Unreliable Teammates

[Kirby Phelps (PK)]

When I'm on a serious losing streak, sometimes I do wonder if it's really my fault or if I'm just unlucky and keep getting bad teammates. Sometimes I do feel it's my fault because I keep dying and I'm not helping out as much as I can, but sometimes I really do think it's my teammates being unreliable.

I remember one time in Splat Zones on Port Mackerel, all 3 of my teammates where pushing for the other team's splat zone. They were all pushing for it while the other team was defending it. I thought I'd give them a big advantage by launching an Ink Strike on the splat zone. I figured it would cover the area in plenty of ink as well as push the other team away (or better yet, kill them), giving my team the chance to move in and claim territory. So I did that. I waited for the "BING" indicating that we got it, but no BING. Instead, I saw that all of my teammates got killed after the ink strike instead. HOW!!? How do you drop the ball that hard!? I gave them that chance, but all three of them couldn't manage to push forward.

Another lesser incident I remember is when me and one other teammate were about to take over a splat zone in Blackbelly Skatepark. No one was there, so I went in to cover the area while my teammate was supposed to watch my back as I covered it in case the other team came. I only needed like 2 seconds to cover the area and then I'd help defend, but my teammate couldn't even manage 2 seconds. He/she got killed and next I was killed.

Does this happen to anyone else? When you're on a losing streak, do you feel it's the team to blame or you?

 

[SkyBlue]

I just repeat the same mantra in my head.
'Can't live with them, can't live without them.'
I like to pretend it helps me not rage like a 5 year old. ^w^

 

[Starblazer626]

Sometimes it's good to keep in mind the opponents that you're fighting. Many times if I feel like my teammates are slacking, my first assumption is that they're just getting killed by that guy a rank or two higher than everyone else over on the other team.

 

[Ikieri]

You are a lone wolf no one is there to help you. It might be better to assume that you're the only person on your team don't rely on them.
OR...
You could try and work with them, learn how they play and adapt to their playstyle. Splatoon is a team game. Hence the word- Platoon.
"a subdivision of a company of soldiers, usually forming a tactical unit that is commanded by a lieutenant and divided into several sections."

 

[ILikeKirbys]

No, I'm pretty sure I lose because my aim is awful and I get splatted by pretty much everything that shoots in my general direction (best I do there is trades), not because my teammates are bad (except sometimes we get routed to where I do the best on my team, that's kinda questionable).
Also, the other team's probably just better than us, or they dropped a whole bunch of Inkstrikes in the Kelp Dome, or at least they don't have to carry me to victory.
Plus I've been trying out new weapons a bunch of times over this week, so the team usually has to carry me while I figure out what the hell I'm supposed to be doing (or don't figure it out, usually; think I'm getting somewhere with the Tentatek Splattershot though).

Also @Ikieri that would be easier if teams weren't randomly selected.

 

[Kirby Phelps (PK)]

Another incident just occurred. On Kelp Dome, our team managed to make it to the splat zone first. I got on top of the cylinder, placed an ink mine for assurance, and started spraying ink all over the splat zone. I inked enough to even get an ink strike and targeted right at the splat zone. But after the ink strike, we still didn't control the zone. I thought "Why haven't we taken control yet? I sprayed ink everywhere and launched an ink strike." Then I looked at my map, and I saw the reason why. I saw all three of my teammates either respawning at base or off somewhere far away from the splat zone. Then the four enemies from the other team ambushed me and took me out. Thanks for protecting me team... -_-;

 

[ILikeKirbys]

PK, your teammates might have just been overwhelmed while you were inking the Splat Zone. It happens to the best of players, especially when all 4 members of the other team attack at the same time.
Might be a bit suspect since it's on Kelp Dome though, that place can be ridiculously hard to break into sometimes (at least in my experience).
I wish voice chat were a thing, it would make this sort of thing less likely, and I'd be at least a little better if I could talk to my teammates.

 

[Deleted Member]

Its not your fault. There's a lot of ****ty players in this game who jack off instead of inking Splat Zones and pushing enemies back in Turf Wars.

 

[superman]

Yup, worst I see all the time even from A rank players is superjumping to the front, like they won't instantly die.

