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Dealing damage as scout
posted in Q/A Help
1
#1
0 Frags +

Hi tftv, was hoping you could help with an issue I've been having.

I'm playing in my first season of etf2l open as flank scout, and my team is doing moderately well so far. However, I feel I'm really being kept back by one issue - damage. In pretty much every scrim and official we've played, my dpm has barely risen above 140, and I regularly get the lowest kills/damage out of everyone except the medics.

I'm pretty sure it's not a dm issue, because my dm is at a decent level right now - in pregame I'm able to out-dm most of the enemy team fairly easily. I tend to play quite passive and stay near the combo while watching the flank, but so does our other scout who regularly breaks 250. In the past when I've chased/tried to follow up on kills it's just led to me being baited into the enemy combo and feeding, so I try and avoid that unless I know the other guy's weak.

There are often scrims where I've felt my performance was great, only to look at the logs and see 110 dpm. It tilts me pretty hard because I think that I'm not playing half as well as I should be, and that my team would be better if I was able to do any damage at all.

Any tips/words of instruction would be greatly appreciated. No saam jokes please.

Hi tftv, was hoping you could help with an issue I've been having.

I'm playing in my first season of etf2l open as flank scout, and my team is doing moderately well so far. However, I feel I'm really being kept back by one issue - damage. In pretty much every scrim and official we've played, my dpm has barely risen above 140, and I regularly get the lowest kills/damage out of everyone except the medics.

I'm pretty sure it's not a dm issue, because my dm is at a decent level right now - in pregame I'm able to out-dm most of the enemy team fairly easily. I tend to play quite passive and stay near the combo while watching the flank, but so does our other scout who regularly breaks 250. In the past when I've chased/tried to follow up on kills it's just led to me being baited into the enemy combo and feeding, so I try and avoid that unless I know the other guy's weak.

There are often scrims where I've felt my performance was great, only to look at the logs and see 110 dpm. It tilts me pretty hard because I think that I'm not playing half as well as I should be, and that my team would be better if I was able to do any damage at all.

Any tips/words of instruction would be greatly appreciated. No saam jokes please.
2
#2
17 Frags +

If you think that you have good DM based on your pregame results then your DM could probably be improved. Not everyone are sweats in the pregame so it really does not matter. My only tip for you is just to keep on grinding DM/MGE.

EDIT: When you say that you are playing passive on flanks what do you mean? Are you not even attempting to pressure with your roamer? You could probably ask a top mid or high player to do a demo review with you. I'm not a really good player but if u want u could send me a demo to look at when i have time. What div are you?

If you think that you have good DM based on your pregame results then your DM could probably be improved. Not everyone are sweats in the pregame so it really does not matter. My only tip for you is just to keep on grinding DM/MGE.

EDIT: When you say that you are playing passive on flanks what do you mean? Are you not even attempting to pressure with your roamer? You could probably ask a top mid or high player to do a demo review with you. I'm not a really good player but if u want u could send me a demo to look at when i have time. What div are you?
3
#3
6 Frags +

if you dont focus on numbers and dpm, and try to not get tilted it will most likely get better since your head will be in the game and not thinking about what the logs will look like. look over your demos more and maybe get a more experienced player to watch your demos with you so you improve faster. damage is not that important on scout so you shouldnt worry unless its double digits.

if you dont focus on numbers and dpm, and try to not get tilted it will most likely get better since your head will be in the game and not thinking about what the logs will look like. look over your demos more and maybe get a more experienced player to watch your demos with you so you improve faster. damage is not that important on scout so you shouldnt worry unless its double digits.
4
#4
9 Frags +

This you? http://logs.tf/1760970#76561198146554694

This you? http://logs.tf/1760970#76561198146554694
5
#5
4 Frags +
klassyIf you think that you have good DM based on your pregame results then your DM could probably be improved. Not everyone are sweats in the pregame so it really does not matter. My only tip for you is just to keep on grinding DM/MGE?

That's true. I still think my dm is at a decent level because I win most of the fights I take in match settings, but I'll make sure to keep at it with soapDM/MGE.

klassyEDIT: When you say that you are playing passive on flanks what do you mean? Are you not even attempting to pressure with your roamer?

