Just ran an ITF, Suggestions for some players ....

[krj12]

I run quite a few ITF's, and occasionally some lower level TF's.  Just a few suggestions for players when joining any TF:

 

1.  If I ask for someone to be in zone to ask for invite, please honor it.  It doesn't take 5 minutes to get to any TF, it literally

takes 5 seconds.  Just do the following:

   a.  Select LFG menu

   b.  Click on Task Force tab and select the TF ( in this case "Time's Arrow" )

   c.   Select "Lock the event" and click "Queue" button

   You're there, takes just a few seconds.

 

Two issues specifically with the ITF:    it takes a badge to get there and I cant invite red zone players in zone, if you're out of zone.

 

2.  Unless I designate a point man, please follow my lead in the TF and stick to me.  I've had too many TFs where the tank

goes one way, I go another and everyone else is confused.  Gets even worse if you have two tanks.

 

3.  If I have any special directions, please pay attention.  May not be what you're used to, or like,  but it's how I like it run.

Case in point:  On weaker teams in ITF mission one, I usually ask to handle the ambush on the steps. 

Helps concentrate both the team and the mobs in one spot, speeds things up, and decreases the number of deaths considerably.

 

4.  Rage Quitters - not every team is equal, some are rougher than others.  If you cant stand a little adversity please form your

own TF.   And saying "my SG needs me" or "my connection is bad" doesn't alleviate it.

 

5.  "Mr.  I'm So Awesome I Don't Need the Rest of You" - going off on your own doesn't help the team, and it really doesn't help

you since you're not enjoying buffs/de-buffs.  On ITF specifically, killing cysts and creating extra ambushes on the rest of the team

does not help with your popularity.    It also doesn't help the team if you run off to the next group of mobs while the squishies

are trying to clean up the remaining Bosses/EB's.

 

6.  Kill Most is not Kill All - if I choose not to do a path on a specific mission, please don't make a scene.   You can always stay after

and solo if those few extra mobs are that important to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[twozerofoxtrot]

I'd suggest to you that you bundle requests 2-6 in a popmenu macro and drop them into team chat before you start your runs.

 

You've cast a broad net here, and I'm sure you're frustrated. You might get more return on investment though if you communicate this to a more targeted audience.

[krj12]

Yeah, I realize it's a bit of a rant.  Most teams run fairly smoothly, but occasionally you run into one of those teams, and today's team encompassed 1 through 5.  :)

 

[Aurora_Girl]

I feel like we've covered a lot of this ground in a couple of recent threads. 

[Snarky]

1) i sympathize about crazy PUG teams

 

2) most of the people reading the message board either a) already know this stuff b) you cannot get them to change the way they have run for years (example… if they always split off to do X task good luck stopping them)

 

3) this is stuff that is much better handled during team recruiting. Actually checking in with each teammate as well as posting team expectations will go a long way

Edited September 27, 2021 by Snarky

[MoonSheep]

run it on enemies buffed +4/x8, gets people working as a team in a very noticeable way. very hard to wander off without the team as death quickly follows

[DreadShinobi]

If you are regularly leading the same content on repeat, it really does help to just macro your instructions to the team.

 

Don't be upset that people aren't following invisible expectations. Macro the important points you want to communicate - but most importantly, be open to feedback from the rest of your team. Allow your team the opportunity to ask questions or make requests. If you're putting a PuG together not every group is going to be the same or have the same skill level or experience. Allow yourself as team leader to sway from what you prescribe to as a perfect operating standard. You organized and put the group together and your objective should be to facilitate an environment where everyone is enjoying themselves - it is not to be a drill instructor.

[Hew]

5 hours ago, Aurora_Girl said:

I feel like we've covered a lot of this ground in a couple of recent threads. 

(deleted personal comment, AG's comment has point enough on its own)

[InvaderStych]

5 hours ago, DreadShinobi said:

Don't be upset that people aren't following invisible expectations.

 

This bears repeating.

 

5 hours ago, DreadShinobi said:

Don't be upset that people aren't following invisible expectations.

 

Twice.

[arcane]

Alternative to the OP: team with people you know are competent and do whatever you want. A decent group won’t care about an extra cyst ambush or an entire tower being pulled down to the bridge.

[Ironblade]

On 9/26/2021 at 7:38 PM, krj12 said:

Case in point:  On weaker teams in ITF mission one, I usually ask to handle the ambush on the steps. 

Helps concentrate both the team and the mobs in one spot, speeds things up, and decreases the number of deaths considerably.

