Blizzard has opted to disable both Bastion and Torbjorn from Overwatch 2 in light of some game-breaking bugs that popped up shortly after launch.
Just days after Overwatch 2 went live in ‘early access’, two popular characters have been temporarily pulled from the game. Both Bastion and Torbjorn are no longer available in competitive play, with the latter only accessible in Quick Play while Blizzard irons out some key issues.
The official Overwatch Twitter account shared the news on October 10, citing “a few bugs in their ability kits” as the reason for their temporary ban in the sequel. For Bastion, the reworked Damage hero was able to continuously fire his Artillery ultimate, resulting in some extremely lopsided fights. As for Torb, while his issues have been less prevalent, many have pointed toward his Overload ability as the culprit. In some cases, players are reportedly able to extend the effect and gain additional, unintended armor.
At the time of writing, it’s unclear when we can expect to see both heroes back in rotation. Blizzard assured it will be a “quick trip to the workshop,” however, so fans shouldn’t have to wait all too long.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Given the rocky state of Overwatch 2 at launch, issues facing these two heroes are just the tip of the iceberg for Blizzard. At first, alleged DDoS attacks were the biggest problem impacting the sequel upon release. Server issues prevented a vast majority of the player base from accessing the game over the first 48 hours. Once the community got in, a range of other pressing issues soon became clear.
From wild hero-specific bugs to mobile verification problems leaving thousands unable to play the sequel, it was far from a smooth transition. In one of the more troubling matters, countless players even reported their content from OW1 no longer being accessible in OW2. While Blizzard assured the team is hard at work to resolve the critical flaw, many are still unable to play on most of the hero roster a full week after launch.
For the time being, while two heroes have been temporarily disabled from competitive, no further characters are seemingly flawed enough to be removed. In time, we should see both Torb and Bastion back in the game for a more stable experience moving forward.