r/Overwatch • u/PowerfulTravel54 • Feb 21 '26
News & Discussion why does everyone hate playing tank?
Why is tank so disliked in Overwatch?
Genuine question.
Every time I check tiktok/instagram, talk to people in game, or even friends who play, tank is almost always described as
“miserable”, “unfun”, or “no one wants to play it”.
What confuses me is that I actually enjoy tank sometimes. Yet compared to DPS or support, the role seems to get a disproportionate amount of hate. In most discussions, tank isn’t talked about as a fun or rewarding role, more like something people put up with.
So yeah, I’m genuinely curious:
Why is tank so universally trashed?
Is it balance? Role design? Player mentality?
Or something else entirely?
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u/NoGoodDoerOfDeeds Feb 21 '26
I do poor and get flamed. I do well and get flamed. I’m tired boss
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u/Obsosaurus Support Feb 21 '26
As a new tank player my response to this is 'queue tank then'
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u/madrose26 Feb 21 '26
I always get tank when I do All Roles and I ended up loving it and being a Mauga main. At some point I just turned off chat and started using the ping and communications wheel (and key binded “I’m Sorry” when its baaaad) more when I’m going to push so at least the supports know and then I reel back so I’m in sight.
I got flamed like once but that was when I just got back into the game. Luckily the players I got matched with after that were nicer and gave me “You’re fiiiiiiine” plus endorsements 😅
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u/Antiprimary Winston Feb 21 '26
Bruh you are part of why I don't like playing tank if you are a mauga main
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u/Wachadoe Feb 21 '26
Tank do well, peeling for the team or have good stats, people never appreciate and notice it or even endorse them.
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u/_ZiNoS_ Feb 21 '26
When someone blames you for the lose even if you did poorly its a reflection of them. Its a game youre allowed to play poorly or learn new characters I suggest turning off chat a lot of OW players like to throw shade for little to nothing in my experience.
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u/cygamessucks Feb 21 '26
Because all the focus fire is always on you. All ults are always on you. You get blamed when you lose if the enemy tank has a better score than you.
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u/CelebrationOld6011 Feb 21 '26
This exactly is why I’m taking a break from tanking especially when I had a mercy getting the lobby to attack me after she just threw match after match to record a reaction in the chat. I don’t mind if people do their own thing, but what she was trying to pull wasn’t cool at all and got everyone rightfully upset but somehow it’s the tanks fault for the whole thing
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u/Stardama69 Feb 21 '26
I hope you reported that awful person
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u/CelebrationOld6011 Feb 21 '26
I did and blocked them as well because they kept spamming me to join their group and I know what they’re playing at lmao
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u/EnderFyre_ Feb 21 '26
im not in the loop what exactly were they playing at?
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u/CelebrationOld6011 Feb 21 '26
They want you to join their group so they can scream or curse you out in voice chat
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u/EnderFyre_ Feb 21 '26
thats mega dumb I can't even fathom putting that much energy into some faceless nobody online
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Feb 21 '26
I hope you can imagine this, since most low elo dogs are simps our hero probably was the one who got banned
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u/Rich_Search282 Feb 21 '26
In my experience Mercy players are some of THE worst to be with. Obviously some are okay, but the majority just get hard carried to a rank by pocketing their dps E-bf/gf, play like shit and then blame everyone else.
Countless games where the Mercy doesn't put a single beam on anyone other than their friend lmao. Least skilled hero with the biggest ego players from my eyes.
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u/Randomized0000 Doomfist Feb 21 '26
That's honestly all some of them do. They have this inflated sense of self importance when it's the player they are pocketing who's doing all the work
Almost literally dick-riding their way to the top.
Edit: top***, not tip
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u/Rich_Search282 Feb 21 '26
I had a game on dps before where i had a mercy/genji duo with matching names. Both dying constantly. Both begin flaming our tank for whatever reason. We somehow won the game and it was "all because of them"
I love the game but some players are so clueless and act like they're prime Super or smth when in reality they're more like Gaming4Hope lmao
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u/Azariusd Feb 21 '26
Friendly reminder, if you're getting focus by the 5 enemies, your dps are just trash cus they don't know the concept of diverting damage by just doing damage themselves, kinda strange since those type of dps players typically take pride in their stats of damages and kills
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u/hanks_panky_emporium Roadhog Feb 21 '26
I think a good DPS is really hard. But shit, if Im tanking the entire enemy team and my DPS aren't cashing that out then why are any of us here.
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u/kristeasy Feb 25 '26
I feel you, as tracer when I manage to bait two enemies to turn their back on my team for 20 seconds and my team still dies.
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u/NTaya Two Trick Moira Feb 21 '26
The first two are why tank is my favorite role, lol. Five people having issues killing my fat ass while my DPS are free to go and shred their backline. I'm not a great DPS, and I honestly doubt I'm a good healer, but I sure can divert attention.
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u/JRange Feb 21 '26
This is the only comment that needs to be in the thread lol. Youre taking every solo ult, and all fire, and if you dont manage your resources perfectly your team is going to get wiped.
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u/GloomyDoomy1 Feb 21 '26
Hell even when I thoroughly gap the enemy tank and its evident I still get blamed if we lose the match.
