Summary
After having been out for over a week inOverwatch 2, Hero Mastery Gauntlet is making waves with its distinctive style and gameplay. Unlike the single-player Hero Mastery trials, Hero Mastery Gauntlet heavily emphasizes teamwork as three-player teams fight against hordes of enemy bots. Heralded asOverwatch 2’s take on the iconic tower defense genre, the challenging game mode has proven itself to be more than worthwhile.
Despite being overshadowed by the breadth ofOverwatch 2announcements at BlizzCon 2023, Hero Mastery Gauntlet emerged as a successful PvE mode in Season 9. Although the enemies are AI-controlled, the mode’s difficulty is not to be taken lightly. Success in Hero Mastery Gauntlet is heavily dependent on strategic hero selection, effective use of upgrades, and coordinated focus fire. This results in a challenging but fun experience, as even though the map isn’t visually stunning like other Overwatch locations, the mode itself is well-made.
Hero Mastery Gauntlet Is The Unsung Hero of Season 9
Overwatch 2’s Hero Mastery Gauntlet Is More Than Looks
While the map layouts for theHero Mastery courses inOverwatch 2aren’t much to look at, boasting digital blue ground and walls alongside training bot enemies, the gameplay in Hero Mastery Gauntlet should be enough to convince players not to judge a book by its cover. Though there are options to play alongside a team composed of AI, the mode truly shines when playing with friends. For those with a competitive spirit, there’s even a climbable Top 500 leaderboard that highlights the best players in the region.
In Hero Mastery Gauntlet, there are four levels of difficulty:
As expected, the bots become more difficult to defeat depending on the level. The goal in Hero Mastery Gauntlet is to survive ten consecutive waves of enemy bots while protecting three different towers across the course. Losing a tower won’t end the game, but it will affect the team’s overall score.
“Though there are options to play alongside a team composed of AI, the mode truly shines when playing with friends.”
Overwatch 2’s Hero Mastery Gauntlet Could Replace Invasion Missions
At its core, Hero Mastery Gauntlet is deceptively simple. Players choose a hero and strategically position themselves around the map to defend their towers. However, beneath the surface there’s a surprising amount ofdepth in thisOverwatch 2mode. Mastering hero synergies, strategically deploying upgrades that enhance offense or defense, and coordinating targets with teammates are all crucial to conquering the Gauntlet. This blend of accessible core mechanics and rewarding strategic complexity is the perfect way to keep players engaged and returning for more.
Overall, Hero Mastery Gauntlet is truly a massive step in the right direction because it addressesOverwatch 2’s past PvE shortcomings. Unlike the Invasion missions, which struggled with longevity despite offering an engaging PvE experience on a first run, Hero Mastery Gauntlet thrives on being extremely replayable. With a current selection of 39 playable heroes, complex tower upgrades, and variations of attacking bots like Snipers and Exploders, each run is guaranteed to differ from the last.
In the end, despite being visually unassuming, Hero Mastery Gauntlet has the potential to dethrone the story missions of Season 6 as the go-to PvE experience. This could be even more likely considering the rumors that ex-developers believe futureOverwatch 2Invasion missions have been canceled.
It’s not too late for Blizzard to update Hero Mastery Gauntlet’s maps to match the visual appeal of pre-existing maps in the game if the developers want to do so.
Overwatch 2
WHERE TO PLAY
Overwatch 2 is an always-on and ever-evolving free-to-play, team-based action game set in an optimistic future, where every match is the ultimate 5v5 battlefield brawl. Power up your railgun and disrupt the battlefield as Sojourn, or yield your axe and command attention as Junker Queen. Battle to take control of a robot and move it toward the enemy base in the new Push Mode. Bring the fight to new destinations across the globe in iconic locations like New York, Rome, Monte Carlo and Rio. Daily challenges and frequent updates mean there is always something new to play.
