Philosophy of Grifball - Part 3
Ace
Throughout human history there have been many questions that have impacted the way we think. The way we understand the world. From Socrates, whose Socratic Method shaped western philosophy for centuries. To more modern thinkers such as Albert Camus and his idea of Existentialism that would go on and influence things such as Rick and Morty. Even still in the other portion of the world, thinkers such as Confucius would create schools of thought that dominated Chinese politics for centuries. Even Sun Tzu whose philosophy on the Art of War may just be the most well read, known, and appreciated book of thought. There are so many different ways that we think, that we understand, and that we wonder. That is what it means to be human, but what does it mean to be a Grifball player?
In this series we have had Galvann explain his theories on tanking, Dcleak express his potent understanding of running, and now we get to have Ace provide us with his Philosophy on being a hybrid. Buckle up kids. This is going to be a long one.
Controller or Keyboard
Ace requires no introduction. I’m going to give him one anyways.
Arguably the smartest player on the court, Ace plays with his FOV on a flat 90 across all titles. His favorite Grif is Halo Reach due to the simplicity of it, no crazy gravity or passing, instead it's about a player's own skill and positioning. He has switched from playing controller to playing more Mouse and Keyboard which may be surprising to you, because the general consensus was that the movement of controller was superior at all times. I don’t think anyone could explain why better than he could.
“In past Controller because Halo was mostly console only and controller is very usual to play with. Currently it depends on the game now.
I started using Mouse and Keyboard for the fun of it and see how I'd do before the 2nd Dreamhack Tourney (Halo Reach). I've had M&K experience with other PC games so playing M&K generally isn't a new experience, but it was a new experience to try playing Grifball with M&K. I played M&K during the Halo Reach and Halo 3 Dreamhack tourneys but switch it back up to controller for the Classic Halo 4 season. Reason so is because of the setup of M&K vs Controller. I have 2 different playstyles for using either setup. And I played with M&K for the fun of it, when it didn't impact too much with me playing worse on M&K vs Controller.
But for general I think I play better in Halo Reach Grifball and Halo 3 Grifball with mouse and keyboard while Halo 4 feels better to play with Controller. I do lose out in some dancing playstyle with M&K while gaining mouse screen movement when versus controller. On the other hand, I also lose some aspects of gameplay when I don't play on controller.
For Halo 3 controller is easier to dance tank (can perform slow movements forward/backwards) and as well as general hammer jumping (whether it be general hammer jumping or hammer jumping with ball). While M&K makes it easier to run the ball and get punches from the flanks, as well as get hammer kills/sword kills from the flanks while leaving opposing players behind me to catch up to me for the moments opposing players may having to move forward on me from my flanks. I can get kills on flankers with controller on 8 sensitivity as well but may not be guaranteed if I cannot turn my screen fast enough with controller turning. I have to plan my gameplay more often in order to make sure I get the screen turn kills for those moments on controller. While, M&K turning makes getting flank kills much easier when I have practiced enough to know how much to move my mouse to get 90-180 degree turn kills instantly.
For Halo Reach it can be generally more fun for me to play on M&K to do similar of what I do in H3 with screen turning flank kills. Except it's much easier to screen turn on Halo Reach than it is on H3 due to the fact that I don't have to worry about teammates gravity hammers pushing me randomly. But in general, I may play better on controller than I do M&K on Halo Reach due to more comfortable with controller than M&K. Especially on Halo Reach Grifball Dash where it is much harder to get used to playing on M&K than it is with controller. But it can be more fun to play M&K on Reach to me when I do the backwards tanking thing.
Halo 4 I feel Controller is just better to play than M&K. M&K is still easier to get mouse screen turning moments but what I can do already with controller makes the screen turning advantage not necessarily needed for Halo 4. Plus, there are disadvantage moments with screen turning with mouse in H4 while sprinting. When you turn your screen too fast while sprinting you will stop sprinting. So, unless you want to intentionally stop sprinting during that moment then it can become more of a nuisance to worry about and get used to than it can be worth. Additionally, it can be harder to get sword lunges with the sword on M&K than it is with Controller due to the aim assist being better with controller than M&K. Not saying M&K cannot be played on H4 but for me I feel Controller is the better way to go for H4.”
The Difficulties
Like in our previous articles I asked Ace some preliminary questions before getting into the nitty gritty of Grifball. When asked what portion of the game was most difficult, Ace broke it down for each individual Grif Hes been playing.
“Depends on the game.