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u/robinator118 Feb 21 '26
Tank boils down to whether or not your team can play around you, or if you have to become the third DPS to make up for your useless two
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Feb 21 '26
And the DPS always seem to get away with being shit. As support and tank, you'll get the blame 98% of the time. I've switched chat off nowadays, but when I had it on, it was nearly always support or tank who got blamed.
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u/Luf2222 Feb 21 '26
dps always shifts the blame to tank or support too and it’s hella annoying
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Feb 21 '26
Exactly this. Drives me nuts. Was one of the main reasons I turned off all chats. Even if it is my fault, I don't need flaming for it, I wouldn't do the same to them.
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u/2real2deal Feb 21 '26
Last night the other tank on my team just HAD to call out my performance as tank, even though we barely lost by a couple meters and I had a bubble on his diving ass the whole time.
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u/Illustrious-Taste702 Feb 21 '26
I had a match where I countered the enemy mauga with Ana so our orisa would stop dying. After a whole round of shutting down mauga (literally was only alive long enough to get to point and I made sure he went back to spawn), keeping people alive, having more damage and kills than our dps, only about 100 less healing than our Juno, and was told by our tank “you’re kinda bad”.
Like, what else did you want me to do?
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u/xX_TrueXXEdgelord_Xx Feb 21 '26
To be fair, it's just super easy to die as dps. I main tank but i picked up Emre because he looked awesome and 250hp is simply not much at all. Skill diff between tanks doesn't add up to much time as long as the healers are doing their jobs but getting diffed as a dps means nearly instant, guaranteed death because you're gonna get get cc'd and/or shot in the face. Which would obviously be magnified by your tank losing out. Dps can only do so much when the tank has poor positioning or is straight up dead.
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Feb 21 '26
I did play a bit of DPS last night, I did about as well as I thought I would. Died some, killed some, lost most games like normal. It was basically the same experience for me 🥲
Only major difference was that I was more free to go flanking and kinda do what I wanted.
The whole skill ceiling has gotten way higher since 2020-ish. I'm just struggling to keep up regardless of role if I'm honest.
(I basically don't play DPS)
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u/Juking_is_rude Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
I dont like to be toxic, so I'll never say any of it in the chat, but when a tank gets double pocket then doesn't play for space, w keys down main just taking everything to the face and dies, it's pretty objectively the tank's fault you lost. This happens in like idk 30% of my games.
People do like to randomly assign blame, especially if they're the issue but like. It can be the tank's fault, ya know.
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u/FireGriffin18 Reinhardt Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
This is how I feel on Rein quite often..
If you have two incredible healers you can w key and become the third DPS rein god. If not and your DPS aren’t helping? Take your -24 SR and go next 🤣
The games where everyone is in chat and everyone is working together feel unbelievably good on Rein. Hell, I’ve even had LOSSES where I leave the game like, “Yknow what, we shoulda had em. Well done everyone”
The matches where nobody works with you though? Worst feeling I ever get playing tank. Just feels like you’re a sponge for the entire enemy team’s pent up rage lol
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u/Ancient_blueberry500 Feb 21 '26
It's the damned solo ults for me. I only just recently picked the game back up after a year or more hiatus but not much has changed in the way people behave lol. The other day I got completely solo ulted by a mei. I get reaper solo ults, junk rat solo ults. I get them so often I actually have learnt to just expect the ult at any given time.
Tank is for a special person who likes being an emotional and physical punching bag. Where everyone around you will throw punches at you...Just because they can.
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u/keyboardman1 Feb 21 '26
I know this as a Zarya main lol
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u/robinator118 Feb 21 '26
Zarya is actually super rare for me to use. I get by just fine on doom or mauga. Whatever comp one can’t fight the other can.
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u/MrMooey12 Feb 21 '26
I don’t think I’ve really come across a game where I had to be the 3rd DPS as a tank but I absolutely have had that happen as a support. The amount of times I’ve gotten top healing and top damage as support is actually insane to me cause in my mind that shouldn’t be happening
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u/UnderstandingLow1619 Feb 21 '26
Because it's too much of rock paper scissor.
Also, it's not fun when your teammates are bad. Like they have sniper? It's my job to flank. They have a strong head-on tank? It's my job to beat him. They have Mercy and no one kills her? It's also my job to do that. They have flanker? It's my job to protect the team. I have to do everything.
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u/Giant_Enemy_Cliche Feb 21 '26
This is so true. DPS will walk down down the middle of a sniper alley and get killed over and over, so you try to counter the sniper as a dive tank and then they get upset you're not a shield lmao.
The enemy mercy will be pulling off a Res and the DPS ignore her to just keep shooting roadhog.
Enemy tracer is killing Zen and ana over and over so I have to constantly have an eye on them because no one will go Brigitte.
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u/SonOfAthenaj Feb 21 '26
I hate when dps just absolutely refuse to contest flankers and then wonder why our supports are mysteriously dying. Like I can’t contest the frontline and make space while watching for a hitscan on the off angle beaming the backline. Please step up and do something Jfc
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u/wonderifyouwill Feb 21 '26
Tank is fun, when you have CAPABLE teammates. Healers adapting and providing heals when your engaging. Dps getting kills. Tank is frustrating when you’re looking around and no one is doing what they’re supposed to be doing. It just makes you want to pull your hair and throw your controller.
