TagPro Being a Team Player Guide

TagPro Being a Team Player Guide by noblord

Hey everybody! I had quite a bit of fun this past season, and I’m looking forward to one final great season. At the beginning of last season, I made this old guide to support offense, and so this time, I’ll make this guide before tryouts. If the information in here is intuitively obvious for you, then that’s good: you’re a natural. Oh also this is more geared to offense (because that’s where I play).

Overview

The fastest way to get better at a game is to play smarter. Whenever I take a reaction time test like this one, I usually get below average speeds (I just took one now and averaged 300 ms). In most game genres (except for maybe first person shooters), you can get away with having a large pool of knowledge and making the correct decisions. In the competitive setting of Tagpro, an additional piece of information has to be taken into account, and that is your team.

Being Flexible is Underrated

Please don’t say that you play both positions equally. Unless you are at the very top of BOTH offense and defense at a Majors level (I’m talking like Legman and eagles level), there is an extremely slim chance that the statement is actually true. Don’t neglect the other position as well. There will be plays where you have to stay back on defense as an offensive player, or plays where you have to sit on regrab as a defensive player.

Flexibility doesn’t just mean being able to play both positions. It also means being able to alter your playstyle according to your teammates. On 30 SMB, I spent a lot of my time chasing the enemy flag carrier / playing defense, but on Ghostboosters, I prioritized getting on regrab nearly every play. While Canadsian and Rasta were cool with the swap, Gem and Mikero weren’t too big fans, so I had to switch the way I played to make it work for this season.

Don’t Dwell on Your (Team’s) Mistakes, but Don’t Ignore Them Either

An important part of playing Tagpro is being able to recognize whether a mistake was a mechanical error or a decision-making error. If it was the latter, then make sure you know what you should have done. In practice, it’s fine to say “My bad. I should have done X” out loud or in your head. Don’t say things like “Wow I suck so much” because that doesn’t help you improve. If you see a teammate mess up, talk about it to them after the game if you think that they didn’t realize that they messed up. During games, DO NOT TALK ABOUT YOUR MISTAKES (unless your teammates request that you do to make them feel better). You have to focus on the play at hand because you don’t want a single lapse of judgment to compound as you’re thinking about what you did wrong. Move on, and talk about it after the game if you must (even in between games is iffy because you might get out of the zone).

Play Your Role

In season 4 Cosecanters, I managed the powerups. “Right is spawning in 10 so the fc can try and grab that then move to the top right powerup immediately after.” The words “Powerups soon” are not that helpful. There is no context about how to act (who is giving up position to grab the powerup). However, there is no need for everybody to remember powerups – in seasons 6 and 7, Rasta and Mikero respectively took command of the powerups.

If your offensive partner is taking tons of risks, play that safe offensive defense and long carry game (unless you can both switch fluidly between the two at the right times). If your defensive partner likes to be aggressively, make sure you always stay between the fc and their flag tile (unless you can both switch fluidly again).

Have Set Plays, but Don’t be Constrained by Them

Set plays are great when you recognize the conditions for them. You shouldn’t run them for the sake of running them, but if a defender is in a perfect position for a backboard (nickname for standing behind a defender while the other offense boosts into the defender, uses the 0.25, and rebounds off ahead), call it out! Efficient communication is always helpful for a team.

Conclusion

This is mainly intended for competitive play: in PUBs, your role is most likely going to be “carry your team.” Oh and shameless self promotion: NEXT WEEK (possibly Monday / Wednesday / Thursday but I’m not sure yet) I AM GOING TO HOLD TRYOUTS. Try and come with a friend who plays the same position as you. If not, you’ll be randomly paired with other people.