New heroes

Overwatch 2’s new modes, cosmetics, balance tweaks, and events mean nothing if the heroes aren’t compelling, fun to play, and rewarding to master. The game launched with three new heroes at the end of 2022, and it has added three new ones in the past year. Each has brought something new to the table, though Blizzard has had its hands full working to get some of them right.

Lifeweaver kicked things off in April, and was immediately panned for his low healing output and easily abused playstyle. In the months that followed, Blizzard moved some numbers around and even removed one of his passive abilities (RIP Parting Gift), and now Lifeweaver is a respectable healer with some good, if situational, utility.

Illari was next, giving Moira a run for her money as the resident “DPS support” queen. She has a high skill ceiling and requires a lot of game sense to make quick choices between healing and shooting heads, but overall she’s been a solid addition for the type of support player who wants to be active in the fight alongside their team.

Lastly, after years of waiting, Overwatch 2 fans can finally play as Mauga, Talon’s chaotic, beefy, yet somehow still easy-to-kill tank. Blizzard has recently been putting in the work to make its latest hero as strong as he looks, but his playstyle means he’s a big target without a lot of defensive capabilities. His sustainability aside, Mauga has a ton of damage output that can devastate an enemy team.

None of these heroes have set the game on fire, and I’m sure Blizzard has been doing its utmost to avoid a Brigitte situation, who infamously upended the meta and was blamed for Role Queue getting added to limit team compositions. But they’ve each carved out their own space in Overwatch 2’s roster. — Kenneth Shepard, staff writer