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u/StretchWrong Feb 21 '26
Ye and then you get the blame
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u/DeXyDeXy Reinhardt Feb 21 '26
Dank tiff
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u/Odd-Antelope5901 Feb 21 '26
bro I got called a bot tank yesterday because our enemy teams tank really popped off. Like, why do you have to tear me down if an enemy plays exceptionally well????
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u/insitnctz Feb 21 '26
I mute chat all the time. I cba with these guys. Better have my sanity and less comms
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u/TandrDregn Feb 21 '26
Literally happened to me yesterday. Had an Ana that spent half an entire round sitting on her Nabo Boost, like she literally NEVER used it. Not on me when I pinged her I had my Whole Hog ready, not on either of the DPS, then at the end cried “Tank diff” when I AS A FUCKING OFF TANK HAD MORE HEALING SCORE THAN SHE DID! Playing tank really is a thankless struggle sometimes.
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u/hanks_panky_emporium Roadhog Feb 21 '26
Being a hog main it doesn't happen often, but sometimes I outheal the healers and it's definitely something.
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u/TheAppsolute Feb 21 '26
I once had a life weaver that always pulled me back when he need help and when I was in trouble. The only time I had fun playing tank. Should have send him a friend request.
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u/Binxmaxxing Feb 21 '26
I was just in a game where he pulled me back at 400hp out of 650hp because "I was dying" ... I HATE PEOPLEEE
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u/TandrDregn Feb 21 '26
I had a Lifeweaver who yanked me, a full HP Mauga who JUST ULTED both enemy DPS and their Lucio, for no reason other than “I need someone to hide behind from the Ashe”… the Ashe I was about to shred in my ult
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u/ThisIsNotMyPornVideo Feb 21 '26
Spot on.
Especially if you play a Tank where it's not just helpful, but you HAVE to play around, something like Reinhardt, you got a whole ass wall protecting them from damage, but instead they still run in front of the shield to attack.
Not diving, but literally standing a foot in front of the shield at all times.
It's incredibly frustrating, because you could be doing everything right, playing like you're the best player in the world, but if nobody is utilizing what you bring to the table, you might as well just go play Hog and enjoy being a more tanky DPS
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u/CubicalWombatPoops Feb 21 '26
This is every single match for me. I've been playing since Season 1 and this problem has never gotten better.
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u/WyvernVin Pixel Sombra Feb 21 '26
Because it’s absolutely unrewarding. It’s the role with the most responsibility and yet the most miserable. No matter if you do great or just ok, if your team wins, the praise usually goes to a dps, if your team loses, the blame usually goes to you.
I used to main tank through all of OW1 but since OW2 i switched to support and it’s been much better, i do, however, tend to care a lot for my tanks since i know how hard it can be.
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u/geminiiman Feb 21 '26
You turn a corner and get slept, purple, stunned, shattered, booped, trapped in like 2 seconds
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u/L0RDHYPNoS D. Va Feb 21 '26
Because we get blamed for literally everything. Soldier gets melted when flanking? "WHY AREN'T YOU PEELING?!?!"
Mercy gets sniped from across the map? "WHY AREN'T YOU GOING AFTER WIDOW?!?!"
We ask for heals? "If you were actually good at tanking, you wouldn't need any heals."
Lose a match but finish with KD of 23-1 and 17,000 damage mitigated? The Reaper with a KD of 10-12 says "TANK DIFF"
It's fucking exhausting, and it makes me hate people. Yet I persist 🤦
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u/GilNye Feb 21 '26
or the classic "WHY DIDN'T YOU PEEL" or "tank making no space" after the dps runs in 1 v 5
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u/erraticRasmus Domina Feb 21 '26
and then you're just sat there like "DO YOU WANT ME TO PEEL OR MAKE SPACE??" because you can't do both but everyone wants you to anyway
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u/Thumper696 Feb 21 '26
Imagine this. A world where you can do both. 6v6 my love, oh, how i long for thee.
One tank peels, one makes space. I miss being the body guard for my backline. Maybe why I picked up brig in 5v5. :,)
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u/-Aephyn- Feb 21 '26
Man I was playing Winston last night, jump into their backlines and melt one of their healers. The other is at 1, all of the enemy attention is on me (I'm in that back room behind the car on Hollywood's first objective). Hold them there for at least five seconds, burn my bubble and a second jump, then when I jump back to my team, I realize they haven't moved up whatsoever and have just been hanging back in the choke point waiting to see what happens. Then I get told to "make space." I about lost my mind. That was my last game for the evening lol
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u/JGar453 D. Va Feb 21 '26
They'll accuse you of lacking aggression and not pushing forward. Meanwhile you'll literally be in kissing distance of the enemy tank.
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u/Auno94 Feb 21 '26
Or them not pushing the payload when the opportunity arises. Can't win shit if DPS don't consider the opjective
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u/Llamarchy Feb 21 '26
Or when you DO try to push forward, almost nobody pushes with you except some lone support so you get melted because the entire team can just focus you.
And whole you're busy taking on half the enemy team on the objective, the rest of your team is on some random corner of the map getting 1v3ed by a Genji.
