Yes I thought so too for a long time. Role Q isn’t a new idea and there is nothing happening in this direction beside LFG. The final nail was the video from MonteCristo (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLaBlp7bCAM) there is a lot that only 2/2/2 can do for the game. Yes your suggestions go in the same direction (more restrictions make it easier to control) but it take too long for Blizzard to react and make these changes, so I don’t want a half baked solution now and maybe 2 years later a second step. I think a big step should be done soon™ even if it hurts. I’m a Mercy player, I know pain and I don’t give a F for DPS who wanted Mercy die.
LFG should be mandatory, only allow 6 stacks in QP and comp, so it is just a disadvantage you put your self in. A team always have to play stronger opponents or team, because it is an advantage to be with people you know but a LFG group dosn’t have this. Also lock yourself while the enemy dosn’t have restrictions is a bad idea, the restrictions always have to be on both sides.
And why is 2/2/2 the only/best solution? Maybe it’s not, a 1/3/1 (and make it 5v5) would be possible too. But flex spots are very difficult and might cause more problems then good. Sure Q time goes down but the benefit of role based SR/MMR would be lost. With only 2 DSP (or any other role) the selection comes with a cost. You and the other player of the role have to do 100%, so if you only get 30% your buddy has to bring the other 70%. With 3 of one role you can be very situational and peek once while and the other two can also stay below 50%. Yes this is just a bunch of numbers but it might help illustrate how more of one role make the game less stable. If you want a more DPS heavy team you still can pick Zen, Roadhog or Zarya, but the devs can control the damage better and might tweak Zen to be more a Support or Hog to more a Tank.
Conclusion:
- Flex is a problem for the game, it brings too much variance into the game → make it harder to balance → allow player to be “bad” because it can be compensated
- LFG puts you in a disadvantage. Yes you can control your team but not the enemy.
- A hard cut. It will be painful (Q times) but there will be a need for Support and Tanks and with a solid structure thees roles might be fun(less painful) to play. Also you can still flex (the role will be locked in the match) and play different roles without be afraid to harm your main role or suck at off role.