How should I deal with teams that just don't get it...?

[Bippzy]

A while ago I ventured into ranked. I had some wins and some losses, and then powered through at least 20+ wins in a row to get from C- to B-. However, it seems that my luck has run out completely, and I don't know what I can do to secure wins anymore. I was demoted back to C+ as a result of getting teams consistently having people on them that just don't get how the game mode works, and it's getting more and more frequent for some reason.

I thought climbing ranks meant I'd be gradually be getting placed with people who know what they're doing, but I guess that isn't the case in this game.

I whipped up a cheesy map in MS Paint to help better explain:

I have a neato map guide there for ya so you can see what I mean. The enemy team is securing the control zone, using specials and keeping their ink on that spot of turf.

My team, however... Well, there's always one meandering around base and shooting the already-covered ground. The other two are either off having adventures and not using specials or perched on an obscured wall with little to no visibility, making any attempts at sniping totally useless or only allowing them to have a clear shot at one tiny dedicated area.

And there I am trying desperately to avoid the enemy team's ink, get my ink down, or try to build up an Inkstrike/Killer Wail/etc. just to at least get the enemy out of control for some amount of time so that my team can secure the zone. I'm not always right there in the heat of it. I try to take advantage of openings, or cover some ground around the side to build up a special, but my primary focus is keeping the overall control at least at a stalemate for my team to hop in and take control in a prime moment.

But of course, my teammates love to not do that and will remain in a faraway place, in an undesirable sniping location or running headfirst into the enemy base and inking their spawn point while they're having free control over the zone.

I need some major help. I can't keep having this happen, or else I'm just going to give up on ranked for a good while. I've tried "dealing with it" and "pressing on", but I mean really, this game is NOT hard to understand.

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TL;DR: This is a constant issue with 99% of my ranked teams lately and I don't know how I can be effective enough to successfully carry matches so I can get to a point where I'm playing with people that actually understand the game.

 

[Njok]

Well there is really nothing anyone can do to get you better teams. Just grind it out, it will even out eventually.

Just keep playing your best and stay honest with yourself. You can only fix mistakes you are making if you acknowledge them. Actually a lot has been posted about that already, so just read a lot on these forums. In fact, there is a lot of really good players here giving advice. For example: FLC has a 90 minute something tutorial vid series which are very worth watching (dunno how to link to a thread, but it shouldn't be hard to find). And there are many more.

Btw, don't be going into the middle alone when the whole enemy team is there. Especially don't be charging your special there. You almost guaranteed are gonna be killed before you have it charged. Perhaps try jumping to one of your teammates and spam "come on"?

Also, don't play with current mindset, because it will make you play worse.

But as said, just keep playing as long as you enjoy it :) in the end it is a game and it's supposed to be fun. Bad luck will run out just as good luck does, the only sucky part is that we tend to remember bad luck a bit better :D

 

[Bippzy]

Thanks for the solid advice! I'll be checking out some tutorials/guides and whatnot.

As for what you said, I don't really charge into the middle mainly, I just used the image to give a general idea of how my teammates avoid doing basically anything while I'm trying to get stuff done, haha. If I'm charging up a special I'm almost never that close to the control point, and I'm only there alone if I think a teammate looks like they're moving in to do something, although that usually doesn't happen.

I'd love to see them respond to the "C'mon!" ping, but I've only had someone actually come with me maybe once or twice ever. They generally ignore it, whether it be they don't understand how it works or they just don't care. I've jumped to many a teammate as well to "inspire them". I think a couple days ago, the person I jumped to just started shooting at me instead of doing something with me, haha.

I'm just very confused why people don't try in ranked mode.

I know I make a lot of mistakes and I can totally improve my own gameplay. Every time I do something stupid I take note and try not to repeat it. Hopefully I can improve quickly enough to make a difference even if my teammates aren't doing much good, hah.

 

[superman]

It only kinda gets better in straight A+ lobbies, even players on A-/A do a lot of stupid ****.

Don't take ranked too seriously. I know right now, it's the most "serious" thing we have but I treat it as practice for august and try to learn as much as possible.

 

[iTwAsLucK]

The best way to deal with bad teams is to leave the lobby, brush it off, and try again with a new batch of players.

 

[Bippzy]

It only kinda gets better in straight A+ lobbies, even players on A-/A do a lot of stupid ****.

Don't take ranked too seriously. I know right now, it's the most "serious" thing we have but I treat it as practice for august and try to learn as much as possible.

