In a free world, all Overwatch 2 heroes would be playable no matter how annoying they might be to face off against because sometimes them’s the breaks. We don’t live in a free world though, not anymore at least, as Overwatch 2 season 16 starts today. Most notably it’s introducing its new mode Stadium, but also something that’ll change up the competitive aspect of the shooter quite a bit: hero bans.
This isn’t like something in your local fighting game tournament where one TO just really has it out for Marth or whatever and has decided no one can play as them, it’s a built in feature. Before you jump into a match of Overwatch, either side will be able to vote to ban up to four heroes from play. Both sides get to vote for two, and no more than two per role can be banned.
An official blog post says this is to “add an extra layer of mind games before the real fighting begins”, though your mileage may vary depending on who you play with. It does seem like a good way to mix up the meta at least, but as with all new features I’m sure it’ll see some tweaks further down the line.
Of course, as mentioned, season 16 also introduces Stadium, a new third-person mode where you’re locked into one hero, vying to win the best of seven rounds. Game director Aaron Keller recently described the mode as Overwatch’s third pillar in an interview with Polygon, so expect this one to be heavily promoted for a while.
There’s also a new DPS hero, Freja, who has a fancy cross bow and can move around real fast like. Skins wise, Juno is getting a Dokiwatch-themed mythic skin, Overwatch’s take on the magical girl genre, and there’s some heavy-metal themed skins for characters like Ashe and Lifeweaver. You know, the usual Overwatch seasonal stuff!
#Overwatch #season #bringing #mode #Stadium #ability #play #Mercy
