Overwatch 2 experts urge Blizzard to copy Marvel Rivals “genius” hero ban system

Some of Overwatch 2’s biggest names want Blizzard to adopt Marvel Rivals’ hero ban system after seeing it in action.

Hero bans have been a hot topic in Overwatch 2 for quite some time with many players demanding the system be implemented while others have fought against the idea.

At the 2024 Esports World Cup, Overwatch fans finally got to see what matches would look like with bans and were impressed with how they spiced up the meta.

In fact, the 2025 OWCS circuit is adding hero bans, too, making them a new staple of play at the highest level.

Now, with Marvel Rivals featuring bans, two of Overwatch’s biggest creators are pushing for the concept to be included in Blizzard’s hero shooter.

Overwatch experts claim Marvel Rivals’ hero ban system is perfect for OW2

On December 27, Overwatch commentator ‘AVRL’ asked fans if they think Marvel Rivals’ hero ban system should come to OW with less than 14% of respondents not wanting bans in any capacity.

“I see bans as a straight forward method to allow players themselves to impact and control the balance of the game and have a level of agency in their own gameplay experience that isn’t reliant on the dev team to ‘get it right’,” he explained.

“This isn’t to say that the balancing work the dev team does isn’t still important or relevant, but rather to allow players to take control themselves regardless of what decisions the dev team makes on balance.”

According to AVRL, hero shooters as a genre are impossible to truly balance, because there are too many variables such as different characters being oppressive at certain levels.

Additionally, he believes that the game’s most oppressive metas such as release Brigitte, GOATS, and double shield would have been solved by the players instead of relying on the devs to make adjustments.

YouTuber YourOverwatch echoed this sentiment and was even more vocal in urging the devs to take notes.

“The genius of Marvel Rival’s ban system is in the first phase where you signal to your team your preferred hero, within seconds and no comms we know what type of comps we can run and what bans might help us specifically. OW should CTRL+C CTRL+V immediately,” he said, suggesting Blizzard copy NetEase.

Hero bans haven’t been announced for Overwatch just yet, but the devs have hinted at possibly implementing the feature.

Back in November, Game Director Aaron Keller said the team has a desire to add more strategic elements to Overwatch matches.

Speaking with Dexerto months earlier, Keller listed a hero pick-ban system as an example of something the devs are looking at that could add more “strategic depth” to the game.