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Once you reach diamond rank in Marvel Rivals, you might start noticing that some matches you play have a hero ban phase, in which both teams can decide which heroes they’d like to ban from selection in the match. This happens when every player in the match is diamond rank or higher, and can really shake up the match depending on how teams choose.
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So, if you’re new to hero bans in hero-based shooters, or just new to this system in Marvel Rivals, you might be wondering how exactly it works. Here’s what you need to know about hero bans.
What Are Hero Bans?
As mentioned above, a hero ban phase takes place when every player in the match is diamond rank or higher in a given match. This only happens in competitive matches.
Hero bans in matches are broken up into phases on a timer, which will be detailed in full further below.
Hero bans give players the opportunity to remove heroes from play during a given match. These cannot be undone once selected, so you’ll want to choose carefully.
How Do Hero Bans Work?
Once the match is loaded, and all players have entered the hero selection screen, the hero ban selection process will begin, which is broken up into two phases.
- Hero Selection Phase – In this phase, you’ll pre-select a hero you want to play, so that your teammates know who not to ban.
- Hero Ban Phase – In this phase, which has two selections, your team will pick two heroes to ban.
In each of these phases, you have a limited amount of time to select heroes to ban, communicate with teammates, and make informed decisions based on the other team.
Hero Selection Phase
In the hero selection phase, you can pre-select which hero you want to play, informing your team who you’d like to play so that they don’t inadvertantly pick your favorite hero.
This phase lasts for about 15 seconds, so make a selection quickly. Otherwise, you should use comms or chat to communicate with your team.
Make sure you also pay attention to which heroes your team is picking. After all, you don’t want to ban a hero your teammate wants to play, and knowing which heroes they want to play might inform your decisions down the line.
Hero Ban Phase
Once players have pre-selected their hero, it’s time to move on to the hero ban phase. In this phase, you’ll ban two heroes from the match permanently. The process looks like this.
- First Hero Ban Selection
- Each Team’s First Selection Is Revealed
- Second Hero Ban Selection
- Each Team’s Second Selection Is Revealed
While you can and should use comms or chat to communicate with teammates about bans, you can also hover over each hero portrait and send a request to ban the corresponding hero by following the control prompts.
You ban heroes one at a time before the match begins, and each selection takes about 20 seconds, unless the team’s decision is unanimous. Simply select the hero you want and press ‘BAN’ to confirm your choice.
Each player on your team gets a vote, but be careful, once you make your selection, there’s no going back.
From there, once each hero ban selection is made, you’ll get to see both your team’s selection and the enemy team’s selection. Then, the process repeats.
If there’s not a consensus on which hero to ban, majority doesn’t win, instead, the more votes a specific hero gets, the more likely it is they’ll be selected.
Every vote counts toward a percentage that determines how likely the ban is to be implemented, which can feel random, but is also slightly more egalitarian.
What Heroes Should You Ban?
The best hero bans in Marvel Rivals are going to vary from season to season, depending on which heroes are more meta or are not. However, there are some basic rules of thumb to keep in mind when making your selection.
|
Hero Ban Criteria |
Details |
|---|---|
|
Meta |
Are there meta heroes that are too powerful to play against? If so, consider banning them. |
|
Ultimates |
Do certain heroes have ultimates that you would either rather not play against or are extremely powerful against certain heroes on your team? If so, consider banning them. |
|
Counters |
Lastly, do any heroes hard-counter any heroes on your team? For example, you could consider banning Namor if you have a Spider-Man on your team. |
Ultimately, if you’re not sure who to ban, you can also follow the herd.
It’s not a bad choice to simply form a consensus with teammates who may feel more strongly about which heroes to ban. Plus, this is a good way to learn which heroes are best to ban.
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