Main tank vs off tank
Main support vs off support
Main dps vs flex dps
These are terms that get used a lot but are not actually defined roles in the game. What makes a hero a main role hero vs an off role hero, should there be a difference, what style should be focused on?
“Off” hero is usually a hybrid of two roles.
Main tanks create space, off tank act more like dps with 400 health
Main support heal more but have less utility and dps than off support.
Off topic rant, this is the problem with mercy, she dosent fit in either role, little utility, little healing shes basically justa rez bot wich makes her hard to balance
Main dps get kills, off dps help the main dps get picks or set up their team to get picks
Ik main tanks are considered those who can create space for the team like Hammond, rein etc
And main healer are those who can “solo” heal a team due to the amount of heals they have like Moira Ana bap etc
Main tank = Typically used to describe the tank who takes the lead and is the spearhead of the team. The main creator of space.
Off Tank = Typically responsible for covering the backside of the main tank and giving them either a fallback position or a means to press on. In addition they typically watch the backline a little more so the main tank can focus more on the push.
Mainsupport = Provides the primary source of healing and takes care of everyone on the team with priority on those in danger of dying first. Offers moderate to low utility. Usually has a offensive based ultimate for pushing.
Off Support = Helps to top off teammates when needed but mainly provides utility such damage increases, speed, and the like. Often helps peel for the main support and also reduces the pressure on main support. typically has a defensive ultimate.
Main tanks make space but a roadhog basically clears all space inside is hook range but is not considered a main tank normally.
Bap has a ton of healing as well as damage and lamp, moira has plenty of healing and peel. Mercy only has heal and rez but is usually not considered main heals
flex dps is the dps that gets swapped out.
off-tank is the character that the composition doesn’t hinges on.
off-healer same thing.
or if you want to be real, off-tank is the tank that stands behind the main tank and keeps their team within the formation safe.
off support tends to be the one with more utility.
like you can categorize them in different ways, but if you ask me, it’s just a way to organize comps and try to see a connection to their success and their position within a team.
but in all honesty i think the game is less healthy because of it because it creates more rigid metas because of preceived strength and weaknesses when certain characters can’t be categorized like this.
Does your tank have a barrier? Congratz, it’s a main tank!
Some say that Ball is a main tank, but more specifically he’s a hybrid tank where you can run him in both spots. Don’t let that confuse you
Does your healer have a primary/secondary fire that heals teammates? Congratz, it’s a main healer! If not it’s an off healer
This is not really a thing. DPS are not categorized by this. They’re categorized through multiple terms such as flanker, anti-flanker, sustained DPS, burst DPS, mobile, non-mobile, utility and so on. While there’s no “one main and one off” rule with DPS it’s usually good to have one sustained DPS in your team for opposing barriers or otherwise they will just never go down.
True and I think tanks are pretty easy to categorize,
the trouble is mostly in dps and support,
dps have so many types that just two categories are not enough. Remember when the game would say too many snipers/ no builder etc
support has plenty of heroes in the middle moira has lots of tools and healing same with bap, Mercy and Brig are in an odd place too.
basically are heroes better when more designed around raw power vs utility like tank, or when there are just so many playstyles it no longer matters like in dps
Usually “main” roles don’t have the flexibility to perform other roles to notable extents. Rein as a main tank for example commands space and establishes a frontline for his team, but can’t easily frag out like a dps and hunt for elims. Zarya on the other hand is easier to push against, she can take ground but can’t hold it herself for long, but at high charge she becomes a strong enough threat to secure kills almost as efficiently as a dedicated dps.
Some heroes like Wrecking Ball can fill either role depending on the player’s style. Constantly grapple booping through, maintaining high adaptive shields, and poking damage from slightly farther distances can keep him in the fight long enough and demand enough attention to fill the main tank role. Alternatively you can focusing on hit and run tactics with piledrives to try to secure elims, but will often have to quickly retreat due to the enemy being able to more easily focus fire you. Trading field presence for lethality, making him more of an offtank when played this way.
