Sure, here’s a messy take on the article:
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So, Blizzard’s at it again with Overwatch 2, right? They rolled out this hero ban thing back in April. Season 16, if we’re getting specific. And man, if you play competitive, you might’ve noticed some heroes like Sombra, Zarya, and Symmetra keep getting the boot. It’s like they’ve got targets on their backs or something. Anyway, Blizzard dumped some data out there, and yup, those are the ones getting banned left and right. Feels like there’ll be consequences, maybe big ones? Like, heroes could get rebalanced, which sounds serious.
Now, here’s a nugget: Sombra’s banned on PC at some crazy 85% rate. Followed by Zarya at 59% and Doomfist at 43%. Turns out on consoles, Sombra’s even more unpopular, like 93%! Seriously, wow! Zarya and Symmetra follow but with less dramatic numbers.
Gavin Winter, one of Blizzard’s big shots—I think he designs systems—says they’re using this data to maybe tweak heroes a bit. Or a lot? He was saying something about making niche heroes more general if they’re always banned. And maybe unpopular ones get seen more love, regardless of how they stack up against others. But hey, hold your horses; nothing’s changing immediately, according to him. Hero ban data isn’t the only thing they look at for balance. Makes sense, I guess.
But really, can we talk about Zarya and Symmetra? Blizzard’s been vague about what’s next for them. If Sombra’s out 85% of the time, isn’t that a huge issue? Why even bother picking her then?
Blizzard seems mostly okay with how this ban system is shaping up, even if it’s got some quirks. Winter says it’s hitting most of its marks, and they’re pumped to see where it goes, especially with more data on win rates and pick rates coming soon. Which, cool, I guess?
Oh, and for season 17 in June, players will get more say with this new map-voting thing. Should be interesting, right? Or not, depending if you even care at this point.
