How do you get over the fear to Comm?

ArmymongerArmymonger The spacebearing Country of America Join Date: 2014-04-04 Member: 195135Members
A commanders purpose is to ensure the well being of his troops, to bring victory to himself and his army, and tactically bring about e destruction of his enemy.
I haven't seen any other game apart from NS2 in which commanding really MAKES you feel the importance of being the leader and makes you feel the weight of the dependence of your subordinates in relying on you to bring victory and their survival.
Because everything you do impacts them.

And because of that I have a fear to commanding.
All of my time as a ns2 marine, I prefered being on the frontlines rather than lead. To be a chess piece than a chess player.
I know it sounds silly, but I have always wondered how my commanders reached the point where they are today, and how they overcame themselves to command. If they even had any fear to command.

Any ideas?
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Comments

  • UncleCrunchUncleCrunch Mayonnaise land Join Date: 2005-02-16 Member: 41365Members, Reinforced - Onos
    edited November 2014
    Don't ask yourself to many questions.

    Make a local server, train to deliver a medpack shower (shortcuts). Also train to make shortcut (CTRL+1,2,3,etc.) on Obs and other things.

    Once you got it and feel comfortable; things will be less impressive. When you know how to do; it's easier to select what you want to do.
  • SantaClawsSantaClaws Denmark Join Date: 2012-07-31 Member: 154491Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited November 2014
    Play around in sandbox. Until you feel comfortable with the fundamentals.

    This is really an underused tool in many aspects. When it comes to any role in the game, you need to first master the fundamentals. When it comes to commanding, that is your mechanics. How do you medpack efficiently? How do you place structures efficiently? How do you pan the camera efficiently?
    It is rarely a mysterious technique that drives us to the top, but rather a profound mastery of what may well be a basic skill set. -Joshua Waitzkin
    Just as the yin-yang symbol possesses a kernel of light in the dark, and of dark in the light, creative leaps are grounded in a technical foundation. -Joshua Waitzkin

    When you have this down, you can start thinking of a basic build order. Do not over think this part, you just need a basic one that you can execute, then you can move on to more advanced stuff later.
    If you're pretty good at 20 builds you're a pretty good player, but if you're excellent at 1 build you're an excellent player. -Sean [day9] Plott

    The above should really not take you much more than an hour or two at most. But it's a tool that I'd recommend that you return to. Test things out throughout your gaming career. It's a great tool to study the game in-depth.

    But ultimately, the only way to improve, is to jump in there and give it your best shot.
    The key to pursuing excellence is to embrace an organic, long-term learning process, and not to live in a shell of static, safe mediocrity. Usually, growth comes at the expense of previous comfort or safety. -Joshua Waitzkin
  • 2cough2cough Rocky Mountain High Join Date: 2013-03-14 Member: 183952Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    Smurf till you get it down ;) that way nobody remembers what a bad comm you were, just the awesome one you become. Hop in, let it roll.
  • SupaFredSupaFred Join Date: 2013-03-03 Member: 183652Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver
    @Armymonger‌ Practice in training mode to get used to the interface and medpack and ammopack drops. When you are playing on the field think about what the commander is doing and what you would have done if you were comm. Most important though is to let your team know that you are new to commanding. 9 times out of 10 they will help you out and have a lot more patience with you.

    And if they blame you for losing the game, just remember that experienced commanders get that too and it doesn't have to be true.
  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    Playing in the sandbox is good. I find hours of time in game as a marine and alien helpful. You will see over many hours what other comms/khamms do. What works, what doesnt and what you would want to try.
  • RapGodRapGod Not entirely sure... Join Date: 2013-11-12 Member: 189322Members
    Get a microphone if you don't already have one. It's frustrating when a new commander doesn't talk or ask questions.
  • WyzcrakWyzcrak Pot Pie Aficionado Join Date: 2002-12-04 Member: 10447Forum Moderators, Constellation, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
    Find a server that's generally supportive, where people are often kind and reasonable, and play there. They'll have room for you to grow into commanding.
  • NeokenNeoken Bruges, Belgium Join Date: 2004-03-20 Member: 27447Members, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Silver, Subnautica Playtester
    edited November 2014
    Watch twitch streams of other people commanding, understand what you need to do, start commanding, and grow in confidence with more experience.
  • MangoMango Join Date: 2012-10-11 Member: 162061Members
    It kind be tough. I notice some players are way to emotional for this game. They would rage so much over the mic if you mess up once..I seen Comm's break from the mic rages leaving in tears. Since, someone told me you can use bots in this game now. My only advice is test it out your comm skills on a private server you created with bots and just do it enough you get the hang of the basics. Either way don't take anything personal...people rage because they have other issues..nothing to do with you.
  • joshhhjoshhh Milwaukee, WI Join Date: 2011-06-21 Member: 105717Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow, Subnautica Playtester
    Simple set of tips so your comrades won't rage.

