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Some of the best video to study comes from late rounds of tournaments. This clip is from the Winners Bracket Semifinal match at of Pro Circuit Ladder #1, where FearItself and Triggers Down take on The Agency. Close to the end, Fear shows us how to keep in-game composure in their Guardian Team Slayer game. Before we get to that point, let’s note a few key points of this game. FearItSelf starts out by grenading Blue Door without exposing himself. Usually an overeager opponent would first take a peek and, if Top Green was clear, he or she would commit further to an attack on Sniper Tower. FearItSelf is baiting, hoping to be able to get an easy clean-up kill after his grenade. However, there is no one rushing Blue Door and he has to settle for a clean up kill on Mackeo. Having burned some time with this tactic he looks at Camo, but that position has already been fortified and rushing it would result in a pointless death. Fear goes down from sniper fire after Lunchbox steals the sniper. 00:30 – When he respawns Fear first looks to see if he can support his teammates, however, they go down before he can move to help. Having not made his presence known he chooses to hang back and wait for them to respawn so they can perform an organized attack together. 1:30 – After TD established control of the Sniper Side of the map Fear chooses to stay at Green. From his position he can quickly put shots on Camo, Blue Door and, with a bit of adjustment, Bottom Snipe Lift. Notice when he engages Blue Door he does it from a more protected Mid Green, rather than the more-exposed Top Green. 2:00 – Deciding that they have to push to the other half of the map, Fear puts shots on and draws fire from Blue Window. This distraction gives a safer opening for Lowkin to charge across Green Lift. Immediately after Lowkin is across, Fear positions himself away from Blue Window fire to support Lowkin at Camo. After pushing the Camo opponent away, TD has a firm foothold on the opposite side of the map right as the Active Camoflauge is coming up. 2:43 – When he respawns at Snipe 1, Fear immediately grenades Bottom Glass, hoping to get a lucky kill on the Mauler Opponent. Notice how he manages to bounce his grenade to the Green Side of Bottom Glass. However, The Agency quickly pinches the recently spawned members of TD in Sniper Tower and, with little mobility, they go down quickly. 2:58 – Respawning into Roy’s fire at an awkward angle, Fear’s first goal is to get some breathing room. Notice how the first thing he checks when he moves into Explosive Hallway is that the Fusion Cores have been blown away. A good player is always aware of his surroundings. After cleaning up Roy at Camo, pay attention to the Wall Extension Fear uses as cover when he engages his Blue Door opponent. 3:40 – After some excellent teamwork clears out Sniper Tower, there is a lone opponent left on Elbow who is unaware of Fear. Often players try to wait for the Elbow rush while sitting in Snipe 2, Fear chooses to get a good angle on Elbow Door from the top of Snipe Ramp. This leaves him less exposed from grenades being thrown into Snipe 2. It also allows him to look under glass faster. 5:00 – In his previous two respawns Fear only manages to go one-for-one but on his third he gets a safe spawn in Sniper Tower. After trading some cross map shots with Mackeo, he moves to Bottom Green to fortify TD’s set up at Sniper Tower. Notice the grenade throw from Elbow to Camo. Choosing to learn from his previous mistakes, he decides to venture out and grab the Mauler during a lull in the fight to prevent his opponents from using it against him. 6:42 – After half of his team goes down at Sniper Tower, Fear switches his position and rushes with a Mauler. When he is grenaded to no shield, he chooses to hide behind another Wall Extension in Snipe 1 and recharge his shields. Once regrouped, TD charges the other side of the map and picks off a few kills. 8:16 – After spawning in Green again, Fear grenades Blue Door and picks up an easy kill on Lunchbox. When he picks up the Active Camouflage, notice how he chooses to sit still at Camo near a part of the wall with a complex texture (bushes, wall pattern, wall ledge.) This gives him some natural camouflage and helps him blend in when he is only semi-transparent. To get the most out of his Active Camouflage, Fear chooses to only shoot when there is a guaranteed kill. Once it runs out and, since the enemy team is largely unaware of him, Fear does a long loop around his opponent’s side of the map to attack from a different angle than the rest of his team. 10:12 – Down by five kills when their opponent only needs three for the win, Fear manages to sneak away with the sniper. He positions himself on Elbow and baits the Camo. Although the initial shot doesn’t pay off and, overeager and not fully camouflaged, Mackeo is a predictable kill a few moments later. Fear chooses to play conservatively and only look for the easy shots. This tactic pays off as Victory, unaware Fear is the one sniping, tries to engage him in a Battle Rifle fight and gets sniped. Changing his position slightly, Fear grabs a nasty jumping headshot on Roy. 11:38 - At this point it’s clear that someone on TD called out an Agency rush on Snipe 1, so both Hysteria and Fear make that kill a priority in order to protect their sniper. Lowkin manages to fend of his precarious Camo position for a kill and TD grabs their first lead of the game with two kills left. After fending off another solo, unsuccessful rush on Sniper Tower by the Agency and with one or two kills left in the game, the Agency chooses not to peak out and engages only their Battle Rifle opponents. Noticing he’s not getting any opportunities from Sniper Tower, Fear moves to Green in order to get a different angle on his opposition. The move pays off and, from a semi concealed position at Mid Green, FearItSelf picks up the last kill of the game. Points to Raise your Team Guardian Game: When holding the Sniper half of the map, make sure to leave someone at Green to prevent a rush from Elbow (1:30). When the game is close and at a stalemate, switch your position around to catch your opponents off guard (11:38). Try and draw fire to yourself to create an opening for your teammates (2:00). Wait for your teammates to respawn or move into position so you can perform an organized attack (00:30). If you’re near your opponents and they are unaware of you, sometimes it’s better to take your time and attack them at a different angle than the rest of your team (8:16). Tell your teammates if you see they are about to be rushed (11:38). Points to Raise your Individual Guardian Game: Sometimes hiding in plain sight is the best tactic; wait for your Active Camo to fully engage at the Camo Platform (8:16). Use the Wall Extensions in Snipe 1 and Explosive Hallway for cover during Battle Rifle Fights (6:42, 2:58). Bait an empty Top Green while grenading Blue Door for an easy kill (Start). Learn the Grenade Throw from Elbow to Camo (5:00). Learn the Grenade Throw from Snipe 1 that hits the Green Side of Under Glass (2:43). When you’re being rushed from Elbow, watch Elbow door from the Snipe Ramp, not Snipe 2 (3:40). Be aware of your surroundings, if there are Fusion Cores around you, clear them out first or use them to kill your opponents (2:58). When fighting someone at Blue Door from Green, engage them from a more protected Mid Green rather than the exposed Top Green (11:38). Be aware of places you can hide to recharge your shields (Behind the Snipe 1 Wall Extensions or on the Under Glass Ledges) (6:42). |
