Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery explained: Gauntlet mode, rewards, more

Hero Mastery has been in Overwatch 2 since Season 6, and has been receiving regular updates since. With the mid-season patch for Season 9, Blizzard have now launched the new Gauntlet mode. Here is everything you need to know about it, including what rewards you can get.

The mid-Season 9 patch for Overwatch 2 brought a lot of buffs and nerfs to more than 15 Heroes, and brought the highly anticipated Cowboy Bebop crossover event. Alongside that, we also got a whole new mode: Hero Mastery: Gauntlet.

Since Hero Mastery’s launch in Season 6, we have slowly been getting more Heroes that have specialized courses to practice in. Gauntlet is a little different from this, and it also allows you to earn rewards and play with teammates. Here’s everything you need to know about it.

• Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery Heroes and missions explained
• Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: Gauntlet explained
• Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: Gauntlet rewards

Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery Heroes and missions explained

Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery is a special mode where players can practice with their favorite Heroes.

Each course is laid out in a simulation, with bots to heal and damage, and players earn a score that depends on a few objectives.

Mastery courses have three levels for each Hero: Recruit, Agent, and Veteran. Each course has its own score requirements, but the basics remain the same throughout.  

Mastery Missions are timed. The better your time, the better the outcome of your run. The times are split into 3x, 2x, and 1.5x multipliers. You don’t have to complete the course within these times – in fact, you can take as long as you want – but the closer you get to the multiplier time, the higher your score will be. 

Eliminating and healing bots also adds to your score, alongside picking up as many Mastery Emblems as you can. Your score at the end of your run will give you a certain amount of stars which you need to start the next level. 

New Heroes are being added periodically, and currently these Heroes are available for Mastery courses: Mercy, Lucio, Reinhardt, Winston, D.Va, Genji, Echo, Mei, Sojourn, and Tracer.

Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: Gauntlet explained

Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: Gauntlet is a new three player mode introduced in Season 9 that revolves around defending towers from enemy bots.

Players can choose any Hero from the roster to head into the tower defense mode. Your objective is to protect three towers from 10 waves of enemy bot attacks. You can purchase upgrades and collect Emblems as you go to boost your score.

There are four difficulty levels to choose from, but you can also hop into a game with AI bots first to try it out for yourself before you try it with teammates.

How the towers work in Hero Mastery: Gauntlet

There are three towers across the course you need to protect, and sometimes, one will need more protection than the others.

Enemy bots will likely focus on one tower, but there is a chance that you will need to defend more than one tower at a time. Especially at higher difficulties, it’s going to be really important to coordinate with your teammates to maximize your efficiency.

The course includes jump pads and fast travel points that will help you navigate the map a little easier, which means you can quickly move from one tower to another, depending on which needs the most defense.

Thankfully, you are able to upgrade your towers. As you progress through the course, there are 14 different upgrades that you can pick up that will allow you to repair towers, construct turrets, and more.

Overwatch 2 Hero Mastery: Gauntlet rewards

Overwatch 2 players can score points in Hero Mastery: Gauntlet and participate in a new limited-time event for cosmetic rewards.

Depending on how many towers are left undamaged or standing, your score will reflect your progress when you complete the Gauntlet course. Your score will also go up with the amount of bots you manage to eliminate, and how many headshots you manage. If you get a high enough score, you can get on the Top 500 Leaderboard of your region.

Until March 28, you can play Gauntlet to get special cosmetic rewards. These include Victory Poses, Battle Pass XP bonuses, a Souvenir, a Weapon Charm, and a new Title.

That’s everything to know about the new Hero Mastery: Gauntlet mode! If you want to know more about Overwatch 2, you can check out our guides below.

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