    1.) First thing is to understand the game in a broader sense ie. Route blocking to hold your own res and pressure to kill alien red. There are plenty of guides out there.

    2.) Learn to med engagements. It's probably the number one reason people will biitch at you and should be 90% of your job as comm. Decent comms learn to med when marines call for them and good commanders med engagements without the marines even requesting.

    Marines are your number one asset. More marines alive keeps the aliens off your res.

    3.) Develop your build order.
    Simple guide:
    Can your marines aim? If yes, get upgrades first. If no, mines first then upgrades. Gates first is bad on most maps.

    4.) Let people know you are learning and don't forget #2.
  • ScatterScatter Join Date: 2012-09-02 Member: 157341Members, Squad Five Blue
    My approach knowing I am terrible and don't have the skills to be commander:

    "Stfu carnts, if you don't like how I command then you should've done it instead."
  • RadimaXRadimaX Join Date: 2013-02-05 Member: 182840Members
    is there anyway to see how many hours you commanded on the account? i always wonder if i play more or command more :D
  • SquishpokePOOPFACESquishpokePOOPFACE -21,248 posts (ignore below) Join Date: 2012-10-31 Member: 165262Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    Ah, the names I've been called while commanding... after awhile you become desensitized and stop giving a shit.

    My favorite example: after a horrible loss for marines. Marines start whining about a "stack," but you and I both know that it was a perfectly capable team that just didn't have focus. I like a challenge and decide to command.

    Me: "Okay guys. We can do this, all we have to do is focus on securing RTs and we got this in the bag. We didn't do this last round and ended up losing."

    Game Start

    Me: Go go go! Get those RTs up and running!

    Three guys stand in base. Everyone else runs past the RT blueprints and "attacks" the main hive. Four skulks kill my three guys standing AFK in base.

    Beacon.

    Me: "Guys, don't all go and attack the enemy hive at once... we need RTs first"

    Them: "WTF COMM WHY NO RTS"

    You have been kicked from the server

    :))
  • ArmymongerArmymonger The spacebearing Country of America Join Date: 2014-04-04 Member: 195135Members
    Ah, the names I've been called while commanding... after awhile you become desensitized and stop giving a shit.

    My favorite example: after a horrible loss for marines. Marines start whining about a "stack," but you and I both know that it was a perfectly capable team that just didn't have focus. I like a challenge and decide to command.

    Me: "Okay guys. We can do this, all we have to do is focus on securing RTs and we got this in the bag. We didn't do this last round and ended up losing."

    Game Start

    Me: Go go go! Get those RTs up and running!

    Three guys stand in base. Everyone else runs past the RT blueprints and "attacks" the main hive. Four skulks kill my three guys standing AFK in base.

    Beacon.

    Me: "Guys, don't all go and attack the enemy hive at once... we need RTs first"

    Them: "WTF COMM WHY NO RTS"

    You have been kicked from the server

    :))

    What an example of human trash. I pity you, I really do for taking command of such players.

    But that brings up the second part of my fear.
    Losing my soul and becoming desensitized from other players insulting me because of my command.

    I understand that fact because it's the Internet, but That dosent mean I'm prepared for such bashing.
  • NordicNordic Long term camping in Kodiak Join Date: 2012-05-13 Member: 151995Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    Ah, the names I've been called while commanding... after awhile you become desensitized and stop giving a shit.

    My favorite example: after a horrible loss for marines. Marines start whining about a "stack," but you and I both know that it was a perfectly capable team that just didn't have focus. I like a challenge and decide to command.

    Me: "Okay guys. We can do this, all we have to do is focus on securing RTs and we got this in the bag. We didn't do this last round and ended up losing."

    Game Start

    Me: Go go go! Get those RTs up and running!

