Overwatch's hero ban system is being reworked, which means we may be able to ignore the role-limit rule and ban a 5th hero
How do you go about deciding who to ban in an Overwatch game? Perhaps you have a couple of go-to heroes who simply cannot be allowed to play, or maybe you ban based on your team comp and the map you find yourself playing on. However, no amount of planning can overcome the problem which is that there simply aren't enough slots to ban all the heroes you need to.
Overwatch introduced the hero ban system back in Season 16, answering the prayers of players everywhere. But the catch is that out of the now 51 heroes, only a maximum of four can be banned per match, two from each team. This is decided by each player ranking their top three bans, with heroes that get the most votes having a higher probability of getting banned for that match.
The problem is that unless everyone in a team agrees on a ban order, usually some players get their bans left out. So to help make the system more informed Team 4 are checking back in and looking at ways in which they can rework it.
"The next system we’re spending time improving is Hero Bans," associate game director Alec Dawson explains in a blog post. "We believe there is room to help you make more informed bans and eliminate some of the instances where it doesn't feel like the system is reflecting your choices.
"In the current ban system, you share one Hero choice during the 'prefer Hero' phase. While we don’t want to extend that phase, we do think we can expand on the information you give (and receive) during that phase. We’re looking at options for you to share your Hero preferences a bit more in hopes that you and your team can make better-informed ban decisions."
I tend to have a couple of go-to bans for back up, but my priority is to ban whatever heroes my tank doesn't want. It's already hard enough being a tank main, so the least I can do is try and get rid of a couple of problems that may come their way. But not everyone takes a cooperative approach to banning heroes, and it's pretty hard to make your case in such a short amount of time.
"We understand there are times when the Hero Ban system doesn't feel like it works in your lobby," Dawson adds. "This can happen when a Hero that got a lot of votes on your side wasn't banned, either because it ran into the role-limit rule or another choice barely edged it out. We’re currently talking about what a fifth ban may look like, something we’re calling a Lobby Ban. This ban would potentially ignore the role-limit rule and consider votes from both teams to decide on a final ban."
Considering the fact that much of the playerbase actually tends to ban the same heroes, this sounds like a helpful feature. Even just one more bannable hero or more time to discuss hero bans could be a huge help for team comps, that is, if players actually use the extra time they're given.
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