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I dont think playing each other will actually help at all, as when you are being completely raped, you tend not to learn where your mistakes are happening, you generally learn when you are being beaten say 5-2 or something, not 12-0 down as then there are too many differences for anyone to spot.

All the lower teams need is someone to help them with when to push/defend, when to go aggressive and not and so on. I think k^m is a good example, they all have good individual skill and an ok knowledge of the game, I played with them for 3 weeks, mostly with 190ms so my skill level did not make a big impact, however, my calling and tactics I feel improved them tenfold (no ego here either :P), if I listen to them on comms now, a couple of them have picked up on when I would call certain things and are beginning to understand why I called them and thats made them a lot better, with or without me playing.

I think you LOL:ed either at Itchi’s CL1 suggestion or Mick’s response that Itchi is on drugs :-)

maybe it would be them playing without you mick :/

Ok though id like to help others players get better and if anyone asks for tips I will give them freely.

But with that, I don’t want to be the downer on suggestions but why should I/we help others teams become better, how does it benefit me doing that?

Itchi – On the CL1 , we know you would like CL1 :-P But honestly, I don’t think that will happen. There are many arguments for and against it.

I open up ETF2L radio for you Sunday night? for discussions, Mick your welcome aswell. Sunday night before Uber vs TCM ;D

Mike

ETF2L Radio should be on most nights, not just game nights. Would be good to have discussions and things on there. Could even do a cast where one team plays a map against another team, and the comms of the game are played down the radio, in order to see how top teams push, how things are called etc. Or a team simply goes through a map and how to play it on srtv using the ETF2L radio.

OR NOT WLV
RADIO WOULD BE BETTER M8

imo we already have an excellent place for tactics, tricks and tips to filter down in the pickup channel, if the top players were more vocal at times in gathers and said why someones actions were wrong/bad/noobish rather than just going “you’re shit” it would help a crap load, and in that situation the benefit is obvious your team will stand a better chance of winning. Even just raging can be better than some of the silent players who frag on their own and seem not to be interested in the team.

Watching top teams play can help to begin with and continue to for a while if you are willing to sit and think about why people are doing things and if you should copy them. But will only ever take you so far. The radio will probably help since its going to allow an insight into why teams will have taken a course of action.

Ultimately, the problem eminates from the underlying LACK of skilled players in this community, not the teams, because despite the greater focus on teamplay and dependence on teammates to be successful in TF2, its still based on the classic model of an FPS game, so player skill at the most basic level, in terms of aim, spatial and situational awareness and movement skills is still an absolute necessity for success.

The TF2 community as a whole has an abundance of “new” gamers. There is a distinct lack of players who actually have previous fps experience and can learn how to play the game at a decent level quickly.

Join any random public server and its instantly obvious that the average skill level is almost as low as it could possibly be – gamers who have no previous experience playing FPS, can’t aim to save themselves and are content with just messing around having some fun with the game for a couple of hours a week. It makes me cringe to watch them because they are so rediculously clueless. This stunts the opportunity for players to progress quickly to a decent level of skill, meaning less up-and-coming players.

Because the community is already dwarfed compared to a game like counter-strike, it leaves only a select few who have the underlying ability, motivation and desire to play at a high level. Then there is the issue that has become more and more prevalent over recent months, particularly between div2 and div1 teams:

Not only is there a gap in skill level, there is a self-inflicted barrier between the up-and-coming players and those who already have status and recognition in the community. Div1 and Div2 teams very rarely show any interest in taking on players who havn’t already established themselves in the top theatre of play, regardless of how skilled the comparatively unknown players happen to be. In simple terms, the scene is becoming closed to outsiders.

Of course, in many ways it makes sense to recruit players who are already recognised, who are known to be consistent at the top level and have a nice history of previous teams sharing many of the same players, but it is incredibly hypocritical to moan and whine about the lack of competition amongst high level teams when in this sense, it is entirely self-inflicted.

Infact, in the last month or two there has been a large increase of mid+/high skilled unclanned players who are quite capable of playing at div2/div1 level. One way to address the skill gap and lack of competition in the short-term is simply to create a few more teams. I’m pretty confident that at least two, maybe three div2 standard teams could be created out of the pool of unclanned players right now, prior to the next ETF2L Season.

With Druidz, wotr and perhaps even mousetek or panache being promoted to div1 next season, there is a distinct need for new teams to start where they finished this season. The only realistic and effective way to increase the competition in Div1 is for established teams to work their way up from Div2 and be promoted in future seasons.

The prospect of creating a team a few weeks before the season that will go straight in to Div1 and hold their own amongst the competition is unrealistic, even with a roster of exceptionally high skill players, given the nature of TF2 as a team-game, the time it takes to mould as a team and the recurring pattern of new top teams that fold a few weeks after being formed. Fracture is a perfect example of this.