Overwatch 2 dev teases “wacky tests” including hero bans & new swap tokens

Overwatch 2’s Lead Hero Designer hinted that we could be seeing experiments where swapping heroes could cost “tokens,” as well as the possibility of a hero ban system.

Season 8 of Overwatch 2 will be introducing some new tests in quick play, such as faster respawns – and it seems like the devs already have ideas about what else could be tried to make hero swapping more dynamic.

Switching heroes when you’re countered is an integral part of Overwatch’s gameplay, but some players are growing concerned about the strength of swapping and want to see some changes made.

During a recent interview with Twitch streamers Flats and Emongg, Lead Hero Designer Alec Dawson discussed new ways that the team could be testing internally to make the game better when it comes to counters.

Overwatch 2 devs hint at hero bans and hero swap “tokens”

According to Dawson, the team could try “wacky tests” when it pertains to hero swapping and outlined several ideas that could be very popular for the game’s most competitive players.

“Here’s some stuff we’re going to be trying internally, and we may even be doing some wacky tests with that look at, ‘Hey, what does swapping mean at the game?’ Is this something that you need to spend a token for, is it something that’s more of a currency rather than more free form as it is right now?”

As Dawson continued, he stopped and noted that, while what he was about to say wasn’t planned, directly referenced hero bans and how they could finally come to the game.

“Is there something with bans and picks where your hero pool is more limited, but you’ve also banned some stuff. There are a number of things we’re going to try and see how swapping comes into play,” he added.

A hero ban system has long been a popular topic, so to see that the devs could finally be embracing it is a huge deal – but that said, there’s no guarantee that it actually comes to OW2 as a change to its “core mechanics.”

We’ll have to see what the devs have in mind and how they do end up addressing swapping, but expect to learn more as Season 8 progresses and with Season 9’s ranked revamp.

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