How long have you played? Ever since the Flea was introduced, there has been a consistent meta that largley ruins the game. That meta might change through various wipes, but there has always been a preferred way to play.

Flea and meta: the flea is a market between players instead of only having npc stores. It changed the way the game works, as people with a lot of money can always have meta loadouts. meta in this context refers to the best performing configuration of items, so the meta is x weapon with y ammo etc. (meta is a common term: for example in overwatch the various heroed are dubbed in the meta or out of the meta depending on the latest game mechanics updates)