I generally stay about halfway between our med and our roamer - this is because our roamer is generally capable of holding the flank by himself and our med needs protection. If the roamer does some good damage I usually attempt to follow up on it, but I've got more cautious since I fed a lot previously trying to finish off individual players.

klassyThis you? http://logs.tf/1760970#76561198146554694

Yeah, that's probably the worst I've performed (it was our first scrim on granary and I struggled to deal with their soldiers).

I'm open btw.

[quote=klassy]If you think that you have good DM based on your pregame results then your DM could probably be improved. Not everyone are sweats in the pregame so it really does not matter. My only tip for you is just to keep on grinding DM/MGE?[/quote]That's true. I still think my dm is at a decent level because I win most of the fights I take in match settings, but I'll make sure to keep at it with soapDM/MGE.
[quote=klassy]
EDIT: When you say that you are playing passive on flanks what do you mean? Are you not even attempting to pressure with your roamer?[/quote]I generally stay about halfway between our med and our roamer - this is because our roamer is generally capable of holding the flank by himself and our med needs protection. If the roamer does some good damage I usually attempt to follow up on it, but I've got more cautious since I fed a lot previously trying to finish off individual players.


[quote=klassy]This you? http://logs.tf/1760970#76561198146554694[/quote]Yeah, that's probably the worst I've performed (it was our first scrim on granary and I struggled to deal with their soldiers).

I'm open btw.
6
#6
8 Frags +

Try sending me a pov demo! I'm only an upper mid player but I think it'd be worth a shot looking at it and maybe giving you some feedback :)

Try sending me a pov demo! I'm only an upper mid player but I think it'd be worth a shot looking at it and maybe giving you some feedback :)
7
#7
10 Frags +

The trick to being a good scout and doing consistent damage is to actively take fights on your terms. I see way too many low scouts waiting for frags to come to them.

The trick to being a good scout and doing consistent damage is to actively take fights on your terms. I see way too many low scouts waiting for frags to come to them.
8
#8
15 Frags +

ask someone to review a demo of yours. nobody can really help with what you've presented.

ask someone to review a demo of yours. nobody can really help with what you've presented.
9
#9
35 Frags +

if youre at the worst levels and think your dm is "good" while doing sub 200 dpm as scout then your dm isn't as good as you think it actually is and you should work on your aim a bit more

unpopular opinion but it's pretty much pointless to develop your gamesense as scout if you miss 50% of your shots, once you actually have good dm and break into the upper echelons of skill is when you should work on gamesense imo

if you really want someone to watch your demo though, id do it and stream it for you but i wouldnt be surprised if most of it is you losing fights that you can easily win with better aim and movement

if youre at the worst levels and think your dm is "good" while doing sub 200 dpm as scout then your dm isn't as good as you think it actually is and you should work on your aim a bit more

unpopular opinion but it's pretty much pointless to develop your gamesense as scout if you miss 50% of your shots, once you actually have good dm and break into the upper echelons of skill is when you should work on gamesense imo

if you really want someone to watch your demo though, id do it and stream it for you but i wouldnt be surprised if most of it is you losing fights that you can easily win with better aim and movement
10
#10
-3 Frags +

Paging crackbabydumpster

Paging crackbabydumpster
11
#11
3 Frags +

I'd also say watch your demos with someone good

I'd also say watch your demos with someone good
12
#12
6 Frags +

I can help you watch demos if you want, but it seems you already have that covered with the other people in this thread

you said you were getting tilted from underperforming in your op, honestly I think the best thing you can do to improve your performance in the shortest amount of time is to focus on your mentality for a few games. avoiding tilt is really important, you can't play to your potential if you are tilted, and you will miss a ton of shots you know you should hit.

I can help you watch demos if you want, but it seems you already have that covered with the other people in this thread

you said you were getting tilted from underperforming in your op, honestly I think the best thing you can do to improve your performance in the shortest amount of time is to focus on your mentality for a few games. avoiding tilt is really important, you can't play to your potential if you are tilted, and you will miss a ton of shots you know you should hit.
13
#13
5 Frags +

I used the demoviewer and noticed that you barely commit to teamfights and don't work with your roamer quite that often and that is probably why your DPM is really low. You seem to wander around aimlessly at times and you also tend to go for flank plays way too often on your own, for example you walk behind the enemy team a lot, however you don't have the DM to support that kind of playstyle. If you don't, you just walk around and usually don't shoot a lot of stuff in a fight. I think you have to be a bit more daring, but not alone. If you play close to the combo as a flank scout, you will not receive a lot of heals to work with but people will be looking in your direction, making it difficult to commit to stuff if they could just melt you right away. I think you should try to work together with your roamer on the flank and see if that suits you better.

