Curse

bluechestdude · Dec 12, 2006, 08:32 AM // 08:32

okay ive been in a guild for a while and theres a really good tactics caller he is moving along to another guild...and we need a tactics caller to fill his spot...what are some tips for calling tactics...when do u call them? should u be worried about cutting into someone spiking? what happens if u make the wrong decision? can ppl plz answer these questions and some tips for tactic calling (other than u need a mic)

Arcador · Dec 12, 2006, 08:41 AM // 08:41

You need calling targets advices? It is a bit unclear.

Farin · Dec 12, 2006, 08:46 AM // 08:46

Well my current guild doesn't exactly have a tactic caller but I've done it for my past guilds so I guess i'll offer some advice.

Quote:

what are some tips for calling tactics...

Get to know your players and build. After you do that you need to have a vast amount of knoweldge of the game and at least have a decent idea of what you can do at certain situations.

Quote:

when do u call them?

Whenever they need to be called? If you spot people going back to gank you wanna call whichever character is more fit to counter their split. Whenever you feel at push or retreat should be called (their monks are breaking, your party's health is low). Having teamates who can recognize this and help you calling is always a good idea.

Quote:

hould u be worried about cutting into someone spiking?

Does this mean interrupting when someone is calling? Well you shouldn't call over him if that's it.

Quote:

what happens if u make the wrong decision?

Then you learn from it and try to not make the same mistake again.

Wasteland Squidget · Dec 12, 2006, 08:51 AM // 08:51

This article on the subject is a pretty good start. It'd be helpful if you posted more specific questions here. Are you trying to figure out how to coordinate an offense? How to call splits? When to retreat and when to push?

Bankai · Dec 12, 2006, 08:57 AM // 08:57

I'll give you one good tip I picked up some time ago: Don't call people by their time. Get used to calling people by their number. While it may sound odd, after some time you get used to it and realise it's pretty smart. If you call somebody by their name, others, that haven't played a lot with you for example, may not know who they're aiming at. Also, a lot of players use other names in gvg. So for example, don't say, "I'm being spiked", or, "John, stop over extending, or "Blind on our warrior". This is especially useful for monks. If you hear "I'm being spiked", as a monk you first have to realise whose voice it is. Then what name he's playing at, and then where he is in the party list. You skip the first two steps if you call people by their number.

Note: As you play more and more together, and start getting fixed teams, you can drop this issue. After some time, you'll be used to each other so much you immediately skip to the last step of healing/removing conditions/doing other stuff.

Thom Bangalter · Dec 12, 2006, 08:57 AM // 08:57

Ideally, you have a warrior calling spikes and offensive pushes, midline shutting people down/applying additional pressure/ and monks calling when you need to retreat. It should be a group effort, but as has been noted, the post is rather unclear.

Program Ftw · Dec 12, 2006, 01:43 PM // 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thom Bangalter

Ideally, you have a warrior calling spikes and offensive pushes, midline shutting people down/applying additional pressure/ and monks calling when you need to retreat. It should be a group effort, but as has been noted, the post is rather unclear.

Or just resign if they dont have champ point rating.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bankai

I'll give you one good tip I picked up some time ago: Don't call people by their time. Get used to calling people by their number. While it may sound odd, after some time you get used to it and realise it's pretty smart. If you call somebody by their name, others, that haven't played a lot with you for example, may not know who they're aiming at. Also, a lot of players use other names in gvg. So for example, don't say, "I'm being spiked", or, "John, stop over extending, or "Blind on our warrior". This is especially useful for monks. If you hear "I'm being spiked", as a monk you first have to realise whose voice it is. Then what name he's playing at, and then where he is in the party list. You skip the first two steps if you call people by their number.

Note: As you play more and more together, and start getting fixed teams, you can drop this issue. After some time, you'll be used to each other so much you immediately skip to the last step of healing/removing conditions/doing other stuff.

When we play GvG people know who I am by my voice, which is pretty cool. I can shout "Watch Meh!", Allows me to rage more! >.>

Thanks,
Program~

Thom Bangalter · Dec 12, 2006, 01:51 PM // 13:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Program Ftw

Or just resign if they dont have champ point rating.

Agreed, but you have to have enough rating to still be above 1200 after you do it. If you run into some r800 guild running split on frozen isle, you resign if you haven't rolled them in the first 3 minutes at the stand, take your -20, and move on. The closer they are in rank the more it's worth it to resign out. 1250+ is the best to work with, ideally 1300.

The ladder is stupid.

Ec]-[oMaN · Dec 12, 2006, 04:09 PM // 16:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by bluechestdude

okay ive been in a guild for a while and theres a really good tactics caller he is moving along to another guild...and we need a tactics caller to fill his spot...what are some tips for calling tactics...when do u call them? should u be worried about cutting into someone spiking? what happens if u make the wrong decision? can ppl plz answer these questions and some tips for tactic calling (other than u need a mic)

I've always found it easier to have the target caller, also be the strat caller. If you can find someone who can, makes vent chatter way more bearable.

You should be worried about when to call something, let whoever is calling a spike call it, then quickly after call your strat. If the strat caller makes a wrong decision during game, people shouldn't rage during the game, take it up after the match and determine if the call was a major factor in something going wrong. It's also easier on the strat caller not to question his decision during game,everyone should respect his call and follow through with it.
If things are done this way, either the strat caller will become better or the guild can decide if he/she is fit for the job.

OrangHebat · Dec 12, 2006, 05:23 PM // 17:23

Well the team will need to execute whatever the tactics caller demand on the game, even though it's a bad command, just execute it and discuss it afterward.