H3: dealing with all the hammer bouncing. Especially when the hammer bouncing isn't trying to be done yourself and you don't push the jump button. It's easy to get your positioning interrupted because of a hammer bounce. A hammer bounce can happen whether it be other tanks around you hammering each other, a hammer tank (regardless of team) tries to hammer jump themselves from spawn or a player hammer swings, whether it be intentional for a reason or accidental hammer swings. These can get your out of position on offense/defense or get you killed when a hammer hit moves you without you reacting in time or if you are unable to react from the hammer wave moving you (whether it be slightly or more than slightly).
HReach: dealing against a good runner on the other team. Especially if playing something like MM and cannot rely on your teammates to kill a good runner and have to do it yourself. A good runner in Hreach has a strong factor for whether a team would win or not.
H4: When the enemy team has the ball and the enemy team can be smart to go for potential offensive pass plays and are pushing forward towards your team's plate. It can be difficult to hope on your teammates (and yourself) to make the right call to prevent a score from happening on defense. Whether it be to watch for the enemy runner running in and/or a potential pass play and the pressure of the potential pass play can always give pressure to your team on defense and can limit your team's movement capabilities sometimes on defense. As well as have the risk of worrying about a potential pass play to the goal when your team could get simply out-tanked instead. One bad jump (regardless of reason) can be the mistake to happen that result in an opposing team score to happen. Even if the rest of the team was/is playing well. One moment of death(s) on your team can result in a potential score. One (or more) out of position player(s) on your team can also lead to enemy team scoring.”
Host and Team Roles
I asked how warmed up Ace needs to be to perform, and if he is able to hop right into a league game cold without warming up.
“I can play with or without warm-up. Whether a warm-up or no warm-up is better for me depends on if I feel like I need some warm-up or not. I usually don't like having too long of a warm-up before actual game(s) though.”
I also asked him how host dependent he felt the game was, as everyone always complains about host being a factor in the loss or the win. For those that may not know Ace has spent quite a bit of time playing in the old EU league despite being an American. So having far away hosts is something he knows all too well.
“As a Central player (regardless of game) it doesn't affect my gameplay much playing on East or West. I do play my best on Central host. Only time host may affect me is if the host is not from US. But I can still play pretty well on non-US hosts. So, unless non-US host is greatly helping non-US players very well then I can still play on non-US hosts semi-well.”
Interestingly Ace doesn’t seem to mind host all too much, even in those non-us ones. Seems like he relies on his own skill, and his intelligence to make plays regardless of host. Now intelligence is a fun subject. I said before that many would consider ace to be the smartest on court player, so how would he define Grifball intelligence?
“Gameplay wise: knowing how to perform your role well. Whether it be being tank mindset in tank only, runner mindset for runner role, hybrid playing either tank and/or runner role, or MM mindset for knowing how to play the way you want to play well. There will always be controversy on which way someone plays and if it's the best way or a better way.”
So, in Ace’s mind intelligence comes down specifically to knowing your role inside and out. Knowing what you are needed to be doing at any given time. I think that’s very fair, if a tank doesn’t know to prioritize a sword the runner may die, if a tank doesn’t know when not to push forward, he may leave his team in his dust and be way out of position when a turn over happens. These may seem like basic things but they are the hallmarks of a good and intelligent player. Now let's start talking more about gameplay. First question I asked was about the radar. Ace’s philosophy is different from Galvann's. Infact almost the exact opposite.
“Very often. Always try to have radar watched on the side while looking at the screen. So, I radar tank and watch the screen at the same time as often as I can for both tanking and running.”
Now Ace has a history of being one of the scariest swords in the game. I for one still have nightmare flashbacks to when he got a sword spree killtac on my plate and single handedly defeated my entire team. So how does he decide when to and when not to bust the bad boy out? Once again Ace goes above and beyond by breaking it down for each game.
“H3: If playing for fun then whenever I want to, I'll use sword. When playing seriously then I use sword when usually on defense and rarely on offense, unless I want to catch someone off-guard when they're not looking at me. Otherwise, I usually use hammer on offense and sometimes defense while watching out to help launch a teammate forward if the launch may help. I may also use sword if I know I can out-tank other players who may try to do sword v sword battles. But usually, a strong timing with hammer is stronger 1v1 against a sword. There are also some situations where sword tanking can be also a good thing for if to make the enemy runner one shot in a 2v1 advantage or to prevent betrayals with hammer or to prevent my hammer bounce to be a factor.
Halo Reach: I use sword for either against runner sometimes or if I want to simply go for trades against a tank. However, the majority of the time hammer is more advantageous to use than the sword is for winning 1v1s. Winning a 1v1 with hammer against ball runner can also happen but as of my recent H:Reach gameplay I'm not good in winning that unless the enemy runner screws up. So, generally, sword for enemy runner and hammer for enemy tanks (regardless of if they're using hammer or sword).
