Try and Keep Up: How to Counter the Season 5 Dive Comp

Diving is back in style for Season 5, but the typical dive comp has evolved a bit since Season 2. Since this playstyle is seen commonly in Season 5, it’s essential to know how to counter it to climb the ranks! This article will give a brief overview of the original dive comp, define the dive comp remix, and then give you some ways to counter this composition in competitive.

The Original Dive

The constant heroes during the Season 2 dive comp were Lucio, Zarya, and Genji. Lucio had the amazing speed, healing, and massive AoE radius, Zarya got more charge from her bubbles, and Genji had the high mobility that fits perfectly into this composition. At the beginning of Season 2, the other dive comp heroes were Zenyatta, Tracer, and Winston. McCree was the popular hitscan choice, since his range was a bit longer and Soldier 76 was weak at the time.

Late Season 2, we saw Ana climb the meta. Although she was released Summer 2016, it took players a bit to learn she was completely OP. At the time, her ult had an increased charge rate, and her Nano target received a speed boost on top of a damage boost. Lucio, Genji, and Zarya were still a part of the dive comp, but players added Reaper and Reinhardt when they figured out how well Nano paired with those heroes.

There are a lot of variants and strategies to the Season 2 dive comp, and the trends carried over to Season 3. However, the original dive comp and the dive comp we see in Season 5 have some significant changes.

The Dive Comp Remix

A noticeable change is D.Va’s presence in the dive comp. She has always had the high mobility, but Zarya would melt D.Va in a minute during Season 2. Present day, D.Va is essential to shutting down DPS heroes with her Defense Matrix (DM).

Similarities between the original and the remix are Winston, Tracer, and Lucio. A while back, Winston received a buff to his bubble. He is incredibly mobile and he is an excellent disrupter enabled by his AOE weapon and primal rage. Tracer is on healer duty in this team comp. Her burst damage and movement allows her to get in and out of the back lines, neutralize the healers, and make it back to her team. Lucio has been the poster boy of dive comps since Season 2. Speed boost is a necessity for initiating and engaging team fights as well as providing a fast way to safety. Now that his AoE is smaller, Lucio cannot wallride around the map while still being an effective support. He must stay with his team, which isn’t much of a limitation when you consider Lucio’s extra added damage and projectile speed.

The last two members of the Season 5 dive comp are situational. Mercy is the most mobile hero outside of the remaining healers. Pair her mobility with 60 healing per second and her ult, and she is going to be a viable member of the team. Zenyatta’s Discord is helpful for enabling Winston to do more damage to enemies, and it can help your team focus an enemy Winston. Ana can be good for healing up teammates across the map quickly. However, like Zen, you can’t leave her alone to fend for herself against flankers.

A lot of DPS heroes can fill this role, but it is a matter of what your team needs. Regardless of whichever DPS you chose, you team is going to have to make room for them or D.Va will shut them down. Pharah could be really good in this comp to neutralize an enemy Reaper. If the other team switches to a Solider 76 or McCree, Pharah might not be a good pick in that situation. Genji is a complicated one with Winston being so strong right now, but that is part of what makes this final DPS spot so situational. If the Winston is tearing Genji apart, he’s not a good pick. If Genji can target the right people and stay mobile enough to evade the Winston, he is ok.

How to Counter the Comp

Since mobility is one of the defining characteristics of a dive comp, think of heroes who slow, stop, and stun. Sombra can sneak up on enemies and hack them, but this is only effective if your team is focusing the hacks similarly to how you would focus a Discord, so call out hacks! The Mercy and the D.Va hacks are huge when countering a dive comp. Sombra takes away Mercy and D.Va’s mobility, while shutting down Mercy’s Rez and D.Va’s DM. Once you get D.Va out of mech, you clear the way for your DPS heroes to ult without an enemy D.Va flying up in their faces with her DM.

Mei is another effective counter to D.Va. Her primary fire cannot be blocked by DM. Once D.Va is frozen, she is a massive target for your team to focus. If you have a Reaper and Zenyatta on your team, RIP D.Va's mech. Once D.Va is out of mech, the rest of your damage are free to ult. Mei's wall blocks D.Va's mobility, and it can block her bomb. Mei can also go into her Cyro-Freeze to save herself from D.Va's bomb. Some players have figured out Mei's Cyro-Freeze can even block damage for one other teammate.

Taking down the enemy D.Va is essential, but it's also necessary to have a D.Va on your team for similar reasons. She shuts down many of the attack heroes' ultimate’s. Even though Mei does counter D.Va, if Mei does not plan her ult well, D.Va can end up eating it before it hits the ground. D.Va is necessary in this comp because she completely disables enemy DPS, and she can put pressure on heroes who take the high ground. This means as soon as a McCree or Soldier goes up to high ground to plan an ultimate, D.Va can boost right in their faces and either DM or at least push them back.

Zenyatta has been inadvertently affected by Reaper and Winston's buffs over the last few patches. We see a lot more Winston now, and an effective duo to combo that is Zenyatta and Reaper. Reaper's buff was good, but part of the reason we see him more often is because Winston is in nearly every comp. Zen's discord paired with Reaper's close-range damage can take Winston out quickly. Sombra, who was mentioned as a good counter to D.Va, is also great as disabling Winston. One hack and Winston loses his mobility and protection.

The last two heroes to counter are the healers. This requires team synergy and focus because while taking out D.Va's DM is high on the priority list, your team kills mean nothing if Mercy has her ult. These squishy healers can shift the entire game, so you have to take them out before making big plays. Winston can dive the healers, and insta-lock his Tesla Cannon onto them. At 60 damage per second, he can kill most of them in ittle over 3 seconds. Winston is a prime disrupter, and this can make room for your DPS to move in and focus the enemy's healers quickly. It is hard to keep track of a blinking Tracer when you have a giant monkey electrocuting your face.

Conclusion

As helpful as this may sound, the last way to counter the Season 5 dive is to run the dive comp on your team, but be better. This composition is so good right now because the heroes in it are really strong. Even with some of the counters above, D.Va would be present on a team comp countering a D.Va. Know your role, and focus down enemies with your team. Make helpful call-outs when you see DPS heroes flanking or going high ground because they are most likely doing so to either ult or kill your healers, and finally, do not be afraid to engage the other team. Dive comps don't work because teams turtle in a choke waiting for the ideal opportunity. Map out a strategy with your team, and don't stall or you will end up feeding the other team (feeding them ults, not bananas, to be clear.) 

Some of the best heroes to counter dive comp without playing it include: D.Va, Winston, Zenyatta, Reaper, and Mei. It takes team work and communication to counter this composition, but you also need to be flexible. If you go into the game running a Mei and Reaper to take out the tanks, and the enemy team switches to a Pharah, be ready to adjust. Lucio and Tracer are necessary in the Season 5 dive, but that leaves one healer role and one DPS role open. Use what you know about countering whatever the enemy uses to fill that role. Team up when it comes to focusing down prime targets like D.Va or Winston. That will make it easier on both your healers and your DPS.

Be a flexible player, and be willing to work with your team! Because of this composition's flexibility, there's more than one way to counter it. However, this flexibility makes for a healthier meta where a variation of heroes can be useful in certain situations. What are some of the other ways you guys have countered the Season 5 dive?

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