Overwatch 2’s new hero, the dual-minigun-wielding Samoan tank Mauga, formally launched earlier this week with the sport’s eighth season. Earlier than that, Blizzard Leisure added Mauga to the roster for an early preview weekend, which coincided with this yr’s BlizzCon.
Mauga’s early entry weekend was greater than only a enjoyable shock for Overwatch followers; it was additionally a take a look at for Blizzard. The tank hero was buffed, debugged, and tweaked in response to that hero preview, leading to a extra highly effective (and hopefully balanced) addition to the sport’s hero lineup.
Lead hero designer Alec Dawson mentioned in an interview with Polygon forward of Mauga’s launch that the Overwatch growth crew hopes to do related participant assessments with future heroes. Dawson additionally talked about a few of the classes discovered throughout Mauga’s preview weekend, and the way the Overwatch crew is evolving its strategy to including new heroes to the sport.
This interview has been edited and condensed for readability.
Polygon: For Mauga, you probably did a type of unprecedented take a look at of a brand new hero almost a month upfront of their launch. Are you able to inform me about what led to the choice to try this?
Alec Dawson: Should you take a look at the crew general, and the way we’ve been making an attempt to deal with growth over the course of the final [couple] years, it’s actually been to open up much more of it, have interaction extra with the group, and attempt to make it possible for relationship is as clear as potential. With Mauga particularly, we had a possibility: BlizzCon was coming again. We wished to do one thing huge, particularly for all the oldsters at house, and we thought it’d be a good time to point out them Mauga early, and likewise acquire suggestions on Mauga earlier than he truly will get launched as nicely.
We predict it’s one thing that labored out rather well, and we’re wanting ahead to do it sooner or later once more with future heroes.
How did it go?
I believe general we had been actually pleased with the weekend, and there have been some issues we wished to tune up, particularly round Mauga’s survivability. We noticed when he will get in there, will get in shut and is in the appropriate scenario, he might be extremely deadly. We noticed gamers using his ult very nicely early on, too. However there have been some issues on the survivability entrance, when it comes to his frontline presence — being a tank. So we upped that [survivability] earlier than launch. There have been even small bugs that we had been in a position to catch, particularly with how rapidly he was setting enemies on hearth. So we’re in a position to repair that and get that sorted. We additionally acquired to see that first-time person expertise throughout thousands and thousands of gamers [and] how they’re taking part in with Mauga, what had been a few of the shortcomings there.
Picture: Blizzard Leisure
One of many greatest issues was Overrun, and gamers not feeling as succesful with this capability the place he runs at you after which he jumps up and does the massive, huge stomp.
After we take a look at all of it, Mauga’s efficiency over the weekend, clearly it was in a really totally different construction than we’re used to. However we need to make it possible for these [new hero] releases launch on the aspect of robust and ensuring these launches might be as thrilling as potential. Be certain that they’re making up for a few of the time that you could have on heroes that you simply’ve been taking part in for a whole lot or 1000’s of hours, that your first-time expertise isn’t gonna be one thing that’s detrimental to the remainder of your crew, one thing you could decide up fairly fast.
Occupied with the addition of Lifeweaver in season 4 and the way a number of modifications had been rolled out, when it comes to his therapeutic and and injury output over the next weeks, it appears you’ve additionally actually buffed Mauga rapidly. While you put in a brand new hero like this, what’s your consolation stage with the place they’re? You actually don’t know thousands and thousands of persons are thrown at it, proper?
I believe up to now we’ve been conservative about sure issues. And there are nonetheless issues we’ll be conservative about, particularly gameplay mechanics. With the preview we had been a bit conservative on how a lot maintain we had been giving Mauga, as a result of an excessive amount of maintain can simply really feel like, Hey, this character isn’t going to die. I believe we’ll even be conservative sooner or later, if we’re making a second Widowmaker, for instance — some form of sniper, or one-shot mechanic. Issues like that we’ll be a bit softer on.
Picture: Blizzard Leisure
With Lifeweaver particularly, we knew there was a number of therapeutic within the package, and we knew there have been additionally stuff you’re taking away some participant company out of your teammates [with Life Grip and Petal Platform]. These are a few of the issues we’re a bit extra conservative on at launch as a result of we knew these are going to be a few of the ache factors. However general we noticed we may have gone a bit bit extra aggressive for Lifeweaver’s launch. Since then, we’ve discovered plenty of issues about how we need to launch heroes and the way we need to launch them. Doing these previews is simply one other step in that studying.
Beforehand, the hero steadiness cadence was seasonal and midseason changes, and clearly you’ll patch issues if there was one thing outstandingly damaged. How how have you ever and the crew adjusted your response window to balancing heroes?
I believe with a hero launch, or perhaps a hero rework, we need to be very energetic into that first week to 2 weeks. With Roadhog, it was by the tip of the week we had buffs prepared for Roadhog to go [out]. So we wanna be very responsive, and if there’s anything that’s, like, excellent, we’re gonna are available in and make any changes that have to be made.
Talking of BlizzCon, I do know it’s early to speak concerning the subsequent Overwatch hero, Enterprise, however I wished to see what sort of suggestions you bought to that hero’s reveal and the way you’ve been ingesting that when it comes to persevering with work.
A whole lot of work has occurred since that video clip was recorded, so it’s actually fascinating to look again; that was some time in the past once we did that playtest. However it’s simply been thrilling for the crew. We noticed fan artwork go up all over the place, and a number of pleasure round Enterprise, and simply folks speaking about them as the subsequent injury hero for 2024. That was actually invigorating for the entire crew.
What we confirmed of gameplay was so brief, so there’s not essentially a ton to remove from what folks noticed. On the similar time we noticed pleasure, and that for us was actually nice to see, and makes us really feel lots higher about how early we are able to present a few of these issues. As a result of I believe it’s gonna be one thing that we proceed to do as nicely.
Mauga clearly got here with BlizzCon, however say you do a hero take a look at for Enterprise. Do you might have a way of if you would roll that out?
We’re nonetheless determining the precise timeline for it. I believe you possibly can count on someplace in that month beforehand, the place it offers us sufficient time to make changes earlier than the launch and is shut sufficient the place [it aligns with] different groups engaged on a hero. These are nonetheless some conversations we’re having on the crew [in] precisely how we need to execute on that. However we all know we need to do it.
