Overwatch will soon receive a massive update, according to a leak from someone who has proved reliable in the past, and hero bans could be coming to the game in the near future. Hero bans are a popular element in games like League of Legends and Dota 2, but both of those titles have much deeper rosters of characters, which in turn provides more lop-sided matchups for teams without the ability to ban out their nightmare scenarios.
The information comes from a source who has in the past been correct. Metro, who has been the source of a wealth of information related to Overwatch 2 and other games like Diablo 4, made the announcement via Twitter. In the past, he has correctly predicted the PVP/PVE hybrid nature of Overwatch 2, the leveling system and its impact on character abilities, specific character abilities like Tracer's upgraded pulse bomb, and more. He also leaked Blizzcon announcements in 2018, which included the addition of the hero Ashe.
Metro made the announcement via Twitter on Monday. He says that a "big update" is rumored to come within a few weeks. He says the development team has been working on this massive update for a while and that it could include hero bans, or the ability for players to vote on a character who will not be playable during a given match. Metro warns that the information comes from a new source who was uninvolved in his previous Overwatch leaks and that people should take it with a grain of salt until it actually happens. However, he says, Blizzard is indeed "working on" hero bans. Whether they will be included in the update or not, he adds, is unknown.
Metro did not say how hero bans would work, but some have speculated that teams will be able to vote to ban a single hero or a hero from each group: DPS, support, and tanks. The former seems more likely, as that would disable a total of two characters rather than a likely excessive six. Metro says that this wouldn't solve all of the game's balance issues, but it would allow teams to decide which currently oppressive hero they would like to remove from the game, whether it be Orisa, Moira, or Hammond on some maps. Others have suggested using bans to prevent teammates from choosing at times unpopular heroes like Widowmaker or Genji.
Hero bans have been used in many games to great success. While 2k Games' Battleborn died a horrible death, developers added a hero ban system that helped solve many balance issues (and virtually assured that no one would ever get to play tank powerhouses Kelvin or Attikus). Within the game itself, the system was very effective. If this information is indeed true, it is sure to shake up Overwatch just as much as role queue, another quality-of-life feature that was added to the game - and something that would go nicely hand-in-hand with a character ban system. While some will not like the idea of having their favorite hero banned from games, it gives teams the ability to employ additional strategy in who they choose to remove from the situation entirely - whether it's a character they don't want to play against or someone they simply don't want on their team.
Overwatch is available on PC, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4.
Source: Metro_OW/Twitter