Hero bans doesn't seem like a good idea

General Discussion
1

Though I’d like to keep an open mind on the concept, I can’t help but to think the following:

I play the game to play my favorite characters not for the game to limit parts that are fun.

Granted, I play multiple heroes in each role and swap around based on various things, but especially when playing certain maps, there are certain heroes that are just the most fun to play on those maps. If you finally get that map that you love playing the most and then the hero you most like playing on that map is banned, it just feels like a longer rotation of games before you come back around to that map again just to maybe be able to play the character you would like to play on it (if it doesn’t get banned again).

I think removing any kind of core content (even temporarily) from a game is just not a very good concept, but especially with a game like OW where the heroes are unique enough that it can be impactful not only to the balance, but the fun part of why you play the game. It also just feels like an attempt to solve a problem by treating a symptom rather than the cause.
If you think the game is stale and needs hero bans to make it interesting, then really it just seems more like an issue with something that needs to be added to the game to make it more interesting or at the very least changes to make it better/more interesting, rather than removing elements of the game. Just doesn’t make sense to me.
Like the concept of adding pickable role passives seems good because that’s adding something to the game rather than removing something from the game.

It also seems that it will just have very predictable outcomes.
Every Hog player is going to want to ban Ana or Zen every time. Every ball player is going to want to ban Sombra, etc.
It’s just players picking their hero if it’s not banned and then banning their counter/s to make it easier for them rather than being able to play around those characters.
Just kinda lessens everything all around imo.

If it were to go through, I wonder how it would even be implemented:
How would it be decided which heroes get banned?

  • Does the team just vote (what if everyone on the team picks different heroes)?
  • Would it be one role banning for the same role for the enemy team (which I assume would cause certain roles to ask other roles to ban certain characters for them. Like a tank player asking their supports to ban specific enemy support characters that counter them as a tank) or does everyone get an input on any role?
  • Does the hero get banned on both sides when chosen by one team or just for the enemy team (if a hero is picked by either team and that hero is banned for both teams, that’s 6 heroes that get banned every game, which brings the Tank role from 12 possible choices down to only 10 choices and Supports from 10 choices down to 8 choices)?
2 Likes
2

Hero bans is a great idea. It might actually result in a balanced system. Characters like Sombra or Mauga or Moira will be overbanned because their kits are entirely bull****. They deserve to be banned.

3

And then you get ball main running rampant
A ban system can be good, but you have to be aware of these issues

There much more important high priority ban targets

4

Even if that was the result, it just seems like that would point out that there are just issues with those specific characters that should be addressed and fixed rather than having them essentially perma-banned through a banned system.
If there was a character that just always got banned 80%+ of the time, that’s a good sign that the character probably shouldn’t exist or needs a complete rework.

I don’t personally think those characters will always be picked to be banned, but I do think they will be often banned.
I’d guess you’d see a lot of common bans depending on rank.

Something like:
Low elo will most likely ban the following heroes the most often - Moira, Mauaga, Bastion, Pharah, Sombra.
Mid elo - Tracer, Ana, Sombra, Widow
High elo - Tracer, Bap, Zen, Ana ??

2 Likes
5

almost like having heroes that are must picks in specific match ups is a bad thing, and with hero bans that might actually change.

Crazy thought, i know…

6

Agreed.

Hero bans should never be an option for the average player.
OW is a game where hero identity is meaningful, both visually and gameplay-wise.
The average player plays for fun first. Banning people’s favorite heroes is anti-fun.

Hero bans should only be part of E-Sport, because there it becomes something valuable and professional players play most heroes at the highest level possible.

1 Like
7

It should be in comp, but not in quick, but I know how much toxicity it will breed

8

I do not believe in hero bans. Do not expand your roster if you cannot properly balance the heroes.

9

Imma flex player.

Doesn’t matter to me.

Just means I get to show off my skills.

10

I hate the idea of hero bans