Summary
Overwatch 2Season 11 has been met with a lukewarm response, with many players viewing it as a placeholder season due to the highly anticipated arrival of the next support hero, Juno, and the ongoing controversy surrounding tank buffs. Fortunately,the wait forOverwatch 2Season 12is nearly over. With new patch notes and a potential meta shift, other changes could be on the horizon, including map voting, hero bans, and tournaments, as suggested by Game Director Aaron Keller on August 2.
The concept of map voting and hero bans has been a recurring discussion withinOverwatch 2’s community since the original game. While exceptions exist, this topic often resurfaces during extended periods of hero dominance or the introduction of polarizing game modes like Push and Assault. Following the major changes that occurred from Season 9 to Season 11 of the hero-shooter, the possibility that Blizzard might seriously consider implementing map voting and hero bans is certainly intriguing.
How Hero Bans Could Help or Harm Overall Match Quality in Overwatch 2
Hero Bans Have Seen Various Iterations Throughout Overwatch’s History
In 2019,Blizzard introduced Role-Queuein both Quick Play and Competitive modes to solve the issue of players selecting more than two characters of the same role. It was common to see teams with four or five Damage characters, leaving just one or two players to cover the Tank or Support roles. After implementing this change, the developers began experimenting with hero pools in Season 21, where certain heroes were rotated out of ranked gameplay so they couldn’t be played at all. However, no hero was out of the rotation for more than two consecutive weeks.
Hero rotations were eventually removed, but the feedback from the player base was critical. While some players criticized the system as a low-effort substitute for balancing issues or maintaining meta diversity, others embraced the challenge of adapting to new hero pools and testing unconventional strategies. In contrast,hero bans inOverwatchesports, especially within the Overwatch League, have been generally regarded as a beneficial feature by players and viewers.
To some people’s surprise, the concept was seen again during the recent 2024 Esports World Cup. According to EWC statistics, the most bannedheroes consisted of Ana, Baptiste, D.Va, and Winston. Notably, these hero bans, to remain effective, operated under strict guidelines:
If a ban decision is not made within the time limit, the EWC team that failed to select a hero either forfeits the map or has a hero randomly selected for them.
Allowing players to ban heroes at the start of a match has several advantages, especially for heroes with high win percentages. For instance, competitive players have frequently expressed frustration with the dominance of the varyingOrisa, Mauga, and Pharah metasthroughoutOverwatch 2’s lifespan. Being able to ban these heroes entirely could reduce the game’s repetitiveness and imbalance, while also encouraging players to adapt by choosing different heroes. Even the popular streamer and Brigitte OTP, MaceToTheFace, took to Twitter to remark that “one-tricking is…unhealthy for the game” and that players who focus solely on one hero can be “a detriment to [their] team.”
Hero Bans Could Negatively Impact One-Tricks and Counter-Picking
On the other hand, hero bans could negatively affect one-trick players who specialize in a single hero due to personal enjoyment or skill. Some argue thatOverwatch 2is meant to be a fun gamewhere players should have the freedom to choose their favorite characters without restrictions, and implementing hero bans could undermine this freedom. Though there are those who maintain that the Ranked ladder is not the place for inflexibility with one’s hero roster, it raises the question of whether players should be penalized in Competitive for simply wanting to play a specific hero.
Furthermore,counter-picking inOverwatch 2has become more significant with every season that passes. Banning certain heroes opens the door for other heroes to perform better. To illustrate, the Head Coach of Toronto Ultra mentioned that if the opposing team had banned Brigitte during the EWC matchup of Toronto Ultra and Zeta Division, it would have left D.Va relatively free to harass their backline. Since hero bans directly affect counter-picking options, they may be better left in the pro scene.
Since hero bans directly affect counter-picking options, they may be better left in the pro scene.
Map Bans May Be A Healthier Choice For Overwatch 2 Than Hero Bans
Blizzard is also exploring the idea of map bans, sparking significant discussion among the player base. InOverwatch 2FACEIT tournaments, both Teams A and B have time to deliberate, after which each team captain bans a map. This leaves Team A to choose the map and Team B to select their side. If map bans were implemented in the game, a similar process could be used, but it might be more effective for each player to cast an individual vote, particularly for those who don’t or can’t participate in a five-stack.
Regardless, map bans might be a more appealing option than hero bans. This system would allow players full hero selection while still influencing team compositions. For example, players who prefer to avoid facing snipers might have better chances if they vote againstOverwatchmaps with long sightlines, like Circuit Royale, Havana, and Rialto.
In the future, it could be advantageous if Blizzard brought back the Experimental tab fromOverwatchprime, which allowed players to try changes outside the core game. This would not only be useful for evaluating hero and map bans, but also forOverwatch 2’s 6v6 test in Season 13. By leveraging this system, Blizzard could gather valuable feedback and make informed adjustments before fully implementing these changes into the game.
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.
