Overwatch 2: Mauga Abilities, Gameplay & Lore

Mauga is Overwatch's new hero in Season 8. Here is everything you need to know about his abilities, gameplay and how to unlock him.

Overwatch2 mauga announcement
Overwatch 2: Mauga's abilities and gameplay | © Blizzard

Overwatch 2's new hero is Mauga. He was first announced at Blizzcon 2023 and has now joined the roster as Overwatch's 39th hero. The Samoan Tank might look cuddly and nice, but his backstory suggests otherwise.

Here, you will find everything you need to know about the new tank: his full ability kit, gameplay, his backstory and how to unlock him in the game.

Overwatch 2: Mauga's Full Ability Kit

Mauga is a Heavy Assault at Talon, and therefore has a big, bulky stature and heavy armor. Unsurprisingly, he is a tank in the game.

He features a kit that is designed to brawl enemies in close-quarter combat. He wields two powerful chain guns that he can fire either individually or in unison. Ignite your enemies with your incendiary chain gun “Gunny” to burn them when they take enough damage, then finish them with a critical hit from the volatile chain gun “Cha-Cha”. Paired with the rest of his kit, he is an absolute mountain on the battlefield that will melt you if you get too close.

Mauga Guns
Mauga bringing the Heat with his incendiary Chainguns! | ©2023 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

Passive Ability: Berserker

Mauga gains temporary health when dealing critical damage. Both headshots and hitting a burning target with “Cha-Cha” count towards this.

Left click - Incendiary Chaingun “Gunny”

Automatic weapon that ignites Enemies when they get hit repeatedly.

Right click - Volatile Chaingun “Cha-Cha”

Automatic weapon that deals critical damage to burning enemies.

Shift - Overrun

Charge forward to stomp and launch your enemies. You cannot be damaged or CC'd while charging.

E - Cardiac Overdrive

Give allies around you 30% damage reduction for 15 Seconds. They also heal by dealing damage.

Q - Cage Fight

Mauga places a Barrier that traps himself and his enemies. He has unlimited Ammo inside the barrier.

General Tips For Mauga

Mauga Ult Overwatch
Mauga can trap his enemies! | © Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
  • Mauga likes to charge into the crowd and stay there. Trap your enemies and support your allies, all while raining fire on whatever stands in front of you!
  • When enemies are trapped inside the Cage Fight barrier, their teammates can't heal them or do damage from outside the barrier. So, they have no choice but to fight you and your two best friends, Gunny and Cha-Cha.
  • Combine Overrun with your other abilities to cause devastating damage. If you like Reinhardt's charging abilities but think he lacks a little “fire”-power, Mauga might just be the perfect hero for you!

Mauga's Backstory

Mauga is not only an already existing character in the Overwatch universe, but also a very popular one. He appeared in the Baptiste short story "What you left behind" as a strapping Talon force and a former friend of Baptiste's.

Throughout his life, Mauga was always tall and muscular. But after an incident in a gunfight, he was wounded. During the Operation by an unknown party, he was not only healed but also augmented. After his augmentation, he gained a “new outlook in life” and joined Talon.

While he likes to portray himself as a “big dumb brute” he is a lot smarter than he looks and has the charm to talk himself in and out of bad situations. Not that he would mind, as he is a demon in close combat. Mauga flips between his lighter and darker sides quickly, though he can lose himself in the latter.

Mauga Operation
Mauga getting operated and augmented. | ©2023 Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.

In case you didn't know, Mauga was originally intended to be Hero 31. However, as the design for the new hero came together, Blizzard decided that it didn't suit Mauga's personality and instead created an entirely new hero, Sigma. About four years ago, Geoff Goodman and Joshua Noh stated that they still plan on making him a playable hero in Overwatch 2. Now the time has finally come.

How To Unlock Mauga

You can unlock Mauga immediately by purchasing the Season 8 Premium Battle Pass. But if you don't want to spend that extra money, there is a possiblity to unlock him by reaching Tier 45 in the standard Battle Pass.

Want to see more of Mauga? Check out his Trailer here!

Erik Feldengut

Erik is a writer on EarlyGame's content team, and plays mostly MOBAs, MMOs, and shooters. But LoL has had a firm grip on him for ten years....

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