LogFAQs > #968481301

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/9/1/AAUbfNAADvnz.jpg

13 heroes on the left are unlocked from the start for brand new accounts. If you already owned Overwatch 1 or bought the Watchpoint pack, then you already own all of these characters. Not sure how long it will take to unlock the 19 other heroes (not counting new heroes Sojourn, Junker Queen and Kriko - the former two I believe are unlocked if you log in during season 1 and Kriko is free to returning players, will be instantly unlocked if you buy the premium battle pass, if you level the free battle pass to level 55, or do hero challenges in the future for her after the first battle pass is retired)

Not really sure how the other OW1 characters are unlocked, people on the Reddit post (https://reddit.com/r/Overwatch/comments/ xv6fcx/the_13_starting_heroes_for_new_players/) suggest it is done over the course of 100 matches, and wins count as 2 matches. You cant play competitive unless you own the entirety of the hero pool. New heroes are also banned from comp for the first 2 weeks of their release. I guess this is so smurfs cant join comp queue quickly.

Many of the F2P starting characters are easy to grasp too, some more than others.