Some time last year, I started a
multi-part series about shotcalling in competitive gaming, starting
with discussing victory conditions. I said I wasn't sure when the
next part would come, but I didn't mean to leave you in suspense for
16 months (oops!).
Anyway, it's time to revive the series
with the next important part of shotcalling. Apart from knowing what
it will take to win a game, there is one more important piece of
information: KNOW YOUR LIMITS.
Sorry, Cady, that's just not true.
When you're ahead,
you almost always want to get further ahead. You want to put the
game out of reach of your opponents. But in order to do that, you
need to make sure you don't end up overreaching and making mistakes.
Too many League of
Legends games get thrown by a team believing they can stay for the
inhibitor and ending up getting aced, losing Baron, losing an ensuing
team fight, and consequently the game. Halo games can be thrown over
a forced flag run leading to the team all dead and enabling the team
to set up a counter cap (RIP every Sanc Flag game ever.) You were
too confident in your abilities to make a play that wasn't going to
happen, and gave away the game.
But Audley, how do
I learn my limits?
Step 1: Play more.
Be willing to experiment whenever the stakes are low.
You learn limits through practice. Whether that practice is
directed practice like scrims or micro drills (practicing CSing in
LoL or jumps in Halo), practice helps you learn what you can and
can't do. Even if you're playing solo queue, don't be afraid to try
new things. You can never know if something has the potential to
work unless you try it.
Competitive
play revolves around high percentage plays and consistency. Practice
does not. Practice is where you not only improve your play, but
learn exactly what you can and cannot do.
Part
of this is why players with thousands of games on a single champion
in LoL tend to be really good at that champion – they know what
risks aren't really risks. They've been in the situation before.
Their mental iceberg tells them “Hey, we've been here. Do this.” – they know their
limits and come away with an individual play that works.
“But
Audley, I know my personal limits. How do I learn the limits of the
3-4 other guys on my team?”
I'm
glad you asked, Reader. And for that, I point to one of the world's
best shot callers ever to grace Summoner's Rift in LoL. Mata,
formerly of Samsung White, now on Vici Gaming. Although he's not at
Worlds this year, it's pretty hard to say Mata is to fault for Vici's
failures. The team played a fantastic cerebral style of play and won
games off incredibly smart plays. With MVP / Samsung White, Mata won
two seasons of OGN Champions and a World Championship. It was fairly
common knowledge Mata was the shotcaller of the team. When he was on
point, the team executed as a well-oiled machine. When he was thrown
off his game, the team looked like a mess. When White were on point,
it was hard to find a player more aware of how to win than Mata.
But
there's one fact about Mata most people are unaware of: he had
multiple Korean solo queue accounts in Challenger tier. And on each
one, he mained a different role. He wasn't a support only player in
Solo Queue. He also played Jungle and (I believe?) mid lane
extensively. This enables him to know the limits of other lanes on
his team. It helps him learn match-ups and the needs of his
teammates.
You
don't necessarily have to attempt to play other roles to improve as a
shotcaller (though, it definitely helps) – at the very least,
however, you should try to observe your teammates in practice and
discuss their mindset during their games (or while watching replays
together).
Ask a
few questions such as
- Why did you do that?
- What would happen if you did this...?
- (In the case that he's losing) – What do you need to come back from this?
- (In the case that he's winning) – How do you keep your opponent from coming back?
- How do you deal with pressure in this situation?
- How could pressure be relieved in this situation? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Learn
how your teammates think. Learn their limits, or at least the limits
of their style of play. Knowing these helps you know what you can
get away with.
Other
than practice and post-game discussion, there is one other important
way to assess your limits, and is key during a game.
Step 2: Get more information. Most
competitive games are Imperfect Information games, where you do not
know everything that is going on for the other team. Whether hidden
in fog of war or simply not visible to your personal camera, knowing
what's going on elsewhere is important to knowing what your limits
can be.
It's
probably not a coincidence Mata is one of the best shotcallers in the
world and also one of the supports with the most wards placed. In
League of Legends, vision is information. Madlife rose to power
known for being one of the first players to time even the most minute
of cooldowns of his opponents.
Beyond
mini-maps and vision control in LoL, communication is your key to
information influx. This applies to any game – especially First
Person Shooters. A mistake many make is simply communicating what's
going on among enemies. Calling out targets, calling out weapons, et
cetera.
If
you want to know your limits, you also need to know your teammates'
status. In shooters, communication focused on telling your teammates
where you are helps them know how soon they could have help or come
help, or where their team's gaps in vision or sight line coverage may
be. In League of Legends, it may help them know when your important
engage abilities will be ready to go.
Whether
you're the shotcaller or not, focus on proactive communication.
Speak about what you CAN do, or SHOULD do in a situation. It helps
the team create a much more clear picture of how to move forward,
rather than focusing on what an enemy is capable of. Think in terms
of enemy perfect execution, and plan the best way to play against it.
Always give your
opponents the respect of assuming they will play the game properly.
Silent
moments are moments where information isn't being generated.
Information should be generated constantly throughout a game. If no
one is talking, get the wheels turning by asking questions as the
shotcaller. “Can you do this?” “Can we do this?” “Where
can we push?” “What [cooldowns/weapons] do you have?” “How
close are you to [item/weapon/location]?”
TALK. TALK MORE. NEVER STOP TALKING.
You'll
never have a complete picture of the game. You must make decisions
based off an incompleted jigsaw, or a painting where the colors
haven't been blended all the way just yet. Every bit of information
your teammates feed to you fill the picture just a little bit more to
help you know what call to make, or what calls to avoid as you learn
the situation a little bit better.
But
regardless, getting into the minds of your teammates in and out of
game and objectively assessing yours and their abilities will help
you KNOW YOUR
LIMITS
as a team, and as a result, help you call the shots in a way that
reduces mistakes and leads your team to more victories.
I'm
not sure when part 3 will come (hopefully it won't be another 16
months ;D) but this series isn't done just yet.
Also,
I've added a Paypal Donate link to the main page of my blog. If you
enjoy my blogs and would like to see more of them, I encourage you to
Donate in order to help me get closer to quitting my day job in fast
food to focus on writing and game design. If you can't afford/don't
want to donate but still enjoy the blog, PLEASE, comment / tweet /
message me and let me know what you enjoy / what you'd like to see
more of! I've got a few plans for upcoming entries, and I intend to
write more in the upcoming days, but any support you can give me
(verbal or monetary) is greatly appreciated!
Audley
out.
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