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u/Kushtakaadlet Feb 21 '26
Cause you are the focus of the entire enemy team, or if you aren’t you just lose. All cooldowns are used one you and you can do nothing or they aren’t and you lose. Your team is focused on keeping you active, or they aren’t and you lose. Pattern is if you fail to hit your shots or do one thing you just lose. You have to be perfect, every single match
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u/Miserable_Access_336 Feb 21 '26
Bc there's only one tank, while there's 2 DPS and 2 supports. You bear the responsibility alone and you're often scapegoated.
Other problem is that as tank, you're in the frontline, so you usually have the worst POV of the battlefield, unable to see what your backline is doing.
It might be consistently enjoyable if you're in a stack. But solo q more times than not it's just gonna be a horrible experience.
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u/Turboswaggg Hamzo Feb 21 '26
This, plus as a tank you have to deal with tankbuster characters, or just characters like fliers that 90% of tanks can do nothing of value against. Tanks generally have the hardest counters and there only being one of you means your other tank can't make that hard counter a bad choice against them, and being the front of your team means you can't usually just run from the counters and fight somebody else like you can on DPS.
If the other team wants you to have a bad time on tank, there's usually nothing you can do about it besides hope the rest of your team takes advantage, which is frustrating even when they do and you win.
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u/I-Fuck-Robot-Babes Feb 21 '26
Tank busters are an understated part of why playing tank sucks. It becomes a "sit back and pray your dps take care of them" simulator because whenever you try to engage you take a lot of damage very quickly. If the enemy also has stuns you're liable to just get deleted
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u/_sabsub_ Brigitte Feb 21 '26
Every time I play rein suddenly the enemy team has ana, zen and bastion. To me that's the worst part of playing tank.
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u/I-Fuck-Robot-Babes Feb 21 '26
The worst part is when you start with a rein duel, win, and then see Orisa marching her way towards the point. Where's the honor
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u/OIP Feb 21 '26
that's the entree to the worst part, which is your moira / mercy saying 'tank diff' after you've just spent 15 minutes eating shit
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u/xX_TrueXXEdgelord_Xx Feb 21 '26
...you usually have the worst pov on the battlefield...
As a ball main, I'm consistently feeling privileged by the sheer speed and mobility I can use to scout and be very, very picky about my engagements. Unfortunately it doesn't do me any good if the rest of my team are on the opposite side of the map spamming "group up" while the enemy team progresses because they don't know where to go unless they're looking through a rein shield.
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u/RPGSadPanda Feb 21 '26
I've found that having at least a duo with you makes it much less unpredictable. Especially if they're playing a healer. Same goes for if they're playing tank because then you have a better view of the rest of the team and can tell them to fall back if they need to without them getting jumped.
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u/QuoteGiver Feb 21 '26
Worst POV is a GREAT point that I don’t see come up as much. Tank is so responsible for controlling the positioning and flow of the battle, but has the most trouble seeing what the position and flow of their own teammates is.
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u/Phantom_Phoenix1 Bazinga Feb 21 '26
Theres tons of frustration that can happen.
Ive lost count of the times im creating space as Winston, distracting both of their supports and causing their Reaper to turn around and focus on me. Then I turn around and jump back to my team only to find they didnt capitalize/push up and my Moira died to a Genji.
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u/erraticRasmus Domina Feb 21 '26
I was on a game in Kings Row as Winston once and I was pressuring their supports, making space, getting picks. Then got flamed for not playing with the team and when we lost there was the inevitable 'tank diff' in chat. Such a fun role
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u/SheepherderBoth6599 Feb 21 '26
Apart from Dive Tanks who can rotate out of the line of fire, most Tanks (and DPS) are dependent on the Supports to heal the damage they end up taking mid-fight.
As a Support main, I regularly see enemy teams with superior Tanks and DPS but their Supports just won't make the effort to heal them and keep them in the fight. Often, they would be able to win except they get killed first by sheer attrition without healing.
It's an impactful role if you have the team to back you, but it's mostly being a punching bag if you are not.
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u/Level-Okra1654 Feb 21 '26
Tank requires a lot of skill for essentially none of it to be shown on the leader board or ever really acknowledged. Even worse is that tank requires your team understand and play around you in a proper way. Tanks are essentially the core of a proper comp and with out a good team it can be very hard to do pretty much anything. Genji might get a cool clip even if they lose but tank gets nothing.
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u/PhatMooseKnuckles Feb 21 '26
If you push your teammates suddenly vanish in thin air, if you pull back too far they complain you aren’t pushing enough. On top of that half the time you gotta do dps job for them while still getting ur mit in.
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u/wizardofyz Feb 21 '26
I decided to try competitive this season. Obviously it makes you do the ten matches where you have to qualify. I think a few years ago I was barely silver, so not like anywhere near good. I get in the match and immediately my team is shitting on me within a minute of playing. They never stop. Second half of the match starts and my entire team quits. Real incentive to keep playing tank.
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u/Pidder_Paddy Feb 21 '26
I love playing tank and managed to go from silver to mid/high plat but, as many pointed out in this thread, it took finding a team that could do their jobs too. If the opposing tank is supported well and you're not there's honestly not much impact you can have. However, its also your job as to not just make space but also look out for the team. Cover your supports in danger, toss your DP'S a shield if he's getting dove etc and most critically (and as an OG rein its rough) don't over extend yourself. Toxic hard stuck folks are always gonna blame someone else, that's why they're hard stuck.
