How Overwatch 2 hero bans work in Competitive Play

by

How exactly do hero bans work in Overwatch 2? Here’s our quick guide on the new feature.

In the recent update for Overwatch 2, it was Senior Designer Gavin Winter who provided insights about the upcoming hero bans in Season 16. Here’s a brief explanation of how hero bans function within Overwatch 2.

Gavin Winter, Overwatch 2’s senior designer, has been sharing details about the new hero bans that will be introduced during Season 16. Let me walk you through an overview of how hero bans work in Overwatch 2.

How Overwatch 2 hero bans work

  1. Select your preferred heroes
  2. Press the “Ready” button
  3. Select up to three heroes you wish to ban
  4. Press the “Ready” button

Overwatch 2 hero bans explained

During the ban phase, as stated by Winter, it’s impossible to see which players are on the opposing team. Consequently, you should not aim to ban specific opponents. While regular text chat within the whole lobby is unavailable, you can still communicate with your team using team chat.

Before casting your votes for hero bans, please select the heroes you prefer. You can adjust your choices during this phase if needed. The image shows Cassidy and Soldier: 76 as popular damage characters. Once selected, press the “Ready” button. This action doesn’t shield your heroes from being banned, but it does inform your team about your favorite picks.

In Overwatch 2, teams don’t rotate their votes for hero bans; instead, each player independently chooses three heroes to ban. The first choice carries more weight (seven points), the second choice less (five points), and the third choice even less (three points). This results in a total of four hero bans per match, or two bans per team.

During the discussion about hero bans, it was made clear that the rules apply across all scenarios. To illustrate, only a maximum of two heroes per role may be banned, tiebreakers are resolved at random, and players have the option to click the “Ready” button if they choose not to ban any heroes.

Read More

2025-04-19 20:40