosmetic items I mentioned earlier, like limited sprays or player icons.
If you’re a streamer or content creator, golden guns are a great way to make your gameplay clips stand out, as the shiny weapon is easy to spot even in fast-paced team fights. I’ve had a lot of viewers comment on my golden Cassidy revolver in my clips, so it’s a fun little addition to your personal brand if you make Overwatch content. You can also show it off in custom games or arcade modes if you want to take a break from ranked and still flex your achievement.
At the end of the day, the answer to can you still get golden guns in Overwatch 2 is a resounding yes, and the system is still one of the best rewards for players who love ranked play. It’s not a quick grind – expect to spend at least two to three seasons working toward your first golden gun if you’re a Gold-ranked player – but the feeling of equipping it for the first time is well worth the effort. Don’t rush the process, focus on improving your gameplay instead of just grinding wins, and you’ll have that shiny golden weapon in your collection before you know it.