I have been having a lot of trouble finding a team... should I make my own?

[Masked_Katz]

For the last couple of months, I have been trying hard to get into the Splatoon competitive scene for the first time since I started playing the series in 2015. It has been very daunting, and while I still have been very determined, I have been turned down by a few teams now for not meeting oddly high expectations... (despite knowing I have no experience, one of the teams revealed they were a DIV 5 team only after I failed their tryouts, like HUH?)

I can't help but be burnt out right now, and even though I have been S+ for a while and even have my own coach, I'm starting to doubt myself... I want to start from the bottom and build my way up; I have learned a lot but simply need time to see improvement. However, it seems like every team I have met has had unrealistic expectations that I can not possibly live up to in that moment. I don't say this often, but I genuinely think I have potential... I just don't think it will show itself until I find some friends who will give me the confidence and company that I need to prove it.

There are days when I try to hype myself up and go searching again, but I have the lingering feeling that things will continue to not work out, which is why I have started to consider creating my own team, as it may be the only way for me to have a chance of finding players like me. However, I am not too sure if I will be fit for the position of captain, because as I've hinted at earlier, I'm generally not the most charismatic and I have trouble believing in myself unless others believe me in me as well. I fear that things may not work out and I'll just end up ruining the experience for other players.

What do you think I should do? Should I continue to take a break and continue my search again at a later date, or take the risk of creating a team, or do something else? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[moonleay]

When creating your own team, you'll have to keep in mind that it takes a lot of (additional) work.
If you don't mind that, then I say it is worth a try.

 

[GreGuru]

Kale recently made a good video about applying to teams.

I’m sorry that your experience has been frustrating so far. I think a lot of us who have been around for a while have lost touch with how difficult it has been to break into this game. Unlike when a lot of us started out, nowadays even “low level” players have thousands of hours sunk into the game and are a lot more skilled than the low level players I was facing 5-6 years ago.

I’m not sure what your FA post looks like or where you’re posting it, so I can’t help you with specifics (not sure I could even if I did have that stuff though). But perhaps that’s something that can be improved.

Captaining is like competitive on steroids. The failures and the losses sting a lot more, but the victories are that much sweeter. You will be the face of your team and the point of contact, so by virtue it will help get your name out there more in the community. It’s not for everyone and I’m not even sure it ever was for me, but I did manage to start my own team and climb from Div 4 to Div 2 over a couple years. I made a lot of decisions I regret, but I still look back on that time with more fondness than probably any other point in my career.

One way to think about it is you’re probably not unique. There are probably others out there at your level going through exactly what you are. Someone will have to step up to group you all together. Why can’t that be you?

Just remember, this is a game and it’s supposed to be fun. Losses will suck and you shouldn’t let them discourage you, but if a team or teammates are making you miserable, you’re free to leave. No one is entitled to your loyalty or your time if you aren’t enjoying things. So don’t be afraid to take chances even if they end up being mistakes.

 

[briank913]

Squid School JUST posted a video on this actually. One thing he said was that if the team is dead set on winning by any means necessary, deviating from the meta is more often than not a cause for rejection. If that's the case, then make your own. I don't know what your mains are and how "meta" you are, but hopefully that offers some advice.

I too want to be part of a team, but not one that is religious about meta. Coming up with strategies to counter the meta is one thing, but to only stick to the meta for meta sake is not my thing.

 

[GreGuru]

Squid School JUST posted a video on this actually. One thing he said was that if the team is dead set on winning by any means necessary, deviating from the meta is more often than not a cause for rejection. If that's the case, then make your own. I don't know what your mains are and how "meta" you are, but hopefully that offers some advice.

I too want to be part of a team, but not one that is religious about meta. Coming up with strategies to counter the meta is one thing, but to only stick to the meta for meta sake is not my thing.

This is true in some respects, but it's important to not overgeneralize. Yes, it's not easy to beat a highly skilled team with off-meta weapons, but OP is just starting out. Their first team will have a lot to improve on in a variety of other areas before the comp is the primary concern.

Weapon diversity is also at an all time high IMO. Gone are the days of end game Splatoon 2 where every single comp was either quad shooter or triple shooter. At that time, if you played roller and your friend played blaster, you were basically incompatible as teammates. That's not really the case anymore. There are obviously still a lot of very weak weapons, but there's a lot less that is disqualifying of being worthy of being considered by a competitive team as there used to be.

While there is a divide between strictly playing for fun and playing competitively, playing competitive still has to be fun for you to make it so far. Grinding to the top is a grind. And it's really hard to stay motivated on that grind if you're stuck playing a weapon you don't really enjoy playing just because its the popular pick in the community. I just hate for the blanket advice to new competitve players to be "Drop whatever weapon you enjoy unless its pencil, squeezer, stamper, or shot because no one will play with you otherwise".

 

[Alphine_Agnitio]

Personally its what I did after I struggled with getting onto a team with the double wammy of bad schedule(only avaliable Sat/Sun usually, early mornings weekdays which isn't ideal for most teams) + my weapon pool at the time was two weapons almost no team wanted to work around at the time(Heavy Edit + Wiper Deco)

It helps that I have a specific eye for logistics and am terminally online anyway so once I went through the hard part of getting a team togheter after digging through so many fa listings and posting team applications in 9+ servers..... I've been able to schedule stuff with my team consistently and get them on a regimine and expectation that I think will work long term.

Its not for everyone though, it does get tedious especially when trying to find tournaments to play in and setting up pbs and that sort of thing.

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

What role/weapons do you even play and what level of team(s) are you trying out for?

 

[Masked_Katz]

Kale recently made a good video about applying to teams.

