The Hero Mastery mode for Overwatch 2 has been delayed until the mid-season patch in September. The development team at Blizzard has stated that this delay has happened to provide players with "the best experience" for the upcoming Overwatch 2 mode.
Overwatch 2 has received heavy criticism ever since the cancelation of the PvE mode, which was downsized and redistributed as paid content that will make its first appearance during the upcoming Season starting in August 2023. The PvE missions were also stated to come with a Hero Mastery mode that would allow players to test their skills with particular heroes. At the time, this new mode seemed like the ideal solution for Overwatch 2's infamous queue time problems, as it would encourage hero variety and allow players to practice with classes outside their comfort zone to get rewards.
Unfortunately, this is no longer the plan. Recently, Blizzard published a new blog about the current state of Overwatch 2 and its upcoming PvE Missions. The blog clarified that the game's Story Missions would arrive during the advent of the game's 6th Season. However, another thing clarified in the blog was that Hero Mastery would be delayed for another month and released in September instead.
According to the blog, the developers want to bring "the best possible experience for the new Hero Mastery mode." The blog ends with the development team thanking Overwatch 2 players for their understanding. With Flashpoint set to shake up the PvP modes during Season 6, and the PvE story missions being heavily anticipated despite all the controversy, there is still a lot to look forward to with the sixth season's launch. Still, it certainly would've been interesting to see players competing to have the best performance on Hero Mastery missions alongside this other content. Hopefully, the delay is worthwhile and the missions serve as an exciting mid-season drop.
Overwatch 2 will stay the course for the rest of the upcoming Season 6 content, with the Invasion story missions available for groups of four players to tackle at their leisure after purchasing $15 or $40 bundles. The $15 pack will come bundled with 1,000 Overwatch coins and a Legendary skin for Sojourn, while the $40 pack comes with the aforementioned coin bundle, Legendary skins for Cassidy and Kiriko, and The Null Sector Premium Battle Pass with 20 Tier skips. All players will need to purchase the Overwatch 2 Invasion Bundle to access the PvE content offered during Season 6, which begins August 10.
Overwatch 2 is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
Source: Blizzard