    Three guys stand in base. Everyone else runs past the RT blueprints and "attacks" the main hive. Four skulks kill my three guys standing AFK in base.

    Beacon.

    Me: "Guys, don't all go and attack the enemy hive at once... we need RTs first"

    Them: "WTF COMM WHY NO RTS"

    You have been kicked from the server

    :))

    Still better than some other games...

    I haven't had that experience commanding in awhile. Possibly because they playerbase shrunk, or I just play on better servers.
  • dePARAdePARA Join Date: 2011-04-29 Member: 96321Members, Squad Five Blue
    Beeing the com is relative simple:
    - Be the med bitch

    Forget the "im the brain" stuff.
    You are not the brain, you are only one who throw meds and ammo to your troops.

    Rule Nr1 for you should be:
    Keep your troops alive
    Do everything that help your team to survive and dont wait for requests.

    - active medsupport during engagements
    - scans
    - cat packs

    Rule Nr2 should be:
    Dont care about people who "know" what "we" need.
    "Com we need grenades", "We need jetpacks", "we need bla bla bla"
    Most people with zero aim and gamesense are thinking "if i had this cool grenadelauncher i would kill them all"
    Well, they dont kill them all, so dont care about "we need" stuff.

    Rule Nr3 is:
    Support your carry players the most.
    This is nothing against weaker players and you should support them too, but your 1-2 carrys are your most important players.
    After a few time you know some names and if you see good players on a servers, these should be your 1st priority.
    A player with zero aim @ Armor2, weapon2 and 7 medpacks cannot kill a single skulk should be low priority.

    You can win as com without saying a single word if you have enough people in your team who knows how to play.
    Now its up to you to identify these people and support them as much as possible.
  • RapGodRapGod Not entirely sure... Join Date: 2013-11-12 Member: 189322Members
    edited November 2014
    If he's new I'm pretty sure, @depara , he should listen to the occasional 'we need..'. It can be helpful. (Playing devil's advocate here). It can also be really annoying if they ask for things not necessary or when you have no tres.

    Edit - supporting the best players more often than others... how are bad players going to get better if they are dying all over the place while the good players are nearly invincible if you're babysitting them with meds.. it does lead to easy wins, if that's the point.
  • dePARAdePARA Join Date: 2011-04-29 Member: 96321Members, Squad Five Blue
    @RapGod‌
    What are we talking about here?
    Isnt this thread about winning as com?

    If i am a com and "wasting" med after med into the same people again and again they didnt get my full attention anymore cause they die anyway.
    Sure, im supporting them too but not the same way like the inportant players.

    This is about res efficiently.
    Why should i waste money to not have enough in needed situations?

    And people dont getting better with 10 meds pumped into them for one skulk again and again.
    Most coms didnt med in pub anyway, so my less meds on the bad players is more than they get normally.

    So in the end of the day: Everyone is happy.


  • ArmymongerArmymonger The spacebearing Country of America Join Date: 2014-04-04 Member: 195135Members
    dePARA wrote: »
    @RapGod‌
    What are we talking about here?
    Isnt this thread about winning as com?

    It's more or less about how to begin as a comm.
    Winning is nice, but it's just icing on a proverbial cake from portal.

  • BensonBenson Join Date: 2012-03-07 Member: 148303Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Scatter wrote: »
    My approach knowing I am terrible and don't have the skills to be commander:

    "Stfu carnts, if you don't like how I command then you should've done it instead."

    I have a similar approach, though its less....angry :D

    When I get in the chair, I make it clear that we are going to lose, but that we are going to go out fighting! That way if we win, its that much more exciting <:-P
  • Warforce17Warforce17 Join Date: 2013-09-12 Member: 188154Members
    edited November 2014
    Hi armymonger,

    I can relate to what you feel as I was quite nervous and unsure when I started commanding. However, the only way to really start to get over your fear is to push yourself and just go for the command chair or Hive. Just accept that you suck in the beginning and don´t be too hard on yourself. You will mistake for sure but you will learn form them and in the end become a better player.

