All of the Overwatch Lunar New Year 2019 Skins Ranked Worst to Best
Last year, we celebrated Lunar New Year with changes to the Capture the Flag mode, including a new competitive mode, the new map Ayutthaya, and many gameplay improvements. But we knew what you really want… LOOT! Unlock over 50 new seasonal items—including legendary skins like Black Lily Widowmaker, Qinglong (Azure Dragon) Pharah, Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) Zarya, and Baihu (White Tiger) Genji—alongside gear from last Lunar New Year, available at reduced credit costs. Here are all the new Overwatch Lunar New Year 2019 Skins that are available.
In Capture the Flag, teams face off, attempting to secure the enemy flag while the opposing team does the same. Players can choose between two modes: Capture the Flag and the all-new Competitive Capture the Flag which offers a more competitive experience with placement matches, skill ratings tiers, leaderboards, competitive points, and more. We’re also adding a new Capture the Flag map, Ayutthaya.
We’ve made some changes to Capture the Flag! Flag pickup is now instant, but flags cannot be picked up for five seconds after being dropped. Flags return after 4 seconds, and flag return is not interrupted by taking damage. Mobility and invulnerability skills drop the flag and, music plays while carrying the flag! Sudden death will now break ties at the end of a match. When time runs out, the round starts over, the flags are moved closer to the center of the map, and the first team to capture wins. All these changes will be applied to older Capture the Flag maps as well.
Celebrate with our lucky Lunar Loot Boxes, filled with new skins, emotes, highlights, player icons, sprays, voice lines, and more. You can also purchase items you missed during last year’s event—at a discounted price in credits! Over 170 cosmetic items are available, but the collection will disappear on March 5. Be sure to fire up your favorite gaming machine and see what good fortune awaits before it’s too late!
Here are all the new Overwatch Lunar New Year 2019 Skins Ranked from Worst to Best.
General Brigitte
It’s not really that this new skins for Brigitte is bad, it’s just that it lacks the same detail and care that the other skins from this year’s Lunar New Year Event seem to have.
While the helmet is a nice touch, it really is the only unique feature to this skin while everything else remains essentially a recolor of Brigitte’s base skins. Not bad, just not great.
Zhang Fei Torbjorn
Like father, like daughter. Next up is Torbjorn whose mace-like hammer and new claw are the best details of this skin. However, the reason he is so far down the list is because of the hard to ignore similarities this skins has with his base legendary Blackbeard skins.
They have a similar black beard, mustache, and even have the same black eyepatch over his right eye. While Torb’s lower level skins usually have him covering his eye as well, when the same detail are used over and over (the same patch was also used in his Viking skin) then the skins never really feel fresh.
As well, the new turret doesn’t receive a lot of new detail along with this skin besides a basic recolor.
Huang Zhong Hanzo
Next up is Hanzo, whose skin has some interesting details but doesn’t really shine like the other ones.
His bright yellow coloring, white fluffy beard, and dragon shoulder plate stand out, but the rest of his outfit is not quite as impressive. His bow also didn’t get much love with this new skin, besides adding a bit more gold to the shelf and grip.
Also it seems weird to cover up his dragon tattoos when so much of this skins plays off a dragon theme. I would have been cool for those tattoos to be incorporated into the design, or even be modified to match more closely.
Sayne Orisa
While this skin is only an epic, it’s one of the best epics Blizzard has ever made. While Orisa’s gun and bongo simply get recolored, the details on her mask and the white layered fabric on her body creates a really cook effect overall.
The concept for this skin is also really great and matches Orisa’s body type perfectly. Along with it looking cool is also just feels really fitting.
Hong Gildong Tracer
When Tracer was flooded with a bunch of legendary skins in the first year of Overwatch, it seemed unlikely she would continue getting them as the years progressed. But here she is back again for her first legendary since her limited edition 2018 Atlantic All-Stars skin.
Since Tracer is a cute gal, it’s clear Blizzard went for a more cutesy approach to this skin as compared to the other beardy ones, and it works.
What it lacks in detail it makes up in feeling fitting to Tracer’s personality. This genuinely feels like something Tracer would wear to a Lunar New Year celebration, and the hat is a unique asset that’s unlike any other hat given in a skin before across all characters. Plus, goggle-less Tracer is always a nice look.
Essentially, it’s simple yet effective.
Zhuge Liang Zenyatta
Zenyatta got an amazing legendary skin in the very first Lunar New Year event, and this one tops even that.
Besides the fact that he looks like a character straight out of Dynasty Warriors, the yin and yang imagery throughout this skin is so fitting to Zenyatta’s orbs of harmony and discord.
The luminous aspects to this skins also take it to the next level. Besides just his orbs, the faint blue light can be seen in other various parts of the skins including his palms, helmet, and eyes. It really brings everything together.
Guan Yu Reinhardt
Next up is Reinhardt, with his best new legendary skin in recent memory.
