'Overwatch' Anniversary Event Skins Ranked From D.Va To Cyborg McDonald's Uniform

The Overwatch anniversary has a lot happening, starting with a new edition of the game that includes 10 free loot boxes, a free weekend from May 26 to May 29, and a metric buttload (I believe that’s the scientific unit name) of skins, voice lines and more.

But stuff like voice lines and sprays are loot box filler: let’s face it, the skins are where it’s at, and Overwatch has eleven all-new legendary skins on deck for the anniversary event. At 3000 coins each, you’ll need a tidy bit of dosh or luck to accumulate them all.

1. D.Va: “Cruiser”

This rockabilly, ‘50s inspired look is everything . As Hana would say, “Thanks for the love!” This doesn’t look like any other skin for anybody else. Even her mech is perfectly decked out for the occasion in a little muscle-car magic. Every element of this skin is not only harmonious, but charming and pleasing to the eyes. “Cruiser” is the Overwatch anniversary’s event biggest win of a skin.

2. Lucio: “Jazzy”

Lucio’s all brass and class in this dashing, vaguely steampunk-inspired ensemble. I love his vest, his hair puff and the way his music changes to fit his new skin. This skin not only brings a dapper new look to Lucio, I also can’t help but feel like it’s a bit of a nod to DSPStanky, world’s Lucio MVP, and his legendary Lucio vids which featured that good ol’ fashioned swing:

3. Genji: “Sentai”

Gotta love this fun cultural reference to Power Rangers and Sentai entertainment. The instantly recognizable silhouette and vivid neon colors make Genji look like the Japanese hero we all know he is in his little cyber heart. There aren’t any other skins that look or feel like Genji’s Sentai skin, so chalk this one up for another top-tier skin for the Genj (he’s got a few, hasn’t he?). It goes to show that even if you’re going with “cyborg” or “full body robotic costume” as your guiding line, you don’t have to come up with something ugly, boring or both. Unfortunately, some other skins lower down the list didn’t quite understand this principle.

4. Symmetra: “Oasis”

I love Symmetra, I love Oasis and the inspiration this skin takes from the map is gorgeous. My only issue with this skin is that it covers Sym’s gorgeous face, but I can still imagine her cackling madly while she sets up the ol’ car wash, so I’ll live. I really love that gorgeous bright blue color they used across her chest and in her stockings. I do wish they hadn’t covered her face though, and I’m not sure I’m totally down with the weird shape of her skirt, but hell, it’s Symmetra’s first legendary skin since I was born. I’ll take it!

5. Tracer: “Graffiti”

The only reason this skin doesn’t rank higher is because I like all the other skins better, so this is the “worst” of a really strong bunch of frontrunners. This fits in with Tracer’s anarcho-punk skins like Punk and Ultraviolet but really kicks the feel of it up a notch with that gas mask. The guns with spray cans hanging off them is a great touch that definitely helps this skin feel legendary.

6. Pharah: “Bedouin”

This is where it starts getting middle of the road for me. It’s not that this isn’t a very nice, culturally relevant skin, but the color is so close to her Classic skin that you really get thrown at first glance and have to check again to take in the details. While the other top-tier skins give us totally new silhouettes, the major point of distinction in this Pharah skin is her hood. Even Frostbite gave us a more distinct silhouette while keeping the same colors. It’s kind of hard to believe that this is a 3000-gold skin.

7. Mei: “Beekeeper”

Straight up, I hate this skin and I think it’s ugly. But the idea is cute and creative, and it makes you think about Mei being adorable and hanging out with sweet little bumblebees and harvesting her own organic honey. Her little robot peeking out to her side in its bee garb is really cute. But most importantly, this skin is better than everything beneath it.

8. Hanzo: “Cyberninja”

Well, thank God Hanzo wasn’t the Shimada brother who got murdered and rebuilt, because if this is what he had to tool around with everyday, like…. That sucks for him. This skin is so… gray and orange. The waistband of the pants looks doofy. He looks super blocky. I really don’t like the mask covering his face. I would rather get my fourth copy of D.Va’s “Cruiser” skin in a loot box than this ugly, square, orange and gray mess. His fake tattoo sleeve arm looks stupid, but at least they nodded to Hanzo’s “tiddy always out” lifestyle and bared his arm. He’s like Quiet, if he’s not partially naked, he’ll die. Right?

9. Soldier: “Cyborg”

Why are all the cyborgs ugly and orange? I’m trying to enjoy the yellow glowy bits, but paired with the orange I’m just feeling very “new McDonalds uniform” about it all. The orange muscle cyber-arms look bad, his visor looks doofy as all hell and I can honestly say there’s nothing I like about this design. Even Hanzo’s is better because at least they tried, with Hanzo’s stupid tattoo sleeve and pointless bare arm, to reflect the original design. Soldier’s Classic design is so basic you’d think it’d be impossible to mess it up, but this skin shows that anything is possible. In a bad way.

10. Bastion: “Dune Buggy”

Why did they do my boy Bastion like this? Why did they throw ugly orange shit on his gray frame? Why are orange and gray the unofficial anniversary event colors? I guess it looks dune buggy-ish, kind of, but it’s so goddamned ugly. Is Overwatch set in a distant future where they don’t have cute dune buggies? About the only salvageable thing about this skin is adorable little Ganymede looking ready to ride, but this skin is ranked real low, to match how disappointed I am that this is their excuse for a Bastion legendary skin worthy of the anniversary event.

11. Zarya: “Cyberian”

If you like this skin, you’re being paid by Blizzard to pretend to like this skin. This skin is ugly as hell. The pink, white, gold and blue all somehow work against each other to create a sonata of discord repugnant to the eyes. That stupid mask, oh my God. Her blue hair just looks really stupid coming out of the helmet. All I can think is that T-Rex going “I have a big head, and little arms”:

Fail Zarya skin. I apologize to all Zarya mains for this disjointed mess. Why is it so hard to come up with a good skin for our Siberian bear? You know it’s bad when I would have preferred some orange and gray disaster to whatever the hell cotton candy Omnic disaster factory Zarya must have made it through.

So what do you think? How would you rank the Overwatch anniversary event skins? Which skin are you most excited to see in your loot boxes? Feel free to discuss the Overwatch anniversary event and your favorite (and least favorite) skins in the comments below.