Are you aware that you can avoid triggering the ambush?  It has to do with moving into a specific area at the top of the mountain.

 

 

On 9/26/2021 at 7:43 PM, twozerofoxtrot said:

I'd suggest to you that you bundle requests 2-6 in a popmenu macro and drop them into team chat before you start your runs.

Keybinds are also good.  I have a keybind that loads over a dozen additional keybinds onto my numpad for the Abandoned Sewer trial.  And a keybind to erase them.  Then one that loads a set for Mothership Raids.  Etc.

 

Popmenus are probably better, but they seem considerably more complex to set up.

 

[krj12]

1 hour ago, Ironblade said:

Are you aware that you can avoid triggering the ambush?  It has to do with moving into a specific area at the top of the mountain.

 

 

Keybinds are also good.  I have a keybind that loads over a dozen additional keybinds onto my numpad for the Abandoned Sewer trial.  And a keybind to erase them.  Then one that loads a set for Mothership Raids.  Etc.

 

Popmenus are probably better, but they seem considerably more complex to set up.

 

 

Yes, I'm aware of how not to trigger an ambush, after running it a few hundred times. :)   Kind of defeats the purpose of a kill most though.

 

I have mixed feelings about spamming a long set of directions for people though, since on most teams these difficulties usually don't happen, and don't want to come across as overbearing and bossy.   It does seem useful though on complex iTrials, for example - but I usually just stick to leading the simpler ones like BAF and LAM.

 

It's just every now and then you get one of those teams, where you wonder if most of them came straight from AE.    Stick to the team and follow the leader, to me, seem rather obvious and shouldn't require special instructions.

 

[DreadShinobi]

2 hours ago, krj12 said:

I have mixed feelings about spamming a long set of directions for people though, since on most teams these difficulties usually don't happen, and don't want to come across as overbearing and bossy. 

 

It's just every now and then you get one of those teams, where you wonder if most of them came straight from AE.    Stick to the team and follow the leader, to me, seem rather obvious and shouldn't require special instructions.

 

 

See right here though you're making assumptions - and you know what they say about assumptions. You're putting yourself in the very situation that you don't like - when a player on your team doesnt do what you want them to do because you didnt tell them ahead of time the expectations you have for being a part of your team (gosh doesnt that sound fun). Most of the time it sounds like it isnt an issue for you - but those times that it is the solution is very simple brief and clear communication. 

 

ITF in particular is not a hard task. It is also a task force with many parts that can benefit from a team splitting up to complete multiple objectives simultaneously. Personally I have never run an ITF where I have required my team to follow the star - I honestly find that obnoxious. Even a kill most ITF 4/8 itf will likely have better xp/min with the team splitting into 2 groups frequently and converging as the mission objective dictates unless everyone is on low level characters.

 

I would hope that if I joined your task force that you would make it clear that I am expected to be your shadow before you started the event.

[Doomguide2005]

On 9/27/2021 at 3:51 AM, MoonSheep said:

run it on enemies buffed +4/x8, gets people working as a team in a very noticeable way. very hard to wander off without the team as death quickly follows

     Heh, I'll bet unless they are all high DDR or utterly avoid getting a mob around them.  Virtually ensures cascade defense failure on anyone else who isn't really watching their defense value and uses inspires well.  It's going to put the final hit value over 10% vs a minion, bosses at over 13% for softcapped characters then ups the damage significantly.

[MoonSheep]

6 minutes ago, Doomguide2005 said:

     Heh, I'll bet unless they are all high DDR or utterly avoid getting a mob around them.  Virtually ensures cascade defense failure on anyone else who isn't really watching their defense value and uses inspires well.  It's going to put the final hit value over 10% vs a minion, bosses at over 13% for softcapped characters then ups the damage significantly.

 

i run almost all my TFs on enemies buffed, i find it encourages a classic CoH experience where each AT has a defined role to play

 

i also have veng on both my alts and it ensures i get to use it regularly 🤗

[Shred Monkey]

 

On 9/26/2021 at 6:38 PM, krj12 said:

2.  Unless I designate a point man, please follow my lead in the TF and stick to me.  I've had too many TFs where the tank

goes one way, I go another and everyone else is confused.  Gets even worse if you have two tanks.

 

Unless the team lead designates not to follow the tank, my default is to follow the tank.  And to be honest, if I was a tank and the team lead said not to follow the tank, I'd politely leave the team... because why else am I there except to soak up the alpha and draw things together to make it easier for the team?

[TheZag]

Your job as the tank is to be completely overpowered but to play like you arent so tanks dont get nerfed.

