Overwatch 2: Hero Ban Statistics Reveals Players Despise a Damage Hero

Hero Bans have been a welcome addition to Overwatch 2 since the beginning of Season 16. At the start of the season, we saw a wave of Mercy bans, but the wave has died down since then. One hero who has remained at the top of the player’s ban priority is Sombra. Thanks to Gavin Winter’s Weekly Recall Blog on hero bans, we have all the data to understand which heroes are being banned.

Overwatch 2 PC and Console Hero Bans Across All Ranks

The Hero Bans across all ranks show one vital piece of information. Overwatch 2 players do not enjoy having Sombra in their ranked games. Sombra has an 85% ban rate on PC, with consoles’ even higher at 93%. While Sombra is not in her best state balance-wise, it is evident that players do not want to play with or against a Sombra.

Zarya’s ban rate on PC and Console is close, with 59% on PC and 57% on Console. Doomfist has a 43% on PC but falls off dramatically on Console, below 20%. Zarya, being the most banned Tank, is no surprise, given how frustrating she is to play against. The same applies to Doomfist as a Tank that often dominates Competitive matches but tends to fall off on Console, given the mechanical requirements of the hero.

Lastly, moving on to Support, the role receives the fewest bans. Ana is the most banned support hero on PC, with around 23%. On Console, Mercy and Moira take over the Egyptian Sniper. Ana bans are a result of players not wanting to deal with Anti-Nade, while Mercy and Moira tend to dominate on Console, where players struggle to land shots consistently.

Freja Hero Ban Rate

At the beginning of Freja’s release, players were unsure where the new hero would land in the meta. Since then, Freja has taken over the meta, becoming a near-must-pick in professional Overwatch. Players are growing increasingly frustrated with the Danish Bounty Hunter, given her rise from 9% to 42% on PC since her release. That number will likely continue to increase until Freja receives adjustments. Her Console ban rate has remained more or less the same. The predominant reasons are the high Sombra ban rate and the mechanical demand to play Freja.

Masters+ Hero Bans

The tides shift for Masters+ players on PC. Instead of Sombra and Zarya being the most banned heroes in their roles, Freja and D.Va take the throne. Freja has dominated the high-level meta, while D.Va remains a pain point for many high-level players. A good D.Va can mitigate so much value that players do not want to see her in games. Ana remains at the top for Support, with Zenyatta gaining significantly more bans.

Console bans differ from PC, with Sombra remaining the number one, but Freja is almost nowhere to be seen. D.Va sees an even higher ban presence than on PC, with Mauga showing up for the first time near the upper end of bans. Mercy is far and away the most banned Support hero, having the second-highest ban rate for Masters+ console players.

Hero Bans Across Regions Masters+

Each region agrees on one thing. Freja, D.Va, and Ana have the highest ban rate for their roles. There are nuanced differences, with Europe and America preferring to ban Wrecking Ball and Mercy, while Korea ignores them, almost in their entirety. Korea also favors banning a couple of heroes, while Europe and America have their bans spread amongst the cast.

Hero Ban Variance by Rank

The Hero Ban variance is interesting to look at. Players in the lower tiers of Overwatch tend to have variance in the heroes they ban, often not coming to the same conclusion in their matches. As you move up the ladder, players are banning more along the same lines, with Grandmaster players showing little to no difference in their bans. The Damage role sees the most significant difference in players’ ban selection.

Closing Thoughts

Gavin Winter ends the article by saying the data from Hero Bans will be a vital part of Overwatch 2’s balance in the future. Lastly, the system will remain the same with one potential change. The preferred hero might contribute to Hero Bans in future updates, giving a negative vote to the tally. Players with the same preferred hero will only add one negative vote and no more.