Gonna put this here.
I just corralled a friend who was feeling bad about their performance to a win in Fortnite. That stuff is remarkably hard to do on a Nintendo Switch, especially without any communication, but we made it happen. Every time, that person tells me that I carried, which just isn't true. I can't aim for shit on a controller, especially in a game that runs, maybe, at 20fps. I've won over 500 times and can count on two hands the amount that I've outgunned someone. If anything, if you lose to me while holding every advantage possible, that's on you.
My friend dying or getting shredded every fight is because they're not thinking about the game when playing it. Every encounter, they'll just plant their feet and return fire to whatever bullets are coming in. There are numerous reasons why this is a bad idea. You don't have cover; they can have cover, there are others hearing you fight; stuff like that. That's how you die. My singular advantage is that my rat senses are always tingling, from being forged in the fire of solo play. I don't…I don't have any friends. The difference maker, for a lot of players, is this game sense term that people throw around.
I've done some light coaching, unsuccessfully, as my biggest strength is shuffling moving parts around. Those who can't; teach kinda deal. There are some pillars that are always good to keep in mind; the kinda stuff that should become second nature. As these pillars become self-evident, you can still "not think" about the game, but by doing it in a way that's generally more survivable. Consider it an opportunity builder. Here are a few tricks that were utilized in this game:
- Avoid early fights whenever possible. A medium loot spot that's safe is better than a high value place that boils down to a skill check.
- Hunt overpowered loot early. In this case, I signaled two anime punch loot boxes. You don't want to look for those when everyone can hear you do it. If you kill bosses, do it quickly and leave.
- Mobility is king. Always be ready to jump out if things go bad. Shockwave grenades are a loadout must, but alternatives like the rocket will do in a pinch. Just get out. If it's a car, it's a car.
- Position position position. After the mid game quieted down, I literally signaled a bush to hide in. That's right, just crouch in a bush for a few minutes. We'd then take a rift to the opposite side of where the circle closes, since no one would be able to be behind us. Your plan should always be to stay ahead of sweaties that just run and gun.
- Now it's shooting time. If it's late game and you're looting, you're messing up. You either should be set or, at worst, you need to withdraw for a second to heal/recalibrate and that's it. You don't need to swap your purple rifle for a gold rifle. You don't. Just shoot people.
Obviously, there's more micromanagement like tracking the kill feed or understanding the map layouts, but this should be a general step up, if you find yourself struggling. We had one chance to make it work, as we were just getting blasted every round and we hit the "one last good one" stage of playing together. I think we did pretty well. Maybe you can, too.
GLHF