H4: Majority hammer tanking is the way to go. Only use sword for maybe a trade with an enemy tank if I know I can get the trade. Sword trades are harder to do on H4 than it is Halo Reach. Or I will use sword mainly against the enemy runner offensively. Can also use sword on unsuspected tanks who have their backs on me. When playing more defensively the majority of the time hammer is also the way to go. Especially when being able to pop-up enemy runner. It is more advantageous on defense to buy more time to prevent the enemy team from closing in to my team's plate than it is to simply sword and give the runner an easy kill on me and potentially make it one less player for the enemy team to get to my team's goal.”
In terms of being a hybrid, Ace is probably the best who ever lived. So, I wanted to really dive down into what being a hybrid means on the court, and what the importance of the position can be. First I asked ace to define being a hybrid for us.
“A hybrid player has the ability to be able to run the ball or tank whenever he needs to. A hybrid can be either a main tank line in addition to being a main runner or a backup runner. When team forming a hybrid runner may give a team more tanking power when it's 3 tanks + 1 hybrid runner. Or give a pure runner more confidence that their teammate hybrid player running the ball can play well with the ball as a backup hybrid runner. In general, any player would feel more confident in playing their role when there is a good hybrid to fill in any role.
Not to say hybrids are the only way to go. But a pure runner can play fine if they play smart when they don't have the ball. While a pure tank can help the team to know wherever the tank is tanking at to be more likely safe spot to be at, and for the tank's teammates to run around when the tank is playing well.
Only time being a good pure runner is disadvantageous is when the runner doesn't have the ball in his hands and ends up being a liability while they cannot get the ball back in his hands.
And a good pure tank gets disadvantageous if the pure tank either does not pick up the ball at all and doesn't help with ball possession, if the tank is getting out-tanked, or if the pure tank gets themselves distracted by trying to help get ball control hurting their tank play performance while also not being able to help maintain ball possession.
So, in general hybrids can always be advantageous as long as the hybrid's performance doesn't hinder trying to play as a hybrid (concentrating on both tanking and ball runner/ball control).
you should play the way you play the best while playing seriously. When it's non-serious it can be more of up to you of how you'd want to play.”
As a follow up I asked what defines a true hybrid and why does it seem like hybrids are forced to be either tank or runner on most teams.
“If the question was "What makes a true hybrid" then it's a player who can fit in the role they're more needed or wanted in anytime as a tank or runner on the court.
As for reasons for why a hybrid player may get forced into the tanking role can depend on the team composition, game and game setup. Usually, teams having more tanking power on offense while selecting the team's worst tank can be an easy way for players to pick someone to run and the hybrid ends up tanking in a Grifball league. If there is a pure runner on the team then the pure runner (and/or team) may want to have higher priority in running than the hybrid running whenever possible. Conflict on who should run can always become a thing so the teammate(s) may conflict with having their runner run the ball or if a tank/hybrid simply doesn't want to or can't give the ball to a runner or hybrid runner. Which reasons can also change whether it be a classic team, draft team, ranked customs team, regular customs team or Matchmaking team.
In Classic usually the team would have or create a plan or individual know who would run on the team so a hybrid may easily get put into the tanking role more often.
In a Draft team a strong tank-hybrid would be performing the tank role more often than the runner role cause the hybrid may get picked up to help the tanking side for the team for the main reason for the pick by the captain. Or if the captain is a hybrid they might decides to pick up a runner to force themselves to fill the tanking role. Usually, it's likely there is another player that may end up being chosen as a dedicated runner so the hybrid has to go tank role more often.
In Ranked customs usually the best player that can run the ball would run the ball. Cause usually whoever runs the best can win the games the best for their team, especially when most of the ranked customs lobbies are usually having both teams having no voice communications and usually unorganized teams. So, the times a hybrid would tank more than run in Ranked customs are either the hybrid doesn't get the ball very often and the other players on his team doesn't give the ball to the hybrid, the hybrid having no chance to get the ball if the ranked lobby is not balanced teams against the hybrid or if the hybrid may let another player on his team run the ball instead to force themselves to tank.
In regular customs it depends on who are in the custom lobby and who are on what teams. A hybrid can fill the tank role more often when teams are unbalanced against the hybrid team and the hybrid's team never has the ball, if the hybrid doesn't want to run ball and ignores ball or gives his teammates ball if he has it, or if the lobby simply doesn't want the hybrid to run the ball and prevents the hybrid from ball running.
In Matchmaking it's easy for a hybrid to play more of a tank role than runner role when either the hybrid doesn't care to get ball and simply wants to go for kills. Or if the hybrid would rather rely on a teammate to run the ball for them so the hybrid can force themselves to tank more often in Matchmaking.