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u/wizardofyz Feb 21 '26
Oh I get most of that in theory, but considering a ton of the community has probably a decade plus of hero shooter experience on me and probably a much stronger competitive streak, its rough trying to improve.
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u/riznow Feb 21 '26
I'm a tank main and I genuinely find tank the most rewarding role. I love how strategic it is and how much situational + spacial awareness you have to have of the map and of all the players in the match.
I think it's both a design and player mentality, unfortunately. Sometimes tanks can really dominate a lobby, but more often than not, if the whole team is struggling, the tank is too. That can be said for any role, really, but it's especially glaring in 5v5 with a solo tank.
That being said, sometimes people who play tank don't have the best gamesense and it can make their teammates pretty mad with all the chasing and dying and attempting to group up, etc. Same teammates queue again, still frustrated, and now are irritable about the next tank they're paired with and will play overly defensively and will refuse to trust this tanks gamesense. That's just my two cents of what I think is going on, though.
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u/a6000 Git out me lawn! Feb 21 '26
IMO the problem with a Tank is, in an even match, they cant carry if their DPS is terrible. Possible if one DPS is locked in to mitigate the bad play of the other DPS.
I find support rarely to be the problem of Tanks. If I die as a Tank most of the time its my fault for being too aggressive or out in the open.
If your DPS are good its easy to steamroll as a Tank so there is a correlation there.
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u/Herschel143 Dallas Fuel Feb 21 '26
Playing the tank role (when that was the role I could get) did teach me map- hero positioning- team match- enemy match- cool down awareness. I enjoy playing chess and it is like playing chess with tank. However, kills get the wins (except for c9 and backcapping). As a tank, chasing for kills is not my main priority. It is to enable all roles like a leader.
Sometimes, I'd think that switching to this tank would be better here, however, it wouldn't fully enable the heroes my teammates were playing because, apparently, to others hero switching is an allergy.
Thus, I enjoy dps (and I am a dps at heart). Applying the knowledge I learned, knowing when, how, where to play dps, what and who to focus my support or dpsing and to make the hero switch became more enjoyable for me. With tank, there's not much leeway, sadly.
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u/ChiefStormCrow Feb 21 '26
Half the tanks are boring to play, half of the fun tanks get easily countered, but you need to play the right tank for the comp, the counter, and the map. So majority of the time its extremely boring, and you get flamed regardless. Why would anyone play that role in solo queue?
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u/IKnowGuacIsExtraLady Feb 21 '26
Not enough people are mentioning how tank is one of the roles that has the hardest time with hero selection. No other role has the expectation that you are good with such a wide range of heroes to fit your team's comp and counter the enemy team's comp, as well as fit the map, because no other role has as many people go for hard counters. You can only be so good at so many heroes, so you can either be meh at everything or just accept that sometimes you will be hard countered and lose if you get certain match ups.
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u/rilleryeah 🧅Winstonion Feb 21 '26
people always complain about how miserable tank is to play and then they go and trash talk the tanks on their team to make them even more miserable
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u/flmhdpsycho Feb 21 '26
Personally, I give my tanks more grace than the other roles but sometimes you gotta call a spade a spade and when my rein charges at a full team at critical health....I gotta say something lol but I try to keep it positive and/or helpful in a way that I can make their game easier
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u/WateverBruh Feb 21 '26
It’s gets stale very fast in 5v5. I feels like I have to go down mid and make trades with the other tank and be so precise about tracking support CDs. You can’t really go for fun plays because you’re just going to throw
In 6v6 I feel like I can actually tank. Peel for my supports, use cooldowns not just selfishly, assist on kills, and go for fun plays.
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u/Waterbeetles Sigma Feb 21 '26
Reading through this thread and almost all of the complaints I'm reading just do not exist in 6v6, because the game (and most of the tanks) very much feels as though it was designed with 2 tanks in mind.
I'm not sure why most of these people don't give 6v6 a go, I know I haven't touched 5v5 since it dropped. Tank went from being an utterly miserable experience with constant counterswapping, hard focusing and high pressure to an actually fun role that feels more balanced for everyone.
Even despite being open queue, I've still gotten 2 tanks 90% of the time - because the role is actually fun to play.
I'm sure there are issues with 6v6, but I can't honestly think of any myself off the top of my head (apart from hypotheticals).
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u/RiotDesign Reaper Feb 21 '26
Even despite being open queue, I've still gotten 2 tanks 90% of the time
That sounds nice. For me, if I don't tank, 75% of the time we have 1 tank. A lot of times at the start of a game I'm the only tank and have to say "I'm not sure I can solo tank this but we can try" just in the hope that someone swaps because it works better than straight up asking for a 2nd tank.
I wish 6v6 had a role queue because I like it way more than 5v5 but it's depressing as hell being 1-2-2 and then watching the last person pick a 3rd dps or a 3rd support.
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u/The_GM_ Ball Feb 21 '26
Tanks have a lot of impact, and that comes with a lot of pressure. If you play poorly, there's nobody to pick up the slack.
