The Overwatch League will implement a Hero Pool system, designed to “improve the quality of play, increased hero diversity and strategy to matches,” Blizzard Entertainment announced Thursday.
The change will be made in game play beginning March 7 and it mirrors the update made to the live game.
Hero Pools randomly will ban one tank, one support and two damage heroes from play each weekend. No hero will be unavailable for two consecutive weeks, and teams will be told about the available heroes a week or so before each match, Blizzard said.
Hero Pools won’t be used in midseason tournaments, the play-in tournament, playoffs or Grand Finals, and all heroes can be used those weeks.
“Our expectation is that a rotating Hero Pool for Overwatch League matches will foster a wider range of team strategies and showcase more heroes in competition as players adapt and teams experiment with new compositions when some of the most-played heroes are no longer options,” Blizzard said in a statement announcing the change.
Big news from our friends at @PlayOverwatch!
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— Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) January 30, 2020
Blizzard also said that it has made patch updates to the game that will be integrated into Overwatch League play. Anytime a live game is updated with a new patch, the league will play that patch two weekends later, it said.
Blizzard said changes still could be made as the Overwatch League season progresses.
“We will listen closely to the fans and players, learn from our collective experiences, consider adjustments and test new strategies along the way,” Blizzard said.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
