Highlights
- Overwatch 2's next hero, Mauga, is receiving buffs to improve his survivability and decrease his reliance on supports.
- Changes being tested include replacing some of Mauga's health with armor, reducing the size of his headshot hitbox, and increasing damage reduction during his Overrun ability.
- The Overwatch 2 team is also adjusting Mauga's dual chainguns to make his damage against smaller targets more reliable and decrease his damage output against larger characters like tanks.
Overwatch 2 has teased some of the buffs set to come to the game's next hero, Mauga. Now nearing the end of its seventh season, Overwatch 2 is gearing up for Season 8, which will introduce the Samoan Tank Mauga, alongside a new game mode called Clash and its map, Hanaoka.
First revealed during BlizzCon 2023, Mauga wields two massive chainguns and has the ability to set targets on fire and capitalize with critical damage. Overrun lets Mauga players aggressively charge forward and slam the ground, sending nearby opponents into the air, and Cage Fight catches opponents in a large cylindrical cage, giving Mauga unlimited ammo and plenty of time to shred his trapped targets. Overwatch 2 players had an opportunity to try out the new Tank and all his new abilities for themselves during BlizzCon weekend, allowing Blizzard to get ahead on implementing any changes before his Season 8 debut.
It seems Mauga's trial has highlighted the Tank's poor survivability, as the Overwatch 2 team had recently confirmed buffs coming to Mauga that would help him stay alive longer and be a bit less reliant on his supports. Now, in the latest Overwatch 2 Director's Take, Aaron Keller has revealed some of the changes the team has been testing for Mauga. Firstly, the team is looking at replacing 150 of Mauga's health with armor and reducing the size of his headshot hitbox. In terms of his abilities, Mauga's Overrun will potentially give him a 50% damage reduction instead of 30% while charging and will no longer be canceled by Sombra's Hack. Keller also mentioned that health gained with Cardiac Overdrive may see an increase as well.
Mauga's dual chainguns are also the subject of tinkering, as the Overwatch 2 team is playing with the spread, fire rate, and damage falloff when unloading both guns simultaneously. In his trial, Mauga's reticle spread grew considerably larger when firing both chainguns at once. Doing so is likely meant for close-range engagements, as firing just one of the guns keeps the spread tighter and has less damage falloff. "The goal will be to increase his survivability, make his damage against smaller targets a little more reliable, and reduce his damage output vs large characters, like tanks," Keller said regarding the Mauga changes. It's important to remember that none of these buffs are set in stone and may be subject to change once Mauga comes to Overwatch 2 in December.
The goal will be to increase his survivability, make his damage against smaller targets a little more reliable, and reduce his damage output vs large characters, like tanks. - Aaron Keller
Mauga isn't the only Overwatch 2 hero enjoying buffs, as fellow Tank Roadhog is set to receive a buff to his self-healing Take a Breather ability just days after his long-awaited rework went live. Fans should expect to learn more about Season 8 of Overwatch 2 and Mauga's arrival soon, as it's just around the corner on December 5.
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.
