Teamwork in competitive gaming: Leading your team

Online vs LAN

Decline of internet cafes and LAN events, is leaving young dedicated gamers at disadvantage. While they do have great conditions to polish their individual skill, teams are often just a simple sum of members. I am about to share some insight and my personal experience of leading teams in situations when individual skill is simply not enough. Being veteran player who played FPS on and off for two decades , i will explain common pitfalls and shortcomings of young teams, and how to help teammates overcome hardship.

Cold feet

Playing important match is nothing like a practice casual match. Unprepared individual might encounter severe aim problems or even decision making brain farts. When this happens, position your teammate on frontal positions where they can trade reliably 1 for 1, and hope crisis will pass. Do not under any circumstance mock him during match, as it will make things even worse. Act as you didn't notice. Their hands will be cold as ice, which you can notice in LAN tournaments. Online, you can just track their performance. Heatpads are recommended. 

Team spirit and morale

You want your boys to perform without handicap and without losing hope. Matches are played in Bo3 or Bo5 formats, and lost set can be recovered. However broken team is like a sinking ship, and goes only in one direction. Learn to ignore bad scoreboard, and to think only about current round. Even a joke can reset players to default state, so try that when enemy is mopping floor with your team.

Preparation

Having default tactics and setup is part of turning angry mob into disciplined team. Developing tactical finesse is iterative process,based on trial and error. Frequent lineup changes will put your team at disadvantage, and limit tactics to rudimentary ones. More often then not strategies are developed in domain of theory. Winning without casualties is not gonna happen. Tip here is to have multiple roles assigned to multiple people. Idea of everybody doing every role is also bad, because execution won't be as smooth as it should be. Always have 1-2 default tactics and few specials.

 

Responsive tactician

Leader must understand strengths and weaknesses of enemy team, and tailor strategies accordingly. Sun Tzu said :

Surprise

When battling stronger opponent, gamble! Play unexpected strategies and all-ins. Disrupting enemy standard play can turn the tides.

  

Chain of command

True leader gains respect from teammates by showing skill and grit. If he is emotionally unstable, he cannot lead, and should let someone else carry his team with decisions. In-game leader needs to think fast and order his teammates. Democracy is causing hesitation and should always be avoided.

Concise information

Avoid unnecessary communication during rounds. Short and meaningful statements will improve coordination and chances for victory. Not hearing vital information can lead to disaster.

Epilogue

After match is over, tell your guys how much you care about them, and thank them for wonderful experience. Shake hands of your opponents and tell them the same. Gaming without sportsmanship is not gaming at all. Thanks for reading. Images source : pexels