The Overwatch 2 community is hailing hero bans as the “best possible addition” to pro play and want Blizzard to give it a try in ranked.
Many Overwatch 2 players got their first glimpse of hero bans after they were used in the Esports World Cup, with each team being allowed to ban a hero of their choosing for every map.
This meant that a variety of heroes were played, as the meta was completely flipped on its head. More flexible teams could pull out different strategies and couldn’t rely on just one powerful team composition.
Following the tournament, caster Kevin ‘AVRL’ Walker praised the format as “everything he’d ever wanted.”
“Hero bans have been the best possible addition to the competitive format I have seen in some time. Absolutely exceeded my expectations in how far it’s elevated the gameplay of pro OW. Far more competitive games. More varied comps. Greater strategical depth,” he celebrated.
Hero bans have been the best possible addition to the competitive format I have seen in some time. Absolutely exceeded my expectations in how far it's elevated the gameplay of pro OW. Far more competitive games. More varied comps. Greater strategical depth. Everything I've wanted
— Kevin Walker (@imAVRL) July 26, 2024
Of course, organized pro play is much different than a solo-queue ranked experience. However, it’s clear that players want Blizzard to give it a shot and see if it can improve match quality.
In a series of posts, players began to brainstorm ways to bring it to ranked, such as having it only apply to the top-ranked players or in special queues.
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“Ranked games are already much less meta-dependent. In almost every rank, you can probably win with crazy hero picks and compositions, so what is hero bans even striving to achieve?” one player argued.
“[Maybe] hero bans could come in some shape or form for the top 1% of the players, which are much more meta reliant, and have a more pro-like experience? Or maybe for 5-player groups that get matched with other 5-player groups?”
Another chimed in with a suggestion, “Hero bans in a tournament mode could be explored, but we don’t even have that yet.”
“I’d love to see a hero ban Quick Play Hacked,” recommend someone else.
Although there are no plans for hero bans to come to Overwatch 2 right now, the devs have hinted at the possibility before.
In a 2024 interview with Dexerto, Game Director Aaron Keller said a hero ban system was something the team was looking at, specifically as a way to add more “strategic depth” to Overwatch.