A couple years ago, I started playing Team Fortress 2, not only because it became free, but because during my childhood, I played Team Fortress Classic. It was a game I loved, not only because of the fast-paced action, but also because of the nine unique classes requiring different playstyles in order to work right. I particularly loved the fact that it was a team game. No one was more important than the other, I could talk to my teammates over the microphone, and while I occasionally had to deal with an idiot or a jerk, for the most part, most people I talked to online were nice. We could coordinate our attacks and defenses, and if we had time, even talk about other stuff too.
Ah, childhood...
Now recently, I've started playing League of Legends. I'll be honest, although I've heard a huge amount about League of Legends, I was always scared of touching it. The horror stories I've heard about the game are more than enough to turn me off, not helped by the fact that I've played a tiny bit of the game it's derived from, Defense of the Ancients (DotA for short). DotA is a near-pure elitist game. As my cousin, who is addicted to DotA, described it to me, you're either a newb, in which case you should abandon the game, or you're a complete elitist, who knows all the mechanics like the back of their hands, the best item builds, etc etc etc - enough information to fill an entire class curriculum. There's no in-between ground, with very harsh penalties for dying even once in the game. That being said, League of Legends at least gives some more leeway for newbies, removing harsher penalties, taking out most things that require random chance, etc, making it infinitely more friendly for anyone new to the genre.
Each one of those 'tiles' is a playable champion. And we're still getting new ones.
Now, when I played League of Legends, I noticed that a lot of the lessons and playstyles that I learned in Team Fortress 2 also applied to League of Legends (different genres entirely, but the overall concepts are the same). I've also played other team games like Left 4 Dead or Warframe, and they also emphasize the same concepts. This little post here is all about what concepts I think apply to all these games I've played. REMEMBER, THIS IS STRICTLY OPINION. DO NOT BITE OF MY HEAD IF YOU DON'T AGREE. So, without further ado, let's get started.
Objectives, not kills
In all these team games I played, the general overall rule of thumb is that objectives are the first priority, with kills getting a distant second. Sure, when you get kills, it secures various advantages, whether depriving their team of firepower, weakening their defenses, perhaps even gaining some sort of resource for their death like in League of Legends, where you get gold and experience for the kill. However, most of the time, one cannot sacrifice objectives for getting kills, because at the end of the day, even if your team has 100 kills over your opponent, if your opponent completes their objective, you lose, no questions asked.
Kill all you want, if this thing on your end goes down, you're losing anyway.
That being said, it's rather surprising at how many people associate getting kills with securing objectives. Or simply ignore the objectives to score points and get kills, possibly to boost their ego. Unless the objective specifically is to kill the other team, this is not the case at all, and ego does nothing to win a game - or win any friends, for that matter. Objectives are infinitely more important, so unless you don't feel like winning at all, go for them and only kill if it's necessary.
Spawn camping's nice and all... just make sure this large control point of yours is guarded.
Think it's all about you? Good freaking luck.
Team games. Please read that first word slowly and carefully. TEAM games. Not 'I'm-totally-hot-sh**' games, not 'every-man-and-woman-and-child-for-themselves' games, team games. For those of you who STILL don't get it, what I mean is that you cannot play by yourself and expect to do even halfway well. You can't ignore your teammates for the sake of picking kills or even for securing objectives. If you do this, you're setting either yourself or for your entire team to lose the game.
In a four-man team like in Left 4 Dead 2, acting like a hotshot gets you picked off.
Now, it's not enough to simply fight shoulder-to-shoulder. That's just single player mode with more people (as contradictory as that sounds). So what to do? Cooperation is key. For one very simple example, take the Medic from Team Fortress 2. The Medic is exactly as described - a class that goes around, healing other players, having low offensive capability. Most players don't go for the Medic simply because they want to shoot and kill people. However, the Medic is essential because he can keep up an offense or defense up a lot longer than it normally. He also has a special ability called the Ubercharge, where he can render himself and a teammate invincible for a small duration. Cooperation with said teammate is crucial, as a single Ubercharge can easily swing a losing battle into a smashing win.
These two are the most feared things in Team Fortress 2, bar none.
Social Skills - The unofficial skill that must be leveled up
We're going to try a small exercise. I'm going to present you two pieces of dialogue. Assume you are a guy with a big gun, lots of ammo, and your teammate is requesting reinforcements.
Teammate: HEY NOOB, USE UR GUN N KILL THEM, N GIMME HEALTH PACK, U SUK 2 MUCH 2 USE IT!
You: *Saves teammate*
Teammate: *Goes off without a word to resume killing*
Teammate: Need some backup, and a health pack - about to die.
You: *Saves teammate*
Teammate: Thanks. *Heads back to work*
Now, who are you more likely going to save? The second one? Thought so. In fact, you'd probably just let the guy in the first scenario die and laugh at his mangled in-game body. This section is gonna be somewhat short because that example pretty much sums up my point as succinctly as possible. Acting like a jerk is not going to do you any favors - it makes enemies of your teammates when they should be allies and friends, and they'll act like jerks in turn, whether it's 'conveniently' not noticing that they're about to be sniped to 'somehow' running past them when they could use a healing. On the other hand, if you're polite and nice about it, not only is this more likely to get what you want, be it a heal, backup firepower, etc, it's also more efficient, sparing any arguments and even spend less time typing and doing what you need to do.
Sona, a Support-type Champion. Treat her well and she'll buff you to victory.
That being said, sometimes people act like jerks and you have no choice but to put up with it. That's because like it or not, they're still part of your team. Like it or not, he still packs the firepower your team needs. Therefore, you're still gonna need to help him. Sometimes, working in a team game is all about gritting your teeth, putting up with the b**tard, and try to win the game with him (and immediately blacklisting him afterward). Arguments and dick-measuring contests are just going to contribute to inefficiency and will lead to a loss without fail. Do what you have to do, but bottom line: Don't be a jerk, and don't give jerks any fuel.
Three simple lessons I learned in team games, but they have saved me a huge amount of headache, even though they're common sense. Thanks for reading this post, and look forward to my next update!
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