From my experience, you might want to encourage your team to talk more, giving feedbacks and suggestions. That way you can find mistakes because it's everyone giving opinion and therefore more mistakes can be found and improved =D

As for being a tactic caller, I think the most important thing is that you'll need to be decisive. Being indecisive could cost you the game by making mistakes. Always accept that you'll be making bad calls and stuff like that. So "act first think about the consequences later" should be a mentality you'll need to have in order to become a tactic caller. Guess others have been giving you pretty much tips on being a caller though.

Then one more thing....Get more experience. It does helps in making a better calls and stuff.

lord of shadow · Dec 12, 2006, 07:13 PM // 19:13

I am in the unusual position of tactics calling from a monk. I in fact communicate faily little ingame, as i am blessed with a team where the individuals know what they are doing. From the defensive position i am able to call general moves such as the right time for a push (our backline is under little pressure/can cope with it) or when to pressure enemy warriors and stop them frenzying to relive a bit of pressure. It also means i know exactly which characters are the biggest threat to our team and can act accordingly, in general however:

At first try to encourage players to communicate information they feel is important (important skills dshotted or diversioned, overextenders, low targets, monk kills are among the foremost here) and respond to the information accordingly, once that much is working in the guild- try to get people making independant decisions based on the information being relayed by each other. As people improve take a step back- if the flagger spots a gank let him ask for support from X character. That said, feel free to override decisions made by others if you have been designated caller and have good reason to do so.

bluechestdude · Dec 12, 2006, 09:11 PM // 21:11

thanks for all that ill take that into consideration when playing gvg next...

and yeh i already call things by numbers but sometimes i cant count and call the wrong number. le sigh.

and razoo what do u mean a vast knowledge of the game, you mean maps and enemy builds right?

Farin · Dec 12, 2006, 11:10 PM // 23:10

Pretty much, yes. Knowing what to do in certain situations would be included as well.

bluechestdude · Dec 13, 2006, 12:02 AM // 00:02

okay thats cool ill work on that...

Patrograd · Dec 13, 2006, 07:04 AM // 07:04

Some comments I would make on this, further to the excellent points above

1) Be decisive. A wrong decision is always better than no decision. The very worst thing you can do is hesitate. if your decision is wrong then just learn for next time

2) The very best tactics callers seem to be naturally "loud" and offer constant chatter on vent

*edited - removed long article which squidget already linked to

/doh

bluechestdude · Dec 13, 2006, 11:35 AM // 11:35

okay thx and the article has already been linked to and ive already read it thx for the help guys all i need now is practice.

Warskull · Dec 14, 2006, 07:59 AM // 07:59

If you want to excel at tactics calling:

1) Whatever you play now... you aren't it anymore. You cannot afford to specialize in a single character anymore. You have to know every single profession, you need to learn every build out there you can. You have to know all the intricacies of every build. As a tactics caller you cannot call for tactics and stratagems that you do not know exist. Do whatever you can to play multiple builds. Monk and Warrior in RA or TA if you have to. You just need to get familiar with what each position is capable of. You can still excel at your character of choice, but you need to be able to play everything to a competent degree.

2) Get every build laid out before hand. You don't have to make the builds, but make it clear that you won't call tactics for a build that hasn't build documented somewhere for you to look over. As a caller you need to analyze the build. You to know all the skills on the bars under pressure. If someone just feeds the team skill bars over vent 15 minutes before GvG it won't work. You will have a difficult time knowing everything each character is capable of. Before you GvG lay out tactical plays and situations in your head. What kind of 1 character, 2 character, 3 character, and 4 character splits can this build do? The ele and runner might be a strong defensive combo, but the runner and warrior might be a better offensive combo. Ask yourself how the tools these small teams can do against other split teams you have seen in GvG and on obs mode recently.

3) Get a feel for what players are capable of what. Does warrior A take dumb risks on a split? Ensure that warrior B is on the split warrior then. Knowing that the character should be able to handle the situation is one thing, but you also have to ask yourself "can the player handle the situation?" Your teammates will have weaknesses, you need to learn them. Play to their strengths, avoid putting them in situations that involve their weaknesses. You can seek to remedy their weaknesses over time.

4) Get to know your runner. You have to excel at communicating in split situations. You runner is going to have tons of info on enemy offensive splits and may often get sent into offensive splits himself. You need to be able to have these players feed you information. In addition you need to be able to feed them info and instructions when you are somewhat blind to their situation.

5) Don't be hesitant or doubtful in game. Figure out what needs to be done and do it. If you aren't sure, take your best idea and run with it. Your teammates don't need to know that you have no clue how to beat the team. Just give them confident orders.

6) You need to feel the pulse of the enemy as well as your own. Your monks may be hurting, but retreat isn't your only option. Are the enemy monks in an even more dire situation, can you break them before they break you? Is their offense being effective or being shut down? Should your enemy be thinking about splitting (in which case you should be ready to counter their split.) The strongest plays are to block your enemies moves before they make them.

7) You are always at an advantage when you force the enemy to react to you instead of reacting to the enemy.

Byron · Dec 14, 2006, 06:13 PM // 18:13

Definitely listen to Warskull. Warskull>metagame.

bluechestdude · Dec 14, 2006, 09:14 PM // 21:14

thx warskull much appreciated,

and about retreating, u said even though ur monks are hurting the enmy may be in a more dire situation. Id like to know when to pull back if ur monks are hurting too much...(other than energy issues) is there like an amount of deaths they can sustain before we have to pull back?

Farin · Dec 14, 2006, 11:27 PM // 23:27

You should be pulling back before deaths occur. By that point you might as well get a full whipe. Communication between the backline and you is vital. Your backline should be telling you whenever they feel they won't be able to take pressure for much longer.