New Show Stealing Hero Overwatch 2 Released Almost 4 Years Ago | Digital trends

With the switch to 5v5, Tanks became a make or break part Overwatch 2 Team While Support and Damage players can rely on another player in their class to pick up the slack during combat, tanks no longer have this advantage. As a more casual Overwatch 2 Not a competitively viable player, this has put me off playing as a tank. While I love the abilities of characters like Junker Queen, I’m hesitant to play them because I’m worried about being the player that causes my team to fail. Mauga, the latest Overwatch 2 Hero looks set to change that, but it took years of ideas and conceptual reboots on Blizzard’s end.

Unveiled at BlizzCon 2023, Mauga is a Talon-allied Samoan assault tank that can crush enemies with two claws and slashes that make him invincible. This makes him enjoyable for those who like more aggressive champions, but support fans will find things to love with abilities that can heal other players or give them infinite ammo. I had the chance to play Mauga at BlizzCon 2023 and for the first time since then Overwatch 2 Released, I’m dying to go back and play as a tank.

At BlizzCon, I spoke with the game developers behind Mauga to learn more about how this unashamedly fun tank hero came to be. Mauga’s impending release appears to be the culmination of years of development and ideas, with her ultimate ability rooted in a pre-release version of one of Overwatch’s most iconic characters.

Long road to Mauga

Blizzard has been wanting to put Maeoga in Overwatch for a while. The character’s roots go back to a 2019 short story about Baptiste, so it seemed like he would come into play. While it took over four years for Mauga to finally arrive, it wasn’t for lack of effort on Blizzard’s part. The developers confirmed in our Q&A and reiterated at a panel at BlizzCon that they originally wanted to release Mauga when Sigma was released. August 2019 and close to the publication of that short story Baptiste. According to the creators, the gameplay ideas they had for Mauga at the time were not compatible with the character.

“It ended up being where we wanted to have barriers but we had two guns,” he said. “How does it actually work together and look visually cohesive on screen?” “Actually having this giant guy that looks so physical doesn’t fit the whole psychological thing,” lead hero designer Alec Dawson told Digital Trends during a panel Q&A at BlizzCon 2023.

The developers opted for Sigma, a compelling character who fit the theme much better than Mauga probably would have. Blizzard didn’t abandon the idea of ​​adding this member of the Samoan Talon to the game at the time, however, with the character reappearing in what would eventually be. Overwatch 2. Even then there was a bit of a delay and time to tweak, as Mauga was originally supposed to be the new Season 2 champion before being replaced by Remattra. “The team wanted to spend more time building the kit,” Dawson said. Playing Mauga, I think Blizzard nailed it.

Mauga highlight kit

“We really wanted to focus on Mauga as a damage-based tank, and how it sustains her and her team through damage,” Dawson explained. “We think he’s particularly accessible as a tank and we think new players will love him.”

Mauga is a tank with easy-to-understand offensive and support programs that are also fun to play. By mapping every trigger or left and right click to a mouse, using Mauga’s two chainguns is a lot of fun: Gunny and Cha-Cha. It’s similar to shooting enemies as Bastion in tank mode, but with more complexity. For every 10 incendiary shots I got with Gunny, one shot from Cha-Cha landed a critical hit and gave Maoga some temporary health.

When used correctly, it is easy to reap more Overwatch 2 Low health heroes only with Mauga’s basic attacks, even though it drains ammo very quickly. This is one of the things that was further refined with character lag, with Blizzard enhancing the interaction between the two weapon types. The rest of Mauga’s abilities are not too weak.

Overrun causes Mauga to charge forward before leaping into the air and stomping on the ground. The developers we spoke to confirmed that Mauga is completely invincible as it is used and hitting an enemy precisely with Overrun will knock them into the ground instead of throwing them into the air. This was the ability I had to use a lot when I wanted to play Mauga in full attack mode.

Then there’s Cardio Overdrive, which is the most supported of Mauga’s abilities. Creates an aura that causes nearby allies to take less damage and heal when they damage enemies. This is useful for players who like their tanks to play more of a support role, boosting Assault champions in the process. Mauga’s most interesting ability is his Ultimate: Cage Fight.

A final idea returns

With Cage Fight, Mauga creates a barrier that traps himself and any enemies inside. While inside this cage, Maoga has unlimited ammo and can be unleashed with Gunny and Cha-Cha. Interestingly, this is another long-standing Overwatch idea. While it may appear to showcase the characters’ abilities Overwatch 2 peers like BraveThis is the ultimate game that the Overwatch team has been thinking about since before the first game started.

“The whole idea of ​​building a dome or barrier around people has been practiced a lot over the years,” Foster Elmendorf, senior test analyst, told Digital Trends. “Originally, it was in D.Va. It was his ultimate, at the time, and it was like a dome of lasers. “It’s something you don’t throw away, even if it doesn’t work out in prime time.”

Blizzard found a way to successfully implement this idea, and now it’s one of those ideas Overwatch 2 The most distinctive Ultimates and another ability that makes playing Mauga fun. Who doesn’t love unlimited ammo? Cagefight exposes Maoga’s biggest weakness, as I needed a healer to constantly support me so I could focus on attacking and boosting my allies’ attacks. During our conversation, the developers emphasized that finding precision in Mauga’s abilities and not isolating him from his teammates is the key to success.

“One of the things I really like about his ability set is that it’s so versatile,” Elmendorf commented. You don’t have to be really good at tanking or first-person shooters in general to use his abilities with your team, so it’s easy for low-level players like me to use these abilities to have a good time. And do well for your team. As players level up, you can make more special use of it [Mauga’s] The ability to do even better I really like that about Mauga. “He’s one of those broad heroes who’s fun on almost every level.”

I agree, as these complications only make me want to dive back into the game and play more of them, which I didn’t expect to say for a new tank. Overwatch 2. Mauga permanently to Overwatch 2 When Season 8 airs on December 5th. He is also available for a limited time in non-competitive game modes until November 5th.

Disclosure: Blizzard Entertainment and PR agency TriplePoint paid for Digital Trends to attend BlizzCon 2023.

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