So overall it just depends on the game, game setup, on the player(s) on the teams and themselves for the reason why a hybrid may get forced into performing the tank role more often.”
So those really sum up being a hybrid, and why a team may need a hybrid very well. But Ace also mentioned that the downside to being a pure runner is when the runner can't get the ball back after losing it. Those sorts of defensive plays are in many people's minds the cornerstone for both a runner and a hybrid. However, Ace makes a great observation when I asked him if defense is the responsibility of a hybrid.
“More successful hybrids in general would be able to perform any role any time regardless of being an offensive player or defensive player. However, mistakes can always happen and the way a hybrid has to play can also change depending on the hybrid's team composition.
Hybrid + 3 tanks = hybrid being more runner oriented and ball control focus.
2 or more Hybrids and Tanks = Hybrid can share running duties with other hybrid(s).
Hybrid + 1 or more pure runner(s) + Tank(s) = Hybrid can help backup run and help ball control while focus more on tanking duties when handing the ball to his runner(s).
But overall, how defense oriented the Hybrid have to be depends on how well his teammate(s) can also play defensively as well (if needed). Only time when defense is not needed is if the hybrid's team wins every ball possession on tip-offs and never loses the ball until they score. Defense may not be necessary if a tanking team can overwhelm the opposing team at the same time of preventing an enemy runner (if they get ball) to get to your team's plate or keep the ball long.
If teammates aren't very good on defense, while the offense isn't strong enough to carry said defense, then the hybrid will have to be able to play defense oriented very well or more well for the team's success. Especially if the hybrid's team is getting out-tanked. Then the Hybrid needs to play very well defensively and potentially in a smart manner if needed.
And as for how being a defensive minded player change my gameplay is by mostly changing my positioning to counteract the enemy team's positioning when the enemy team tries to gain advantageous positioning. Otherwise, a lotta times it's still going to be a lot about getting either good or needed kills that can help prevent the enemy team from advancing. Also getting trades or deaths can be fine as long as if it prolongs the enemy team from being able to score. Simply making the enemy team unable to get the ball (from passing back non-stop in H4, good routes and punches in H:Reach or good routes/punches in H3) can be another form of defense if I'm a ball-running hybrid.
Also, how much I go for enemy tanks or enemy runners can depend on which targets my teammates go for and how they're positioned. I will try to change my positioning from left side of the court to right side of the court even if I end up being the back-line player if I know I can be out of position for defense.”
So, there is a lot of thought that goes into his defensive plays, and defense is one of those difficult part of the game to really master. I think Ace’s breakdown of it shows exactly why as well. So much of it is not just reacting to the enemy but knowing your team and playing with them to properly make the defense work. So, to back track a little to the disadvantage of being a pure runner, I also asked Ace simply why have a runner? Why not just always try and play with hybrids? Are we truly in a Hybrids League?
“A strong runner can always help be a factor for whether a team succeeds or not (regardless if they're pure runner or hybrid runner). Only times a runner role may not be needed is when the team's tanking role is too strong for the enemy team to deal with, and while completely shutting down the enemy runner from either having the ball or being able to perform on the court. Then all my team's runner/hybrid runner has to do is just run behind his tanks when runner/hybrid has ball then it could be GGs.
But for when I should focus more as hybrid position over the runner role depends on the team that forms over time. Majority of my seasons I've been a Tank heavy hybrid player or can also run well with the ball when needed since my tanking power on the team is more needed/wanted than my running capability for the team. The only season where I ended up as a pure runner role and was successful was during the Halo 5 console season when it was duo captains draft season and I was partnered with captain InfiniteRainge. That was the only season I became a mostly main runner role throughout the season when Rainge & I focused on picking up tanks to fill out the roster to have me as the main runner and succeed. Majority of the draft seasons or classic seasons I was always teamed with a pure runner to give the ball to or the team needed me to fill in the tank role more often than carrying the bomb. So, since I've played more often as a tank-hybrid than I have as a runner-hybrid role is the reason why I end up performing the tanking role more often than I do as a runner-hybrid role. Especially when (when in a drafting tourney/season) it can be more advantageous to first round draft a tank or hybrid to perform the tanking role more often than it is to go for a pure runner first round. Never underestimate how much it matters that having too little tanking power or too little running power on a team that can hurt the team.”
It seems like forgoing a runner in favor is certainly a strategy that will work well; however, you really need to build around your hybrids to allow then to transition to more of a runner position than hybrid. The only reason Ace made that transition in the season he brought up was simply do to the fact he was duoing with a tank he could trust and knew enough to focus on picking the best tanks they could to fill out the roster and let Ace carry the ball.
