Which player mentality is right and more appropriate for game like Overwatch?
Flex.
Being able to adapt to different team comps is a necessity and when there is a one trick on the team who can’t/refuses to play anything else, it ruins that fluidity.
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The game is designed in a way that requires flexibility. Maining a role is fine but that also means that you should be able to flex to other heroes within that role. For example, if you want to be a main healer then you should learn to play Mercy, Ana and Moira.
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Being able to flex is a very important skill to have and makes climbing a lot easier.
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Flex players need one tricks and one tricks need flex players. It’s a symbiotic relationship.
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ideally, you want to at least play more heroes in a specific role.
Say, main tanks would be rein, orisa, winston and wrecking ball (although he’s a bit unconventional).
You could learn hitscan dps, say, soldier, mcree, ashe, widow, etch.
Or main healers, like moira, mercy and ana.
Ideally you want to play very well all the heroes in a specific sub-category and b decent enough with at least some tanks and healers.
Try and have at least one hero per category that you can play well, but specialize more in a specific category.
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It’s better to flex within a role than across all the classes. Some players naturally gravitate towards certain roles. I don’t want them on roles or characters that don’t jive with them just because.
It’s quite easy to be decent at every hero in OW, and having a few that you main.
OTPs are easy to counter, by a just decent player on a hard counter.
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I disagree with this.
I am happy to flex around people’s mains. Super happy to do that - afterall, that’s kind of flexing in a nutshell.
But if that one trick cannot make their hero work against the enemy team because they’re being targeted so heavily, or that their team composition doesn’t work with that hero - then, no. I don’t need that person to stick to that hero. I need them to go to another hero that can work.
As a flex, I can support that person playing another hero. But if they flat-out refuse or they can’t play anyone else - no, I’d argue that I don’t need them, don’t want them, and that it’s not any kind of relationship I want.
I am all for determination and making heroes work. I love trying different strategies with the same team compositions and heroes, and seeing how they play out. But I am not supportive of the idea that it’s beneficial to not have that possibility of flexibility all together. Refusing/being unable to play any other hero is detrimental because it limits what we can do as a team.
I’m 100% fine with mains and love 'em. I am like, 20% okay with one tricks and they make me skeptical.
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Realistically people would say flex, but nah. I just play whatever I want. I’ll usually play DPS, Winston or Hammond. Those are the things I find fun. I’ll also play Zarya or Roadhog if I feel like it. That’s my hero pool, take it or leave it.
From experience, flexing does nothing but cause me more stress. I used to try to play around people, but that just ended up in me being more annoyed because I underperformed. I just leave voice chat if people complain, mute texts, and focus. I won’t go support or shield. I’ll NEVER play support, but if the team is DECENT I WILL try to shield now and then.
Saying this will probably tilt people, but matches go better when people are on their main/hero they find more fun on or have experience on. Most likely a team will preform better if it has 6 DPS players that all main DPS and play it decently, rather than people being forced on support or tank which just ruins their mindset and affects their play.
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The game is advertised around flexing.
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As a flex player…I’m not, you know, not okay with that.
Because one tricks to me is literally, “I am only ever going to play this one hero and no matter what, I am sticking with this hero”
To me, it sounds like you’re just playing who you want and who you’re best with, and that is multiple heroes. I’m totally supportive of that! You should have fun playing who you like. And as a flex, I can find someone to play with you that I like 
One tricking isn’t, “I’m playing my main even if it is suboptimal”, it’s “I am REFUSING to not play this specific hero no matter what”
I think you’re doing the former. And that’s totally cool!
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I think that One-tricking is okay for QP and Arcade, but not for competitive.
In competitive you should play whatever your team needs, not whatever you want. You should fit the team, not team should adapt to your selfish interests alone.
I have probably played around 500 hours of Overwatch, and watched at least that many in streams. Not the most by a long shot, but I’ve been around the block. Whether it’s my own games, or some top 500 players… 95% of the time someone says “it’s not working out” they are wrong.
It’s always a guy with a grudge saying it. It’s always some guy that started the game by asking the player to switch if it doesn’t work out. It’s always a guy seeing only what he wants to see.
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As usually happens, I think the proper answer is somewhere in between.
You need a hero pool that is large enough that you can fit multiple roles, but small enough that you don’t forget how to play one of them if you favor one or two heroes.
IMO, the perfect pool size should be around 4 to 8 heroes. Under that you are risking to run out of options in certain comps, and above that you simply can’t sustain equal skill with everyone.
Alrighty! Glad we’re on the same page then. 
I get a bit confused with the term from time to time, thank you for clearing that up. I am pretty much doing the formal.
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those who flex are the superior race
The right and appropriate mentality for a game like Overwatch is to be encouraging and supportive of your teammates, be they flex or one-tricks. Too many games are lost over needless toxicity and players’ lack of belief in each other, be it verbalized or not.
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It’s not just your team though, if you are repeatedly being hard countered by the opposing team then you should have a backup hero that you can switch to that still works for your team, but that is not so heavily countered by the opposing team. Of course that may not always be possible due to the team compositions, but to have no other options at all is not good.
One trick anything that’s meta. Or just one trick a hero that has the possibility to be meta so that when they are meta, you climb like crazy with all your experience.
I did it with Lucio back in S7 and ended in Diamond, I hit GM in S10 and T500 in S12.