I used the demoviewer and noticed that you barely commit to teamfights and don't work with your roamer quite that often and that is probably why your DPM is really low. You seem to wander around aimlessly at times and you also tend to go for flank plays way too often on your own, for example you walk behind the enemy team a lot, however you don't have the DM to support that kind of playstyle. If you don't, you just walk around and usually don't shoot a lot of stuff in a fight. I think you have to be a bit more daring, but not alone. If you play close to the combo as a flank scout, you will not receive a lot of heals to work with but people will be looking in your direction, making it difficult to commit to stuff if they could just melt you right away. I think you should try to work together with your roamer on the flank and see if that suits you better.
14
#14
-4 Frags +

Shoot soldiers/demos/heavys.

Shoot soldiers/demos/heavys.
15
#15
7 Frags +

tbh not getting frags/damage in open must bea dm problem just my 2cents

tbh not getting frags/damage in open must bea dm problem just my 2cents
16
#16
2 Frags +
Gazsnip

This really helps, thanks - I'll try and work on the teamfights aspect more in future games.

smzitbh not getting frags/damage in open must bea dm problem just my 2cents

Yeah, that's the general impression I'm getting. From what my team have said I thought my dm was at a decent level, but of course when it's just open players giving feedback to other open players it creates a feedback loop which can be pretty bad. Either way, I'll work on the dm a bit more.

Thanks to everyone who offered some advice, and to those who offered to look over one of my demos. I'll most likely hit you up on that at some point in the near future.

[quote=Gaz]snip[/quote] This really helps, thanks - I'll try and work on the teamfights aspect more in future games.

[quote=smzi]tbh not getting frags/damage in open must bea dm problem just my 2cents[/quote]Yeah, that's the general impression I'm getting. From what my team have said I thought my dm was at a decent level, but of course when it's just open players giving feedback to other open players it creates a feedback loop which can be pretty bad. Either way, I'll work on the dm a bit more.

Thanks to everyone who offered some advice, and to those who offered to look over one of my demos. I'll most likely hit you up on that at some point in the near future.
17
#17
-1 Frags +

One of the things that brought my gameplay as scout to be better is to consistently be looking for new targets. For example if on a mid, you hit the demo 30 damage and then you consistently chip away at him because your aim is terrible and you think 30 damage is lot. Don't. Always be on the lookout for the things closest to be fragged. Don't be afraid to run away. I'm bad at scout but I hope this helps.

One of the things that brought my gameplay as scout to be better is to consistently be looking for new targets. For example if on a mid, you hit the demo 30 damage and then you consistently chip away at him because your aim is terrible and you think 30 damage is lot. Don't. Always be on the lookout for the things closest to be fragged. Don't be afraid to run away. I'm bad at scout but I hope this helps.
18
#18
-1 Frags +

Work on finding chances to safely close the distance on opponents. And get comfortable fighting at 60 damage scattergun range, not 30 damage range.

Work on finding chances to safely close the distance on opponents. And get comfortable fighting at 60 damage scattergun range, not 30 damage range.
19
#19
4 Frags +

When I was trying to get less bad at scout for i58 I found it really helpful to watch demos (or demo reviews on youtube) of good scouts and watch how they play mids, last pushes, taking fights, target selection, etc. At the end of the day as gek and others have noted, a lot of scout is just hitting shots so that would probably be your best bet at an open level. There are some other things that can be quite helpful like making sure to get a buff and not pushing flank without 185 or some other advantage (dm advantage counts here as exemplified by clockwork).

