Get Better Fast: Call-Outs and Communication with Shockwave
By Lies | Published: August 6, 2009 2:58pm EST
 Call-Outs and Communication with Shockwave
During a Live Competition, the most important kind of communication is only relevant information. If I just got out of a BR fight with a player, I don’t care whether or not you got sniped, I care where the sniper killed you from. A lot of people make call-outs that don’t have a lot of information in them, but the best teams know how to communicate using only important information. This information includes where players are exactly, where players are moving, and what you are doing at a given time. A lot of people can make call-outs on opposing players, but if you listen in a pro match, there is a lot of communication about teamwork and discussion about what you are doing. If I’m behind one of my teammates charging through a certain area, I will say to him that I’m behind him letting him know that he has help if he needs it. Another important factor is where players sit at a Live Competition. Personally, I like to have the most vocal players in the middle while having the less talkative players on the outside. Honestly, it really doesn’t make too big of a difference where players sit. The most important thing is to try and find a comfort zone. Some players enjoy sitting next to others and seem to play better off of certain screens. It is your job at the Live Competition to figure out what the best combination is. Another important factor is a coach. In my opinion, a coach’s job is more about timing weapons than communication. It is important for a coach to reiterate important facts, such as if a player is sneaking around and just making sure that everyone hears a certain call-out, as players sometimes tend to get focused in the game and are not always paying attention. The most important factor is timing the weapons though; a coach needs to make call-outs based on when weapons are spawning and other things that players may forget during the middle of a game. All in all, communication is one of the most important aspects of competing in any sort of sport at a high level. Remember, the most important aspect of communication is giving the right information without any sort of clutter, allowing for your teammates to make split second decisions using accurate information. Screen Watching Screen watching is the ability to watch your teammates' screens during Live Competitions. This is extremely important because there is very useful information on every screen; sometimes information teammates will forget to communicate or think is too trivial to say anything. By looking at a teammate's screen, you can find out whether an enemy is distracted, allowing for you to make a flank, push, or when an area is clear, allowing you and your team to make a charge. It is important for players to screen watch, but you need to make sure you do so at the right times. It is important to not get caught up in a teammate’s screen because sometimes you forget that you spawn, or sometimes you don’t realize that you are in a fight and are a shot down when you go back to looking at your own screen. The best time to look at a teammate’s screen is when you are dead or not in battle but you know your teammate is. All you need is a quick glance over to a teammate’s screen and that should be fine to get the information you need. Even though I said to look at a teammate’s screen while dead, your death screen is one of the most valuable functions in the game. You can turn your death screen any way you want, and you can also switch to a teammate and look around corners for them. The death screen is something that players need to practice with as it really is just an art of choosing the right screen to look at. If I die in a position where I can watch a spot for my team, I will move my death screen and look down a hallway and warn my team if there is a player coming from behind them. Other times, I’ll switch over to a teammate in combat’s screen and give him directions based on if I can see players around a corner, helping him live and also alerting him to an enemy that may be coming around the corner. The death screen is vital to gathering information for your team, and don’t forget to screen watch your teammates because again, you can learn a lot of useful information just by a quick glance. Post-Game and Pre-Game Discussion: In tournament play, you never want to dwell on what you did badly until the end of a series. During the middle of a series, you should always be focused on the next game and get pumped up to win. If you aren’t confident going into a game, you aren’t going to be able to win, so if you lose, make sure you try and pump yourself up before the next game. Even after a win, post-game talks should be about the next game and keeping yourselves amped. Before every game, my team usually goes over a few things we want to do in the next game. We’ll talk about certain strategies we want to do in the next game along with certain objectives, such as getting every Overshield and making sure we push a certain way constantly. Regardless, before and after every game you should be trying to pump yourself and your teammates up. |
