Overwatch: Former pro Reinforce details how to fix the game
Talk of implementing hero bans into Overwatch has been one of the hot topics for the game’s community headed into 2019, but former professional player and Overwatch analyst Jonathan ‘Reinforce’ Larsson doesn’t think they’re necessary.
[ad name=”article1″]
Hero bans are common in other MOBA games, like League of Legends and even Blizzard’s own Heroes of the Storm, but the system hasn’t made it to Overwatch, yet.
Some fans think it would benefit the game, while others, like Overwatch lead designer Geoff Goodman, don’t think they would work, for a variety of reasons.
[ad name=”article2″]
Reinforce, who played Overwatch professionally before working as an analyst for the Overwatch League’s first season, said on Twitter that instead of hero bans, a game like Overwatch needs “map design to matter again.”
To make the design of maps relevant again, Reinforce suggests nerfing healing and ultimate charge to shake things up and get rid of “overwhelming amounts of heals and health.”
This would also encourage team compositions that focus on the point and discourage high-ground and flanking heroes, according to Reinforce.
Also, Overwatch doesn't need hero bans, it needs map design to matter again. Maps are meant as psuedo-hero bans, but overwhelming amounts of heals and health makes point pressure comps strong, discouraging high-ground and flank heroes. Nerf heals and ult charge for diversity. 🙂
— Jonathan Larsson (@Reinforce) December 31, 2018
[ad name=”article3″]
Based on how Blizzard has chosen to update Overwatch in the past, seeing nerfs to healing and ultimate charges is a lot more likely than a completely new system such as hero bans.
As we head into 2019, the debate over whether or not hero bans would fix people’s problems with Overwatch shows no signs of slowing down.
Whatever changes Blizzard does make are unlikely to happen before the second season of Overwatch League gets started on February 14, 2019.