[arcane]

23 hours ago, Shred Monkey said:

 

 

Unless the team lead designates not to follow the tank, my default is to follow the tank.  And to be honest, if I was a tank and the team lead said not to follow the tank, I'd politely leave the team... because why else am I there except to soak up the alpha and draw things together to make it easier for the team?

ITF is such a streamlined faceroll that your only job as a tank or any other AT is to be one of any eight players and to keep smashing Romans. Any AT with IO’s and a couple of inspirations can take the alphas.

[Ironblade]

On 9/27/2021 at 10:34 PM, krj12 said:

I have mixed feelings about spamming a long set of directions for people though, since on most teams these difficulties usually don't happen, and don't want to come across as overbearing and bossy.   It does seem useful though on complex iTrials, for example - but I usually just stick to leading the simpler ones like BAF and LAM.

Agreed.  Most players have at least a passing familiarity with most of the content.

 

I first created detailed instruction binds for the Abandoned Sewers Trial.  Once upon a time (back on live), I announced that I would be running it and filled the team quickly.  Much to my astonishment, more than half the team commented that they had been on multiple failed attempts and really wanted the badge.  I don't recall ever being on a failed attempt.  I mean, it gives you 90 minutes.

 

I assured everyone that I had never failed it and that, if everyone followed my instructions, we should complete it in about half the available time.  We did it in under 40 minutes and people were overjoyed (again, much to my astonishment).

 

So it seems that some of the less-run content really does need instructions.  And even some of the popular content - if, for example, you want to avoid a team wipe in Positron part 1.

[Tahliah]

On 9/27/2021 at 2:41 AM, Snarky said:

1) i sympathize about crazy PUG teams

 

2) most of the people reading the message board either a) already know this stuff b) you cannot get them to change the way they have run for years (example… if they always split off to do X task good luck stopping them)

 

3) this is stuff that is much better handled during team recruiting. Actually checking in with each teammate as well as posting team expectations will go a long way

What Snarky said. 

 

Not only is this the wrong forum to reach the vast majority of HC COX players, but it's really--at root--your problem, handled best in recruiting by a strong team leader.  If you want a specific team for a specific purpose do what we all do: hit up your sg, your globals.  Expecting excellence from a PUG is . . . . ill-considered (at best), self-defeating (realistically), and down-right stupid (at worst).

 

You can't change all of "them," best to focus on what you can change.  Start by avoiding PUGS when your expectations are sky high.  PUGS are awesome and often super fun, but they are not, cannot by their very nature be, elite teams.  If you want elite, build it. If you're calling on PUGs and whining that they act like . . . erm, PUGs, . .. . sympathy wanes.

Edited September 29, 2021 by Tahliah

[Scranker]

I occassionally lead ITF PuGs so I'm familiar with some of the headaches involved. Running it with enemies buffed is a good suggestion. Another thing I like to do is run it with only 4 to 6 people. When you have a full team of 8, it's far more common for someone to split off to do their own thing because 8 sticking together tends to be massive overkill. Obviously not all of the time, since it depends on who you end up with after recruitment. But if you've got a bunch of tricked out incarnated 50s, they're gonna get bored with that strategy. I usually just let them run amok, and focus instead on the people who decide to stick with me. Everyone's happier that way.

[Xeres]

Ah the only one I'm going to complain about is the tank.  Are you a tank or brute (aka are you taking the aggro)?  If yes, I will follow.  If no, I will follow the people who are taking the aggro.  If that's wrong, fine, I'll just join the next ITF.

[Haijinx]

Is this for a Master of ITF or something?

 

Otherwise, who cares?

[Troyusrex]

On 9/27/2021 at 10:34 PM, krj12 said:

I have mixed feelings about spamming a long set of directions for people though, since on most teams these difficulties usually don't happen, and don't want to come across as overbearing and bossy.   It does seem useful though on complex iTrials, for example - but I usually just stick to leading the simpler ones like BAF and LAM.

 

I have to say that I appreciate it when a TF, or iTrial leader gives a bunch of expectations in the chat to start. I don't ever feel It's an issue and tend to follow the directions given.

 

On ITFs in particular, I'm guilty of #2. Most times the groups disappear so quickly that I figure that going my own way and taking on groups myself speeds the killing process by reducing the insane amount of overkill if we are all together. However, if the team leader asks us to stay together, I will. 

 

My advice is to go ahead and make the expectations known.

[SeraphimKensai]

My counter suggestion: Play the game the way that makes it enjoyable to you and don't let anyone impede you, otherwise you're doing it wrong.