I don't really take it too seriously. I have fun playing it fine, but I guess a team of people that just refuse to do anything makes it a little more annoying than it should be, haha. Hopefully it'll get better over time.

The best way to deal with bad teams is to leave the lobby, brush it off, and try again with a new batch of players.

I do that pretty frequently. One time I said I didn't wanna play again, re-entered the ranked lobby and was put into the exact same group, haha. I think it was just a spot of bad luck, but I did let out a really loud groan since there's no way of leaving the pregame lobby... >_>

 

[Rellek]

Like Njok said, when you have teammates running around doing stupid things, jump to them and spam "Come on!" Eventually they'll get the hint and maybe head towards the zone. In that case, you follow them and use your superb skill to use said teammate as bait to draw enemy fire, killing them as they attack your dim-witted friend. So in the end, you have a meat shield that shoots ink and at least a couple enemy people down for you to maybe even out the score yourself. By then your other teammates should have already inked 80% of the map and have no choice but to venture into that center area to ink it as well.

It's a beautiful sequence of events. It's happened before in my own personal experience. No lies.

 

[Bippzy]

Haha! That's not a bad idea, actually. If I trick them into being my meat shield I could probably get more things done in the game. I approve of that strategy whole-heartedly and will totally see if it works the next time I play. XD

 

[Njok]

Lol i like it too. But please don't use me as a meatshield if we ever get put on the same team. I promise i will only paint 75% of the base and keep my adventures to a minimum :D

 

[Bippzy]

Lol i like it too. But please don't use me as a meatshield if we ever get put on the same team. I promise i will only paint 75% of the base and keep my adventures to a minimum :D

Okay, that's fair, haha.

 

[Typhlosion09]

I don't think you're giving your teammates enough credit. Perhaps I'm just over analyzing it, but I've noticed in the A lobbies I'm in if some idiot runs in some random corner of the map painting everything but the zone it's likely they're trying to build up their special (inkstrike probably.) The inkstrikes take up almost all the zone making it very helpful. Still if they don't come to the zone after then they are just off doing their own thing which sucks for you.

 

[Chapter Serf]

There's always a "purgatory" where idiots ride the shoulders of their betters up to a certain point. Eventually, it gets harder and harder for their betters to carry them, and they get left behind. In this case, their better leaves the lobby, plays a round or two of turf wars to give their back a rest, and comes back to a different lobby, and leaves them in the dust.

 

[Bippzy]

I don't think you're giving your teammates enough credit. Perhaps I'm just over analyzing it, but I've noticed in the A lobbies I'm in if some idiot runs in some random corner of the map painting everything but the zone it's likely they're trying to build up their special (inkstrike probably.) The inkstrikes take up almost all the zone making it very helpful. Still if they don't come to the zone after then they are just off doing their own thing which sucks for you.

Exactly, they seem like they're getting their special and sometimes use it, but very often it's used in a totally useless spot or they never use it at all (that I notice) and keep running around and avoiding conflict. Like, I get that they might not want to get into the heat of things, but that's the entire point of ranked mode, haha.

There's always a "purgatory" where idiots ride the shoulders of their betters up to a certain point. Eventually, it gets harder and harder for their betters to carry them, and they get left behind. In this case, their better leaves the lobby, plays a round or two of turf wars to give their back a rest, and comes back to a different lobby, and leaves them in the dust.

This is what I've been trying to do more of lately. If it seems like it isn't going well, I'll go back to Turf Wars and blow off steam and then get into a different group. If they don't do their part, I give it another shot or just go back to normal games.

 

[Milo]

Rank can be frustrating with how team placement is. One moment you're on the team with people who know what to do then the next moment you're on a team with people who aren't that great. Basically just keep trying different lobbies

 

[Rellek]

I don't think you're giving your teammates enough credit. Perhaps I'm just over analyzing it, but I've noticed in the A lobbies I'm in if some idiot runs in some random corner of the map painting everything but the zone it's likely they're trying to build up their special (inkstrike probably.) The inkstrikes take up almost all the zone making it very helpful. Still if they don't come to the zone after then they are just off doing their own thing which sucks for you.

Not to mention if they are closer to the zone than you are, jumping to them can be immensely helpful. Not only that, but opponents will most likely be expecting incoming ink from the direction of your base yeah? If you're off in another corner, you can catch some people off guard.

