Ever had that feeling that you were the only person on your team? When you're up on the front trying to cap a CP, by yourself, half-dead with 10 bullets left after fighting your way through 6 bad guys, watching that flag slowly drop and wondering where the hell your support is? Then some slack-jawed enemy just happens to stroll in, and because of your frail state, you are easily dispatched.
And then you you yell:
"Where the hell is my team!?"
"What the hell are they doing?!"
or some combination of the above peppered with words that your mother wouldn't appreciate.
Yea, it happens to me all the time. I used to get frustrated by it and, despite being kicked repeatedly by language filters, curse my teammates out for being totally useless. Then I started wondering - what if everyone felt like I felt? If that were true, then failure would really be a collective, shared problem. But how could I fix it?
I could advocate the formation of big squads and VoIP, but that's not realistic - and how could anyone enforce it during a public pick-up game? Some folks don't use squads, and most of the rest are quite content in small 1-3 person squads either alone, or with friends and clanmates. Many use Teamspeak or Ventrilo.
After some careful thought, I've compiled 3 easy things that you can do to make your team better - lone wolf, SL, SM, whatever. If most folks follow these common guidelines, the team's net worth can go up ten-fold.
Take time to support someone else's objectives
We all have our battlefield priorities, and they change from minute to minute. We zig and zag, shooting here and running there. Take that flag, defend this one, man that TOW, etc. etc. But with everyone doing their own things (and with so much to do), it's rare that these random objectives ever line up.
Next time you have the chance to switch objectives, stop. Look around. Where are your teammates? Look for the groups of 1-2 people trying to accomplish something - those guys need your help. You could be the single determining factor in making their objective successful.
The lone player might need some extra firepower, while the small squad may need someone to watch their flanks - to be where they aren't.
Think of your team as a collection of rocks that form a boulder - work to become the sand that strengthens their positions or fills in the gaps.
Spot everything
This can't be stressed enough. Wargimp made a whole post about it, and I'm calling it out here because it is critical. Spot everything you see, even most of the things you plan on killing.
Why? Because if you happen to die, your team will know where to clean up what's left - which can make the difference between a successful enemy CP capture or not. In particular, the importance of spotting enemy vehicles should be painfully obvious for anyone who has driven a HUMVEE around a corner and into the barrel of a tank.
Spot everything. No exceptions.
Pay attention to the flow of the battle
In some sports it's referred to as "keeping your eyes up". Keep an eye on the mini-map. Listen for spots. Pay attention to losses of CPs. Look at the UAV, even if it's not on top of you.
Everyone needs to have a good sense of the battle's ebb, flow, and rhythm. Where the bad guys are, where they're going, and where you need to be. Who's in trouble, and who doesn't need any extra help. This ties into the first suggestion, but it also goes beyond it. Even if you can't (or don't need to) help a small squad across the map, security there may mean danger here.
You need to study the battle as closely as the Commander and SLs - it's the only way that you can make the most difference. I'm not suggesting neglecting the immediate firefight, but use any free seconds to re-evaluate the landscape.
I know it's a lot to manage, but if you stay diligent at being a good strategist, it'll become second nature in no time.
Conclusion
Your team's success comes in two parts:
1) Being able to kill the bad guys more efficiently than they kill you and your teammates
2) Killing the bad guys at the right times and in the right places
Pay heed to the three suggestions offered above and you'll have #2 totally pwned. Then you just have to worry about your aim :)
And then you you yell:
"Where the hell is my team!?"
"What the hell are they doing?!"
or some combination of the above peppered with words that your mother wouldn't appreciate.
Yea, it happens to me all the time. I used to get frustrated by it and, despite being kicked repeatedly by language filters, curse my teammates out for being totally useless. Then I started wondering - what if everyone felt like I felt? If that were true, then failure would really be a collective, shared problem. But how could I fix it?
I could advocate the formation of big squads and VoIP, but that's not realistic - and how could anyone enforce it during a public pick-up game? Some folks don't use squads, and most of the rest are quite content in small 1-3 person squads either alone, or with friends and clanmates. Many use Teamspeak or Ventrilo.
After some careful thought, I've compiled 3 easy things that you can do to make your team better - lone wolf, SL, SM, whatever. If most folks follow these common guidelines, the team's net worth can go up ten-fold.
Take time to support someone else's objectives
We all have our battlefield priorities, and they change from minute to minute. We zig and zag, shooting here and running there. Take that flag, defend this one, man that TOW, etc. etc. But with everyone doing their own things (and with so much to do), it's rare that these random objectives ever line up.
Next time you have the chance to switch objectives, stop. Look around. Where are your teammates? Look for the groups of 1-2 people trying to accomplish something - those guys need your help. You could be the single determining factor in making their objective successful.
The lone player might need some extra firepower, while the small squad may need someone to watch their flanks - to be where they aren't.
Think of your team as a collection of rocks that form a boulder - work to become the sand that strengthens their positions or fills in the gaps.
Spot everything
This can't be stressed enough. Wargimp made a whole post about it, and I'm calling it out here because it is critical. Spot everything you see, even most of the things you plan on killing.
Why? Because if you happen to die, your team will know where to clean up what's left - which can make the difference between a successful enemy CP capture or not. In particular, the importance of spotting enemy vehicles should be painfully obvious for anyone who has driven a HUMVEE around a corner and into the barrel of a tank.
Spot everything. No exceptions.
Pay attention to the flow of the battle
In some sports it's referred to as "keeping your eyes up". Keep an eye on the mini-map. Listen for spots. Pay attention to losses of CPs. Look at the UAV, even if it's not on top of you.
Everyone needs to have a good sense of the battle's ebb, flow, and rhythm. Where the bad guys are, where they're going, and where you need to be. Who's in trouble, and who doesn't need any extra help. This ties into the first suggestion, but it also goes beyond it. Even if you can't (or don't need to) help a small squad across the map, security there may mean danger here.
You need to study the battle as closely as the Commander and SLs - it's the only way that you can make the most difference. I'm not suggesting neglecting the immediate firefight, but use any free seconds to re-evaluate the landscape.
I know it's a lot to manage, but if you stay diligent at being a good strategist, it'll become second nature in no time.
Conclusion
Your team's success comes in two parts:
1) Being able to kill the bad guys more efficiently than they kill you and your teammates
2) Killing the bad guys at the right times and in the right places
Pay heed to the three suggestions offered above and you'll have #2 totally pwned. Then you just have to worry about your aim :)
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