Overwatch 2’s Mauga modified the best way Blizzard provides new heroes

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 12 months’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 stated in an interview with Polygon forward of Mauga’s launch that the Overwatch growth workforce hopes to do comparable participant exams with future heroes. Dawson additionally talked about among the classes discovered throughout Mauga’s preview weekend, and the way the Overwatch workforce 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 sort of unprecedented take a look at of a brand new hero practically a month prematurely of their launch. Are you able to inform me about what led to the choice to try this?

Alec Dawson: In the event you have a look at the workforce 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, interact extra with the group, and attempt to be sure that relationship is as clear as attainable. With Mauga particularly, we had a possibility: BlizzCon was coming again. We needed to do one thing massive, particularly for all the oldsters at residence, and we thought it’d be a good time to point out them Mauga early, and in addition acquire suggestions on Mauga earlier than he really will get launched as effectively.

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 proud of the weekend, and there have been some issues we needed to tune up, particularly round Mauga’s survivability. We noticed when he will get in there, will get in shut and is in the proper scenario, he might be extremely deadly. We noticed gamers using his ult very effectively 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 shortly he was setting enemies on hearth. So we’re in a position to repair that and get that sorted. We additionally bought to see that first-time consumer expertise throughout hundreds of thousands of gamers [and] how they’re enjoying with Mauga, what had been among the shortcomings there.

Picture: Blizzard Leisure

One of many largest issues was Overrun, and gamers not feeling as succesful with this capacity the place he runs at you after which he jumps up and does the large, massive stomp.

Once we have a look at all of it, Mauga’s efficiency over the weekend, clearly it was in a really completely different construction than we’re used to. However we wish to be sure that these [new hero] releases launch on the facet of sturdy and ensuring these launches might be as thrilling as attainable. Be certain that they’re making up for among the time that you’ll have on heroes that you just’ve been enjoying for lots of or hundreds of hours, that your first-time expertise isn’t gonna be one thing that’s detrimental to the remainder of your workforce, one thing which you can choose up fairly fast.

Occupied with the addition of Lifeweaver in season 4 and the way numerous modifications had been rolled out, when it comes to his therapeutic and and harm output over the next weeks, it appears you’ve additionally actually buffed Mauga shortly. Whenever you put in a brand new hero like this, what’s your consolation stage with the place they’re? You actually don’t know hundreds of thousands of individuals are thrown at it, proper?

I believe previously 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 somewhat 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 you already know we’re making a second Widowmaker, for instance — some form of sniper, or one-shot mechanic. Issues like that we’ll be somewhat softer on.

Picture: Blizzard Leisure

With Lifeweaver particularly, we knew there was numerous therapeutic within the package, and we knew there have been additionally belongings you’re taking away some participant company out of your teammates [with Life Grip and Petal Platform]. These are among the issues we’re a bit extra conservative on at launch as a result of we knew these are going to be among the ache factors. However general we noticed we may have gone somewhat bit extra aggressive for Lifeweaver’s launch. Since then, we’ve discovered plenty of issues about how we wish to launch heroes and the way we wish 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 workforce adjusted your response window to balancing heroes?

I believe with a hero launch, or perhaps a hero rework, we wish to be very lively 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 the rest that’s, like, excellent, we’re gonna are available and make any changes that must be made.

Talking of BlizzCon, I do know it’s early to speak concerning the subsequent Overwatch hero, Enterprise, however I needed 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.

Quite a 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 after we did that playtest. But it surely’s simply been thrilling for the workforce. We noticed fan artwork go up in every single place, and numerous pleasure round Enterprise, and simply individuals speaking about them as the subsequent harm hero for 2024. That was actually invigorating for the entire workforce.

Picture: Blizzard Leisure

What we confirmed of gameplay was so brief, so there’s not essentially a ton to remove from what individuals noticed. On the similar time we noticed pleasure, and that for us was actually nice to see, and makes us really feel loads higher about how early we will present a few of these issues. As a result of I believe it’s gonna be one thing that we proceed to do as effectively.

Mauga clearly got here with BlizzCon, however say you do a hero take a look at for Enterprise. Do you will have a way of once you would roll that out?

We’re nonetheless determining the precise timeline for it. I believe you’ll be able to anticipate someplace in that month beforehand, the place it provides 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 workforce [in] precisely how we wish to execute on that. However we all know we wish to do it.