ADevilishPotato wrote:
I just seem to notice that rolls start happening on 6 (or really any server) when one team has bad loadouts like 3 snipers, 3 spys, and 3 scouts, no medics/heavies, have terrible teamwork, and then wonder why they get rolled in under 5 mins. For me, these match issues have always worked themselves out after about a round or two , maybe a few folks leaving, etc. If something like this happens I will switch things up (usually class x to medic) when I see/realize no one is gonna take that role and people start complaining about it. But I have never experienced playing on 6 where one team is flattening the other due to too much skill on one side.
This is indeed the most common source of the problem. Bad class balance is a brutal killer of teams, but has absolutely nothing to do with stacking - just poor resource management by one team. Bad loadouts are a part of this in my mind - A demopan is not the same as a demoman, for example, and there is no "serious gameplay" situation on Dustbowl where a demoknight is justifiable - the explosives are needed. Class balance problems are themselves often caused by the second big issue we see...
Bad communication is the next giant team killer, and also has nothing to do with stacking. On any number of occasions, I've found that the only communication done by the losing team the entire round is to complain about a stack after getting pounded. Not a single person used their mic, called out a spy, typed out where the enemy gear was, or coordinated anything. This is why I almost don't shut-up on mic; so much of the time, I'm the only one willing to talk! When even 2 or 3 people all start talking, calling problems, and announcing locations, it can turn around a whole team. Be those people! NEVER be negative, and never criticize the team without constructive feedback included.
Telling people they have horrible class balance, even when true, is useless - they probably have horrible class balance because they don't know what good class balance is. Advise the team that your class balance is skewed, and make suggestions! Do it politely, include yourself in the pronouns (use "we" instead of "you," etc), and offer to be part of the solution, even if it takes work! "Hey guys, we really need an engineer. I'm the only medic, but I'll be happy to go engy if somebody can take over healing from me." People react to constructive feedback, not insults. Even after a loss, keep up the positive communications flow. Praise what went well, the improvements seen, good shots made, etc. Talk about how you can build on that in the next round. Even minor compliments during the middle of the round ("Good shot, soandso!" or "Nice sap, soandso!") make a big difference. Use peoples' names when you compliment them. Praise is addictive, and not only will those players want to keep upping their game to prove themselves worthy of your words, but other players will strive harder to be noticed as well. Unless something is seriously impeding the team from one particular person, keep critiques generalized and without using a name. Even general critiques can be phrased in positive instead of negative ways - "Ok guys, let's provide some cover so our engineers can move up!" is a much nicer way of saying it than "Why the hell are our engies building so far back?"
It can take time to pull an uncoordinated team up, but it can be done. You'll lose a couple people along the way, but if you are being positive and communicating, you will retain a core of folks who will get better with each step. As each round goes by and you improve bit by bit, these players start to believe, and come to understand how to create a positive feedback loop, rather than a negative. When you do finally come out on top, there's no feeling like it, and that single victory wipes out the memories of an entire day's frustrations in a glorious moment of achievement and good feelings. Many are the times I've seen non-regs marvel at the positive results obtained from coordination and communication, commenting openly about how they didn't think it could be done, and how they're adding us to their favorite server list because of these types of things. Heck, I bet a fair number of folks here first became server regs under similar circumstances, and then decided to join our community by coming to the forums.
I'll leave off with an anecdote, since I know I'm already writing a text wall. A couple years ago, a situation similar to that described above was unfolding. I joined and began voice-comming, making suggestions based on what I was seeing, and slowly the team improved. After a couple hours of play, the server time ran out, and I departed. A random player from the server that I'd never met before sent a friend request, which I accepted. He'd friended me in order to leave a comment on my profile, to the effect that he'd just had his favorite game of TF2 ever. We hadn't stomped all over anybody - in fact, we'd lost 5 straight rounds before pulling off a victory in our 6th, just as server map time was running out. That didn't matter however, as the teamwork and communication we'd built up (by the end, it wasn't just me - it was everybody on the team participating and helping) made a lasting impression, and the fact that we'd been able to turn around and win against a team that had utterly crushed us in the first round, without any significant changes to personnel, was enough to put that game in his memory. We didn't allow blame, we didn't allow quitting, we worked together and fought hard, and did what needed to be done. I see others do this as well, time to time, but not as often as we could or should. If we're going to be on the servers, it's our responsibility as community members to work our butts off to make them the best darn place they can be. This doesn't mean handing people a win on a silver platter. Instead, teach them to win, and the lesson will stick with them always.
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