What is GOATS in Overwatch?
The term GOATS has a different meaning in Overwatch than in other Esports. Typically, it is an abbreviation meaning the Greatest Of All Time. It is a way of referring to the best players in any given Esport’s history.
In Overwatch, however, it takes on a slightly more technical meaning.
GOATS is a name given to a 3-3, or triple-triple, team composition.
It was a hot topic of debate among casters, players, and fans alike. Done well, it was perhaps the most effective team composition in the Esports history, but it required incredible skill, world-class teamwork and coaching to pull off.
Effectively, what it means is a team made up of three support characters and three tanks. Teams forgo having damage-dealing heroes in favor of keeping their beefy big boys up and running on the front lines.
This is a reasonably simple foundation, but where it gets complicated is in just how it does deal its damage. You see, the GOATS team composition relies on coordinated uses of ultimates to deal their damage.
What this means is having precision timing, perfect synergy with your teammates, and proper positioning. So it is incredibly difficult to run effectively.
The Origin of GOATS
So just how did this team composition come about, and how it acquired the name of the industrious animal?
Well, a North American Overwatch Contenders Trials team was the first to use the triple-triple strategy. This team just so happened to be called GOATS.
It took no time at all for the competition to catch on to just how powerful this composition was. It skyrocketed in popularity, being adopted by all of the top-level Overwatch League teams. Eventually, everyone played it, and it became the meta. Of course, the name stuck.
What Makes it so Strong?
The power of GOATS lies in how sustainable it is in team fights. Typically, a GOATS composition would comprise the likes of Zarya, Reinhardt, D. Va, Moira, Brigitte, and Lucio. There are, of course, variations of this line-up, but this is the traditional team.
That being said, there are vital aspects of the team composition that cannot be replaced or removed. D. Va, Brigette, and Lucio are must picks. The success of the composition relies too heavily on their synergy and abilities for them to be expendable.
As you might expect, the rise of the triple-triple meta gave way to a lot of backlash. Mainly from pro players who main damage dealers, upset that they now are forced into a tank or support role.
Blizzard did attempt to nerf the meta in response to this but to little success.
However, due to the recent implementation of role queueing, the triple-triple meta is now unplayable, much to the delight of fans and players everywhere.
The meta was notoriously slow and boring to watch, with many attributing it to Overwatch’s declining viewer count.
It’s over now, though, and hopefully, the introduction of the forced 2-2-2 team composition can make for some entertaining gameplay and bring some eyes to the product that would otherwise be elsewhere.