Guess I'm never playing comp with you lol
I kid, I'm still on before then when I don't have work I suppose
Ah, I should have clarified - I meant solo queuing competitive. I'm always down for comp with a GAF group whenever - that's like apples and oranges. It's the randoms that are nuts.
I think generally around mid diamond and up is where I expect people to at least think on stuff to that level to improve and climb. I'm being a bit generous here, because I know there are people that get to that level via group queue, mechanics, and carry stuff without having to engage at that level of thought on it. I do think it's a core skill that is going to be more present at those levels here soon though, at least I hope so.
Right now, I think even lower diamond players all know 3 tanks is a busted comp at the least though. I see it in every single game I'm in these days, even in QP.
I definitely think diamond level and higher is a completely different mindset (and skill level) than high Gold/low Platinum, which is where I'm at. Yesterday I played a game on Anubis when the attacking team was going trip tank (full meta, too - Ana, Lucio, 76 as the other three - although the Ana switched to Mercy when they stalled on point B) and our composition was me as the only tank as Rein, and then Junkrat, Bastion, Mei, 76, and Zen as our team. I thought for sure we were dead but we managed to hold them, then turn around and capture both points on attack ourselves for the victory.
I know on a high level playing field my team's comp was absolutely terrible, but we still managed to work together and defend successfully. In Gold/Platinum area, it's less about the "correct team comp" and more about playing who you're good with and knowing basic mechanics.
Another example on the opposite side was a KOTH match on Nepal where our Rein and D.Va would never push, ever. They'd just stand in the choke point and block damage but never move forward. Consequently the entire team would group up behind them and then the enemy team would just build up ult while we farted around. It took me as Lucio speed boosting myself through the choke point on a hail mary to get them to push to the point. On top of that, none of our team ever took a flanking route - they all just hung around at the main choke point on every map.
Most of the time it's simply understanding the mechanics like that that make the difference at lower levels over the team comp meta. But then you get people who don't have basic knowledge of mechanics ordering people to "play the meta" and ask people to pick Rein, then they pick Hanzo and run off by themselves and die and never use Rein's shield, then blame that person for being a bad Rein.
Everybody wants to be pro, but not everybody is skilled enough.