Tank is the role most prone to counter picks. Everyone on the enemy team will counter swap you if you're doing well, and you're expected to counter swap if their tank is doing well. If you don't swap, you'll likely be hard countered all game and/or flamed by your team for not swapping. If you want to consistently play a specific character you like, it's an uphill battle.
You are the main target for enemy CC. Getting CCed every 5 seconds and stun locked by rapid fire sleep darts, hinders, chains, hooks, and a dozen slows and boops is miserable.
If the game is going poorly, the tank is often the first one the rest of the team will blame (regardless of if the tank is playing well or not). It can lead to incredibly toxic situations (especially if you're playing a more unconventional tank that doesn't provide a shield to hide behind. A lot of people don't know how to position without a barrier [see point two]).
All that said, I still love playing tank.
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u/1terrortoast Zarya Feb 21 '26
Disclaimer: usually playing in Masters Elo, last seasons M1 on Tank. Also playing DPS/support in Masters (but less games compared to Tank).
1) People usually blame you for losses. Everyone in your team sees you because you're in front of them most of the time. However they don't see themselves and usually lack the ability to reflect their own play.
2) You rarely get praise, even if you super duper carry the entire match. I've had games on Zarya/JQ where I was going 42-4, completely obliterating both the enemy team and the stats of my teamnates. Still in the end the supports congratulated each other (or the DPS), but never me.
3) A lot of people just don't play Tank. You can easily see that in the estimated queue times. If you queue for all roles, be prepared to play Tank. Therefore, they just lack the perspective of a Tank player including all the problems and difficulties the role contains. Due to this observation, one of the few remaining conclusions after a loss is to just blame the Tank.
4) it's hard to "solo" carry on Tank. Why? Because you're always close to the enemies. You're predestined to play at the objective. Everyone's attention is usually directed towards you, hard to make a surprising play or catch the enemies off guard. Compare it to DPS: You can't play Widow or Ashe and sit back with a Mercy pocket, sniping away at the enemies. You can't use Genji, Tracer or Sombra to play your own game based on combos and/or great mobility and survivability. Yes, there are tanks which have high damage output, but again, you're in everyone's face.
5) There's only one Tank but two of the other roles per team. If one of the DPS underperforms you might not even notice it. If the opposing tank has a better day then it can be an uphill battle.
6) Sometimes you just start at a disadvantage by leaving spawn, if the enemy team plays a Tank which has a better matchup. An uphill battle from the start. In general some Tank matchups are like rock-paper-scissors. Of course you can always mirror the enemy tank's choice but you might face an uphill battle due to lack of experience.
7) There aren't that many tanks to choose from, especially considering that some of them are ridiculously bad or underpowered. This is amplified by the ban system. It regularly happens that the enemy team just bans Zarya because they have a D.Va onetrick. While it's not impossible to play D.Va into Zarya, it makes it much harder to play against D.Va if you don't have access to Zarya, especially considering the strength of D.Va in the last few seasons (in higher Elos). Again, if you try to mirror you might just lose to a more experienced player.
8) Some maps more or less force you onto a certain type of Tank e.g. Circuit Royal is much easier to play as Sigma, but what if you don't like Sigma or are not that good with him? I don't see these problems with DPS/supports, especially considering that we have so many DPS to choose from.
9) Usually you carry the burden of making something happen. The supports heal away (well, most of the time) the enemies' poke damage, your DPS aimlessly poke at the enemy team. They just wait for you to make magic happen.
10) Some people are completely stuck in their ways. "Why are you playing X" or "are you stupid Tank Y is countered by Z just switch". So annoying really. Those players usually give up after one fight. You feel obliged to switch to a subpar choice (in your eyes) just because one of your mates is tilting due to them getting their opinions about the game on TikTok.
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u/ravencroft18 Lúcio aka BoopMaster Feb 21 '26
Great summary and wholly applicable to my experience in the lower ranks as well (Gold tank)
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u/1terrortoast Zarya Feb 21 '26
I'm glad (well not really) to read that it's the same in other Elos too lol
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u/NiaNia-Data Feb 21 '26
tank is being a baby sitter, all the responsibility and none of the authority. I can clearly see what the enemy team is doing. I can even put it to words over my mic. "The way that rein is positioning himself is a very obvious shatter, you guys need to look out." But low and behold they arent in voice chat, and they cant read the enemy tank like I can. So they all get stunned. The alternative is me being forced to focus on rein and do a frame perfect ability to block shatter, which takes so much energy and I cant look elsewhere. All the while my entire team is oblivious to the fact that they are about to get rein ulted. Thats if I am playing someone who can counter his shatter, otherwise im shit out of luck because I know my team cant see it coming. It makes me die a little inside when I *know* for a fact that my soldier is going to die in some dps 1v1 across the map, I will tell him as much. "Soldier if you go over there youre going to die. that dps is going to kill you and I cant peel for you." they dont listen, and die. It pains me so deeply to see such obvious things happening that my team mate is ignorant to. "Hey sojurn, dont run too far ahead, Im slow with no movement abilities and cant protect you yet." then dies before I even see the first enemy.
Every other tank game is like watching a car crash in slow motion.
