Something I’ve seen a lot of recently is hard diffed tank players refusing to swap out of mirror matches that they’re clearly losing over and over.
It’s most commonly stubborn Rein v Rein matchups, where the losing player’s ego refuses to let them swap off and go Ram, Doom, or one of the numerous other tanks that stomp Rein. Tanks will even see an enemy Rein, and swap to Rein themselves to have a Rein v Rein game. Then never swap again despite clearly being diffed.
But I’ve also seen people switching to Sigma mirror (super boring), Zarya mirrors, JQ mirrors… It’s like some tank players are so stubborn and egotistical that they need to mirror to try and prove a tank diff, because countering is seen as cheap.
As a frequent tank player I don’t enjoy counterwatch, and I enjoy mirror matches sometimes, but if you’re on the losing end… just swap for free value.
I can only speak for myself, but if the doors open and it happens that we’re both running the same tank, I don’t swap off the mirror match because I want to improve. Going up against a better tank player and seeing what they do differently is a way to learn.
At least on Zarya and Ram. I don’t enjoy the Sigma mirror either, but that’s a different kettle of fish; I won’t swap off him because otherwise, all my teammates will instantly die on certain maps. Which is fun and really cool.
Besides, you don’t actually want me to play certain tanks. For example, I don’t play Doomfist. If I were to swap to him it would be a disaster, regardless of what tank_matchups.xml says.
For Reins, I think it’s an honor thing. As a Rein enjoyer, I understand completely and relate a bit too much
It’s not even necessarily because I’m being diffed by the Rein himself, though. It could be that the enemy has an Ana or something while we have Lúcio + Mercy
I feel like this mindset is common on every role. You should see how many people I’ve convinced to swap to Weaver just by playing him successfully. And how often they proceed to fail even harder than before
They may know their pick is an issue, but also know the other tanks they know how to play would fare even worse. E.g “Yes enemy Zarya is kicking my butt but trying to play D.va into that enemy comp would be worse, so I’ll just make do with my best option.”
There may be an enemy they feel would pop off too much if they swapped, and hope their team will instead swap to support their pick.
I’ve been asked to swap rein once or twice and I warn people it’s gonna be bad and then they’re surprised when it’s bad.
I have a better chance of beating zarya on queen than rein since like… I’ve actually played that matchup and have a good idea of how to win it.
Kinda why the tank counterswap fails in my mind. It’s only effective if you know how to play the swap. Maybe at low ranks the skill floor of the hero is enough but at higher ranks that doesn’t really work
Rein v Rein is very rare. I think some tank players just take the opportunity when they see it because it’s fun even if they lose
They do this in esports too and its annoying when the clearly worse team just mirrors the better team and gets rolled the entire game without even trying to switch anything up.
Personally, I usually try to avoid dittos because all they do is make me focus more on the 1v1 instead of on winning the game. Also, they don’t really prove anything because they will almost always just be decided by whoever has the better team supporting them anyways.
If you want to duel someone then just do it properly and challenge them to an actual 1v1 instead.
Good point. I enjoy the 1v1 on Junk, if I’m better or we’re close to evenly matched I’ll stay. But if the enemy Junk has a Mercy pocket and I don’t, or he’s just that much better you can bet I’ll go a hitscan and make his life miserable.
Sometimes you just need to be that much better to overcome a diff on the rest of the team and that’s a perfectly valid reason to swap even if you know you’re the “better” X.
There is no honor in rein fights because they don’t exist. Flats put well himself. He could be diffing the other rein all day, then get countered at every bend by enemy Ana saving his hass. This is equally why I gave up many times on mirrors because if the enemy team composition is better than your own, no matter how well you do, you’ll be muted.
If your team is unwilling to help you win the fight, its pointless. Its better to even the odds by playing something unmirrored and forcing the game into an unconventional state. Even better to synergy with your team on a strategy instead of playing your own fools game and screwing over everyone else.
The game is supposed to be fun and Reinhardt mirrors are one of the only fun tank match ups in the game. It is not ego. It is that they finally found someone who was not of your name to play against and they are taking advantage of that rare opportunity. You would understand if you played Reinhardt. Most of us just play for the enjoyment of the game. Not because we are desperate for wins.
If you want it so badly, swap to Bastion or Zen. All of a sudden your Reinhardt will “diff” them. It’s like magic.
I tend to intentionally swap out of mirrors if the game starts as one because I find them boring. Except the Hammond mirror, it is fun to chase down the other Hammond and keep them chipped forever.
I think what OP is talking about, and this happens often in QP, is Rein mirrors where one Rein has been sent back to spawn 5 times in a row but refuses to swap.
I’m all for having fun, but if the enemy team clearly doesn’t care about respecting the sanctity of the honor duel, then it’s probably best to just have the duel away from everyone else. At least then both sides are without a tank instead of it being “Okay, I won the honor duel. I’m gonna deck your team now.”
I think your are right that it is mostly ego and foolishness, but I’d also suggest that a need to solve particular problems might sometimes be the answer. They may think that shielding is the best thing they can do for their team at the time, even if the opposing rhein is clearly better.
