Summer is approaching. So for every gamer, it’s time to yet again avoid going out in the open air and sit in their gaming chair and avoid nearly everything that isn’t a pixel. Luckily, most modern games are able to be played with friends, either locally or online. So, gamers can play their favorite games together and still claim that they had some kind of human interaction that day to the worried non-gamer members of their family. It’s always fun to play a game with your friends, especially when you make up for each other’s weaknesses and work together to beat each challenge. However, what do you do when the friend that you have to count on is an unpredictable rookie, or even worse a lunatic that thinks every game should be played like he’s a combination of Jason Bourne and the Hulk? I find myself in this unfortunate situation almost every day with my best friend when we get off work or school and play an online game together. Most gamers have someone like this in their lives; a person who they enjoy playing games with, but is a horrible teammate and will get them both killed within minutes. With summer around the corner, both you and that person will have even more free time to play video games together. So to help myself and otherslike me,I developed three tips based on my own experiences with my friend William.
- Always give your bad teammate the appropriate amount of in-game space so they can make a mistake without your character being affected. Whetherit’s Kirby or Call of Duty, you always want to make sure that in any game where your character can take damage, you are standing far enough from your bad teammate so when they drop a grenade, miss a jump, or activate a special ability that destroys everything around them, you aren’t in their way. I learned this while playing Modern Warfare 3 with William several years ago while our characters were on a rooftop platform. He decided to throw all of his grenades at our enemies, but they bounced off a wall and landed right back in front of us, turning our characters into ragdolls. Since that time I have tried to stand further away from him in every game we play. So when his character randomly explodes, falls into a trap or catches on fire, I’m safely out of the way and my name doesn’t show up next to his on the death screen.
2. Always keep your bad teammate well supplied with health, power ups and equipment. When enemies or obstacles appear, they won’t be helpless and can at least do something. Much like a shark with no fins, most bad teammates can’t effectively hunt for resources on their own, so you will need to give them the majority of items they will need to survive. It may sound like a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Not only is it a nice thing to help keep your friend alive, it also keeps them happy and makes them want to be more effective teammates and make less mistakes. They might use that health kit you gave them earlier to revive you later on, or they might use that rare sword you handed them to slay the monster you didn’t see behind you. Every time I give William something to help his character, he always tries to repay me later on by saving my character’s life, even when he knows he could come in first if he didn’t. It’s true that your bad teammate will get you killed a lot, but keeping them well supplied will help them help you in return just as often.
3. Know your bad teammate’s strengths and weaknesses. As alluded to, earlier my friend William has a real problem when it comes to knowing when and how to use grenades in video games. As a result, I try to keep him as far away from anything that can explode as possible when I’m playing a game with him. However, he is an excellent builder and fighter, which means that whenever we need to craft a shelter or fight off enemies, he’s the guy I put on the front lines. If you know what your bad teammate is bad at, then you know what to do for them and can let them do the things they are best at. Of course, in the meantime, you should try and teach them to improve their weak points so they can learn to do it themselves. But when enemies are coming and your virtual lives are at stake you need do what you’re good at and let them do what they’re good at.
By using these tips, I have found that my game time with my bad teammate William is much more enjoyable, and when his character dies after getting eaten by a radioactive bear, I can watch from a safe distance without screaming because the bear tore my head off while trying to get to him. Games are best enjoyed with other people and when the shortcomings of those people don’t affect you that much or at all, you can stay in the game longer and have a much better time. I hope these tips can help you with your own bad teammates in video games this summer. As much as we hate to admit it, our bad video game teammates are also what make the games we play with them even more entertaining.