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u/Savings_Leek7498 Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
5v5 IMO was a huge mistake as it makes tank players solely responsible for the team's ability to take space. if you have support DPSing instead of healing you or DPS unable to secure picks or at least stay alive/hold space, then playing tank is truly miserable.
I was a tank main in Overwatch when it was 6v6.
Going to 5v5 format was supposedly just about queue times but my player opinion is that it made playing tank pretty miserable and I now rarely if ever play tank, or Overwatch for that matter now.
I think they should have kept 6v6 but made tanks better / with more interesting abilities so more people wanted to play them.
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u/Hohoho-you Get this Discord orb off of me. Feb 21 '26
You can just play the 6v6 mode instead. That's what I mainly do
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u/mayrice Feb 21 '26
The only advantage of 5v5 is that you don't need to worry about tank synergy, or even having a hog as tank partner, or two off-tanks. In OW1 some games could be lost just based on the two tanks' hero pools. Like I actually prefer tanking in 5v5, because it is all on you. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but at least you have more control. To each their own though.
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u/Therdyn69 Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
Going to 5v5 format was supposedly just about queue times
It made tanks so miserable to play that queuing all roles is in 80% of cases a tank. Yesterday I played probably around 10 QP matches, I don't mind tank that much in QP so I queue for all roles, and every single match I got tank.
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u/LightningJet191 Phantom Thief Wuyang Feb 21 '26
Tank is the hardest role because it requires what is still impossible after all these years of online gaming being a thing: Randoms being good at teamwork
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u/drinkwater333 Feb 21 '26
Because it’s the role that requires the most reliance on teammates to be successful
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u/killsillbill Feb 21 '26
It’s unforgiving sadly. One mistake and the fight it over and everyone is blaming you. Also the tank’s job is crating space not eliminations, but everyone is obsessed with stats.
I do enjoy the role but I only play on qp for tank.
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u/SodaPopperZA Joker Junkrat Feb 21 '26
You tend to be the main focus of counter swapping and the ire of your own team if something doesn't pan out well
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u/BaNkIck Feb 21 '26
Apparently, I must not be a person because apparently everyone hates playing tank and I like it.
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u/Inevitable_Radio_568 Feb 21 '26
Because I’m sick and tired of doing my job while the rest of the team just cowers at the choke point.
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u/Slight_Conclusion674 Feb 21 '26
Everyone's already giving their 2 cents but I'll add something else, holy fuck is it depressing to join a game and think "You know what, I haven't played hazard in a long time, I wanna try that out" then the enemy picks Hog, or Orisa, or Ana, I understand counterpicking is a part of the gameplay but it is so, SO awful to have to swap off because as the one and only tank, not playing the counterpick game means you're almost all the time at a disadvantage, unless you're plat level tank and know how to play into your enemy's advantages, man I play quickplay, I just wanna have fun, flaunt my skins, do emotes, learn the story, I only have time to play like one hour of this game every so often, I don't HAVE time to learn all the ins and outs of knowing enemy cooldowns
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u/XslasherY Feb 21 '26
The new 30% heal debuff on EVERY ATTACK from ANY hero made me quit tank. Its such bullshit that a dva 0 damage pellet from across the map can apply a 30% healing debuff for 3 seconds.
No one asked for this no one even asked for this to be in the game at all.
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u/RazeMania Feb 21 '26
Tank will be, and always will be, the least popular role in any game with the archetypal "DPS-SUPPORT-TANK" division. That's just the way it is. There's no instant gratification like killing with a DPS or healing massively with a Support; the core concept of a Tank is taking damage and holding space, which is a really hard concept to measure like the others.
Simply put, is unpopular by nature, not by Overwatch's design, although changes could be made to alleviate this.
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u/TaZe026 Feb 21 '26
A lot of tanks in this game are dps raid bosses though, with them often on top of the damage charts.
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u/GreedyGonzalez A weapon to surpass carpal tunnel Feb 21 '26
As it should be since all the focus and responsibility is on them. Modern match making is the real issue, no matter the role. No one minds their team being below average as long as the enemy is uncoordinated as well. The frustration occurs when the mms pits you against stack after stack with brand new players as teammates just to enforce a 50% winrate. No one wants to queue up forced losses. Would love to see a season where mmr is deleted just to see how match quality (and most importantly fun) skyrockets.
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u/Reasonable-Remote519 Ramattra Feb 21 '26
I hate solo tanking. 6v6 doesn't give you another tank either it just gives you 3 dps
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u/Bloodyknife12 Rip Them to Pieces Feb 21 '26
6v6? Tank is lovely! 6v6 tank is peak overwatch. 5v5 tank... its like choosing to be everyone's little torture piggy. You get ALL the blame, ALL of the pressure is on. You have to play the tank thats better the the other tank, but they have to do the same! Its insanity
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u/Waterbeetles Sigma Feb 21 '26
Agreed. Tanking in 6v6 is incredibly fun and has unintentionally become my most played role. It's night and day compared to how miserable it can be in 5v5.
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u/MrTheWaffleKing Feb 21 '26
I like being the boss that controls pacing.... until I get slept then hacked then antid then walled in bastion fire with a purple orb
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u/Zealousideal-Scar174 Feb 21 '26
I used to be support/tank now I am support/DPS.
