MichaelMongrel
01-24-2011, 01:33 PM
First off, I'd like to let everyone know that I am not an amazing player, and all that I say in this thread is just how I view the subject from the outside rather than pretending like I am a top player.
So I was reading the Bert/Coby to2 thread, and for some reason, I started thinking about why a lot of talented players don't get a chance on a top team.
What follows is a bullet-style list of things I think that a lot of these talented players don't realize are very important.
-Positioning/Teamwork-
Okay, yes, most of you know these two words and think you know what it means to really accomplish them. But maybe not... I have a different view on this.
You know that tendency that a lot of us have to go off and try be the hero and take out enemies on our own? Well I have come to realize that is a big no-no.
In other words, ALWAYS be in a position to help your teammates. Your teammate needing help should be first on your list before going after a guy on your own and trying to get help for it.
This all may seem pretty obvious to a lot of smart players, but I am going to expand on it in the next couple points.
-Complaining/Being Positive-
I'm going to start off with an example:
You're playing Countdown TS, and you realize that the other team has complete top control, so you push up to outside balcony and into top health towards their 3rd level to take out the guy in their bubble who keeps putting shots into your base. All of a sudden two other people shoot you from other points of the map and kill you before you can finish the kill you began with that Bubble guy. So now you're pissed because you had no help with that guy in Bubble. You begin to complain. Stuff like "Guyssssssss I'm getting NO HELP! Listen to call outs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Well, that's an example of what NOT to do.
First of all, you need to be helping your teammates first before going off and trying to check off things to do on your list.
Second, complaining and putting some blame on your teammates is only gonna put a dent in any chemistry you have.
Before you complain, think about what YOU could've done and do better on it next life.
-Communication-
So you're calling out where every enemy is. Good. Is that all you need to do? NO.
Calling out every enemy is good, don't get me wrong, but it's not gonna win you a game.
Here is a list of everything you need to communicate.
-How many enemies?
Usually when you just blurt a callout, that typically means one person. In some cases, this is bad. If there is more than one enemy, the number needs to be called out. This is the difference between your teammates staying alive or not. If your teammate hears. "One shot top gold!" and charges to clean up the kill for you, he needs to be all clear when he goes in, otherwise the one-shot guy could very well live through and help his teammate melt your teammate.
-"I've got your help!"
Always let a teammate know when you are running with them. Let's say you're both shooting some enemies and your teammate loses his shields. If he doesn't know you are with him, he is likely to run away completely. If he knows you are there, he may back down to let you take the attention, but he can easily pop back out and help you.
-Repeating Important Call-outs.
Now some people like to repeat call-outs. While you are whining your call-out about the one shot guy on their 3rd level, you're teammate is trying to call-out that the bomb guy is in your jetpack with a teammate about to arm the bomb. If your teammates don't hear the call-out about the bomb guy, the opponents may score and possibly win the game.
Always make sure to quiet down if you hear an important call-out that your teammates need to hear as well.
If the most important call-out needs to be repeated, make sure it doesn't get washed out by the lower priority call-outs.
-Awareness-
So you're playing Sanctuary and you're on your Car shooting that guy on their snipe box, and he's kinda weak and hiding behind a wall. Don't stare at the open space waiting for him to pop out, take a look at your surroundings and make sure nobody is behind you or taking out your teammates somewhere within your field of vision.
Always have a very open ear to the communication going on. If you hear a call-out and you don't have to use all your sprint to get to it, go help out.
This is a big thing. Many people can get one-track minded, and it doesn't help your teammates, and you'll usually end up having the worst stats.
While positioning is obviously a big part, it's really about spreading your focus about the whole "battle".
Basically, don't focus on just the one guy you most recently were shooting. Shoot him a couple times, and if he isn't the guy your teammates are currently worried about, move on and go help your team.
-Closing Statements-
Last thing I'd like to say to close this off is that many of these things are things I have struggled with in the past, and may still struggle with. But it doesn't take a pro to realize these are important to know.
My original intention was to highlight the complaining/blaming your teammates portion and make it the main subject (because it's the thing that bugs me the most), but I had a few other things I wanted to throw in.
