Following the release of its newest support hero Illari, Overwatch 2 is back with another new hero in tow. Mauga, the tank-class character who made a guest appearance in the 2019 short story ‘What You Left Behind’ focusing on Baptiste, will join the game’s roster in Season 8, which is rolling out on 5 December 2023.
Described as a “powerful brawling Tank Hero who will tear through the competition with his incendiary and volatile chainguns,” his kit is designed to “to bash through the front lines and brawl his opponents in close-quarter combat, by wielding two powerful chainguns that can either be fire individually or in unison.”
The shooter’s 39th playable hero was announced during this year’s BlizzCon, with a free trial letting players witness and try out his abilities in action. It took place over the weekend from 3 to 5 November, serving as a sneak peek at Season 8 of Overwatch 2.
Here’s a quick overview of Mauga’s kit:
- Primary fire: Incendiary Chaingun aka “Gunny” — Automatic weapon that ignite enemies on repeated impacts.
- Secondary fire: Volatile Chaingun aka Cha-Cha — Automatic weapon that deals critical damage to burning enemies.
- Ability 1: Overrun — Charge forward and stomp to launch enemies. You are unstoppable while charging.
- Ability 2: Cardiac Overdrive — Nearby allies take reduced damage and heal by dealing damage.
- Passive: Beserker — Gain temporary health when dealing critical damage.
- Ultimate: Cage Fight — Deploy a barrier that traps yourself and enemies. Gain unlimited ammo while inside.
It’s a pretty fun play style that rewards aggression, though players will have to be smart in using the skills in order to make the most out of them. Cage Fight, for instance, can be a double-edged sword — while it chains enemies and prevents them from escaping, it can also leave you alone with no backup if your teammates aren’t in range.
Alongside the hero announcement, Blizzard Entertainment also unveiled the origin story video of the Samoan hero, as well as plans for 2024. Director Aaron Keller showed concept art of two upcoming character on the event’s stage: a damage hero named Venture — who will be game’s first non-binary addition — and a support hero codenamed Space Ranger. The pair is due to arrive in Season 10 and 12 respectively.
Other notable features coming to Overwatch 2 include a new PvP mode called Clash and the new map Hanaoka. The game mode sees players moving back and forth between five objectives until one team captures all of them; the latter, meanwhile, is based on Hanamura, a classic map cycled out of the game when two-point capture modes were removed from Quickplay and Competitive.
NEW HERO ALERT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL… or is it? 😉
— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) November 4, 2023
Take a first look at some early gameplay of the new Damage Hero, Venture ⛏️
Venture arrives next year in Season 10 ✨ pic.twitter.com/Gyg27LvvWM
Before that rolls around, though, players will get to end off the year first with Mauga for Season 8, officially releasing on 5 December. As for the ongoing Season 7, players can expect character skins inspired by popular K-pop group LE SSERAFIM, a new themed capture-the-flag game mode, new dance emotes, and more.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Edwin Teo
