Yesterday, Overwatch streamer “Emongg” hinted that Blizzard was going to drop some big news in the coming weeks. Since that announcement and other leaks, a few prominent members of the community have voiced their thoughts on potential hero bans coming to the game.
I've been reading a lot of interesting takes on hero bans in Overwatch. Good arguments to be made for both camps. My thoughts? I personally think that the game would need a good bunch more heroes to reap the benefits and strategic depth such a system brings with it.
— Soe Gschwind 💙 (@Soembie) January 21, 2020
Just a hypothetical
Hero bans after roster has been locked can be so fatal for teams and their strats
Imagine swapping in widow specialist and you just ban widow lol
But i hope these news are true about hero bans coz its gonna be more fun this way
— LiNkzr (@LiNkzrOW) January 20, 2020
What are hero bans?
The idea of banning a hero comes from MOBAs like League of Legends. Before the game begins, each team chooses a hero that no one from either team can play. This allows players to “ban” heroes that they feel are overpowered or that they simply don’t want to play against.
In Overwatch, this would probably work the same. Each team would have an opportunity to ban a hero, or multiple heroes, before the game starts. Any hero banned in this phase would be unplayable for the game.
Reactions to the Overwatch leaks
The community is very split on whether hero bans are a good idea. On the one hand, there aren’t very many heroes in Overwatch, and banning some could severely limit team options. On the other hand, introducing bans could really shake up the long, stale metas that the game often suffers from.
Jiri “LiNkzr” Masalin, Finnish Overwatch League player for the Houston Outlaws, believes that the bans could severely hurt certain players but that it would also make the game more fun. Overwatch League commentator Soe Gschwind thinks that there needs to be more heroes in the game for bans to provide strategic depth.
If bans were to be introduced, as the leaks suggest, they would be implemented in both in-game competitive play and in the Overwatch League’s third season. This would be a very big change for both players and fans and would surely force different strategies.
Be sure to stay tuned in the following weeks for more Overwatch leaks and stories. It should prove to be an exciting time for fans of the game.
