Don’t solo que. at all. Never. Find a friend to duo with or a trio to play with. It’s much better to have predetermined layouts with teammates and synergies.
Obviously this is anecdotal evidence but when I found a friend who plays main tank (and I play off tank) I went from 2900 to 3400 and it’s been maybe 2 weeks so far.
Don’t solo que. it’s terrible
This is actually probably the best advice there is to beat algorithmic handicapping
I even have a more advanced tip.
Deinstall the game. Never play it again. And do NOT buy any Activision Blizzard product again.
I pretty much almost always solo q, sometimes i use LFG for fun to make 6 stack. Grouping with friends isnt for anyone. For example i feel bad to lose with them. Also I dont want to feel like i was carried. So for me its usualy solo 
i would but i dont really want to play with people i dont know and theres only 1 person ik who plays overwatch
Don’t duo 2 supports
I had a lot of bad experiences lol, I felt like the games we got were worse than when he played on Tank.
in my experience grouping is great for getting to where you should be when underranked, but solo is far better for climbing and improving when you arent actually where you need to be skill wise
Best advice is don’t play overwatch 
The matchmaker actually gives you harder games when you group. Duo isn’t that bad if you are using a specific synergy (pharah/mercy, rein/zarya, winston/dva, etc) but just two random people grouping together and playing what they want isn’t going to be easier to climb.
Bro same! Every time I try to group up, even 1 loss makes me feel bad. Same on the carried part, like if I reach a certain rank, I’ll feel cheated as if I haven’t fully earned it 100%, a scam.
Yes.
I never queue with anyone though, because most of the players are best kept at arms length.
You don’t know me. I don’t know you. Let’s keep it that way.
Detrimental to climbing? Yes. I’ve declined friend requests from smurf tanks, for example, because it’s not worth knowing anyone through this community.
uninstall the game is best tip
When I play ow solo, I play to grind, I like grind, I like to find a way not just to beat enemy team, but beat this stupid matchmaker, ofc together it would be easier, but solo is like a challenge. It is good when you climbed at least once to GM/TOP500 so you can chill on alt, knowing your ingame capabilities and do not stress out of loosing, cause you know when it is your fault and when it is just bad match. Team stacking is easiear in mental way, but games would be harder. Climbing solo is easier if you have right mindset.
The group up feature is a bit hit and miss. Maybe if you have a group of people you already know are pretty good it can work. But if you’re in a 6 stack the game will try to put you up against another 6 stack, so if you’re not working as a group and communicating it can often put you at a disadvantage compared to solo.
A group of three tend to be pretty good though. If I fall a bit in SR I group up and play mercy rein bastion. If we operate as a unit more often than not it’s an easy win as the other side can’t organise enough to counter us.
That would require people to actually play the game anymore. So many have left for various reasons. Many for the same reason. LACK OF CONTENT.
I never play comp with friends. If I want to play with friends I play QP or Arcade. I don’t trust my friends to positively impact my SR. (Or myself to not negatively impact theirs)
I actually think Blizzard should completely separate Solo Queue SR from Team based SR. Competitive Suggestion - Solo Queue
I think peak Overwatch would be in a 6-man team that always plays together (which is supported by the fact that this is exactly what the professional scene is, both Contenders and Overwatch League). However, organized teams aren’t available to most people. If anyone is solo queueing, I would prefer that everyone be solo queue.
I think the biggest mistake people make is 6-stack LFG for comp. That has to be the worst possible scenario, because it will match you against pre-made 6-stack teams who will completely wreck you. You might get lucky and face another LFG 6-stack who is worse than you, but the odds are definitely against you.
With the numbers of abuses available and inspired by Comp SR being available to groups and solo queue equally, I am in favor of keeping them separate.
EDIT: Added replies to individual posts
Says the person with endless posts about how big a disaster his LFG 6-stacks are.
Boosting is one of the biggest reasons I advocate for a solo queue only SR.
Truth, especially 6-stack LFG.
Truth.
So here’s my experience with lfg 6- stack:
Games tend to be more enjoyable and feel more coordinated and challenging but also rewarding like it’s more like real overwatch
But doing this won’t help you to climb beyond a certain point
And it’s extremely difficult to find people who will remain in a group because people tend to give up after 1 or 2 losses
So eventually I stopped bothering with that and just solo q or very occasionally play with one other person
So my recommendation is just find one other person that can match your kind of play Style or tempo
This will especially help when you get those gatekeeper matches
But if you want to play for enjoyment lfg 6- stack is the best way to go
Have we all been playing fake overwatch??
Yes. Playing with random people is not the way overwatch was intended to be played
Except that’s exactly what all game modes are at their core. You can play with people any time of day because people are willing to play with random people. LFG doesn’t change whether you play with random people, it just lets you look at them a little before queueing.
It’s valid to say that’s not fun for you. I can’t argue with you if you make a statement like that, because it’s your opinion and feelings, which are important to you.
I just don’t think based on the features provided that it is a valid statement to say Overwatch isn’t intended to be played as a solo queue.