Blizzard Details Hero Ban Mechanism for Competitive Overwatch

Season 16 Unveils Hero Bans on April 22

Blizzard Entertainment has disclosed how the hero bans will operate in the competitive realm of Overwatch 2. This forthcoming feature permits teams to exclude heroes perceived as excessively strong or disagreeable, without revealing potential picks of their adversaries. This mechanic is already established in games like League of Legends and serves as an extension of strategic gameplay.

Within Overwatch 2, the 'Ban Phase' is expected to primarily empower players to veto heroes they find problematic, simultaneously collecting data for future game adjustments. At the beginning of a competitive match, players can choose a 'Preferred Hero' to indicate to their team which character should remain unbanned. Subsequently, each player lists three heroes for exclusion, ordering them based on preference with the first having the highest influence and the third the lowest. During this phase, all participants and teams cast their votes at once, but communication between rival teams is suspended until the decision-making ends.

How Votes are Counted

After votes are cast, they are counted following specific rules. The side with the majority vote for a particular hero is designated as the 'first' team, and their selected hero is assured to be banished. Should there be a tie, the first team is chosen randomly.

The 'second' team is the opponent. If the heroes they propose for banning do not coincide with those banned by the first team, their top two selected heroes also face exclusion.

In cases where the second team's top selections overlap with the first's, the third choice of the second team is then banned. Concluding the process, the first team's second highest voted choice is also banned, subject to the same conditions applied to the second team.

When a tie occurs in the number of votes a hero receives, the hero with the most individual player votes in the match is selected. If the tie persists, the selection is random. Regardless of the vote outcomes, a maximum of two heroes can be banned per role. Players who prefer not to cast a vote can opt out and rely on their teammates' decisions.

Season Updates and New Game Modes

Blizzard originally announced the inclusion of hero bans in Season 15, marked by the addition of a perks system. Set to go live with Season 16 on April 22, hero bans will also be accompanied by the new Stadium mode. This mode features five-on-five battles where players accumulate currency to enhance their capabilities between rounds, offering a fresh dynamic with the possibility of third-person gameplay.