Overwatch 2 Introduces New Tank Hero Mauga At BlizzCon 2023

A new tank hero is coming to Overwatch 2 next month, with Mauga joining the game’s hero roster as the 39th hero in Season 8. The hero was officially announced during BlizzCon 2023’s opening ceremony in Anaheim, California, however leaked just hours prior to the event due to a poorly-timed early Nintendo eShop post. The Samoan brawler comes to the game in December, but will be playable, even in quick play, for a limited-time Overwatch 2 trial weekend from 3-5 November.

Blizzard describes Mauga as a “powerful, brawling Tank Hero who will tear through the competition with his incendiary and volatile chainguns.” His loadout is designed “to bash through the front lines and brawl his opponents in close-quarter combat, by wielding two powerful chainguns that can either be fire individually or in unison.”

Here’s a full breakdown of Mauga’s abilities, coming soon to Overwatch 2:

• Dual Chainguns – “Gunny,” an Incendiary chaingun that burns enemies when they take enough damage, and “Cha-Cha,” the Volatile chaingun that critical hits enemies.
• Berserker (Passive) – grants Mauga temporary health whenever he deals critical damage.
• Overrun – A charging ability that cannot  be stopped by any crowd control abilities, and stomps into opponents dealing a powerful knockback.
• Cardiac Overdrive – Engage both of Mauga’s hearts and create an aura that reduces incoming damage, allowing allies to heal themselves while dealing damage.
• Cage Fight (Ultimate Ability) – traps nearby opponents in a cylindrical fighting ring. This barrier blocks enemy incoming damage or healing from the outside, forcing those trapped inside to face Mauga with Gunny, Cha Cha, and the barrage of infinite ammunition.

If Overwatch 2’s newest Tank hero looks familiar, that’s because Mauga was revealed to be Support hero Baptiste’s former Talon ally in the 2019 official comic What You Left Behind. The October launch of the Samoa Control map had fans speculating Mauga would be making an appearance in-game shortly, given he hails from Samoa – and a ridiculously huge shirt found in the map seemed to be a pretty clear clue he was on his way into the game.

Overwatch Art Director Dion Rogers, speaking at the BlizzCon 2023 opening ceremony, described Mauga as a “cunning tactician, always one step ahead of his enemies,” with a “brutal but cunning playstyle.” Similar to Lifeweaver, the tank has also been called simple to learn, but hard to master. 

Mauga was initially intended to launch in Overwatch in Sigma’s hero slot, but when the loadout Blizzard designed didn’t suit his personality, they opted to create an additional hero and put Mauga’s release on hold.

Mauga will be available to play this weekend as part of the free trial weekend, with his full release in Overwatch 2 coming later this year in December with the launch of Season 8.