Summary
Overwatch 2has officially explained how Competitive Hero Bans will work once they arrive in Season 16. This system will be implemented in all ranks of Competitive Play once the newOverwatch 2update arrives on April 22.
Recently,Overwatch 2revealed the launch trailer for Season 16: Stadium. The short video detailed many of the major features coming in the update, including the game mode that gave the season its title, a new damage hero named Freja, and the official implementation of Hero Bans to all ranks of Competitive.
Now,Overwatch 2has revealed exactly how this new system will work. In aDirector’s Take blogby senior systems designer Gavin Winter,Overwatch 2explained the Hero Banprocess, starting with each person optionally selecting a “Preferred Hero” to communicate who they are considering playing. Then, each player will simultaneously choose three heroes they would like to ban in a ranked choice system to emphasize speed. Finally, all the choices will be tallied up, and up to four heroes – two from each team’s selection, and no more than two from each role – will be banned.
Each Hero Ban choice has a different weight: the first is worth seven points, the second five, and the third three. The hero with the most overall votes on a single team will be banned first, followed by the top two of the other team, and lastly, the second pick of the first team. The third-place ban on a team is used instead if the opposing team has already banned one of its earlier choices, or if more than two heroes of that role have already been banned.
In the case of a tie, the hero voted for by the highest number of players is selected, and then randomly if it is still tied. Fewer than fourOverwatch 2heroes can be targetedwith bans if fans all choose the same hero, attempt to ban too many characters in the same role, or abstain completely, but most games will have four banned heroes.
Players will not be able to see the other team during the ban phase to ensure fans are not picking heroes because their opponents like playing them. In this way, Blizzard hopes to make the ban system fast, efficient, and beneficial to all players once itcomes toOverwatch 2Season 16 on April 22.
