Dive. Tanks. The Meta. As it stands, the Overwatch Meta is currently dominated by heavily Tank focused offensive compositions. It's become a game of Red Rover, each team clashing into each other at full speed- over, and over, and over. Why? What shifted the Meta away from steady pushing barrier focused teams to these "life in the fast lane" dive compositions.

THE TANKS

The Tanks in Overwatch are the lynch pin of any team comp. It may not be the flashiest role, or the most liked role, but honestly, it's the most important role. The Overwatch Meta is created through the front line. The reason dive focused teams are so powerful is because of the potency of the Tank combo of D.Va and Winston.

D.Va

• D.Va is the dive comp. The dive comp is D.Va. Since the launch of Overwatch D.Va has undergone more changes than any other Hero. In the beginning she was widely considered underpowered. She had low health, a big hit box, miniscule damage, and a bad ultimate. In Her first round of changes Blizzard decided to put more power in her defensive capabilities. The buffs to her Defensive Matrix made her a (very overpowered) powerhouse front liner. These changes however were hard to balance around and ultimately played against D.Va's flanker play style. They tweaked her ultimate, her HP, and gave her a new ability. Thus leaving us with the current installment of D.Va; the (also very overpowered) offensive powerhouse.
• D.Va has everything you could ever want in an Offensive Hero. She has high burst with her Micro Rockets, high consistent damage with her Fusion Cannons (that never have to be reloaded), a strong defensive ability, a play making/ POTG worthy ultimate, and also 750 HP between her mech and pilot. D.Va can get away with plays that no other Hero can, diving into the enemy team headstrong without a care in the world. D.Va can create a storm of chaos in an enemy's backline, soaking up damage, time, and a player's patience. And even though by herself she is such a mighty force, she is only one part of an even mightier Duo.

Winston

• Much like D.Va, at launch Winston wasn't really considered a power pick. He was ok, but his flanker play style didn't fit a niche inside any given team comp. Unlike D.Va however, Winston really hasn't gone through any large gameplay updates. A few changes here and there, but no large ability or passive changes. So where does his new found strength come from? Well, Winston's strength comes from D.Va. As mentioned previously, they are a working pair, a dynamic duo.
• Although a lot of Winston's usefulness comes from being the Robin to D.Va's Batman, Winston himself is no slouch. Winston's ultimate Primal Rage is an extremely powerful tool in teamfights. It may not be as flashy as a D.Va bomb, but its usefulness in breaking up teams and resetting fights is often under looked. That being said, his true strength comes in the form of diving alongside a D.Va. Winston can easily finish off targets that may not get fully bursted down by D.Va's initial rocket barrage and Winston's Barrier Projector offers just enough shielding to keep them both safe from the enemy backlines counter dive burst damage.

SHIFTS

It's hard to determine when a shift in the Meta will occur. Slowly but surely Heroes come in and out of favor for any number of reasons. As of right now the Overwatch Meta is shifting in a strange direction. Although still very dive oriented, there has been a resurgence of defensive picks. The longer dive stays around, even if D.Va and Winston receive no nerfs or changes, the better and better players get at playing around it. This means that dive compositions are becoming a more situational strategy. This opens up room for more experimental teams and play styles. In a way- the stronger dive gets, the stronger counter dive is becoming, equaling out to a strange mixed Meta.

COUNTER DIVE

Counter dive is exactly what it sounds like, team compositions that counter the slew of nonstop attacks- the immoveable object to counter the unstoppable force. Early adaptions of this strategy were for the most part..unsuccessful. As stated previously however, the more it was played the better it got. The Anchor Tanks Orisa and Reinhardt can be used effective to stop dive on maps that are defense oriented/Control Point based. Examples such as: Volskaya Industries, Route 66, Lijiang Tower, and Nepal.

Orisa

• Orisa's ability to counter dive stems from her potency at controlling the movement of D.Va and Winston. If the duo decides to jump on her rather than her supports, Orisa can use her Fortify to gain enough durability to survive the initial burst. This gives the rest of her team the time to put the "counter" in counter dive. In addition, if D.Va and Winston decide to jump Orisa's supports, she can use her Halt alt-fire to delay their assault and displace them.
• Orisa competence as an anchor tank also allows for a wider array of DPS Heroes to be played. Her ability to dictate a dive compositions movements and her consistent shielding mean that more vulnerable Heroes can find safety. On maps such as Route 66 and Volskaya, Heroes that struggle with dive like Ana and Solider 76 can find refuge when played at mid-range around Orisa's stout barrier.

Reinhardt

• Reinhardt sadly fell out of favor in this Meta because of his inability to save his teammates. His shield does wonders when your team is on one side and the enemy team is on the other. Once the enemy dive passed its threshold however, it loses its purpose. The same can be said about the entirety of Reinhardt's kit. On Payload and Hybrid maps, the peel and protection Reinhardt could offer was plain unreliable.
• The same cannot be said for KOTH and Control Point based maps. Reinhardt struggles at closing the distance on longer maps, but while standing on a Control Point Reinhardt can take full advantage of his kit. Dive's quick blitzkrieg style isn't impactful when both teams are scrunched up, staring into the white of each other's eyes. What is impactful is a six man Earth Shatter, Piercing Flame Strike, and Giant Hammer. The close skirmish nature of Control Point maps adds more reliability to Reinhardt's "charge in all or nothing" kit.

SHIFTS

A game's Meta is always an ever turning wheel, a nonstop cycle. The Meta is a piece of clay that everyone in the player base gets a chance at slowly molding. Optimizations and player preference are always waxing and waning. With every new addition, whether it's a Hero like Brigitte or a Map, the wheel turns. Leading us off to a new horizon, to a new Meta, to a new game.