I really want to talk about Splatoon Squads for a moment.

[Mattie]

Hello, I am Mattie, and I feel like I really need to talk about this to you guys, well, whoever reads this that is.

So, it is currently 5/7/16 and I am still on my search to find a really competitive squad. It's been a few days that I have posted my resume thread on the Squid Locator but it's been only attracting new squads and all. I mean, it's really nice to see new squads trying to recruit very good players, but there is some times that those kind of players want to be in a very, VERY, competitive and well known squad. Those squads that are known for their tournament performances, or even their own names, you know. Personally for my goal, I want to be in that kind of squad.

There are certain squads that I would really love to be a part of, but the only thing that is really preventing me to join is the age requirement. I mean, I am not arguing about it and I am not fighting the fact about it, it's just that it really brings me down. I feel like us people that are under a certain age doesn't really have the capability to reach the potential that a leader wants just because they aren't at the age requirement or just they aren't really feeling comfortable being around people that aren't at a specific age range.

As well I would like to think about the behavior that a player can have. In my mind, I really feel that a certain age really defines how they act around others, but at the same time, I don't feel like that's the case. People aren't suppose to be known as something that is mostly known for a specific age, that is not what's happening. Age doesn't really define who they are really; the person really need to know who they really are before they actually make an assumption about that person.

I'll be getting notifications everyday about a new thread being posted on the Squid Locator Forum and I would be checking that every time to see if a popular Splatoon Squad is looking for recruits, but most of those threads are just people trying to find a squad and just new Splatoon Squads looking for members. Just checking my email every time gives me the idea to wait longer and longer and try if I can attract maybe just one popular team, just one.

Mentioning about the Splatoon Squads that I really want to join, they're probably full or not finding anyone at all, meaning that I have to wait for something to happen and see if my chance can really happen. There are like a ton of squads that I would really love to try out, but at the same time, I feel like I cannot even reach to a person's expectations just because of how old I am. I mean, sure we are still kids and all, but that doesn't mean that we won't act like kids.

Like I said, I am not arguing about the age requirements, I am just, kind of sad really. These famous/popular Splatoon Squads, I don't really think I can make it in just because of that.

If anyone like to take a look at my resume, here is the link to it. Thank you for taking your time reading this thread. Feel free on commenting on this thread and talk about how you feel with Splatoon Squads. Sure there are agreements and disagreements, but that's what the Splatoon Discussion is for right?

My Resume Thread: http://squidboards.com/threads/looking-for-a-competitive-splatoon-squad.24591/
Check me out on SquidBoards: http://squidboards.com/members/mattie.15174/

 

[SquiliamTentacles]

Personally, I think people can't really judge maturity based on age. Yes, I understand a squad wants to have more mature and serious players, and sadly with the whole stereotype of younger, toxic players, people assume older people are more likely to be better members.

I don't really know much of how squads work, but I might recommend joining one of these smaller squads at first, then, after proving your worth, a more competitive squad might be willing to accept you.

Also, you mentioned something about not being able to cooperate with others, which might turn off a few groups. I don't know whether it is the type of info that sounds better for you when you further explain it, but if not, I would shorten/replace it.

 

[Mattie]

Well talking about cooperation, it doesn't really matter what age you are, as long as things work out between each other. If I did actually mention about that, I was mentioning it by like I was trying to base it as, which is age wise. I believe there are groups out there that aren't willing to cooperate with youngsters because of their age. They want to focus on the people that are much older because that mostly assumes that they are mature and better players and more serious than kids.

 

[Dessgeega]

To be fair, your brain isn't actually finished developing until you're 25 or so. You can't really fault people, competitive people at that, for not wanting to deal with the potential conflicts younger people can bring. The stereotype of younger, toxic players is a stereotype because it keeps happening, not that older players are exempt from the same behavior.

So your goal is to join a big-time, famous group? Maybe work on being skilled enough to be worthy of such accolades first.

 

[Mattie]

Of course yeah. Being skilled as possible is one of the goals that a player must have when they want to join a competitive Splatoon Squad.

 

[fuchsia]

i can't comment on everything, particularly because i'm not part of a competitive squad, but i'd say that one of my concerns would be related to your age, but not what you think. i don't know your age but say you're 14, 16, maybe even 18 and still in high school, still living with parents and maybe siblings. competitive squads practice a lot, multiple hours every night and take up a lot of time on the weekends [plus add in time that you want to be playing on your own and improving solo]. if you're in school, you need time for school work. plus living with family, you may not always be available to have control of the tv/wii u or your parents might not want you on at the time you need to be for practice [or they might make you get off earlier than practice ends]. just, frankly speaking, your schedule isn't as malleable as adults who live on our own and can 100% commit to those practice times without familial interruptions. and if i were recruiting for a competitive squad, that would definitely be one of my concerns.

 

[Dessgeega]

Dude's 16 going by his resume post, so I'd say you are dead on, fuchsia.

 

[Archæa]

Age requirements aside, I just think you need to be able to have a large amount of time set aside for practicing, scrimming, and playing. Its more than you think. My friend and I are both 17, and he became very close to becoming a part of C- however the sheer amount of time needed to be part of a top level squad is imo not possible for anyone attending a conventional school or working full time.

That being said, I wish you the best!

 

[Dessgeega]

Age requirements aside, I just think you need to be able to have a large amount of time set aside for practicing, scrimming, and playing. Its more than you think. My friend and I are both 17, and he became very close to becoming a part of C- however the sheer amount of time needed to be part of a top level squad is imo not possible for anyone attending a conventional school or working full time.

That being said, I wish you the best!

To be fair, this game is far less time-consuming than many other competitive titles. You can fit 4-5 Splatoon matches into the time of a typical MOBA match.

 

[Archæa]

To be fair, this game is far less time-consuming than many other competitive titles. You can fit 4-5 Splatoon matches into the time of a typical MOBA match.

Very true. However I still believe some who are interested in the competitive Splatoon scene are not aware of the time it takes outside of matches. Just being an active member of a team requires a few hours of play a day, and that's not even counting team scrims or squads.

 

[Hitzel]

As someone who was captain of a high-ranking team for half of a year, I can say that the sheer amount of young, not yet mature enough people who sign up is absolutely suffocating. It's not that we think young people can't be mature (Cyberbullies and tP had some members as young as 15), it's that the ones that aren't mature are such a problem that we need to do something to filter them out.

I can also say that having to remove young players from the team discord because of maturity levels ALWAYS hurts feelings and is never fun to do, it's honestly easier to just not be in that situation in the first place.

@Mattie my advice to you is to get on twitch and some of the competitive Splatoon discords and ask to play with some of the more organized teams. Say that you want to practice with better players and see who will give you an opportunity. You probably won't get on a team like that, but it will open some doors for you and help you improve as a player. I will say that as a former team leader, players who show skill and a desire to improve, while being pleasant to be around, are way nore attractive as a potential pickup than even the best resume. You get to that point by getting out there and playing with people.

I hope that helps!

- Hitzel