 

[Bippzy]

Not to mention if they are closer to the zone than you are, jumping to them can be immensely helpful. Not only that, but opponents will most likely be expecting incoming ink from the direction of your base yeah? If you're off in another corner, you can catch some people off guard.

That would make sense (and I do jump to my teammates to come from a different angle), but they aren't trying to actually DO anything from those corners and far off areas. They're often preoccupied with something else and provide no specials, or focus on one useless spot to snipe, or avoid combat altogether, or chase the same person around in a circle and die instead of doing something productive for the team.

If they were utilizing their positions correctly and actually taking advantage of openings the enemy gave them, I wouldn't have any problems.

 

[Kat]

Even in highly competitive games like CS:GO you get a good portion of players that have no clue what they're doing. Generally they'll just abuse a certain strategy that works and carries them up the ranks without them actually understanding the fundamentals of the game. There are often entire strategy videos and guides dedicated just to 'solo queue' game modes which focuses on carrying your team. You'll have to take more risks in order to try and create opportunities that even the blindest of teammates can see and act upon.

 

[Nair]

Well, I understand your feels dude. I've adjusted my play to better fit the situation at hand. Just looking at your example, you're playing wrong yourself already. Your team isn't near you to back you up, and you enter a 4v1 situation.

Granted, if they were there, it'd be easier for sure! But you can't rely on them, they're RNG. As a mediocre speed-runner for this game, I can confirm RNG can sometimes just screw you over.

However, in ranked matches, generally if you're good enough you could hold the center stage yourself. There are usually ~3 ways your enemy inklings can come at you from. Your goal is to use your ink to travel back and forth between them and just wall them out by killing them, or using bombs, etc. to generally be a jerk. As a wise man once said, "Winners are jerks."

In that situation, your best bet is to try and farm for a special and then come in with the back up of your special. Usually helps, and if you have like a killer wail, follow the killer wail path and kill anyone you pass by.

There are interesting movement things you can do, like shoot, squid, shoot to make it harder for your opponent and thus easier for you to win the battle. To try and practice fastest ways to areas and such, press 'Y' I believe on the match select screen and you can "Scout" the stages. So that helps!

My friend 'Koan', an A+ 99 player who's very inclined in finding tricks and sneaky things, is making a series. Right now it's for Walleye Warehouse, but soon there will be more. He also streams on Twitch.TV.

I know it seems like I'm just pushing him, and in a way I am. But only because he's put in a lot of work, and by watching and analyzing his thought process, I've improved a lot. Because now even I'm A+ 99! My aim was good, but the way I approached the game was completely wrong. And some tricky things he did helped me get that slight edge. So give him a shot.

I implore you to use weapons like Splattershot to get a good understanding of the game. If you main a roller it's fine, but it's kind've a gimmicky weapon and you'll end up losing to those who can play around it. (AKA Those who know the game.) I see a lot of people just try and cheese with Krak-On and stuff. Just... no. lol

Good situational awareness, ink coverage, and movement can not only escape/avoid Krak-On, you can also probably kill him when he pops into Inkling again.

 

[Kaliafornia]

I feel like everyone deals with it to some degree. Even in the A ranks although not very common in A+. However, at a certain point it becomes that you have to be good enough to carry your entire team. A part of that is not only making sure your game is on 100% but watching what they are doing as well and adjusting your play to support them. Even if you are the one getting all the triple and quad kills, them being on the field still helps you as a distraction to the enemy. If your team is too busy spamming specials. Stall as much as you can without directly engaging enemy until they are done. If you overextend and go 1 vs 4 (without an inkzooka especially) you are going to get killed fast and by the time your team has loaded their specials you aren't there to take advantage of the distraction. Even though this mode is solo you have to still play with your team in mind, even if they are forgetting about you. I've definitely used my teammates as 'bait' and taken out 2-3 enemies from a dumb teammate's move.

Also I am not sure of your weapon of choice but you have to fully exploit its strengths and know how to counter its weaknesses.

 

[Blue24]

The problem is some people get WAY too obsessed with specials and basically its 3 vs 4 alot of times. An inkstrike is great, but its really not hard AT ALL to recover that zone if you have the numbers. If your building up inkstrike or w/e while we have the lead, great. I myself will adventure and try to be a nusiance if we are winning. But if we are losing get your little squid butt over here.

at 46minute in this video, is what I am talking about. Love Zack, but he is the reason his team lost. In the begining, he plays smart, then he just becomes a Wail Addict for no reason.