That's not a problem specific to Splatoon though, every single game is stupid in unorganized games. Just take these situations as opportunity to learn how to recapture the splat zone and wait for the august update

 

[Tilly]

By far my biggest gripe with Splatoon so far is the team selection system. I have had teams of only rollers VS only snipers, a team of B+'s VS B-'s, I've even had a team of 2 afkers VS a ful team of 4, needless to say it isn't fun. I just hope Nintendo soes something about matchmaking in the future because honestly it is souring the game for me quite a bit.

 

[Sky]

Yup, it can get really frustrating. I haven't been playing as much recently because I'm just waiting for pre-made teams to release.

 

[JuddTheCat]

It's your fault if you get ambushed like that. If they're sticking together, you should stick with your team also.

 

[Ryuji]

Almost every game you'll have an unhelpful team. Not really anything you can do other than just hope you get teamed up with players who use a wide array of weapons.

 

[Kirby Phelps (PK)]

It's your fault if you get ambushed like that. If they're sticking together, you should stick with your team also.

Well I got ambushed right after looking at the Gamepad and seeing that they all died. Before I looked, I assumed they were below me, surrounding the splat zone and protecting the area. I also don't understand why they decided to wonder after getting killed instead of superjumping to me, I was the perfect beacon. I know superjumping can be dangerous, but I feel it's better than wondering while the other team secures the splat zone and sets up the perfect defensive position. That's actually how we lost. We just couldn't get back in after they secured the area.

 

[dmauro]

It's the luck of the draw. Sometimes you get stuck with the real stinkers, and sometimes you get stuck with them many times in a row. If a game swings hard either way I usually leave because I don't want to end up on the team with the player bad enough to essentially be afk. After the match if you won handily make sure to check the roster to see if someone on their team clearly wasn't pulling their weight.

It also depends on the time of day. I find at odd hours I get teamed up with a lot of Japanese players, and I tend to find that the Japanese players are typically not as good (not as large a user base on their end for competition maybe?).

Things to look out for:
Is there a lot of your team's ink not at all near the splat zone or on a path to a good nest or something?
Do you have someone using the brush, but out of the gate they're swinging instead of giving your team a path to the splat zone?
Are your teammates dying to the same sniper over and over?

If you see people with bad strats or are just bad players you just need to get out and find a new lobby and hope the next one has better players. :/

 

[DaisyFan]

It's your fault if you get ambushed like that. If they're sticking together, you should stick with your team also.

not when 3 of your randoms hold the middle like incompetents.

 

[Sigakure]

Wait until august or until whenever they are going to let you pick your team. Trust me, I understand you, I get frustrated because of the same thing XD

 

[Phobos]

Sometimes it's someone else on the team who isn't pulling their weight, sometimes the team are all working hard individually but failing to coordinate with each other, sometimes the other team is just really good - either one or two excellent players, or it's just they they coordinate really well - and of course sometimes I play badly. No one of these factors seems to outrank the others in accounting for my losses (well, maybe the last one...)

 

[correojon]

It was pretty frustrating playing Saltspray Rig yesterday with randoms and getting these guys who were constantly pinging you to go help them to the lower part of the map, while totally ignoring the upper more important part. I had to take on the whole enemy team by myself for 2 matches straight, I did my best but obviously lost both times. Once i get killed it´s impossible to take back that part on your own with a charger and the other team having full special meters. I almost cried in joy when some matches later I finally got a competent team who rushed to the upper part right at the start.

It´s also infuriating when you are dealing with 3 enemies without signs of your team and you check the map only to see your whole team respawning...

 

[flc]

bad teams are a fact of the game. being able to keep it together enough to carry the weak teams, not tilt through the atrocious teams, and pull your weight for the good teams is what gets you to A+. if you take each game as a learning experience instead of trying to decide who you dislike most out of your team, you will improve and eventually find your way to the top.

the fact is though, recognising your team's tendencies is one of the most important parts of ranked play. if you know you have a player who likes to facerush the point, you can use them as a distraction; never go in with the guy, go in from an alternate angle when he spawns. if your team is superjumping to mid, pull back when you see your team all respawning so that when they superjump to you they will be superjumping to a safe spot. you usually have enough time in any given game to recognise who is doing what, and either exploit that when they're on the other team or work with that when they're on your team.