The Gameplan
Ace has broken down being a hybrid very well for us, his insight has been instrumental. So, let's get into the fun bit, talking about a play by play. Keeping in mind all the things he already said. I asked Ace his opinions on some of the standard things the happen in a game. Starting once again with the most important portion of the game. Tip Off.
“For a Grifball league setting I'm usually filling in depending on what tip-off the team would like to do since I can play whatever tip-off role I'm needed/wanted for. And tip-off strategies can change depending on the game as well as the team. Also, I may individually plan against the enemy's team tip-off independently more often than plan out team tip-off against other team's tip-offs. If your team cannot perform your own's team tip-off the best they can, then how can the team plan out to counteract the enemy's team tip-off? Would your own team's tip-off be good enough that you don't have to plan against the enemy team's tip-off? Also, I always use my radar to help determine where I'm at for the tip-off position.
Halo 3
For H3: the common tip-off strategy is outside players launching inside players to reach the ball in the middle faster and I've filled in as a player on the outside and inside before depending on the team. Where upon spawning in host box the inside players would run to teleporters first. While the outside players would either charge the outer teleporters while making sure to be behind the 2 front middle players or wait and stand still a second upon spawning in the teleporters room before moving forward.
If I was one of the front players then I would simply hold forward before spawning to get to the one of the front portals the fastest. Using my radar to determine if I'm on the left to take the left portal or the right to take the right portal. If the other front player that I'm teamed with would rather take priority in middle-left (2) or middle-right (3) portal then I'd over time see if they slow down a little for me or if I have to slow down a little for them to make sure to take the right portal and not conflict our movements with each other. Upon teleport I might jump before reaching the portal to the court to maybe move a little faster. Otherwise, I'd just simply hold forward through the teleportal and jump after 1 second out of the portal to try to time when teammates from behind me would swing their hammers. If I reach the ball first then I'd prioritize ball pickup over killing but will kill if I know I'd die if I don't swing my hammer for first touch. There is less likely chance to get ball possession if I'm dead as one of the first front players. If I think I have reliable teammates behind me to go for a "flowers" pro run and I can perform the "Flowers" well then, I may go for the "flower" jump over. If I'm reaching the middle behind a teammate then I could go for kills to help prevent the opposing team players from moving forward towards our side or simply reduce their numbers. Getting the needed front player tip-off kill can always hurt opposing team's momentum to go forward on the court on tip-off. Or I'd stick to being behind-middle of my teammate and help their "Flowers" hammer jump with ball (or simply jump with ball) to be successful with my hammer swings.
If I was a back player then I'd usually wait about a second or less (or make sure I'm behind my front tanks) while using my radar to determine to take the left (1) or middle left (2) portal or to take the middle right (3) or right (4) portal. Whether I take left (1) or right (4) portal as opposed to middle left (2) or middle right (3) depends on if the team is either going for inside-outside launching or going for launching front tanks from behind. Upon taking the teleporting as a back player (regardless of which one) I always try to launch one of my front players in the direction of the middle plate. It does matter in which spot the hammer hits and at what time to hammer swing. Hammer swinging timing is best done when the front player starts their jump or is in the highest point of their jump. If the hammer swing comes in when the front player is going downwards and about to land then it would be considered a late hammer swing. If the hammer swing comes in when the front player hasn't jumped yet then it would be considered too early of a hammer swing that may have no impact for your team. Additionally, the hammer swing's position can matter for which direction the front player will get boosted. Hammer swinging when the front player is to the right of you will help launch your front player to the right of you and vice versa for front player being left of you. So, ideally as back player you'd want to have your hammer swing occur with the front player being between you and the ball spawn to hammer the front player to the ball spawn direction faster. A pro thing to do as back player would be to not only get the hammer swings timing and positioning good but as well as the determine the direction of your screen to hammer swing. With every back player hammer swinging on the court not only does your teammate back player but as well as your own hammer swing can bounce you out of defensive position as a back player (getting launched or self-launching towards your own side's left or right side corner upon hammer swinging). So ideally, I'd want to either swing to the left of my screen if I spawn left or right side of my screen if I spawn right to also try to counteract the bounce that my other back teammate's player hammer swing that may occur. So, the 3 things to remember to be a good back player launcher is 1. timing the swing on the front player being in the air. 2. positioning the hammer swing to boost the front player towards the plate direction and 3. hammer swing in the direction of a corner to avoid getting out of defensive position. Afterwards I act as one of the backline players to try to help prevent an enemy team pro run from happening or simply advance forward on the court.
Halo Reach
For Halo Reach: it depends on where I spawn since there isn't a choice of which position you can spawn on the court like you can in H3. So, if I'm and outside player I go in from the side of the ball plate on tip-off. And as an outside player I may plan going for either distracting opposing team's side player or getting first strike. As a side player I want to prevent enemy side players from getting an 2v1, 3v2 or 3v1 advantages for ball pickup control. Only time I go towards first pickup for ball is if for some reason my team's middle player(s) are behind me and I'd reach the ball first.
