A new week means a new Hero Pool in Overwatch. After several tests in Competitive Mode, the model already present in the third season of the Overwatch League — since Washington Justice Homestand (March 7-8) — has been selected for a collective Hero Pool since April 13.
With Hero Pool, Blizzard offers a new method to keep novelty in-game. Metas won't last for long for a greater diversity in compositions and strategies. In addition to more regular updates and patch notes, this feature seems to be the solution chosen to address one of the biggest issues of Overwatch: a highly static meta.
To be banned, several conditions must be taken into account.
- The hero must have an in-game attendance rate of at least 10% over the previous two weeks.
- A hero can't be banned for two weeks in a row.
Once the list is ready, the heroes will be chosen randomly from this list. Each week, four heroes will be removed from the Hero Pool: 2 DPS, 1 Tank and 1 Support.
For Weeks 24 and 25 games, the heroes outside the Hero Pool will be:
- DPS: Widowmaker and Mei
- Tank: Orisa
- Support: Ana
Hero Pool won't be used during Week 26, nor during the Countdown Cup in Asia and North America. A final Hero Pool will be determined for the final two weeks of competition.
The Overwatch League Grand Finals has just begun! This handy guide has you covered with all the results from this weekend, and all the fixtures to come.
