Overwatch 2 Details How Hero Bans Will Work in Competitive

Summary

Overwatch 2 will introduce Competitive Hero Bans in Season 16
Each player will choose their preferred hero before a game and vote to ban up to three other characters.
The ban process tallies up both teams’ choices and bans up to four heroes.

Overwatch 2 has 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 new Overwatch 2 update arrives on April 22.

Recently, Overwatch 2 revealed 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.

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Overwatch 2 Teases Hero 45

Overwatch 2 Season 16 contains what could be a big teaser for Hero 45, the mysterious new character coming to Future Earth near the end of the year.

Now, Overwatch 2 has revealed exactly how this new system will work. In a Director’s Take blog by senior systems designer Gavin Winter, Overwatch 2 explained the Hero Ban process, 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.

How Do Hero Bans Work in Overwatch 2?

All players optionally choose a Preferred Hero
- Preferred Heroes are not protected from being banned, nor is one required to play their choice
All players choose up to three heroes to ban, with earlier selections carrying more votes
Banning process begins
- Hero with the most votes on either team is banned
- Top two heroes on the other team are banned
- First team’s second hero is banned
In the case of a duplicate hero, or if two heroes in that role have already been banned, the third hero will be chosen instead
Up to four heroes can be banned each game

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 four Overwatch 2 heroes can be targeted with bans if fans all choose the same hero, try 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 it comes to Overwatch 2 Season 16 on April 22.