Ever since its arrival, Hero mastery has become a fundamental aspect of Overwatch 2. To help you understand this mode and its new features, here is a breakdown.
During the build-up to Season 5, the developers at Blizzard offered glimpses of a new single-player mode that is currently in the works for Season 6, also known as Overwatch 2: Invasion. This mode has since been revealed as Hero Mastery.
The concept was quite straightforward. Blizzard had developed specialized training courses for each hero, serving as an initial introduction to their unique mechanics for inexperienced players. Furthermore, they also launched new co-op modes, potentially helping newer players learn the importance of teamwork.
In this explanation, we will cover what Hero Mastery is, its recent updates, and its benefits for novice players.
Overwatch 2: Hero Mastery Release Date
Hero Mastery was launched simultaneously with Overwatch 2: Invasion, also known as Season 6, which has been officially announced to have a release date of August 10, 2023.
On January 2, 2024, Season 8’s mid-season patch brought forth new Hero Mastery missions.
Hero Mastery: Gauntlet was introduced with Season 9’s mid-season patch on March 12, 2024.
Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: All Hero Mastery Missions
During Season 6, the devs had planned to release additional missions for more Heroes in waves over the coming Seasons when Hero Mastery was introduced.
The available missions for Hero Master and the corresponding Seasons in which they were released can be found below.
- Reinhardt – Season 6
- Winston – Season 6
- Sojourn – Season 6
- Tracer – Season 6
- Mercy – Season 6
- D.Va – Season 8
- May – Season 8
- Echo – Season 8
- Genji – Season 8
- Lucio – Season 8
- Soldier 76 – Season 11
- Greece – Season 11
Hero Mastery: Gauntlet was introduced during Season 9. While not a brand new Hero Mastery mission, it is a spin-off of the mode and was discontinued at the conclusion of Season 10.
Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery Challenges
During the Invasion reveal stream, a glimpse was provided into the details of the challenges for Hero Mastery missions.
Scattered across the map for every Hero, there are coins that players must gather while exploring the map and testing out a hero’s movement abilities. The objective is to accumulate as many coins as possible to increase their Mastery score.
Mercy’s hero Mastery training course, as showcased in the reveal livestream
Similar to the way LEGO games utilize studs, completionists will have to employ mechanical tactics in order to obtain the more challenging coins.
Each run also includes a timer, and based on the speed runs in the Overwatch training range, it’s likely that a dedicated group within the community will compete to achieve the quickest times.
At the conclusion of a run, scores will be calculated and your Mastery score and time will be shown. This game mode is perfect for speedrunners.
Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: Gauntlet
Gauntlet, part of the Hero Mastery mode, was introduced during the mid-season update of Season 9.
The co-op game mode consists of players working together to defend towers against enemy bots. This mode is similar to a tower defense game, but within the Hero Mastery mode.
The Gauntlet challenges players to collaborate in defending the towers and gathering as many coins scattered throughout the map to achieve a high score and compete for a spot on the leaderboards.
Despite initially being included in the game, the mode will be removed at the beginning of Season 11 due to a lackluster response from the community.
Overwatch 2: Hero Mastery for New Players
According to Overwatch developer Kim Horn, a key objective of Hero Mastery is to assist new players in determining if a hero’s mechanics are suitable for them, or to simply hone their skills in a specific hero’s fundamentals.
Hero Mastery missions aim to allow players to learn the fundamentals of a hero’s mechanics
By demonstrating the ability for players to perform a double jump as Winston while in mid-air, revealing how Tracer can reach higher ground through jumping and Blinking, and subtly instructing players on how to stay airborne as Mercy, a variety of advanced mechanics can be acquired through this.
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