Highlights
- Overwatch 2 will reveal a new Tank hero named Mauga at BlizzCon 2023, confirmed by a recent leak.
- Mauga's abilities include two chainguns with different functions, a passive ability that heals him on critical hits, and the ability to charge forward without being affected by crowd control abilities.
- Mauga's ultimate ability, Cage Fight, will trap opponents in a fighting ring.
Overwatch 2 has leaked new Tank hero Mauga before his big BlizzCon 2023 reveal. BlizzCon 2023's opening ceremony is scheduled to take place on November 3 at 11:00am PT. The event will include updates on all of Blizzard's big games, including the popular hero shooter Overwatch 2. Blizzard teased awhile ago that its plans for Overwatch 2 at BlizzCon would include the reveal of a new Tank hero, and a new leak has confirmed that said Tank hero is none other than the long-rumored Mauga.
Mauga has been rumored for Overwatch since he was first featured in a Baptiste short story "What You Left Behind." Blizzard added fuel to the fire when it debuted the Samoa map for Season 7, heavily hinting that Mauga would be the next addition to Overwatch 2's growing roster. Fans can expect a full Mauga reveal later on, but in the meantime, his abilities and more have been leaked ahead of time.
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As reported by Polygon, Mauga will first be playable from November 3 to November 5 as part of a "free trial" weekend to give fans a sneak peek at Season 8, scheduled to go live on December 5. It's likely, though unconfirmed at the time of this writing, that Mauga will be available to Overwatch 2 Battle Pass owners immediately, with free players having to reach a certain level before they gain access to him.
Overwatch 2 Mauga Abilities
- "Gunny" Chaingun - Incendiary damage
- "Cha-Cha" Chaingun - Critical hits
- Berserker (Passive) - Heals Mauga when he lands critical hits
- Overrun - Charge forward, immune to crowd control abilities
- Cardiac Overdrive - Reduces incoming damage, creates an "aura" that heals allies when they deal damage through it
The Polygon report also detailed Mauga's abilities. Mauga comes equipped with two chainguns with different functions. One of Mauga's chainguns deals incendiary damage, while the other is focused on landing critical hits. Mauga's Ultimate is called Cage Fight, and it will trap opponents in a "cylindrical fighting ring." It's hard to imagine exactly how this will work, but fans will have a much better idea once Blizzard drops some Mauga gameplay at BlizzCon 2023.
The Mauga gameplay trailer is also likely to showcase the new Tank hero's other abilities, like the Berserker passive and the Overrun and Cardiac Overdrive abilities. According to Polygon, Berserker heals Mauga when he lands critical hits, while Overrun lets Mauga charge forward without fear of being countered like Reinhardt's charge. An example given in the article points to Ana's Sleep Dart, which will be ineffective against Mauga's Overrun. And finally, Cardiac Overdrive reduces incoming damage and heals allies who deal damage through its aura.
On paper, Mauga sounds like he could be overpowered, especially since his Overrun ability can't be stopped by crowd control abilities like Ana's Sleep Dart. However, it remains to be seen what kind of impact Mauga will have on the Overwatch 2 meta in practice. If he is overpowered or underpowered, fans can expect Blizzard to tweak his stats with regular balance updates as it does all the other heroes in the game.
Overwatch 2
Overwatch 2 is Blizzard's free-to-play team-based first-person shooter. The title features some new heroes like Junker Queen and Sojourn, as well as returning favorites.
