This is why hero pools is not going to work -- And why Hero bans is a better option

[Sly-13591]

@Sauce-11687

Prevent one tricks and a rigid meta.

False. Hero bans would make an even more rigid meta. The devs know this.

@JeffreyKaplan

But just implementing hero bans does not mean the meta will move. Studying other games, the end result is usually a “ban meta”. The downside of a ban meta, is that players are often at odds with each other when someone on their team bans an “off-ban-meta” hero. The same frustrations that players experience with the meta exist in a ban meta. Hero bans are not a silver bullet solution to making the meta move. If the problem we are trying to solve is that the meta needs to change more, hero bans might actually make the problem worse, not better.

Hero pools allow for the upsides of hero bans while actually keeping the meta moving.

@Sauce-11687

This would give the devs better statistics as to which heroes are being banned the most and in which ranks, helping them balance this game more frequently and effectively.

They could do this by looking at player count and hero pickrates as well.

Say Orisa is banned for a week, and the number of players skyrockets. Then the next week they move onto banning someone else and the numbers plummet. That makes it pretty obvious that a lot of people have a problem with Orisa and she likely needs to be adjusted.

Likewise, if, say, Reaper is banned and Winston’s pickrate skyrockets, then it’s likely that Winston isn’t weak and in need of buffs, but rather Reaper is just what’s holding him back.

Hero pools just make it more systematic (and fair) instead of biasing everything towards the most hated hero(es).

@Sauce-11687

Instead of creating a rigid meta for a week by taking out certain heroes – Hero bans would allow for more gameplay variation and constant shifts in the meta depending on who the players are picking and banning.

Again, you are assuming that different heroes get banned every time. That is, again, false. We’d likely just see a “ban meta” where people ban the most frustrating heroes over and over again. It wouldn’t make things any more fluid than they are already, we’d still just be locked into a single meta, only this time with fewer heroes.

@Sauce-11687

Hero bans would also promote more teamwork and communication

Hero bans would really just cause infighting whenever someone’s preferred pick isn’t banned.

I agree that this game is severely lacking in teamwork and communication, which your system would rely on, it wouldn’t magically create it.