What is Dive comp in Overwatch? Meta, heroes, strategy, more

Overwatch offers so many different ways to play the game due to its variety in meta team compositions. A staple of those is the “Dive” comp.

One of the most fun comps in the game, Dive allows players to have a unique and exciting FPS experience in Overwatch like no other.

Unlike other popular comps like Rush or Double Sniper that are more static and pick-focused, dive is a true team effort and can yield amazing results.

But, if done incorrectly, a Dive comp can collapse. Here’s a guide to help prevent that from happening and help you to execute a flawless dive in Overwatch.

Dive comp best heroes

Activision Blizzard

Winston is a staple Dive Tank, able to move quickly and mitigate damage with his shield

Tank heroes: Winston, D.Va, Wrecking Ball

These three heroes all have one thing in common: mobility. Each is able to move both horizontally and vertically at pretty rapid speeds, and each offers their own unique set of counters and versatility.

For example, D.Va is the best of the three when it comes to peeling and damage mitigation, whereas Wrecking Ball is a purely offensive, displacement threat. If you are having issues against a counter dive, D.Va can help more than Wrecking Ball or Winston.

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But, more importantly, which hero you play here should depend heavily on play style. Make sure you’re picking one that best suits your skills, rather than trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

DPS heroes: Tracer, Genji, Doomfist, Echo, Pharah, Sombra

Activision Blizzard

Tracer is a staple pick for getting to backlines in dive comps.

This is where there is the most flexibility, due to the increased number of mobile hero options. These six, however, have the best chance to execute a successful dive, each in their own way.

Tracer, Genji, and Doomist are your traditional divers. They speed around, deal burst damage, and get out. Simple as that. Pharah and Echo, on the other hand, play a sort of poke/dive combo, where they are able to stay airborne and out of harm’s way (a perk due to the lack of shields in a dive comp) but aggress when they need to. Sombra is unique in that you should play her fairly passively until just the right moment, either executing a hack or an EMP to go in line with Tanks diving in.

Support heroes: Mercy, Moira, Lucio, Ana, Zenyatta

There are two schools of thought when playing Support on a Dive team. You either go in with your tanks, or you stay as far away from harm as possible and hope their pressure keeps you unnoticed. These picks represent these two lines of thinking.

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Mercy, Moira, and Lucio can all stay in the fray and provide great healing to Tanks and DPS, while Ana and Zenyatta are great at sitting back and earning their value. Try both ways and see what sticks, and play around what the enemy team is doing to counter you.

Dive comp strategy and tips

Activision Blizzard

When playing dive, you’ll want to stay away from the enemy until just the right moment, then strike!

The key to dive, perhaps more than composition, is communication. The worst thing that can happen when running dive is for one tank to fly in solo without any indication, forcing the rest of the team to play catch up.

Good dives happen in an instant. If you want to attempt to run this comp in competitive, make sure you are joining voice chat and keeping an open line of communication with your team, especially if you’re playing Tank or DPS. This applies to both engaging and disengaging.

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The last thing that is important to keep in mind has nothing to do with your team, but what the enemy team is running. Beware of counter picks and do your best to avoid playing into less favorable matchups like Winston vs Reaper or Pharah vs Soldier: 76. Most times, a dive can work against just about any composition, but any dive won’t.

Dive comp in the Overwatch League

Dive has been a meta that has come in and out of Overwatch since the closed beta, and the same is true for its presence in the pro scene. But Dive was perhaps never better than when the NYXL were running it in the inaugural season of the OWL in 2018.

This match was the biggest at the time it took place, pitting two powerhouses against one another in the Stage 1 Finals. New York was the skilled and calculated Dive team, while London played a bit more conservative, letting their enemies come to them.

Even if it’s old, this match is a great example of what a good Dive composition should look like at the highest level. Just a sprinkle of this level of play in your Competitive matches should have you flying through the ranks on your way to new SR peaks.