Highlights
- Blizzard confirms that Mauga, Overwatch 2's new Tank hero, will receive a survivability buff to address concerns raised during his trial period.
- Mauga's reliance on supports and lack of mitigation tools make him vulnerable without team coordination.
- The specific details of the buff are not disclosed, but potential adjustments include increasing health, self-healing, or healing from dealing critical damage.
Blizzard has confirmed that Mauga, Overwatch 2's next Tank hero, will be receiving a buff that'll increase the character's survivability. Mauga was recently revealed during BlizzCon 2023 ahead of a weekend trial where the hero became temporarily available for all Overwatch 2 players to try out. The hero is set to go live alongside the launch of Season 8 in December, which will bring the new Clash game mode along with its Hanaoka map.
The new Samoan Overwatch Tank impressively weilds two massive chainguns, one in each hand. His incendiary chaingun has the ability to ignite targets while his other gun deals critical damage to targets who are on fire, leading to a fun strategy of setting opponents ablaze from afar and then capitalizing with the normal chaingun for extra damage. Mauga's passive ability, Berserker, plays into this dynamic, as dealing critical damage gives Mauga temporary health. Overrun sees Mauga charge forward and slam the ground, damaging all enemies in the area, and Cardiac Overdrive allows Mauga and his nearby teammates to heal by dealing damage. As for his ultimate, Cage Fight traps opponents in a cylindrical barrier and gives Mauga unlimited ammo for the duration of the ability.
It seems Mauga's test period has raised a concern within Blizzard regarding the new Tank's ability to stay alive. In speaking with Dexerto, Overwatch 2's Lead Hero Designer Alec Dawson expressed the team's intention of buffing Mauga's survivability before his release for Season 8. Many Overwatch 2 players who tried out and played alongside Mauga found that he's too reliant on his supports and "melts" too quickly when they're not around.
While his Cardiac Overdrive can sometimes help Mauga stay alive in a pinch if he's able to dole out enough damage, the Tank lacks any serious mitigation tools. His Overrun can help him get out of the frontline and into cover if he starts melting, but as a Tank it can be a bit clunky to use as an escape move. Dawson didn't specify exactly what this buff to the unreleased Overwatch 2 hero would entail. The team could simply increase his health, or tweak the amount of self-healing done with Cardiac Overdrive. Additionally, Mauga's Berserker passive could be a target for the buff, increasing healing done when dealing critical damage to burning targets.
One thing we learned recently even with Mauga, we are tuning up some of his survivability numbers...we got a great look in that preview weekend and how people were performing and where he was in the cast - Alec Dawson
As Season 7 of Overwatch 2 winds down and fans look ahead to the arrival of Mauga in Season 8, it'll be interesting to see if the new Tank will rely less heavily on his supports than he did during his trial. Until then, Tank players can give Roadhog's new rework a try, as it has just gone live today.
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.