    What personally helped me when I started was making a general build order which I wanted to use. To start out you can go with popular builds like arms lab first / second ip first or pg first depending what your team wants. Feel free to ask them in team chat (e.g. "Arms first?"). There are more builds of course (like arc rush on veil) but they are very risky and need you to manage your marines so they can be successfull. Furthermore, I would suggest you to practice one build until you feel confident using it.
    Furthermore, if you begin to command I would suggest you to focus on the mechanical aspect of the game. Try to get familiar with your hotkeys until you use them naturally. Important ones for marines are especially the med and ammo hotkey which you will need to use insanely often in games. Force yourself stopping to click to build and instead use the hotkeys. After you have become more or less familiar try to communicate more with the team. Become vocal and tell them what you need them to do and call out tech which became avaible (e.g. SG up).

    If you play public people will not listen to you. Don´t take it personal. Same goes for vocal players who will tell you that you are a bad comm (which you naturally are if you just started out). Just accept that, ignore them and mute them if the harass starts to make you angry. Don´t react because getting angry will only make you perform worse and their attitude is only their problem.

    I promise you if you stick with commanding for some time you will see yourself improve so dont be afraid of the pressure. In the end this is just a game. Losing as commander has no consequence. Dont be afraid of making mistakes but embrace them. Every failure, every loss and every mistake gives you the option to learn from them. Bascially just try to have fun. :)

    Greetings,

    NoobComm aka. Warforce17
  • cooliticcoolitic Right behind you Join Date: 2013-04-02 Member: 184609Members
    edited November 2014
    Play with nicer players that aren't total jerks.

    Upon doing that, just relax and ask your team for help.
  • HoeloeHoeloe Switzerland Join Date: 2014-03-02 Member: 194487Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow
    I commanded about 5-7 games against bots to learn what you can do as a com.
    What u need for first commanding on public servers:
    1. A mic to talk with youre team to tell them where the party is going on, veterans are willing to help you when you have one!
    2. Know the techtree!! (hold J to show it), know what is where and for what do you use it
    Marines: Structures, Medpacks/Ammo, Destress Beacon, Upgrades and Improvements
    Aliens: Structures an theyre abilities (a Shift can teleport), Liveforms and theyre skills (to know what you research), Hiveupgrades and Upgradechambers, active commskills (like Nutrient Mist)
    3. While you command you will learn the tactics, you don't need to know them.
    4. Just do it!
  • Maxx11_v2.0Maxx11_v2.0 Join Date: 2012-11-18 Member: 172221Members
    Learn the hotkeys in sandbox and than playin the field long enough to understand what you're suppose to do, then you jump in the chair and do it. It's as simple as that. As long as you come to terms with the sad reality that no matter what you do and how good you are there will ALWAYS be someone that knows better and/or gives you shit.
  • KartoshkaKartoshka Join Date: 2012-01-13 Member: 140302Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    One potential option is to seed a server, wait for 3 - 4 people to join and then go comm (once you have a basic idea of what to do). This way you won't have 500000 kazillion and 1 med/ammo/order requests to respond to, maybe just 1 or 2 a minute. People generally don't care much about the outcome of a game that is started when seeding a server. Back in ns1 I think I would jump on the game on a Saturday morning and play when there wasn't much traffic on the servers. If people join and rage, just explain that you were seeding the server and wanted to get the game going.

    The other option is to jump on Wooza's at peak time and put yourself in the deep end.

  • YojimboYojimbo England Join Date: 2009-03-19 Member: 66806Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Supporter, Reinforced - Silver, Reinforced - Shadow
    edited November 2014
    Never really had a fear of commanding since I've been doing it since Natural Selection 1 and have stuck to these principles for years.

    Somethings you can learn before you even get in the command chair.

    *Spend countless hours just patiently learning how other commanders have done it.

    *There is no real reason why a commander doesn't have a microphone unless you actually don't want to talk, if you can afford a machine that can run NS2, you can buy a goddamn $20 headset. The amount of times I have died because a commander was typing a sentence arguing the whys and fors with a troll.

    *Study their upgrade order, you'll soon realise the top 10 commanders have a generic pattern to respond to certain situations.

    *Take the best strategies from each of the best commanders you have seen and implement it into your own strategy so you are equipped to deal with all kinds of situations.

    *Learn the strategic parts of the map, the more map knowledge you have the easier it is to respond to changes and tactical situations (some of the worlds best military generals knew their battlefield and used it to maximum effect).

