OW2 Season 8: Mauga Brings Dual Chainguns to the Tank Crisis

Season 8: Call of the Hunt launched December 5, finally delivering Mauga after years of teasing. The Samoan tank dual-wields chainguns because apparently one wasn't enough for Overwatch's power creep. After Season 7's Sombra rework, at least we're getting new heroes instead of breaking old ones.

Mauga: When Roadhog Met Heavy Weapons Guy

Two chainguns with different functions: "Gunny" sets enemies on fire, "Cha-Cha" crits burning targets. It's the most literal interpretation of "spray and pray" since Bastion.

Overrun charges through enemies like Reinhardt if Rein skipped leg day and went straight to steroids. Unstoppable during charge means goodbye to sleep darts and flashbangs ruining your day.

Cardiac Overdrive heals allies based on damage dealt. Finally, a tank ability that rewards aggression instead of hiding behind corners. DPS players forced to tank might actually enjoy this.

Cage Fight ultimate traps enemies in a dome with Mauga. No escape, just chaingun baptism. It's wrestling cage match energy in a game desperately trying to be an esport.

His Berserker passive grants temporary health on crits. Combined with burning enemies taking guaranteed crits, Mauga becomes harder to kill the more he shoots.

Battle of the Beasts: PvPvE Returns

4v4 mode where teams protect their Grand Beast while killing the enemy's. Mauga's the only tank available because forced hero picks are apparently fun now.

The mode's chaotic enough to be entertaining for a while and is a nice change of pace from Ranked or, well, any other game mode. Its actually a nice addition.

Tank Role Crisis Continues

Mauga joins the roster when nobody wants to play tank. Queue times for DPS hit 10 minutes while tank players get instant matches and abuse. Adding another aggressive tank won't fix the fundamental problem: tanking in OW2 feels like being a damage sponge with a target on your back.

But hey, dual chainguns go brrrr.

Battle Pass Business

Grand Beast Orisa Mythic skin for premium pass buyers. It's Orisa but spikier and a lot cooler as well. The value proposition remains questionable, but of courtse you get more for the battle pass then just that.

Ultimate Bundle includes Magma Mauga (he's on fire!), Wild Tracker Widowmaker (she hunts!), and 2000 coins you'll spend on overpriced voice lines a new awesome intro.

Meta Impact

Mauga enables rush compositions that were dead since Overwatch 1. Pair him with Lucio speed boost and watch enemy backlines evaporate. Zen and Ana players already uninstalling.

Counter-play involves not letting him get close, which sounds simple until you realize every map has chokepoints designed for brawling. High ground advantage means nothing when Mauga Overruns up the stairs. It will potentially change the meta hard, and that is never a bad thing when new heroes are available.

The Samoa Connection

Mauga's release coincides with Season 7's Samoa map, because environmental storytelling matters in a game where lore comes from animated shorts. At least the representation feels genuine instead of checkbox diversity. It is a map with lore and visuals that properly match the charater, something that has not always been the case.

Worth Your Time?

Mauga's fun if you enjoy changing up gameplay with some tactical positioning. The chaingun audio alone justifies trying him. Battle of Beasts provides nice respite from competitive toxicity.

Now we just need to see if Season 8 actually fixes the tank problems in Overwatch. Not enough people play tanks, will Mauga fix that? Time will tell, but for now it certainly helps seeing shorter queues because everyone wants to try him out!