With the change to 5v5, Tanks turned a make-or-break a part of any Overwatch 2 staff. Whereas Assist and Harm gamers can depend on one other participant of their class to select up their slack after they wrestle, tanks now not have that privilege. As a extra informal Overwatch 2 participant who’s not competitively viable, this has discouraged me from enjoying as a tank. Whereas I do like the skills of characters like Junker Queen, I’m hesitant to play as them as a result of I’m frightened about being the participant that causes my staff to lose. Mauga, the most recent Overwatch 2 hero, seems to alter that, however it took years of concepts and idea reboots on Blizzard’s finish.
Unveiled at BlizzCon 2023, Mauga is an aggressive Samoan tank allied with Talon that may tear via enemies together with his two chainguns and sprint that makes him invincible. That makes him pleasing for individuals who like extra offensive Heroes, however Assist followers will discover some stuff to like with skills that may heal different gamers or give them infinite ammo. I had the prospect to play Mauga at BlizzCon 2023, and for the primary time since Overwatch 2 was launched, I’m keen to return and play as a Tank.
At BlizzCon, I spoke to the sport builders behind Mauga’s creation to study extra about how this unabashedly enjoyable Tank hero got here to be. It seems that Mauga’s impending launch is the fruits of years of improvement and concepts, together with his final skill having roots going again to the pre-release model of one among Overwatch’s most iconic characters.
The lengthy street to Mauga
Blizzard has wished to place Mauga in Overwatch for some time. The character’s roots return to a brief story about Baptiste from 2019, so it appeared like solely a matter of time earlier than he’d come to the sport. Whereas it took Mauga over 4 years to lastly arrive, it wasn’t due to Blizzard’s lack of attempting. The builders confirmed in our Q&A and reiterated in a panel at BlizzCon that they initially wished to launch Mauga across the time Sigma got here out. That’s August 2019 and near the discharge of that Baptiste brief story. In accordance with the builders, the gameplay concepts they’d for Mauga at the moment weren’t meshing properly with the character.
“It ended up turning into this factor the place we wished to have obstacles however we had two weapons. How would that truly work collectively and look visually coherent on the display?” Lead Hero Designer Alec Dawson instructed Digital Tendencies throughout a bunch Q&A at BlizzCon 2023. “It didn’t actually match the entire psychic theme to have this big man that appears so bodily.”
The builders pivoted to Sigma, a compelling character that matches the theme a lot better than Mauga in all probability would have. Blizzard didn’t throw out the thought of including this Samoan Talon member to the sport then, although, with the character reemerging in what would ultimately be Overwatch 2. Even that noticed some delays and time for refinement, as Mauga was initially going to be Season 2’s new hero earlier than getting swapped out for Remattra. “The staff wished to take some extra time to get the package good,” Dawson mentioned. Having performed as Mauga, I feel Blizzard did accomplish that.
Mauga’s standout package
“We actually wished to concentrate on Mauga as a damage-based tank, and the way he sustains himself and his staff via injury as properly,” Dawson defined. “We expect that’s pretty approachable as a tank specifically, and we expect new gamers are going to like him.”
Mauga is a tank with easy-to-understand offensive and help functions which might be additionally enjoyable to execute. Mapped to every set off or left-and-right click on on a mouse, it’s immensely gratifying to make use of Mauga’s two chainguns: Gunny and Cha-Cha. It seems like taking pictures enemies as Bastion in tank mode, however there’s extra intricacy to it. For each 10 incendiary pictures I bought with Gunny, a shot from Cha-Cha would deal a essential hit and provides Mauga a little bit of short-term well being.
When used accurately, it’s simple to mow down most of Overwatch 2’s lower-health heroes with simply Mauga’s primary assaults, even when it drains ammo fairly quick. This is without doubt one of the issues that bought extra refined with the character delay, with Blizzard amping up the interaction between the 2 weapon varieties. The remainder of Mauga’s skills aren’t too shabby, both.
Overrun makes Mauga cost ahead earlier than leaping within the air and stomping on the bottom. The builders we spoke to confirmed that Mauga is totally invincible as that is getting used and that exactly hitting an enemy with Overrun will stomp them into the bottom as an alternative of launching them into the air. After I wished to play Mauga in full-on assault mode, this was a capability I had to make use of loads.
Then there’s Cardio Overdrive, probably the most support-like of Mauga’s skills. It establishes an aura that causes close by allies to take diminished injury and heal after they injury enemies. That is helpful for gamers who like their tanks to play extra of a help function, enhancing the Assault heroes within the course of. Essentially the most attention-grabbing of Mauga’s skills is his Final: Cage Battle.
An Final thought returns
With Cage Battle, Mauga deploys a barrier that traps himself and any enemies inside. Whereas inside this cage, Mauga has limitless ammo and might let unfastened with Gunny and Cha-Cha. Apparently, that is one more long-gestating Overwatch thought. Whereas it’d seem to be it’s enjoying off the skills of characters in Overwatch 2’s friends like Valorant, it’s an Final the Overwatch staff has thought of since earlier than the primary recreation even launched.
“The whole thought of making a dome or barrier round individuals has gone via a whole lot of apply through the years,” Senior Take a look at Analyst Foster Elmendorf instructed Digital Tendencies. “Initially, it was on D.Va. It was her Final means, means again when, and it was like a dome of lasers. It’s the sort of factor you don’t throw away, even when it doesn’t work out on the unique time.”
Blizzard discovered a option to efficiently understand this concept, and it’s now one among Overwatch 2’s most distinct Ultimates and one more skill that makes it entertaining to play Mauga. Who doesn’t love limitless ammo? Cage Battle does expose Mauga’s greatest weak point, as I wanted a healer supporting me consistently so I might simply concentrate on attacking and enhancing my allies’ assaults. The builders harassed throughout our dialog that discovering precision inside Mauga’s skills and never isolating him from teammates is vital to success.
“One of many issues I actually like about his skill set is that it has a broad vary of applicability,” Elmendorf acknowledged. “You don’t need to be actually, actually good at tanking or first-person shooters usually to utilize his skills along with your staff, so it’s simple for low-level gamers like myself to make use of these skills to have a enjoyable time and do properly to your staff. As gamers rise in ability stage, you may make extra particular use of [Mauga’s] skills to do even higher. I actually like that about Mauga; he’s a type of broad-reach heroes that’s enjoyable at nearly each stage.”
I agree, as these intricacies solely make me need to dive again into the sport and play extra of them, which is one thing I didn’t anticipate to say a few new tank in Overwatch 2. Mauga completely involves Overwatch 2 when Season eight drops on December 5. He’s additionally out there to play for a restricted time within the recreation’s non-competitive modes till November 5.
Disclosure: Blizzard Leisure and PR company TriplePoint paid lodging in order that Digital Tendencies might attend BlizzCon 2023.
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