Players have until the end of Season 18 to complete the mode’s lifetime challenges.
Blizzard Entertainment is retiring the Hero Mastery mode in Overwatch 2. The related courses are also getting sunset in Season 19 later this year.
Overwatch 2 scraps Hero Mastery mode
The Hero Mastery mode in Overwatch 2 is getting phased out in Seasons 18 and 19. According to a post by community manager Kaedi on the Blizzard Forums, this is because the Overwatch 2 team wants to focus their efforts on Quick Play, Competitive, Stadium, and more as opposed to less popular modes.
"As we focus more time and effort into delivering the best experience for Quick Play, Competitive, Stadium, and other new ways to play, we’re going to be shifting focus away from past game modes that haven’t seen as much attention," Kaedi stated. "With this in mind, we’ve made the decision to sunset Hero Mastery courses starting in Season 19 later this year."
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Overwatch 2's Hero Mastery mode launched back in Season 6 in September 2023 with a few courses. Since then, it has grown to a total of 17 courses, including ones dedicated to D.Va, Reinhardt, Winston, Zarya, Ashe, Cassidy, Echo, Genji, Mei, Pharah, Sojourn, Soldier: 76, Tracer, Brigitte, Kiriko, Lucio, and Mercy. In total, that's four courses for tanks, nine for damage heroes, and four for support characters.
This mode features timed obstacle courses at varying difficulties plus bots and emblems. Players must do their best to improve their scores and star ratings to unlock higher difficulties. Since Overwatch 2 is no longer adding new Hero Mastery courses as of Season 18, Ashe's course, added back in January 2025, is the game mode's last one ever.
Players who wish to enter the Hero Mastery mode have until the end of Season 18 to complete any of the mode's lifetime challenges and compete to get on the Top 500 leaderboards. According to Kaedi's post, players can earn an epic loot box and exclusive player title by completing the Mastery I and Mastery III lifetime challenges at the start of Season 18 as well.
"It’s been really amazing to see how many of you jumped into the courses over the last couple of years to put on some amazing displays of skill with some of your favorite heroes," Kaedi added. "Expect more ways to keep that dedication going in Season 18 and beyond. Thanks, and we’ll see you in-game!"
That's all for now. Will you miss this game mode? Stick around on esports.gg for more Overwatch 2 news and updates.