HAHA, I was actually watching this and the other videos in her series while I was creating this post. I'll show you what my FA posts have looked like so far, I think I could definitely go further by making a graphic like she suggested, but I felt as if I needed some input here before potentially letting my efforts go to waste again. I do think the prospect of creating my team and setting the tone I desire would be really nice, even if risky. However, Splatoon has always drawn me in due to its strong community aspect, and having a cliche that would support me along the way would mean everything to me.

Squid School JUST posted a video on this actually. One thing he said was that if the team is dead set on winning by any means necessary, deviating from the meta is more often than not a cause for rejection. If that's the case, then make your own. I don't know what your mains are and how "meta" you are, but hopefully that offers some advice.

That's the thing I am trying to get at. I have no tournament/team experience, and winning by all means necessary should not be my focus right now, but every team seems to think otherwise. I didn't mention it because I feel like everyone goes through this, but most teams turned me down because I didn't perform well with the meta weapon I would be assigned to. It was later that my coach made me realize that I should currently focus on using weapons that I already enjoy and excel at and that if a team revolves around the meta so strictly at my level then that's usually a red flag.

I've been able to schedule stuff with my team consistently and get them on a regimine and expectation that I think will work long term. Its not for everyone though, it does get tedious especially when trying to find tournaments to play in and setting up pbs and that sort of thing.

That's awesome. I suppose I'm just anxious because I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I always try to overcome it but there are occasions when I can't help but lose energy or motivation, and I never want to bring others down with me like that. I'm extremely passionate about the series and the people I meet through it, so I am always very excited and eager to make new friends, but mental health is something I have been struggling with in the background for many years now and I'm not sure if determination will be enough to fight it off in this case. Perhaps there's only one way to find out.

What role/weapons do you even play and what level of team(s) are you trying out for?

I said that I just started and had no tournament experience, but I didn't realize I failed to mention that I am a Jr. main who excels at flexing across different roles. I enjoy other support weapons, such as the aerospray and the nova, but I am often told they have no place in the competitive scene. Unfortunately, every time I let a team know my preferences, it quickly devolves into "you like support weapons = you are going to only farm tacticooler" which is just, not cool. The plan is to stick with the Jr. while I continue to learn the game and search for more possible weapons that will work well alongside future teammates.

 

[zyf_]

i started out in comp making my own team, so it's definitely possible
that being said i would strongly recommend that you have at least one close buddy who can bounce ideas off and help you build the team as a whole and you're confident you wanna play with; it'll help you figure out what you want the core of your team to be in terms of comp and goals and you can make sure you choose people that fit what you want by having a second opinion

 

[Alphine_Agnitio]

i started out in comp making my own team, so it's definitely possible
that being said i would strongly recommend that you have at least one close buddy who can bounce ideas off and help you build the team as a whole and you're confident you wanna play with; it'll help you figure out what you want the core of your team to be in terms of comp and goals and you can make sure you choose people that fit what you want by having a second opinion

Yeee this is how I did it

The person who got me back into comp I actually met irl and they are on my teams roster as a sub nowadays

 

[Hinichii.ez.™]

HAHA, I was actually watching this and the other videos in her series while I was creating this post. I'll show you what my FA posts have looked like so far, I think I could definitely go further by making a graphic like she suggested, but I felt as if I needed some input here before potentially letting my efforts go to waste again. I do think the prospect of creating my team and setting the tone I desire would be really nice, even if risky. However, Splatoon has always drawn me in due to its strong community aspect, and having a cliche that would support me along the way would mean everything to me.

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That's the thing I am trying to get at. I have no tournament/team experience, and winning by all means necessary should not be my focus right now, but every team seems to think otherwise. I didn't mention it because I feel like everyone goes through this, but most teams turned me down because I didn't perform well with the meta weapon I would be assigned to. It was later that my coach made me realize that I should currently focus on using weapons that I already enjoy and excel at and that if a team revolves around the meta so strictly at my level then that's usually a red flag.



That's awesome. I suppose I'm just anxious because I have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. I always try to overcome it but there are occasions when I can't help but lose energy or motivation, and I never want to bring others down with me like that. I'm extremely passionate about the series and the people I meet through it, so I am always very excited and eager to make new friends, but mental health is something I have been struggling with in the background for many years now and I'm not sure if determination will be enough to fight it off in this case. Perhaps there's only one way to find out.



I said that I just started and had no tournament experience, but I didn't realize I failed to mention that I am a Jr. main who excels at flexing across different roles. I enjoy other support weapons, such as the aerospray and the nova, but I am often told they have no place in the competitive scene. Unfortunately, every time I let a team know my preferences, it quickly devolves into "you like support weapons = you are going to only farm tacticooler" which is just, not cool. The plan is to stick with the Jr. while I continue to learn the game and search for more possible weapons that will work well alongside future teammates.

Playing off meta is fine, but unless you either make a team and or have some results, it’s gonna be hard to get something going. Also, if you wanna one trick, you’re gonna have to be extremely dedicated or your weapon will fall short. Additionally, this will greatly effect your team comps since jr is a weapon that has a lot of bad match ups and does not fight well as a main weapon.

 

[Shayreep]

i started out in comp making my own team, so it's definitely possible
that being said i would strongly recommend that you have at least one close buddy who can bounce ideas off and help you build the team as a whole and you're confident you wanna play with; it'll help you figure out what you want the core of your team to be in terms of comp and goals and you can make sure you choose people that fit what you want by having a second opinion

I also started my own team with a close friend so i highly recommend this advice. Its nice to have someone to discuss things with, and it also double your efforts in finding more teammates. Hes helped me at my lowest points managing this team honestly (bonus: and now we're getting married soon lol)