Summary
Overwatch 2’s new Tank hero Mauga is powerful, but there are still clear counters to him in the game. As many fans predicted, Blizzard officially pulled the curtain back on Mauga as part of its BlizzCon 2023 announcements, revealing the long-awaited newOverwatch 2hero’s abilities in the process.
Mauga’s abilities inOverwatch 2have given some fans pause. On paper, it sounds like Mauga could be overpowered, as his Overrun ability can’t be stopped by crowd control attacks like Ana’s Sleep Dart, and he has abilities that heal not only himself, but his allies as well. Game Rant attended a group interview session at BlizzCon 2023 where Blizzard addressed this concern and pointed to some potential counters for Mauga.
According to Blizzard, two of the best counters for Mauga on the Tank side are D.Va and Sigma. One of Mauga’s key abilities is his Berserker passive, which heals him whenever he lands critical hits. Both D.Va’s Defense Matrix andSigma’s Kinetic Graspcan easily “eat” Mauga’s chaingun projectiles, which will prevent the beefy new Tank hero from healing himself. Since Sigma’s Kinetic Grasp transforms projectiles into a shield for himself, he may very well be the hard counter to Mauga, though that remains to be seen.
Best Mauga Counters
Blizzard named two otherOverwatch 2charactersthat could potentially “counter” Mauga, or more specifically, his Cage Fight Ultimate ability. Mauga’s Cage Fight Ultimate allows him to trap heroes in an enclosed ring, blocking them off from the outside world. The barrier that makes up this ring can block incoming damage and heal attempts, but it can be circumvented in a couple of different ways. For one, opponents can enter the ring after it’s been deployed to overwhelm Mauga, so positioning and timing will be importrant whenever he uses his Ult. Secondly, since Mauga’s ring doesn’t have a roof, heroes can effectively shoot down into it.
Because heroes can shoot through the top of Mauga’s Cage Fight barrier, Blizzard pointed to Damage heroes Pharah and Widowmaker as two heroes that could potentially counter the new Tank hero. Depending on where Mauga has deployed his Ultimate,Widowmaker could use her grappling hookto get to a vantage point above it, while Pharah can simply hover over it and firing her missiles at Mauga.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that more effective counters to Mauga and his kit will be discovered as fans try the new Tank hero out for themselves. Mauga won’t be a permanent part of theOverwatch 2rosteruntil Season 8 rolls around on December 5, but he’s currently available to play as part of a special free trial from now until November 5.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