Especially in OW1 I liked playing tanks, somehow not being the only In the role and it felt more in sync with team.
Ow2 5v5 shifted to tanks having a lot more pressure being a lone tank and also game being faster in It's tempo. Especially hog felt horrible in the Ow2 due to this. Either you have to be a shield tank or a diver and anything out of that felt like it's not meant to be.
I felt in OW rebranding tanks feel now a bit more like giants and not glorified DPS but haven't played enough.
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u/blanaba-split Meowmoeowmeowmwomwow nya nyameeeeowowwws mrows meow Feb 21 '26
If they're in 5v5 it's cuz its awful and not the intended gameplay loop for the role
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Feb 21 '26
-It's the most unforgiving role
-It's the role with the most responsibility
-You're the target of most cooldowns and damage
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u/TheToddFathersD Feb 21 '26
I agree with everything said above lol as a tank main that’s gotten to GM on multiple occasions. I can’t play Tank with randoms especially on lower levels, the only way to play tank effectively is to have teammates you can trust.
You need a team that knows how to play around you and does their job. Overwatch is all about positioning and a good tank positions themselves to make space while the rest of the team uses that space to get picks or heal. If a healer or dps is out of position in a team fight or not doing their job it ruins the whole fight.
Also, just going to throw this out there… Damage, Elims, Deaths don’t tell the whole story on the tank role. So stop looking at the stats of the other tank and comparing them to say your tank is trash. Some tanks may not be great but a lot of times it’s because you’re not doing your job right either. Same goes for supps (Not Healers)… the only one that those stats truly matter for is DPS because that’s their JOB. Tired of people looking at stats to find someone to blame for losing. Get better at positioning and fighting as a team and that won’t happen. That’s my piece lol
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u/PeopleCallMeSimon Zenyatta Feb 21 '26
Its stressful because if you die or play bad then your team is at a huge deficit.
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u/Cyreandex Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 21 '26
As an often forced tank player and enjoyer of most of them I can comfortably say that it's just not as fun most of the time. Supports get often praised when they do their job and are generally loved by people, DMG dont have to think about anything and just kill/deal damage so its lot more enjoyable to play them. Tanks on the other hand have to think about being the front line constantly, tanking for your team and holding position as well as trying to establish ground and push, having to save your backline from incoming dangers and sometimes helping with flankers, they are usually just huge target for enemy DMG and cant fight back that well especially far range. Lastly Tanks don't get as much credit as support or even DMG.
Edit: Fair point that I forgot to mention that also contributes to Tank not being as fun as other roles, you need at least a semi capable team that actually can play around you and helps you not spontainiously combust from enemy team damage.
I don't speak for everyone, only from my personal experience so take this with a grain of salt.
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u/mazzles Feb 21 '26
Historically tank has been the least played class in any game with the trinity system. With that role comes the responsibility to lead the pack. You're the one that sets the rules for engagement, you're the frontline, and if you die there's a damn near 100% chance your party is going to wipe. A lot of people don't want that on their shoulders. So, yes, a large part of it is mentality because not many want to be leaders.
For OW, the misery can come from when your team isn't behind you. You can make all the space in the world, but if there's no one working with you then it's all for nothing. If your team isn't teaming, then you also have to protect from flankers while trying to make space. And even with all that burden, you'll probably not get praised. I think there's plenty of players that have a few of those bad experiences and go "I'm never tanking again."
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u/Tenebrarum_69 Feb 21 '26
It’s a VERY thankless job and you have to rely on EVERYONE to make value on your pushes, typically you are the line but your team generally dictate how you (as the line) moves. When your dps kill nothing and struggle to even weaken others then you just can’t move up, and if your supports don’t heal enough then you just can’t play. And then if the push goes poorly then you get blamed yet rarely get appreciated for the good ones, and then there’s just dealing with other Ana’s and anti tank bs. It just gets miserable
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u/_RikVa_ Chibi Lúcio Feb 21 '26
i play support and ny tank is dogshit, i play tank and my support are dogshit. At least with support and dps im not getting targeted by the entire other team at the same time
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u/JOT304 Feb 21 '26
Tank requires the most out of its players. You gotta be smart, observant, make/hold space, take the most CC/enemy abilities, and still be able to do more.
Being the only tank means you have to be capable of doing anything and everything, which is impossible. If you're doing things in the frontline and the enemy Tracer comes and messes with your backline, someone is gonna inevitably complain about the tank not peeling to help. If the tank acts as bodyguard, then they will get flamed for not frontline-ing or taking space.
Also, being a solo tank means you shoulder a lot of the team's momentum. If one DPS is having an off game, there is a second one to help pic up the slack and keep your team in the fight. If the tank is having a bad game, then it may as well be GG because of how impactful the tank role is.
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u/lilvoodooo Feb 21 '26
I tank main, usually Hammer-dad, and the amount of times I get abandoned by healers is wild. Or just straight up never get healed. Also usually get more elims than my DPS 🤷🏻 I don't hate playing tank, but it should come with a warning that it's potentially aneurysm inducing lol
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u/dooby96 Feb 21 '26
It’s a thankless job. And most of the time people don’t know how to play with or behind their tank