Why is Hanzo being disabled from Overwatch 2 Competitive matchmaking?

Official sources from Overwatch 2 and Blizzard indicate that Hanzo is being disabled from the game's Competitive matchmaking queue. With the release of Season 7: Rise of Darkness, a number of Heroes received a range of new slate of personalised setting changes, and Hanzo is among them. These new changes to Hanzo have resulted in a game-breaking bug, allowing players to exploit him in Competitive matches.

Our article will discuss in length the issues that arose from such changes. Blizzard took due notice and instantly issued a competitive lock on Hanzo, preventing any further damage. Read below for the full brief on the matter.

---

Overwatch 2 Hanzo disabled from competitive play due to game-breaking bug

Hanzo saw the addition of a setting called "Toggle Primary Fire" with Overwatch 2's newest Season. This setting unintentionally made Hanzo a rapidly shooting bowmaster. With the setting enabled, players could fire fully drawn arrows without having to cater to the charge time associated with the mechanic, leading to an exploited and overpowered status in the game.

Hanzo, the only Hero capable of delivering one-shot headshots across the map, is definitely a terror to think about when paired with such a mechanic. The developers deserve due commendation for taking notice of the issue and appropriately issuing the due suspension till a fix rolls in.

Players in the Competitive queue no longer have to worry about a hit-scan Hanzo dominating their games. It is unclear whether any bans will be issued for those who have resorted to using the exploit to gain undeserving SR in the game. Considering the fact that it was an unaddressed bug, we highly doubt any players will be held liable for the same.

---

When will Hanzo return to Overwatch 2 Competitive play?

Hanzo in Overwatch 2 (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

While there are no concrete dates as to the Hero's return to Competitive play in-game, we speculate Hanzo will return to Overwatch 2 as a fully functional character within the span of a week or two.

If we consider previous incidents where Bastion and Torbjorn saw their suspension from Competitive due to unwarranted exploits, both were fixed and ready to go within two weeks. Judging by the fact that a mere setting is what upset the character's balance, a correction in the code will definitely set Hanzo back on track.

---

Disabling Hanzo from the Competitive queue was the best solution to resort to without harming the game's health. With the faults dealt with, players will soon see the game's resident archer back in action.

For more Overwatch 2 news and guides, stay tuned to Sportskeeda.