Overwatch 2’s new hero bans probably mean changes for Sombra, Zarya, and others

Blizzard Leisure rolled out its hero ban characteristic for Overwatch 2 in April, and if you happen to’ve been enjoying any aggressive video games throughout season 16, you’ve most likely seen that sure heroes (e.g., Sombra, Zarya, Symmetra, Ana, Mercy) are among the many most constantly banned characters. Newly revealed information from Blizzard exhibits that to be the case, with some {qualifications}, and it appears the frequency of banning these heroes will in the end have some penalties. Some heroes could get rebalanced or extra considerably modified, the developer says, partly because of their constant bans.

“Sombra leads the PC pack with a formidable 85% ban fee, adopted by Zarya at 59% and Doomfist at 43%,” Blizzard mentioned in a weblog put up. “On consoles, Sombra is banned much more, with a 93% fee. She’s adopted by Zarya at 57% and Symmetra at 23%.”

Gavin Winter, a senior methods designer at Blizzard, says that the previous month’s value of hero ban information will likely be used “to assist inform steadiness adjustments” in Overwatch 2. “Heroes which might be extra area of interest or map particular could must change into extra generalized in the event that they’re all the time banned the place they carry out properly,” Winter mentioned. “Heroes which might be very unpopular may see extra changes no matter efficiency. Finally although, there aren’t any particular adjustments within the works primarily based on this information but, and Hero Ban information alone would by no means dictate how Heroes are balanced.”

Precisely what which means for characters like Zarya and Symmetra is clearly unclear, but when a personality like Sombra is unavailable to play in 85% of aggressive video games of Overwatch 2 as a result of gamers hate going through her, that’s an enormous drawback. What’s the purpose of investing in a personality if you happen to can solely play them competitively so hardly ever?

That mentioned, minus some tie-breaking decision-making quirks within the hero ban system, Blizzard is “pleased with the way it works general.” Winter mentioned, “We consider the system is assembly most of its targets, and we’re excited to see how Hero Bans evolve over time, particularly as soon as we begin releasing extra information about our Hero win charges and decide charges sooner or later!”

Blizzard will give gamers extra management over how matches play in season 17, due in late June, when it rolls out a brand new map-voting characteristic.