Highlights

  • Hero Mastery Gauntlet is being removed from Overwatch 2 at the start of Season 11, disappointing fans who enjoyed the tower defense game mode.
  • The mode did not meet developer expectations and lacked replayability, leading to its discontinuation after just two seasons.
  • While co-op game modes like Hero Mastery Gauntlet are being removed, solo Hero Mastery challenges will continue, with more heroes getting courses in future seasons.

Overwatch 2 recently announced it has officially pulled the plug on Hero Mastery Gauntlet. Once Season 11 starts, the new co-op PvE game mode, along with its associated challenges, will be completely removed from Overwatch 2.

Hero Mastery Gauntlet was a new tower defense co-op game mode introduced in Overwatch 2 Season 9. During each match, players must protect their three towers from consecutive waves of training bots, all while collecting emblems across the map for extra points and unleashing powerful abilities from their towers to turn the tide of battle.

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Unfortunately, it seems like Hero Mastery Gauntlet has not performed as well as Overwatch 2 anticipated. In a recent forum post, community manager Kaedi explained that Hero Mastery Gauntlet “hasn’t resonated with players in the ways that we hoped.” Overwatch 2 intended the new PvE game mode to bring “the high score-chasing excitement of Hero Mastery missions into a multiplayer format,” but sadly, it did not hit the mark. Because of this, Hero Mastery Gauntlet is being completely discontinued, with the co-op game mode fully leaving Overwatch 2 at the start of Season 11.

When is Hero Mastery Gauntlet Leaving Overwatch 2?

  • With the start of Overwatch 2 Season 11, currently expected to start on June 18.

This means players have just under a month to finish any of the Lifetime Challenges for Hero Mastery Gauntlet. Fans can earn a player icon, spray, and nameplate, plus two titles and victory poses for Overwatch 2 heroes Mercy and Reinhardt through these challenges. It doesn’t currently seem like these rewards will be made available through other means after Season 11, so fans who hope to unlock them will have to work quickly in order to do so.

Fans of Overwatch 2 were disheartened to learn about the death of Hero Mastery Gauntlet. The mode was undoubtedly fun, but unfortunately suffered from a lack of replayability. Even so, the fact it is being removed two seasons after it launched is gutting, especially since Overwatch 2’s Story Missions have likewise been sidelined. With nothing but bad news coming from its co-op experiences, it seems like Overwatch 2 will be unlikely to get too much new PvE content in the future.

Luckily, it seems like the solo Hero Mastery challenges are here to stay. Kaedi confirmed as much in the same forum post, including the fact that more heroes will get courses of their own in future seasons. While it may not be a substitute for the robust co-op game modes it had once promised, at least the PvE fans in Overwatch 2’s growing playerbase will have something to look forward to.