Jeff Kaplan thinks most Overwatch players can’t use meta picks correctly
Blizzard EntertainmentJeff Kaplan spoke some hard truths about low to mid-ranked players while discussing criticism of Overwatch’s current meta.
The game director himself recently dropped in on popular Overwatch streamers Fran and Emongg to talk about the current state of the game.
Recently, there has been a lot of criticism of the prevalence of the tank and support-heavy “GOATS” composition in the current meta. Many players have also been frustrated by Brigitte, who has been a target for criticism since her release.
Kaplan’s response to much of this criticism was that it’s not necessarily unique to the current meta – some fans will inevitably be frustrated in any given meta if it prevails for long enough.
As far as a lot of the criticism goes, however, Kaplan thinks that it might be somewhat misdirected. In the lower ranks, he says, games just aren’t organized enough that coordinated strategies like GOATS are often implemented.
“The reality is, south of let’s say diamond, no-one’s playing GOATS. Or even if they’re playing Reinhardt and Zarya and Brigitte, and all the other characters that comprise GOATS, they’re not playing GOATS.”
Kaplan highlights that even when teams are playing supposedly meta compositions at these ranks – and therefore complaining about the “meta” – they’re usually not executing them in the way that makes them powerful at higher levels of play.
Fortunately for players who aren’t a fan of the current meta, it seems change could inbound anyway. The most recent PTR patch made a wave of key hero balance changes, and some are already speculating that the adjustments could spell the end of the GOATS dominance.