As expected, BlizzCon has revealed Overwatch 2’s next hero. As fans theorized when the Samoa map was released, Mauga is the latest Tank being added to the game at the beginning of Season 8 on December 5. However, players can get their first test run with the character all this weekend in any game mode except for Competitive.
Mauga is an intimidating presence on the battlefield. He looks to be as big as Reinhardt (maybe even bigger) and wields two chainguns that he can fire independently or simultaneously. Both of his weapons are named to help you remember which does what. Gunny’s rounds start out as normal damage, but will deal the burning effect after they take enough damage. Cha-Cha can then finish off those low-health enemies with a critical shot. You can read more about Mauga’s abilities in our how-to-play guide for the character.
The Overwatch community has been asking for Mauga to be added to the game for quite some time. The character was teased in Baptiste’s short story What You Left Behind and looks to add more to that character’s interesting background. Mauga has fully bought into Talon’s philosophy of causing chaos to make the world grow. Back when Baptiste was in the Talon organization, Mauga really respected him and viewed him as a friend. He liked him so much that he let Baptiste desert the terrorist organization without any repercussions.
We love it when Overwatch adds new villains to the mix. Mauga joins the list of definitive antagonists like Reaper, Doomfist, Widowmaker, and Ramattra. There are plenty of protagonists and characters that sit in the middle, so filling out the roster with more bad guys makes the dynamics between them all more interesting. It will be interesting to see how Blizzard incorporates these baddies in future story cinematics and new missions.
