Not In Your Meta: Four Things in the Pro Meta That You Shouldn't Copy

Like many competitive games, Overwatch's meta tends to be dictated by the pros. The meta refers to the current strategies commonly used by the game's community, and most average players in competitive will eventually hear about it from their team mates.

While there are many things that the average player could and should learn from the pros, not everything should be copied wholesale in Competitive mode. Any high-level Overwatch player will tell you that the pro meta is very different from the standard Competitive mode.

Each ranking tier in Competitive mode actually has its own meta. Strategies and team comps that work in Platinum may not work in Silver. Platinum players who reach Diamond may initially face some difficulty adjusting to new play styles. Here are the five most common mistakes made by players who try to bring the pro meta into their Competitive games, with predictable results.

Forcing your team to play "Meta Comps"

Currently, the meta in Overwatch is 2/2/2, or two tanks, two DPS and two supports, with the 3/3 (three tanks, three supports) variation gaining some popularity. There are also certain heroes that will usually be run in most 2/2/2 teams, like Lucio, Zarya and Reinhardt.

It's not uncommon to find yourself queued into teams with a teammate insisting that everyone pick heroes according to their preferred meta strat. Sadly, having teammates that get toxic over non-meta choices before the match even starts is also a common occurrence.

If you find yourself getting tilted over your teammate's hero pick, stop. While the standard 2/2/2 set up does work at all levels, it doesn't mean 1/4/1 or a team without a Lucio can't triumph at lower Elos. In fact, they often do.

Even at the pro level, teams are not afraid to occasionally switch it up. In the recent Overwatch Open tournament, some of the best teams in the world like EnVyUs was seen running 3/1/2.

For the average player, what's actually most important is for your teammates to be able  to play characters they're confident performing with. A player is far more valuable as a Torbjorn who knows where to build his turrets and can take out opponents, than as an inexperienced Reaper who keeps dying without a single kill.

It's much more important to be flexible and play around your team's strengths. If your team chooses to play 1/4/1 and you're the sole tank or support, you'll want to take the lead on coordinating a more aggressive approach. If you have a Bastion, play a Reinhardt and help to shield him while he melts the enemy's face.

Playing Pro Meta heroes at all times

After receiving a buff in the Ana patch, Mccree was a staple in most games at the pro level. This trickled down to the lower Elos in Competitive mode. There, players frequently choose Mccree for DPS without fully understanding his role in teams or having the mechanical skill to play him effectively.

However, Mccree is considered effective only if the player can achieve high accuracy on him, including headshots. Most pro players have around 50 per cent accuracy on Mccree, which means they are doing a lot of damage and eliminations. Mccree is also considered an anti-flanker who does best with a Reinhardt to shield him.

If your team is not running a Reinhardt, your accuracy on Mccree is under 40 per cent or you find yourself unable to take care of Pharahs, Reapers and Tracers harassing your backline, consider switching off. Many high level players actually recommend playing Roadhog — who is unpopular in the Pro meta — as he's much more effective at lower Elos than a lacklustre Mccree.

Meta heroes are only effective if you have the capability to play them at the level your team needs, or if your team can support your pick. Sticking doggedly to them because "it's the meta" is not going to help secure the win.

Refusing to play "F-tier" heroes

Conversely, don't dismiss the potential of "F-tier" heroes to carry a team to victory. F-tier refers to the characters who are almost never played in pro tournaments, as documented by Overbuff's Meta Reports.

At Silver and Gold tier, many random teams do fall prey to turret-based defenses due to inexperience or lack of coordination. Good Pharahs are deadly at lower Elos because many players do not play hitscan heroes well, allowing them to rain justice on enemies unimpeded.

Soldier is also commonly seen as a "carry" character at lower Elos due to his ability to move quickly, self-heal and do large amounts of damage. In fact, streamers have purposely gotten low ranks on second accounts to prove that they can carry themselves out of "Elo Hell", with Soldier being a popular choice if the match proves more difficult than expected.

Trying to make pro strategies work

A defense strategy that you'll find at higher Elos is teams setting up on high ground to be in an advantageous position when the fight starts. But this requires that your team understands how to use high ground.

There's no point for a Reinhardt to stand on high ground if nobody else realises they need to be behind his shield. A team can also give up a lot of unnecessary ground on payload maps if nobody realises that they should be jumping down to engage the enemy when the opportunity presents itself.

Similarly, while the 3/3 strategy was popularized by the pro team Ninjas in Pajamas, the strategy requires a lot more coordination than you'll find in a Gold match filled with random solo queuers.

The strat revolves around the Ana player being able to quickly build her ult via healing tanks, then nano boosting a tank who can deal a large burst of damage. This means that not only does Ana have to be a good shot and position well, she has to coordinate with the tanks to ensure she boosts them at the right time. The tank must also know what they need to do when boosted.

Both these strategies are very good when used right. However, if your team does not know about them or have not practiced them much, the team is unlikely to benefit much from utilizing them. You might be better off gauging the skill level of your team and whether they're willing to work with each other before deciding to use pro strategies in Competitive mode.