If I'm an inside player then I go towards the ball then I'm going direct direction of the ball plate. If spawning middle and my other middle player is in front of me then I'd usually like to let them go for first strike or first ball pickup unless team plans on me having higher priority in ball pickup or first strike. But note that I do prioritize in preventing a pro run from happening over getting the ball if I'm a middle player behind my other middle player teammate.
Only times I may ignore my spawn position and either go for kills or ball pickup regardless of spawn is if I get a self hammer jump boost. Then I'd either go for ball pickup if I launch to the ball first or I'd go for kills and try to slow or prevent enemy team from advancing if I hammer jump over the ball spawn.
Halo 4
For Halo 4: It's another case where no one really has a choice of where to spawn on the court after taking teleporters. So, in general the best choice for tip-off strategy is to have the team plan for 1 back player to stay back and be the backup player or to prevent enemy team's pro runs from happening in worst case scenarios while the rest of the team runs forward. Using the radar (and/or callouts) to determine whether being a front left, front middle or front right player position.
As a Front left or right position, I prioritize in killing or distracting enemy player's outside (left/right) to prevent them in helping their own middle players for ball control on tip-off. If the enemy outside player in front of me is running in late or they have no outside player then I may go for killing the enemy team's front middle player or closest to me enemy player. But as well as trying to be careful in not betraying my middle front player cause betraying my front middle player can greatly reduce the chances of winning ball pickup on tip-off. I may try to stick to being in my lane or change my planning depending on how the tip-off goes with my team.
As a middle front player, they have the highest priority in going for the ball pickup since they can reach the ball pickup faster than anyone else on tip-off. So, priority 1. would be to go for ball pick if possible. But priority 1. can be dismissed if being the front middle player dying first occurs without getting a kill. Reason so is the first middle front player who dies first (when both teams get to the ball at the same time) can be the highest detrimental of that team winning ball control on tip-off. Only times front middle player dying first can win the team ball control on tip-off is if the outside player(s) and/or back player win their battles or if one of the teammates were able to get ball pickup first and bringing the ball to their own side of the court (if they die) for teammates to get ball pickup. Otherwise, when both teams are good on tip-off then the front middle player can get away with not picking up the ball if either they get at least first strike to give his teammates the upper hand in terms of the numbers game in going for ball pickup. Or if the front middle player is able to get enough distracting to occur for another player on the team from another position to get the ball pickup for them. Best case scenario is front player gets kill on enemy front player on ball spawn (front middle player then gives advantage for either pickup ball themselves or let a teammate go for ball pick up behind them as front middle player either goes for preventing other enemy players from advancing to ball or goes for kills). As front middle player it is usually better to go for the kill on enemy front middle player than it is to not go forward enough and let the enemy middle player get ball pickup uncontested.
As a back player my biggest priority is staying alive behind my frontlines since the back player is the backbone that prevents an enemy team's pro run from happening during a worst case scenario. Depending on how the 3 front players play out depends on what me as a back player would do. If my 3 front players won their battles and overwhelmed enemy team's frontlines? I'd walk forward on that and pickup ball for a potentially pro run if my team leaves it there. Did my left player die immediately but my front player got the kill and ball pickup while right players didn't kill each other? Careful of the left side player and either be open to go for my front player's ball pass back or prevent the enemy left player from advancing and let my spawning teammate go for the pass back. My frontline has 2 or more died at once and enemy team has the ball? I'd prioritize and slowing the enemy team down and trying to prevent enemy team from pro running (or slow them down long enough at least to let my teammates spawn). Worst case scenario is all my frontlines are dead and enemy team are advancing to go for pro run. I'd respond in trying to prevent them from moving forward by either slowing the enemy team's tank down (or outright get the kills one them if advantageously able to do so). Or I would at least try to slow down the enemy runner from moving forward by going for the bounce back on the enemy runner (for best case scenario to try to prevent a pro run from happening) or simply one shot the enemy runner with the hammer if enemy runner too aggressively goes for the punch on me while only holding forward. I'd either prioritize the tank if the runner stays behind the tank or go for the runner if the runner gets closer to me than their tank does. In halo 4 in general on defense it's always better to buy more time for getting your team's numbers on the court back up than it is to simply out-right die against a super aggressively moving forward numbers advantageous enemy team near your team's spawns. But if they're simply moving forward with the tank being super aggressive then I'd have to at least go for the do or die kill on the enemy frontline tank. The absolute worst case scenario in that scenario as a back player would be to let the enemy frontline or enemy runner get the kill on me without slowing their momentum down at all.”