I hope you guys enjoy these tips, and if you have noticed me struggling with a lot of these things, don't completely write them off as invalid.
So I was reading the Bert/Coby to2 thread, and for some reason, I started thinking about why a lot of talented players don't get a chance on a top team.
What follows is a bullet-style list of things I think that a lot of these talented players don't realize are very important.
-Positioning/Teamwork-
Okay, yes, most of you know these two words and think you know what it means to really accomplish them. But maybe not... I have a different view on this.
You know that tendency that a lot of us have to go off and try be the hero and take out enemies on our own? Well I have come to realize that is a big no-no.
In other words, ALWAYS be in a position to help your teammates. Your teammate needing help should be first on your list before going after a guy on your own and trying to get help for it.
This all may seem pretty obvious to a lot of smart players, but I am going to expand on it in the next couple points.
-Complaining/Being Positive-
I'm going to start off with an example:
You're playing Countdown TS, and you realize that the other team has complete top control, so you push up to outside balcony and into top health towards their 3rd level to take out the guy in their bubble who keeps putting shots into your base. All of a sudden two other people shoot you from other points of the map and kill you before you can finish the kill you began with that Bubble guy. So now you're pissed because you had no help with that guy in Bubble. You begin to complain. Stuff like "Guyssssssss I'm getting NO HELP! Listen to call outs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Well, that's an example of what NOT to do.
First of all, you need to be helping your teammates first before going off and trying to check off things to do on your list.
Second, complaining and putting some blame on your teammates is only gonna put a dent in any chemistry you have.
Before you complain, think about what YOU could've done and do better on it next life.
-Communication-
So you're calling out where every enemy is. Good. Is that all you need to do? NO.
Calling out every enemy is good, don't get me wrong, but it's not gonna win you a game.
Here is a list of everything you need to communicate.
-How many enemies?
Usually when you just blurt a callout, that typically means one person. In some cases, this is bad. If there is more than one enemy, the number needs to be called out. This is the difference between your teammates staying alive or not. If your teammate hears. "One shot top gold!" and charges to clean up the kill for you, he needs to be all clear when he goes in, otherwise the one-shot guy could very well live through and help his teammate melt your teammate.
-"I've got your help!"
Always let a teammate know when you are running with them. Let's say you're both shooting some enemies and your teammate loses his shields. If he doesn't know you are with him, he is likely to run away completely. If he knows you are there, he may back down to let you take the attention, but he can easily pop back out and help you.
-Repeating Important Call-outs.
Now some people like to repeat call-outs. While you are whining your call-out about the one shot guy on their 3rd level, you're teammate is trying to call-out that the bomb guy is in your jetpack with a teammate about to arm the bomb. If your teammates don't hear the call-out about the bomb guy, the opponents may score and possibly win the game.
Always make sure to quiet down if you hear an important call-out that your teammates need to hear as well.
If the most important call-out needs to be repeated, make sure it doesn't get washed out by the lower priority call-outs.
-Awareness-
So you're playing Sanctuary and you're on your Car shooting that guy on their snipe box, and he's kinda weak and hiding behind a wall. Don't stare at the open space waiting for him to pop out, take a look at your surroundings and make sure nobody is behind you or taking out your teammates somewhere within your field of vision.
Always have a very open ear to the communication going on. If you hear a call-out and you don't have to use all your sprint to get to it, go help out.
This is a big thing. Many people can get one-track minded, and it doesn't help your teammates, and you'll usually end up having the worst stats.
While positioning is obviously a big part, it's really about spreading your focus about the whole "battle".
Basically, don't focus on just the one guy you most recently were shooting. Shoot him a couple times, and if he isn't the guy your teammates are currently worried about, move on and go help your team.
-Closing Statements-
Last thing I'd like to say to close this off is that many of these things are things I have struggled with in the past, and may still struggle with. But it doesn't take a pro to realize these are important to know.
My original intention was to highlight the complaining/blaming your teammates portion and make it the main subject (because it's the thing that bugs me the most), but I had a few other things I wanted to throw in.
I hope you guys enjoy these tips, and if you have noticed me struggling with a lot of these things, don't completely write them off as invalid.