Following the highest infamy player...

Or not.

I think this is a really good rule of thumb, so when it’s me, I always try to take command a bit more.

But do you ever have one of those games where players just won’t listen to you?

I came across a great example today, you can really sense the lack of coordination. Both Defenders are way out of position, trying to do something stupid with torpedoes, and leave the capture zone wide open.

https://replay.battlebay.net/VXQGQTTY#NFGDXGMH

I don’t think the Fixer wanted to be there either, but he’s forced to stick with the Defenders. I actually went over there to shoot them myself, but by the time I get there, one is already dead, and now the poor Shooter is guarding our whole flank on his own, so I just have to abandon them to thier fate in the stupid death-trap, and go support the only good player.

I felt kind of vindicated that the Shooter and I end up carrying it, and getting the most damage. Though it actually grinds me gears that we helped such bad teammates get +24.

Sweet RNGesus! If you can’t follow the leader, at least plant yourself somewhere useful!

 

That's right

 

I've had a lot better luck judging boats by their HP, as it's usually a better gauge of their gear and longevity in the bay. Going with the highest infamy player is a bit of a crapshoot considering infamy can swing 500 points in a day, so who knows if that 2600 is any better than the 2200 player based on the instant-infamy number (my most recent 24 hour range).

Speeders: Always go cowboy, but that's OK.
Enforders: Usually go cowboy, usually OK.
Defenders: Go cowboy too frequently IMO.
Shooters: Are a little better at sticking together.

Fixers: good luck getting everyone to stick together so you can heal them. Same applies to other players trying to figure out who is best to support.

 

That’s very true, although I don’t know if it’s terribly important that the ‘leader’ be ‘the best’ player. I think it’s just useful to pick ‘someone’ so that the team is all on the same page.

I know that it can be a bit hit or miss. Sometimes I’ll be like “Follow that guy”, and then it turns it ‘that guy’ just wants to go off to a corner somewhere and loose Torpedos at nothing.

I usually look at people’s weapons, if I see a Defender starting the game with a Flare on top, I know they’re planning to wade straight in, and I should tag along and go for the same (hopefully burning) targets.

 

I'm a big fan of following the highest infamy player.

As a fixer I usually follow the highest infamy non-speeder boat & make a point out of telling my team who I intend to follow.

There are exceptions to the rule, but people have the infamy they do for a reason.

 

This works best on the top half of the scale, where infamy differance is big.
"Don't follow the 800 infamy mk6, follow the 750 infamy mk2."

 

Absolutely.

Here’s an example of what happens when 3 low infamy trashplayers refuse to follow instructions from the highest infamy player. Easy win squandered because of 3 useless players refusing to listen to instructions & assumed that the 1k infamy difference was random and due to a broken matchmaking engine. Atleast the 2 worst of them in combination managed to do half the damage of a Fixer that hardly did anything.

http://replay.battlebay.net/VKQCFXQM#WTCGMPLV

 

Not necessary. Following the highest infamy player doesn't always work. If you think a team mate knows what to do and you understand the strategy, it's better to follow that person, preferably with a same class boat or at least a good combo.

I had a mk4 on my team and I thought what most of the players will think. We have a tanker! As a leader what can you do in such situations? Most people give up cos they know where the weak link is, at least until they know what the plan is.
https://replay.battlebay.net/MTBSYYMD#FRPJBNTP

 

In a game with winrates close to 50% its pretty obvious that there isnt something that always works. Its about having good ground rules to determine your base strategy. Something that (dont take this too personal) most sub 3.5k infamy mk6 players are in desperate need of.
In the game I linked above we got a very favourable matchmaking (fleeting tends to give these ‘free’ wins), the only thing the 3 low ranked players had to do was to follow the 4.5k infamy fixer (who used commands to tell them who to follow and where they absolutely shouldnt go) They didnt and so we lost.

 

Agreed.

It's the way it is. Reality. You can't trust a boat to follow your commands just cos you have the highest infamy. It's a run and gun fest where I am right now. Whoever has got the bigger guns wins most of the time.

Even with the best strategy out there for a given game, 5 people need to understand and work it out. Something I only see once or twice in maybe 100 games. Rest of the time people do what they want to do, and so do the rest of them with strategies that they can't use cos one boat can't win you matches every time.

 

Every. Damn. Game.

 

It's so hard to tell when Matchmaker(tm) tries to put similar infamy together.... maybe in Nightmare the infamy disparity is more significant than at 2500 where my last 3 matches had a 100 infamy spread between all 5 players. A typical short-term infamy swing can easily be many times that, and even in Nightmare the early-season infamy reset makes it impossible to judge based on infamy alone. I use HP because at least I know they will last longer than 3 shots. Moreover, lower-HP Bandage boats tend to stay back to give themselves time to heal, but I need to be closer to battle.

It's been odd for me... the last couple of days my teammates have actually listened and stuck together match after match, and I have a lot of wins as a result. When things are going bad there's definitely more cowboys who put on their blinders and totter off into the enemy, by themselves, to die a fiery death, alone and leave the rest of us under-manned.

 

No one ever listened to the fixer no matter hơe high his or her infamy is, so sad

https://replay.battlebay.net/XZBFZWGJ#VHSTBZPP

Like this one, 2 v 1 and if the other listened, we should have won

 

So many shooters and defenders throw away easy wins in nightmare league by deserting the fixer and going solo into a group of yellows, especially when it's a one fixer matchup.
Almost makes you wonder how they got to the top league until you see their loadouts.