So that’s a lot to take in, but it’s all very important. Winning tip off may not be necessarily needed to win a game but the team that wins tip off usually gets to be the team scoring that round. Making sure you know what to do, where to be, and how to help out your team to ensure they get the ball back to safety, or even make a pro run is one of the most fundamental parts of this sport. Once we’re past tip off we come to tanking, specifically where does Ace want to be in the court. However, being honest it doesn’t seem to matter much to him.
Tanking
“I usually use my radar and/or screen to tell where my teammates are and fill in the position on the court (whether it be in the middle of the court or side tank on the court) depending on my team. But I fill in both outside tanking and inside tanking pretty constantly. More often I tank in the middle when I'm teamed with flank tanking teammates who would 1v1 more often. Also, my position may shift a lot depending on the flow of all the players who may change their positions on the court constantly.
When acting as a middle tank we're usually could be considered the brute force of the tanking line who are basically the factor of how much enemy tanks can move up on the court or how much your team can move through the middle of the court. As well as often times more likely to spend more time on average tanking against multiple enemy players at once than an average tank flanker would. The advantage of the middle tank is when they're able to reach and stand in front of the enemy spawn then it can greatly limit how much mobility the enemy team have for moving left and right side of the court through the middle. When this happens, the middle tank can either keep the enemy team to their back walls, back corners or just simply limits to moving forward (or pass backs in H4). Middle tanks can also make games win faster when they're able to get turnovers on plate to occur (from intercepting pass play in H4 or catching running backwards runners on top of their own plate). Always remember it's faster to reach the enemy team's plate from the center of the court than it would be to run up the outside (left or right) sides of the court. Also, middle tanks can control spawns when they stand on left or right side of the enemy's bomb plate on Halo Reach and H4.
The disadvantage of middle tanks is that unless they get multi-kills then they're likely won't be a reason for a score to happen if they're the only one getting kills with the enemy team respawning without moving forward positional wise on court. On offense, if you don't move forward after 1 or more kills then the runner may never be able to move forward with you. Additionally on defense it can be easy to be distracted from being able to go for the runner. Especially when multi-tasking with tanking against multiple tanks on top of watching out for the enemy runner.
The advantages of tanking on the outside parts of the court is that they're more likely to have 1v1'ers or 1v2'ers, flank pushers or distracting position for the enemy team. Which could be easier to do than being a middle tank all the time. Outside (left or right) side of court tanking success can result up to either getting the route needed for your runner to run to the goal on offense, get potential spawn killing going if they spawn in front of you or to be the guy that the enemy team has to go through if they want to get into that part of the court.
The disadvantages of flank tanks are that they need to be positionally aware on the court or they can easily be ran around by the enemy runner on the outside tank's defense. Additional awareness has to be considered if you have teammates who don't go after the runner which may result in the outside player having to also run around their middle unaware of teammate tanks in those situations as well. Plus, on offense the outside player should pay attention to the kill feed, when enemy players spawn and their own court position to know when to watch out for a spawning opponent. When you get caught off-guard by a spawning opponent then it could result in an easy death. Always remember that takes longer to go from your spawn to the enemy's outer side of the court than it does to go from spawn and reach the enemy middle side of the court.”
There is a lot to consider in terms of positioning and where you're tanking on the court. I can't add anything as Ace so expertly describes it all. Maybe the biggest take away so far is positioning. Being in the right place, understanding where your team and the enemies are is so paramount to this game/ The dimension of how and where you position is also different in each one. Some of the games of course have additional factors to consider when positing yourself such as passing.
“In H4 with passing mechanic it becomes more important for players to win 1v1s around the court and allows more spread out tanking gameplay to occur. Where offensive teams with ball gets open up with the ability to pass the ball back to teammates or themselves on spawn so they can be less reliant on their teammates winning tanking battle to keep ball possession. While on the other hand the when the defenders are winning tanking battles they have to spread themselves apart sometimes to have a chance to limit the areas where the H4 good runner can pass the ball back to whether it be spawn or teammates to have a chance at getting the ball back. Otherwise, the defending team would be hugely reliant on the enemy H4 runner to make a mistake to get the ball back. Additionally, the H4 runners have the option of make offensive pass plays to occur. It's easier to perform pass backs though than it is to perform offensive pass plays since offensive pass plays requires better coordination. Also, offensive pass plays give the risk of potentially turning the ball over to the other team when the offensive pass doesn't go as planned. So, teams who don't practice or have confidence to make successful pass plays may not do so.