    *LEARN TO PRIORITISE, this is the one of the most important tricks of the trade (Do I keep a marine alive with medspam building a vitally important phasegate or do I respond to a ammo spam rambo with a KDR of 5/3/13.

    *Learn your keyboard shortcuts well and how to hotkey vital structures, observatories, armslab, powernodes etc.

    *Most importantly stick to what you know works that said don't be afraid to try out different strategies sometimes but not all the time as chances are your strategy has already been done 100 times before and if you find 10 people on your team all telling you to try something different, chances are your strat doesn't work.
  • RoobubbaRoobubba Who you gonna call? Join Date: 2003-01-06 Member: 11930Members, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Shadow
    Ah, the names I've been called while commanding... after awhile you become desensitized and stop giving a shit.

    My favorite example: after a horrible loss for marines. Marines start whining about a "stack," but you and I both know that it was a perfectly capable team that just didn't have focus. I like a challenge and decide to command.

    Me: "Okay guys. We can do this, all we have to do is focus on securing RTs and we got this in the bag. We didn't do this last round and ended up losing."

    Game Start

    Me: Go go go! Get those RTs up and running!

    Three guys stand in base. Everyone else runs past the RT blueprints and "attacks" the main hive. Four skulks kill my three guys standing AFK in base.

    Beacon.

    Me: "Guys, don't all go and attack the enemy hive at once... we need RTs first"

    Them: "WTF COMM WHY NO RTS"

    You have been kicked from the server

    :))
    Beacon.

    That right there is at least part of the problem :P
  • HoeloeHoeloe Switzerland Join Date: 2014-03-02 Member: 194487Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow
    @Armymonger‌
    Did you allready tried to command those lemmings? ^^
  • Maxx11_v2.0Maxx11_v2.0 Join Date: 2012-11-18 Member: 172221Members
    Simply put. The best way to get over a fear of doing something is to go ahead and do it.
  • meatmachinemeatmachine South England Join Date: 2013-01-06 Member: 177858Members, NS2 Playtester, NS2 Map Tester, Reinforced - Shadow, WC 2013 - Supporter
    edited November 2014
    @Armymonger‌

    Totally recommend watching some matches on youtube or something and seeing what order the commanders build structures and get upgrades etc.

    Learn the hotkeys.
    Press space bar to go to the last request from a marine.
    Armor 1 before weapons 1.
    Crazy fringe builds like PG first or exo rush are 'crazy fringe builds' for a reason. They are less likely to result in a win, so dont make them your bread and butter.

    This thread has lots of examples of build orders various commanders on the forums use.

    Be prepared for the fact that Late game commanding is totally, totally harder than early game commanding. There will be LOTS of things going on, you will have to scan around and remain vigilant for rushes. You WILL totally bottle it and lose the game for your team at least a few times before you get the hang of this.
    Early game is much more comfortable- make sure you're following your marines actively medding and giving ammo when needed.

    Use your map and address marines by name if you want them to do something!

    There seem to be a few misconceptions about how a marine comm is meant to operate. Everyone has their own approach.
    Some players like commanding to issue orders and punish or verbally berate the team if those orders are not able to be followed. Dont be one of those dickheads.

    A commander is a support. It's a coordinator. Stay calm and be aware that sometimes (very often) your intended strategy will not work.
    If your aim was to get a phase gate in X location and pushes on X have failed repeatedly, dont be afraid to change up your strat.

    Edit- In fact, try not to have a 'strat' from the start of the game. Instead, see what happens in the early throes of the game and try to exploit any advantages your team gets.

    My personal approach to builds is 'safety net'. Marines in public games are not reliable. You are not reliable. I always make sure my marines have mines, 2nd IP, obs and stack 10 res in case a beacon is needed. Not having these things means that if your team fails on the ground, you have no power to prevent a loss from the sky.

    I could go more into detail about things but these are the main tidbits of info I dont think a lot of people mention / seem to even realise in the first place. Having this internalised from the start will put you ahead of the game for your experience level.

    Oh, and if you DO lose the game for the team (if you fail to have res for a beacon/ 2nd chair, or dont spot a rush on your base altogether (this WILL happen)), just try to take it in good humour, apologise to your team and dont take the insults to heart. If you're cool about it chances are they will be too.
    Work WITH your team. Just because you're "the commander" doesnt mean you always have to be GOD. Some teams require you to be, but many dont.
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