I can really only blame the devs. If you want universal viability… Do it.
If you want niche … Do it.
Half in half out is my biggest criticism of the game. You can’t declare that Baptiste or brig is a main healer and then say “well…it’s up to the players”
YOU SAID THATS YOUR VISION??? Wat?
I can make a painting of a tree. And then you can criticize my execution of said tree. But if you say, “that’s a bad tree”
I don’t get to be like, “weelllll if you see a tree cool. But if not like, that’s also okay and the point”. You can’t declare intent and then pretend that intent never existed or isn’t relevant to the discussion
you know what the vision is? have cool characters that plays in unique ways and try to assemble something that makes sense out of it.
it’s just a fun game that if taken too seriously you’ll just get mad and confused because it doesn’t make any sense.
Main tanks usually lead the engage, claim and control space, and halt enemy advances
Off tanks usually have abilities to support a main tank while they engage, or peel for the team (think dm and zar bubble) and are otherwise fat dps
Main support usually has some form of burst/high healing, they are usually pretty good at keeping a team alive (think ana, bap, moira, brig)
Off supports usually rely on a strong utility to be effective, such as discord, speed and damage boost (and formerly over armour)
I’m not really familiar with dps sub-categories, so I can’t really give as much of an explanation here.
I wouldn’t mind that if they said “we are damning the ideas you have in favor of us just having fun”
But it requires imo, artistic integrity to stand by anything that hits live, and essentially damning the competitive scene which I don’t think they plan on doing.
If this was the olde overwatch and they just tacked on this competitive scene where you just idk, climbed with stats like in fortnite or something okay.
But declaring intent, saying they’re giving meaning and such and not following through is just bad form imo.
they did damn the ideas when the game was released, there’s too many weird and broken things, but because a player vs player game is getting more noticed and played when it has a competitive component to it, they simply tacked it on just because they ought to have it.
it’s just awkward that people take the game that seriously they actually built a league around it to get some money out of it.
or maybe they just pretended, like they gave the competitive legitimacy by endorsing it so people would flock to it more.
and now with their pants down they have to make the game somewhat competitive enough to be taken seriously, which i honestly think they are so far from accomplishing that it is nigh impossible.
yet we are the fools for thinking the game can be balanced.
I get tinfoil hat about this tbh… Dont get me started 
I agree but also don’t…I think the devs were right in that half of meta is social. And therefore balance is much more nuanced because an idea can be more powerful than an actual hero.
But I do think that youre right that unprepared comp and owl is entirely on blizz. Ain’t no one say to do that
Main dps is a burst, consistent damage source, off dps focus more on utility or single target attacks.
for example. Junkrat has spammy shots that can keep on damaging enenmies while mei doesn’t provide a lot of damage but she does provide offensive utility with her freeze.
Usually the main dps is the one who responsible for most kills while off dps is the annoying one that makes your life harder.
main support is a support that has high healing and low utility. on the other hand an off support focus more on the utility side and less on the healing
for example: Moira has no utility but has crazy healing output while Lucio has less healing potential overall but his speed boost is really important and strong
with tanks: main tanks make space while off tanks are more offensive.
Hammond rolls into the enemies knocking them down and making space as a main tank while D.va for example is focused more on the damage side with her primary and missiles and short matrix.
Personally I’m not a big fan of all of the splits
But these are the splits according to the players.
Uhh not really. It really is whether they have healing tied to their primary/secondary fire. If you can press M1 or M2 (default) to heal someone you’re playing a main healer. Heroes like Brig/Lucio/Zen rely on their abilities to heal their teammates with Lucio’s aura being a passive ability for example
Confusing anchor with main. Wrecking ball can be a main tank and does not have a barrier.
i mean i say we are fools simply because we believe there’s a way to make sense out of the game by following metas when that whole meta can be overthrown by a different one by simply changing our perception of the game.
but i have said it before and i’ll say it again, metas aren’t balance, it’s the absence of balance.
so i’m kind of like, meh i’m not gonna waste my brain cells on this
anymore or i’ll just get mad again.