When I was trying to get less bad at scout for i58 I found it really helpful to watch demos (or demo reviews on youtube) of good scouts and watch how they play mids, last pushes, taking fights, target selection, etc. At the end of the day as gek and others have noted, a lot of scout is just hitting shots so that would probably be your best bet at an open level. There are some other things that can be quite helpful like making sure to get a buff and not pushing flank without 185 or some other advantage (dm advantage counts here as exemplified by clockwork).
20
#20
0 Frags +

i just played against you today and honestly i didn't notice you feeding or being out of position, i think its just your DM you need to work on as others have said.

i just played against you today and honestly i didn't notice you feeding or being out of position, i think its just your DM you need to work on as others have said.
21
#21
6 Frags +

I wouldn't worry too much about low dpm on a 30 minute granary game, worry more about whether there's more you can contribute to your team winning. I tend to play a lower dpm / lower damage taken style, like ringo_starr calls the 180 dpm warrior, because it's a good way to help win games without having to outdm everybody. Some general tips:

-try not to die unnecessarily. It's way harder for the opponent to push into areas if you have more players alive. Times when it might be OK or necessary to die: your med is dead and they have full ad; you got stuck behind somehow and can't help hold a point; there is a high-reward opening you think you can capitalize on (maybe a free demo pick etc). That's about it (at least for learning players)

-use buffs effectively - when you have 185 hp it's a good opportunity to poke around on flank with your roamer and see if you can catch somebody out, without really risking your own life

-don't "flank" as in pushing behind the enemy team, in fact don't do anything that forces you to take 1v1 (or worst 1v2 and 1v3) fights. Fight when you have the upper hand, not the other way around. This also means not committing so close that if a guy decides to push in you will die/have to fight. You need to be aware of where enemies are.

-during team fights and midfights shoot things that your teammates are shooting, and things that aren't looking at you. Position yourself so you aren't going to be the target that everybody on the other team instantly shoots. Chipshot midair soldiers.

-Watch demo reviews of better players so you can get into the mindset of why they do certain things and when. YouMustMike, though his videos are old, is excellent (watch his reviews of Open and IM scouts, especially the ones on maps you struggle on). B4nny and Mr Slin have some good ones on their youtube channels, especially the ones Slin does with invite players as guests. Saam has a few but his best are the ones with Mason like this one

-your scrim logs don't have the accuracy plugin but if you're getting less than 60% consistently then you need to practice your aim for sure. Taking your time & relaxing also helps a lot, especially when you aren't being shot at - no need to rush shots and miss more

I wouldn't worry too much about low dpm on a 30 minute granary game, worry more about whether there's more you can contribute to your team winning. I tend to play a lower dpm / lower damage taken style, like ringo_starr calls the 180 dpm warrior, because it's a good way to help win games without having to outdm everybody. Some general tips:

-try not to die unnecessarily. It's way harder for the opponent to push into areas if you have more players alive. Times when it might be OK or necessary to die: your med is dead and they have full ad; you got stuck behind somehow and can't help hold a point; there is a high-reward opening you think you can capitalize on (maybe a free demo pick etc). That's about it (at least for learning players)

-use buffs effectively - when you have 185 hp it's a good opportunity to poke around on flank with your roamer and see if you can catch somebody out, without really risking your own life

-don't "flank" as in pushing behind the enemy team, in fact don't do anything that forces you to take 1v1 (or worst 1v2 and 1v3) fights. Fight when you have the upper hand, not the other way around. This also means not committing so close that if a guy decides to push in you will die/have to fight. You need to be aware of where enemies are.

-during team fights and midfights shoot things that your teammates are shooting, and things that aren't looking at you. Position yourself so you aren't going to be the target that everybody on the other team instantly shoots. Chipshot midair soldiers.

-Watch demo reviews of better players so you can get into the mindset of why they do certain things and when. [url=https://www.youtube.com/user/DeselectYourMind/videos]YouMustMike[/url], though his videos are old, is excellent (watch his reviews of Open and IM scouts, especially the ones on maps you struggle on). B4nny and Mr Slin have some good ones on their youtube channels, especially the ones Slin does with invite players as guests. Saam has a few but his best are the ones with Mason like [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YEueXt3Y9w]this one[/url]

-your scrim logs don't have the accuracy plugin but if you're getting less than 60% consistently then you need to practice your aim for sure. Taking your time & relaxing also helps a lot, especially when you aren't being shot at - no need to rush shots and miss more
22
#22
1 Frags +
mathemaphysicistPaging crackbabydumpster

long time no see

[quote=mathemaphysicist]Paging crackbabydumpster[/quote]
long time no see
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