Hero Mastery Gauntlet, an all-new three-player co-op game mode with tower defense-style gameplay that Blizzard Entertainment launched for Overwatch 2 just two months ago, in March 2024, is already in line for cancellation due to its failure to resonate with players in the way that the developer has hoped, according to an update that a Blizzard community manager shared on the official Overwatch forums this week. Players have until the end of Season 10 to try out what was supposed to be a “permanent mode” before it disappears; Blizzard has confirmed that Hero Mastery Gauntlet won’t be available to play starting in Season 11.
Key features of the Hero Mastery Gauntlet mode, per Blizzard:
- Fight to Survive
- “Gather your friends to form a squad of three players and play in a unique tower-defense game mode. First, choose any hero from the entire roster, then face ten waves of training bots, ranging from the simple attack bot to the deadly sniper bot, along with explosive bots that will rush the towers.”
- “There are four levels of difficulty to pick from, ranging from the causal co-op fan to the ultimate survival squad. You can also queue up with trained AI to learn the ropes before competing with teammates.”
- Protect Your Towers
- “With three towers across the course, you’ll need to coordinate with your teammates to determine which ones need the most protection. Use jump pads and new fast travel platforms to get from one tower to the next quickly. The course is laid out with four different attack paths for each tower (randomized in every game), and the bots will attack towers randomly in waves. Sometimes, you’ll need to defend multiple towers at once, putting your ping and comms skills to the test.”
- Upgrade Your Towers
- “As you progress through the course, pick up any of the 14 different upgrades for your towers’ defenses. You can acquire new upgrades when you obtain energy by defeating the attack bots throughout the course. Upgrades can include the ability to repair your towers or activate turrets that can help defend your towers. What upgrades you encounter are randomized, making every game unique.”
- Maximize Your Score
- “Build your score and earn bonuses when you can keep your towers standing and/or undamaged. How many bots you can eliminate and how well you can land critical hits or support your team will determine how high you can score. Conquer the gauntlet and secure your place on the Top 500 leaderboards for your region.”
A look at the new Porsche skins that recently launched for the game:
Blizzard’s Kaedi on the end of Hero Mastery Gauntlet:
As we prepare for Season 11, we’ve taken the time to evaluate a variety of game modes based on how much they are being played. Hero Mastery Gauntlet was intended to bring the high score-chasing excitement of Hero Mastery missions into a multiplayer format. Unfortunately, it hasn’t resonated with players in the ways that we hoped. With this in mind, we have decided to discontinue Hero Mastery Gauntlet as a permanent mode, and it will not be available to play starting in Season 11.
Players have until the end of Season 10 to complete the Lifetime Challenges for Hero Mastery Gauntlet and compete on the mode’s Top 500 leaderboards.