September 1, 2025

I’ve been helping some of my casual friends get into the competitive scene lately, and one thing that I always get asked is “what should I be doing/what shouldn’t I be doing”? So I wanted to type out some of my thoughts about some “dos and donts” about the competitive scene! Please add your own thoughts and ideas, I’d love to open up a discussion about this.

DOS

• Scrim, scrim, scrim! Scrim on tournament map lists, scrim on random maps, do counterpicks, swap weapons with your teammates, swap teammates with the other team… get in as much practice as you possible can in as many ways as you can. It’s a low-stress environment where you are free to experiment with different game mechanics and strategies, and it will build up a strong sense of your own gameplay and the gameplay of your teammates. Also scrim against teams that are better than you! The best way (at least, one of the best ways) to learn is by getting your teeth kicked in. Going up against opponents who know how to take advantage of your weaknesses will teach you what mistakes you need to fix.
• VOD review! If there’s games that were close, games you have questions about, games that you just don’t know what went wrong then look them over with a critical eye. While coaches are also a great help, don’t be afraid to have discussions as a team about the plays that were made. It’s especially important to go over games that you lost and not just review your wins.
• Have team discussions. I’d say this is the most important point I try to make with anyone looking to join a team. While lots of other people have made good points on how to vet for new players, it’s equally as important to continuously check in with your teammates. Not just to see if they still have shared goals, but just to get their opinions and feedback on how the team is being run. My own team makes a solid effort to have a team meeting at least once a month to discuss our progress and anything else we think is important to bring up. Nipping any hard conversations in the bud as soon as possible is the key to a successful team!
• Have team discussions in between games. This goes along with the above point, but it’s good to build a habit of discussion what went wrong/what went right in between matches be they scrim or tournament matches. There’s usually a little bit of downtime between matches to have short discussions about the outcome. From a personal example, when we were scrimming against our coach’s team, our captain asked us “why do we feel like we can’t do anything?” We had a lengthy conversation about our perceived lack of understanding and strength, and went into the next match with a new mindset. We still lost, but it was much more even than the previous match, and honestly we fought very well. Always talk to your teammates and be open, honest, and respectful.
• Have a good mentality!!! Even if you’re losing, there’s ALWAYS something to be learned. If your teammate gets a nice kill, compliment them! Crack jokes during a match! Come up with silly callouts (oh boy… does Mesopelagic have a bunch of silly callouts…) At the end of the day, you should be having fun with your friends. If you’re not having fun and enjoying yourself, what’s the point of playing?

And here are some of the DONTS that I like to list:

• Clutter callouts. While it’s fine to crack jokes and be silly, don’t do it in a way that makes it difficult to communicate during a match. Keep callouts short and concise, and otherwise it might get confusing. (E.x. “tetra on left stack” is more clear than tetras kill me on left stack watch our they’re sharking”.) it’s a hard skill to build up, but it’s something to keep working on.
• Set strict goals. “Our goal is to win X tournament” isn’t a feasible starting goal. Depending on the tournament, there can be an upwards of 30+ teams, that’s a lot of people to beat in a lot of different skill levels! It’s best to start small with your goals (e.x. “Our goal is to win one match this tournament”) as you slowly start to work on your game sense and other skills. Eventually you can make your goal outright winning a tournament once you’ve gained more experience and confidence in your skills! And of course, there’s nothing wrong with having a main goal you want to work towards as a team! Mesopelagic wants to get Low Ink banned, but before then we have our sights set on getting silver bracket in either FTIU or Shark Tank.
• Only play open for practice. This might be more controversial? I don’t think open is always good practice since the level of skill isn’t always consistent, especially since you aren’t always playing against another 4-stack, and even then the chances of that 4-stack being another competitive team is pretty low. It is enticing to play it though because it’s a lot simpler to hop into open rather than try to schedule something with another team, but I do think sendouQ/scrims are the best way to improve teamplay.
• Insult your teammates OR your opponents. Tilt can happen, it’s unavoidable. But it’s never an excuse to be abusive towards anyone you’re playing with or against. There’s nothing wrong with healthy competition and maybe a bit of [shit]talking since that can be fun and build rivalries, but there’s a point where you might take it way too far. Everyone is trying to play the best they can. Your opponents aren’t beating you just to be rude or disrespectful, they’re just playing to win like most people do.

Like I said, this is mostly a list I send to my casual friends who want to get into the scene whenever they might ask me these questions. I’m curious what other people would list as their dos/donts!