As far as Reinhardt skins go, there usually isn’t too much detail beyond just giving him more armor sections and changing his hammer a bit. Only a couple skins compare with this level of detail, being Wujing from the first Lunar New Year event and Gridironhardt from the Summer Games event.
There’s so many noteworthy details in this Overwatch skin that all come together to make one cohesive unit. The bull at the center of his shield, his long and majestic beard, the green and gold accents throughout, and that’s not even to mention his weapon.
His hammer for this skin is also amazing and would look great as a golden weapon. It’s a giant glaive in the shape of a dragon’s head, and when the fire comes out the back as a boost it has a really awesome effect. Its undoubtedly the best weapon redesign for all the new skins for this event.
Lu Bu Reaper
Finally, we have the best of the best being arguably the best legendary skins Reaper has received since game launch.
Just like Genji’s Baihu skins from Overwatch’s last Lunar New Year, with the level of detail included it’s clear this skin is meant to be the star of the show.
Also like Baihu, it does a good job of making Reaper look like a brand new character will still being undeniably Reaper through his silhouette. He still has his iconic shotguns and cape, but everything else is tweaked to look fresh and brand new.
The best detail of all if the feather plumes sticking out out of his helmet. That burst of color really makes him stand out, and makes this skin a must have.
And those are our picks for the best Overwatch Lunar New Year 2019 skins, ranked.
8. General Brigitte
While the helmet is a nice touch, it really is the only unique feature to this skin while everything else remains essentially a recolor of Brigitte's base skins.
Not bad, just not great.
7. Zhang Fei Torbjorn
They have a similar black beard, mustache, and even have the same black eyepatch over his right eye. While Torb's lower level skins usually have him covering his eye as well, when the same detail are used over and over (the same patch was also used in his Viking skin) then the skins never really feel fresh.
As well, the new turret doesn't receive a lot of new detail along with this skin besides a basic recolor.
6. Huang Zhong Hanzo
His bright yellow coloring, white fluffy beard, and dragon shoulder plate stand out, but the rest of his outfit is not quite as impressive. His bow also didn't get much love with this new skin, besides adding a bit more gold to the shelf and grip.
Also it seems weird to cover up his dragon tattoos when so much of this skin plays off a dragon theme. It would have been cool for those tattoos to be incorporated into the design, or even be modified to match more closely.
5. Sayne Orisa
The concept for this skin being a lion dancer is also really great and matches Orisa's body type perfectly. Along with it looking cool, it also just feels really fitting to Orisa and her shape.
4. Hong Gildong Tracer
Since Tracer is a cute gal, it's clear Blizzard went for a more cutesy approach to this skin as compared to the other beardy ones, and it works.
What it lacks in detail it makes up for in feeling fitting to Tracer's personality. This genuinely feels like something Tracer would wear to a Lunar New Year celebration, and the hat is a unique asset that's unlike any other hat given in a skin before across all characters. Plus, goggle-less Tracer is always a nice look.
Essentially, it's simple yet effective.
3. Zhuge Liang Zenyatta
Besides the fact that he looks like a character straight out of Dynasty Warriors, the yin and yang imagery throughout this skin is so fitting to Zenyatta's orbs of harmony and discord.
The luminous aspects to this skins also take it to the next level. Besides just his orbs, the faint blue light can be seen in other various parts of the skins including his palms, helmet, and eyes. It really brings everything together.
2. Guan Yu Reinhardt
As far as Reinhardt skins go, there usually isn't too much detail beyond just giving him more armor sections and changing his hammer a bit. Only a couple skins compare with this level of detail, being Wujing from the first Lunar New Year event and Gridironhardt from the Summer Games event.
There are so many noteworthy details in this skin that all come together to make one cohesive unit. The bull at the center of his shield, his long and majestic beard, the green and gold accents throughout, and that's not even to mention his weapon.
His hammer for this skin is also amazing and would look great as a golden weapon. It's a giant glaive in the shape of a dragon's head, and when the fire comes out the back as a boost it has a really awesome effect. It's undoubtedly the best weapon redesign for all the new skins for this event.
1. Lu Bu Reaper
Just like Genji's Baihu skins from last Lunar New Year, with the level of detail included it's clear this skin is meant to be the star of the show.
Also like Baihu, it does a good job of making Reaper look like a brand new character while still being undeniably Reaper through his silhouette. He still has his iconic shotguns and cape, but everything else is tweaked to look fresh and brand new.
The best detail of all is the feather plumes sticking out out of his helmet. That burst of color really makes him stand out, and makes this skin a must-have.
About the author
Haley MacLean
Video games are a true unification of art and technology, and I'm amped to be able to write about them. Lover of all things Nintendo, obsessed with narrative driven games, and hopes the couch co-op genre makes a return soon. BA/BJ/MJ from University of King's College, NS, Canada.