So I feel like there isn't much left to add a serious conversation on in this topic, I just hope some more people will read it and I hope we can 'feel the love' a bit more, as it used to be a few years back!
Epeen is the way of the 19 bracket, there's been hundreds of threads like this, with people posting and agreeing, but nothing ever changes.
You realise a lot of things when playing a 19;
Who has resource and CD management, and who just pops CDs for no reason in some token attempt to survive, that fails regardless. I see Paladins, good, skilled Paladins popping BoP instantly when sapped, when crossing mid at the start of the game. Then when it comes to a skirmish while taking flags back to opposing bases they lack a utility and falter. And it infuriates me.
You see who has game sense and awareness, and who makes poor, poor decisions. You can have reflexes and be skillcapped, but if you spend a couple of seconds ******* around Zerker Hut for no real reason, casting back and forth, and you get caught you're left with 2 choices. Pop CDs in hope that you'll survive/catch up with your team, which is the wrong choice, or just let yourself die. Even then, you'll have still cost your team something.
Also, with the insane burst this bracket has, you also realise how poor some people's reactions can truly be.
All of these things matter so much more at 19.
Playing a Surv Hunter over the past few days, I've noticed so, so many people who just can't handle burst, or don't have reactions.
Almost nobody pre-casts expecting Burst, and it pains me to see players I respect and adore just crash and burn. In the games yesterday the only people who adapted/realised how damage was actually incoming was Baley and Stubs, and that was only after a considerable while. There's lots of good players in the 19 bracket, but hardly any of them are actually reliable at healing.