Hello everybody !

For a few months now, the Overwatch metagame has been tank-oriented. What really happened for that transition to happen ? First, Brigitte was released, a great tool to tank compositions. Second, the invention of a composition which would change competitive Overwatch by a large margin : GOATS.

But today, the community is facing a problem : this composition is varying more and more, to the point that it does not look like GOATS anymore. Other names are being found out while some people still call these comps “GOATS”.

On paper, is that understandable for anybody ? Are there any solutions to avoid confusion ? Let’s take a look !

Story time…

North America Open Division Season 2 finals. The winner was just decided : a young team called GOATS who won 4 to 2 against Karasuno (Hidan’s ex team).

Source : Liquipedia

During Contenders Trials, that team placed last of its group with one victory and six losses. But what a problem it was for other teams with its specific playstyle. Their favourite composition which took many maps from others was the following : Reinhardt, Zarya, D.Va, Brigitte, Lucio and Moira. As it was rather effective, other teams started looking at it. The GOATS comp was born, and the game plan was set :

Pressure the opponent so they use spells and take advantage with yours

Then variations were invented : teams were using Zenyatta instead of Moira and more recently Winston instead of Reinhardt. Yes, that’s already a lot of different lineups.

Let’s put this recap on the table in order to understand it better. As said above, GOATS has seen different variations. We’ll talk about it later, but we can still stay those are “GOATS comps” for a simple reason : the game plan is identical to classic GOATS. Putting as much pressure as possible to take the lead.

I’ve talked about variations with Zenyatta, Ana and Winston. A quick list for an easy understanding :

classic GOATS follows its game plan and survives longer due to Moira’s heals

GOATS with Zenyatta will play more defensively and create space so that the Zen can put his Discord Orb on someone and make his team deal more damage on tanks

GOATS with Ana is even more defensive, any good Biotic Grenade is go time though

And GOATS with Winston removes protection for mobility and potential aggressivity, an iteration close to dive which also sees Zenyatta instead of Moira.

I still use the term “GOATS” because the roots of the comps are this one. That’s right, but…

GOATS’ popularity engendered an issue. The foundation was the beginning and the building grew, but too much, way too much.

GOATS has seen so many variations people started having trouble figuring out what is what, to the point that for some people, all tank comps are GOATS. Using this name too many times caused confusion for those who have little interest of the game and take a look from time to time. So what was a GOATS comp ? As time passed, the word was being spread and for the majority, the definition was inscribed : “it’s a tank comp”. It is a malapropism. GOATS variations were still GOATS in the terminology which caused confusion and was the reason other names were theorycrafted. FLOATS, GOATS, SNOATS (last one is as recent as Winstrike’s last match in Contenders EU where they played an interesting comp with Mei)… Yes, we’re even more lost. With such as wide range of names, there is no way to understand fully what is said in discussions as someone who does not follow the game as much as others. The community should use these terms as little as possible and use simple names, as before. Just talk about static comps, 3 tank 3 support comps for example : it already makes more sense ! Remember when dive had variations ? We weren’t finding different names, it was still a dive and we would talk about “dive variations”, like “dive 3 DPS”, and everyone was on the same page.

The original.

The word “GOATS” became a meme in the community as the composition was seen as “easy to play” and as a way to “play a tank comp”, which is true and false. Let’s get straight to the point : some variations can still be classified as “GOATS”, but the precision has to be made, and it isn’t always the case.

Another issue exists. The word “GOATS” is overused. Fact :

All tank comps aren’t GOATS

The word is often used to talk about tank comps. A GOATS comp is looking to force cooldowns by pressuring the opponent, that’s the basic plan. If that strategy deviates too much from the original one, it isn’t a GOATS. If there are two DPS with Reinhardt and Zarya like a double sniper : it’s not a GOATS but a comp that is looking for crossfires to get pick offs. If there is a Sombra with Reinhardt and Zarya, it is a static comp with Sombra. I could go all day, but you get my point of view.

To recap :

talk about GOATS when the composition is played

talk about GOATS variations when it actually is one, or a triple tank/triple support to be more general

don’t talk about GOATS when the comp’s game plan has no relation with GOATS

The domestic goat or simply goat (Capra aegagrus hircus) is a subspecies of C. aegagrus domesticated from the wild goat of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the animal family Bovidae and the goat — antelope subfamily Caprinae, meaning it is closely related to the sheep. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat. Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species of animal, and have been used for milk, meat, fur, and skins across much of the world. Milk from goats is often turned into goat cheese.

See you next time !