Overwatch had its first Developer Update for 2020. Game Director for Overwatch Jeff Kaplan mentioned a particular announcement that had the community talking, namely the Hero Pool.The Hero Pool feature aims to bring balance to Overwatch both in-game and within its professional esports scene, Overwatch League. But will it?
What is the Hero Pool?
The Hero Pool will be an upcoming feature that will be added to competitive play only(including the Overwatch League). The Hero Pool aims to significantly overhaul how professional Overwatch games are played by rotating certain characters on a weekly basis. Other heroes won't be pickable during that week. The aim by Blizzard is to make competitive Overwatch more fluid per game, preventing the meta from becoming dry and stale incredibly quickly. So, one week you could be playing Solider: 76 and by next week he could be completely blocked from competitive play.
"Players will have to think of a strategy that doesn't involve those heroes" - Jeff Kaplan
Kaplan once again stresses that this is for competitive Overwatch only. However, that hasn't stopped the community from discussing at large the potential issues with the upcoming changes to the season. Season 21 begins on March 5, by the way, so it's not that far off. Having the choice to play something taken away from the player on a week by week basis is not a small hurdle. For professional players within the Overwatch League, it just seems like additional stress which is summarized pretty well here:
Not sure how i feel about: "Teams will be informed of each week's Hero Pool approximately one week in advance of matches. "and: "The heroes will be randomly selected"Seems like a lot more additional stress for players and coaches
— Poko (@poko) January 30, 2020
The Overwatch League did respond to the concerns of both professional players and coaches. The following information comes from Blizzard Entertainment regarding professional play:
Starting March 7, the Overwatch League will make one tank, one support, and two damage heroes unavailable for selection during matches each weekend.
- The heroes will be randomly selected from a group of eligible heroes based on play-rate data from the previous two weeks of Overwatch League matches – only heroes that are being played regularly can be pulled from the next hero pool.
- No hero will be unavailable two weeks in a row.
- Hero Pools will not be used for midseason tournaments, the play-in tournament, playoffs, or Grand Finals. All heroes will be available for those matches.
- Teams will be informed of each week’s Hero Pool approximately one week in advance of matches.
As expected, there were plenty of jokes to be made regarding the introduction of these changes:
The year is 2030 Overwatch hero pools change every dayParis has not been played in 10 yearsThere are now 33 heroes Every OWL player has been hackusated by Kephrii Jay3 has been bald for years Chipsa won his 6th OWL MVP last seasonAnd we all complain but still play the game
— funi (@funifacts) February 2, 2020
The introduction of the Hero Pool will shake up the Overwatch League, that's for sure. What remains to be seen is just how well this will all work for the professional players, though, I'm sure they would have been informed of this upcoming change quite some time ago. What is puzzling most of all is that huge games, for example, League of Legendsthat has a billion more characters than Overwatch has a system that works incredibly well for its esports scene that both viewers, players and coaches understand, why not adopt a similar style?
Overwatch, like many games, has consistent meta changes. I understand what Blizzardis doing here. If the meta is boring, the game is boring, if the game is boring, no one will want to watch it. The Overwatch League needs to do well with its recent move to YouTube, so I can see how a healthy adaptation might benefit everyone. I think there could be a much better way of doing it. Of course, this is all still at an early stage so things can and do change. What are your thoughts on the Hero Pool introduction? and if you need a reminder on the latest Developer Update video, you can view it here:
