How many people here are in teams?

[Hinichii.ez.™]

wot is a team mate

 

[Green Waffles]

I'm only in a casual squad atm, we do 4 man squads or occasional 8 player PB, but no tournaments.

I have a desire to win tournaments, but two things have kept me from actively applying for or making a competitive squad.

-Time
I'm in the cool leg AND I don't have my own TV (so studying/hw have to be done on top of the tv being un-used)

-Anger issues ^_^;;;
But that's why I like-a-da-jokes, the bloodthirsty competitive side of me needs a counterbalence ;P

 

[Joasa]

You know, I secretly envy the whole competitive world. I wish I could be like all these super cool and amazing players with actual skills and stuff. I have absolutely no skill whatsoever (in real life with anything, actually) and I would love to be part of something and feel important and worthwhile for once, and have people look at me and be like, "hey, she's part of something cool. She's an awesome player! She must have so many friends and whatnot."

I just kind of always feel depressed after looking at other players' profiles and they're like "I'm S+99 in this nationally ranked competitive team and I'm also this and this and this but it's all aside gig from this awesome amazing job I have irl ect, ect."

I don't know what I'm trying to say here. Maybe it's that I do want to be on a team and become a really great amazing player and feel like a part of something bigger rather than just a bit piece of loose garbage but at the same time I don't want to deal with all the pressure that comes with tournaments and stuff.

Maybe I just wanna be a better player and feel like I'm just as good as everyone else here, even if I don't have a fancy squad in my name. I always feel like such a scrub, only S rank, how pathetic. It's just not good enough anymore.

 

[Amarae]

You know, I secretly envy the whole competitive world. I wish I could be like all these super cool and amazing players with actual skills and stuff. I have absolutely no skill whatsoever (in real life with anything, actually) and I would love to be part of something and feel important and worthwhile for once, and have people look at me and be like, "hey, she's part of something cool. She's an awesome player! She must have so many friends and whatnot."

You know you and I are a lot alike. I've long wanted to be a part of the top, someone people can know and look at like "Hey wow she's pretty good", and you know I've never been this close I feel like. A lot of my drive is from that natural competitive nature I have, but the chance to be someone and rank among these elite players is huge too. Even outside of being some pro player or whatever, I'm a moderator on the r/Splatoon subreddit and discord, which gives me a lot of access to people. Even just being on the Inkademy server allows me to engage with players like Sendou, Hitzel, Lean and PKFuzzy, and you might be surprised how much someone who is only S rank could say worth hearing there. Sure, even for myself who is S+ it's mostly listening to better players but the chance to be a part of it is appreciated.

The story I keep hearing though is, you don't "git gud" and then join a famous team and be famous. You join friends who inspire you to be better than you are and collectively improve. You surround yourself with people who are good friends first and good players second and that's what creates the environment where your potential is unlocked.

You never have to think about being "Better than S rank" or even "Better than [insert people]", the only person you need to ever be better than is you and that's where your improvement comes from and that's where you friends come in. I'm rather fond of the saying that "You are the sum of your five closest people" and when you surround yourself with people who want to improve you will want to improve and your ability to improve yourself will improve.

So my advice to you is, team or not, find people who want to become better and become close with them. Join a team, join a server, join a community you can interact with of people you feel that desire to improve in. I don't mean that salty kind of "I need to be better because other are bad" though either, I mean the "I want to see how far I/we can go with this" kinda better. The benign interest in genuine improvement.

And really, the kinds of people you find who have the genuine drive to be better players solely for the purpose of being better players, are often the kinds of people who hold the same genuine interest in being better people. In fact a lot of becoming good at something, can arise from being a better you in general. Improving who you are is something that will stick with you. It's not just like "Oh I became good at this and now it's gone" when you improve yourself, your attitude, you ability, your anything that change will stick and you'll carry it with you to every place you go from here out.

I want you to believe how sincere I am with this, because this is my struggle. I've wanted for so long to be a better player for the wrong reasons, and I've felt like complete garbage, and I've been so close to just dropping it even though I'll tell anyone that "Splatoon is my favourite game"; but I truly believe these words I have imparted to you and anyone who will read them. It's been so hard not just giving up even though I would still say I'm quite far away from being the kind of competitive player I want to be. I have friends, real damn good friends, who are in this with me, and that's what's kept me here. Those friends are what has kept me going when I thought I was just garbage who shouldn't bother, and their efforts to become better players have inspired my own even if I wouldn't openly say so or admit it to myself.

So don't worry about a team, don't even worry about how good you aren't. You find the right people and you make the right change within yourself, and the improvement will come naturally.

If you need somewhere to go, my team server is always looking for the kinds of people who want to have fun with Squid Game.

 

[Magic8Ball]

@Amarae
Good Lord, that's the most inspirational thing I've heard in a long while.

 

[Amarae]

Important also, is that you don't forget all of this when things get bad. That's the real struggle. All the time I wind up in this bad place where I suddenly stop believing anything about me, or about my friends and I just think "I'm trash and that's that.", but that's where the improvement stops. I've managed to come back so far, but it puts you out for a while and that's time you could have spent getting better. So above all, take whatever inspiration you can get, but the determination to follow through and keep believing in that when it all feels like you're done for is huge.

 

[Joasa]

"I'm trash and that's that."

Actually, that line alone sums up my skills in a nutshell. I'm not a good enough player to join any sort of group or even look into them anyway. I'm barely good enough to be on here.

 

[Amarae]

Actually, that line alone sums up my skills in a nutshell. I'm not a good enough player to join any sort of group or even look into them anyway. I'm barely good enough to be on here.

You don't have to be "Good enough" for anyone.

 

[Dessgeega]

Actually, that line alone sums up my skills in a nutshell. I'm not a good enough player to join any sort of group or even look into them anyway. I'm barely good enough to be on here.

You'll be a much happier person in the future once you're able to stop putting yourself down constantly.

 

[Joasa]

Tbh I just want to feel like someone. But the problem is I'm not good enough. I can't help but to just get upset when all I see is people doing so much better than me at everything. Why am I the only person that's unhappy all the time and can't ever win at anything?

But I still don't know if a squad would make anything any better. I think the only thing that would work is getting to S+, then I can finally have something better than someone else and stop feeling like such a failure all the time. But I've been trying to do that since June, and have ranked down 5 times, once to A, even, while everyone else is climbing to S+ without breaking a sweat.

I just don't know what I'm doing wrong with everything I do. Maybe I'm just destined to be one of the losers in life. They have to exist for there to be winners, and I guess that's just my place.

 

[Amarae]

I think the only thing that would work is getting to S+, then I can finally have something better than someone else and stop feeling like such a failure all the time.

This is the most wrong thing I have ever thought about anything in my whole life. As someone in exactly your mindset this is not only wrong, but if you continue with your attitude into S+ It will get worse. I have constantly been in the throes of rage about falling from S+, or not being good enough compared to other S+ and that is just the wrong way to live.

 

[Joasa]

This is the most wrong thing I have ever thought about anything in my whole life. As someone in exactly your mindset this is not only wrong, but if you continue with your attitude into S+ It will get worse. I have constantly been in the throes of rage about falling from S+, or not being good enough compared to other S+ and that is just the wrong way to live.

How so, then I will have something good to my name. Being S+ is the only way to prove yourself as a player. Being an S rank dynamo is no different than being a C dynamo. If little kids do it without breaking a sweat why can't I do it too? You're either part of the best or you're with the rest. I'm sick of getting my butt whooped every time I hop into Turf with other players, especially other dynamo mains, who destroy me easily without leaving me with a fighting chance, and I always make a fool of myself.

What motivates you anyway? You seem to have it all perfect, got your own Reddit, good rank, overall one of those people who I want to dislike for some reason...

 

[Magic8Ball]

But I've been trying to do that since June, and have ranked down 5 times, once to A, even, while everyone else is climbing to S+ without breaking a sweat.

Trust me, even the best have had their share of struggles. If they didn't struggle, then how would they learn their mistakes and improve?

How so, then I will have something good to my name. Being S+ is the only way to prove yourself as a player. Being an S rank dynamo is no different than being a C dynamo. If little kids do it without breaking a sweat why can't I do it too? You're either part of the best or you're with the rest. I'm sick of getting my butt whooped every time I hop into Turf with other players, especially other dynamo mains, who destroy me easily without leaving me with a fighting chance, and I always make a fool of myself.

Another way to prove yourself as a player is to join a team and show people how skilled you truly are by playing in competitions like LUTI (which is what this post is about ;p), but honestly S is not in any way a bad ranking to have. There will always be the gray area, there isn't just the white of C - and the black of S+. Either way, giving up just won't help your cause. If you want to get to S+, then you'll have to endure the salt and pain of losing, just like everyone else who climbs. No one is "destined" to do well or poorly unless you let yourself believe that. You can be the change you want to see in yourself. What's the first step? Don't let others get to you, do it for yourself. Don't worry about being better than others, be better than yourself.

 

[Joasa]

What is LUTI anyway? Isn't it some super exclusive S+99 Youtube/Twitch gods only thing?

 

[Magic8Ball]

What is LUTI anyway? Isn't it some super exclusive S+99 Youtube/Twitch gods only thing?

Nope. Any team can join, and there are different divisions for different skill levels of those teams. They have dozens of teams that play, most aren't even that well known in the community.

 

[Dessgeega]

If being S+ was the only way to be of worth on this game, Nintendo wouldn't market it at kids. The silent majority, those that don't care enough to go to forums like this one, are crap for the most part. People who care enough to socialize on a game forum are either skilled or looking to get better in some way, most are content to tread water or play casually. That goes for any competitive game.

So give yourself SOME credit, Jojo. It does take a bit of talent to get to S at all, and it's something the silent majority will never see.

 

[DaBoss]

Actually, that line alone sums up my skills in a nutshell. I'm not a good enough player to join any sort of group or even look into them anyway. I'm barely good enough to be on here.

I think there is a misunderstanding that one is in a group due to ONLY their skill. People can be in a group together because they share the same community or they are friends. I think you should consider joining a community with the mentality of having fun.

That was really the purpose of this thread, to show that playing in teams/groups/squads is about having fun above all else, not about being the best of the best nor do you have to be at a certain skill threshold.

How so, then I will have something good to my name. Being S+ is the only way to prove yourself as a player. Being an S rank dynamo is no different than being a C dynamo. If little kids do it without breaking a sweat why can't I do it too? You're either part of the best or you're with the rest. I'm sick of getting my butt whooped every time I hop into Turf with other players, especially other dynamo mains, who destroy me easily without leaving me with a fighting chance, and I always make a fool of myself.

It really depends on the person. Some people can do things easily more than others at an earlier point in time. For example, I used to type at like 10 words per minute back when I was in grade 6 while others in my class were averaging 40 words per minute. I just didn't have a handle on how to type at all at the time. Now I type at around 100 words per minute, which may or not be better than others, but that doesn't matter, what matters is that I improved at my own pace.

I'm sure you can improve at your own pace, you just need to have a positive and relaxed mindset. I admire your honesty about how you feel regarding this, so thank you for that.

What motivates you anyway? You seem to have it all perfect, got your own Reddit, good rank, overall one of those people who I want to dislike for some reason...

I think it's okay to be envious of others, but please don't let that turn into jealousy.

I don't know what motivates Amarae, nor can I speak for her, but I can say I think she has a positive attitude to do something. I don't know what that something is, but she is willing to go for what she wants, even if it may be daunting or take a while, so I admire her for those traits.

 

[Kowai Yume]

S and S+ is an achievement of itself. However, if you strive for more and want to see guys like Hitzel and DUDE fall from "God" status you keep playing. But don't play mindlessly, you have to play with thought. Not all practice is good practice, practice with thought is good practice. I know I deserve that S+ 99, no one else does. Not even those two that I mention. Bite me if you think I'm lying.

Back on topic. I have been on three teams. First was CircleJerks which I left on my own account when most of the original players left. Next was Splatterday Night Live which imploded when the captain decided to end it. Currently I am on Rose. Haven't been able to play in a lot of tournaments because of work.

 

[Dessgeega]

S and S+ is an achievement of itself. However, if you strive for more and want to see guys like Hitzel and DUDE fall from "God" status you keep playing. But don't play mindlessly, you have to play with thought. Not all practice is good practice, practice with thought is good practice. I know I deserve that S+ 99, no one else does. Not even those two that I mention. Bite me if you think I'm lying.

Back on topic. I have been on three teams. First was CircleJerks which I left on my own account when most of the original players left. Next was Splatterday Night Live which imploded when the captain decided to end it. Currently I am on Rose. Haven't been able to play in a lot of tournaments because of work.

CHOMP :P

 

[Bronze]

To quickly answer the question in order from pre-S rank patch to current day, Midnight Wasps, WabiSabi, Dank Determination, Twilight Tundra, Chikara, sort of Nexus sort of Stratosphere, Dank & Co (somehow we got back together and I'm the captain. First for everything, even teams rebanding). But I don't frequent the forums at all and only went on cause bleck hasn't updated the splat tournament discord for march.

Now the main thing I want to address is what people think of competitive splatoon. I wanted to address some of those fears or stereotypes. First thing is rank. Most teams that enter tournaments or LUTI are generally A+ to S+ in rank (usually S/S+). I'm not saying you have to be those ranks, but that's just what the usual is. Teams posting for recruitment usually also ask that you are S or S+, not S+99. This is NA, not Japan. Rank also really doesn't tell you how good a player is, just a sort of general indication. There are S+99 players who have a better CRB than I do (DUDE, Penguitt). There are players who are S+99 that I can beat. Even still, if you're using solo rank to win you're using it wrong. You have to use it (and everything) to improve. Spend a solo rotation or half a solo rotation focusing on only one basic aspect of the game (sub usage, map control, objective, flick shots, ink efficiency, approach, retreats, special usage, etc). Only by using things as learning experiences will you improve.

The other thing I want to address is the general I'm not good enough for people to want me. This is true in some cases. If you're on a D div team not breezing through your matches then chances are a B or A div team isn't going to accept you for a tryout. However you can still talk and befriend those people and sometimes play with them. Hell there are many people that you can ask politely for advice and they'll give it to you. If you're up front and tell people you're an A rank or S rank looking for critique or twin to help them then people will respond to you positively.

Finally there's this idea of a time commitment. Some players like fuzzy do play a lot of splatoon, but you don't need 4 hours a day to get to the high level of play. Many splatoon players don't play every single day (ok so I don't have a citation to back this up I'm sort of guessing). We've got school and jobs, and we all know splatoon doesn't have any money (yet). But if you're just going at it a few hours every other day or every few days, with the right mindset and practicing you'll be surprised how much you can get done. This isn't to say it'll still take time, or that you'll hit bumps and plateaus, but if you're putting your mind into improving and thinking about things you can do more with half the time than someone else who isn't.

Okay wall over. Probably won't respond to this unless someone slides into those dms on discord and yells at me.