GOATs comp is something you might've heard while watching Overwatch League. In fact, it was the composition that sealed the deal for the London Spitfire to take the Overwatch League Grand Finals in New York over the Philadelphia Fusion. Today, I'll help explain to you what makes GOATs comps work. That way if you ever find yourself on ladder playing in - or against - a GOATs comp, you'll have a better understanding of your role.





The Origin of GOATs

A GOATs comp is unique in that fact that it has no DPS in the composition. Much like Quad Tank, this composition is meant to bulldoze its way over the enemy team using its AOE healing and large health pools to outlast the enemy. When Brigitte was introduced, she took one of the tank roles in the Quad Tank composition, changing it to a 3-3 composition of; Reinhardt, Zarya, Roadhog/D.Va, Moira, Lucio, Brigitte. But why do we call it the GOATs comp? The name comes from a Tier 3 Overwatch team by the same name. During the BEAT Invitational - Season 4, GOATs used this composition to decimate their opposition before beating NRG 3-0 in the Grand Finals. After that, it started to catch on with Overwatch League teams and the GOATs comp was born.





The Inner Working of the GOATs Comp (Supports)

Every part of the GOATs comp matters. While it may seem easy for high-level players to use it almost flawlessly, it takes a good amount of coordination to pull it off properly. If one or two people aren't on top of things, the whole comp around them will fall like an unbalanced house of cards. There are a few characters that matter more than others, but mostly it comes down to the supports. The most valuable part of the GOATs comp is your Moira player. Without Moira, your composition loses out on most of its healing. Not having her healing spray as well as her healing orb makes it easy for the enemy team to burst down your tanks. It is also imperative that Moira stays alive and get as much healing done as it is possible for her to have Coalescence in the first fight if needed.

The other two supports also have their place in this composition. For instance, if you are playing Lucio is a composition like this, you 100% need to be communicating your cooldowns to your teammates as well as whether you are speeding or healing. A good amped up speed boost onto the point can take the enemy team by surprise but only if your team is going in together. If you go in disjointed, you will be taken out and the composition will lose your healing and perhaps, more importantly, your speed boost.





The Inner Working of the GOATs Comp (Tanks)

The Tanks are the meat of your comp both literally and figuratively. Ideally, this comp is played with Reinhardt, Zarya, Roadhog or D.Va, and Brigitte (who is basically another off-tank). Each of these tanks has a goal that they are trying to accomplish. For example, if you are playing Reinhardt in this comp, you'll need to be very careful with your shield and understand where your supports are so that a Widowmaker or Hanzo can't pick them off. On the more aggressive side, you also need to farm Earthshatter as quickly as you can as it can help your team snowball. Now for the Zarya, you'll want to gain as much charge as possible from your first two bubbles.

Ideally, you should be around that 70-80 charge mark. This will allow you to become a pseudo-DPS as well as have some really good shield breaking potential if the enemy team is running their own Reinhardt or an Orisa. Speaking of pseudo-DPS and shield breaking, Roadhog also brings that to the table with the added ability to get a pick right off the bat if you land a hook onto an enemy in the backline. Roadhog also offers some self-sustain with his "Take a Breather" so he can fend for himself if needed. If you've instead chosen D.Va to be the third tank in the 3-3, you have a different job. Mostly you'll want to use your Defense Matrix to stop incoming damage so that your tank line lives longer and force the enemy team to burn their cooldowns. Moreover, it is your job to contest any high ground DPS, such as Junkrat, Pharah, or Widowmaker, as you are the only person in your composition that can contest high ground with your boosters.

Brigitte is what brought Quad-Tank to the 3-3. With her AOE healing and CC abilities, she offers a lot to this comp. Mostly as Brigitte, you'll want to wait out until you have the perfect moment to shield bash and strike someone on the enemy team. If the coordination is there, you'll delete that person from the map and the snowball can begin. Once Brigitte is on a point, it is very hard to dislodge her based on the amount of healing and armor she has. If the fight devolves into a huge brawl, that is where you will shine the most.





How to Counter GOATs

If a GOATs comp catches you off-guard, it's almost impossible to stop them on their first push. However, if you switch quick enough there is a chance you can stop the bleeding. Switching to something like a Pharah or Junkrat will work wonders. If you go with Junkrat, you can pressure the shields of the Brigitte and Reinhardt before they get to you, making them have to play a lot safer with how they use their shield. You are also going to charge Rip Tire at a rapid rate and no amount of healing can stop that. For the Pharah approach, your goal is to try and soften up the tank line and Brigitte so that the rest of your team on the ground has a chance. If you're able to pick up a couple of shots onto the supports that also works. Just like with Junkrat you will also gain ultimate charge very fast. If you are in desperate need, you can always pick Ana. Ana is great against GOATs because of her anti-healing. If you play safe enough to a point where you can land a huge anti-heal grenade, it will stop the GOATs comp in its tracks. I must warn you though that this pick is very much a high-risk, high-reward style given Ana's current place in the meta.

Conclusion

Hopefully, I've shed some light on the GOATs comp and how you can use it or counter it in your games. Remember to always be flexible and, if GOATs isn't working, don't be afraid to forego ultimate charge and switch to something else.

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