“When I play h4 on defense I'm more constantly watching out for flankers very often using the radar. If I'm positioned to go for the flanker than I would prevent the flanker from advancing towards the plate. If I choose where the flanker goes the I'd rather have them on my team's spawn rather than be on the plate for a pass play. It's usually more bad news for my team to worry about an enemy tank be on my team's spawn than it would be for the enemy tank to be on my team's spawn. I would additionally have to watch out for if the runner does pass to the flanker or closes into the goal from behind. When I have teammates on the flanker then I would want to be as aggressive as I can against the enemy runner and make it as hard as I can on the enemy runner to be able to make a pass play while trying to not give out free deaths to the runner. The further away the runner is from my team's plate then the harder it can be for a successful pass play to occur. Additionally, when the enemy runner is force to run or jump backwards then a pass play (with distance from the runner to the plate) to your team's plate cannot happen during the time runner is going backwards.
While on offense on H4 when having the ball, it gives options to be able to pass the ball back to your spawn or teammates whenever wanted or needed to keep ball possession. Additionally makes able to have the runner have an option to look out for offensive pass play when the outer side flanking tank is in position and is likely to be able to catch the ball on plate without dying. As an offense H4 tank when flanking gives the flanking tank a lot of tools to be able to make the defensive team harder to defend. Whether it be simply just staying alive and making juke plays of potentially going for a pass play on plate or actually going for pass play around the plate area after either out-maneuvering defending team's positioning or winning the tank battles near/on plate (or both).
When a tank is with a good H4 ball passing runner then it can also have the usual middle tank a potential chance to get pass play to as well if middle tank gets an open lane to the plate and the runner can make a pass play to him. So, tanks on offense in H4 with a good runner can play more spread out a lot more often and can have plays happen with spread out tanking lines.
On other hand in Halo Reach and H3 more often tanking is more spaced together than H4 without the passing mechanic. Making tanking battles matter more often for whether a runner can keep ball possession or not if defending tanks can simply surround the offensive team's runner. Majority of the time if there would normally be an offensive team flanker on the opposite side of the court in H3 or Reach is if the offensive team's flanker helps with getting the runner up court or to prevent defense team's players from moving to plate or simply get defensive team player's spawn killed. One other time for there to be an offensive flanking tank in H3 if the team plans to launch the H3 runner in the air towards above the plate. When the runner is above the defending's team plate with an offense player on the plate opens up an option for the runner to drop the ball to the offense flank tank on defending team's plate.
So, I generally play either going towards the enemy runner (or cutting of enemy runner's path) as a defender or with my runner as an offense tank while potentially easier to ignore flanking enemy tanks if their flanking doesn't help with dealing with my team's runner in the long run.”
Passing continues to add so much dynamic to the sport. Players need to have the awareness in games with passing to accurately disrupt it or make the passes themselves. Intelligent players will know what to look for and recognize when defending against and when trying to make pass plays. Let's walk into the on court battles that happen every game. I asked Ace about 1v1s both from a tanking hybrid perspective, and from a running hybrids perspective. As well as asking him about his process of dealing with multiple opponents in a 1vfew
“In 1v1 tanking battles it's about timing my hammer swing on the opponent at the right time of when we get close enough to get the kills. Dancing or staying just out of range upon closing in on the opponent can help mess up an opposing player's timing and vice versa with the opponent trying to mess with your hammer timing with their own dancing. Or dancing in a rhythm can help in making my own type of hammer timing. But in general, for a lot of cases as long as my hammer timing is perfect then regardless of the positioning and dancing, I'd be able to get at least a trade the majority of the time. Of course, getting the perfect hammer timing can differ depending on the latency I may have to the host.
Running
If I'm running the ball safe punches on 1v1s differ depending on the game. But overall, a safe punch is when you go for a punch that's more likely guarantee that you will get the punch with the least likely chance in dying while getting the ball punch. And taking 1v1 with the bomb will most likely occur more often against opposing players who are simply not great at killing a ball runner. If there is a player(s) on opposing team who is good at killing runners then it's generally better to avoid 1v1ing them unless I can confidently out-play them. Especially if I can tell when someone may start to panic to try to win a 1v1 against me as a runner.
Otherwise in terms of what I do to make enemy tanks mess up against my running gameplay can differ a little from Game to game.
H3:
Enemy tank with sword who have fast long sword swings? Avoid
Enemy tank with sword who has slow sword swings or can have slow sword swing moments? Sure to running straight at them to punch or run straight to goal with timing the punch at the same time of enemy sword's sword lunge or hit.
Enemy tank with hammer who are good at either bouncing or outright killing runners while always playing standing still or move back at good moments? Avoid.
Enemy tank with hammer who has slow reaction timing to hammer swing, goes for hammer lunges or can have accidental hammer lunging moments? Sure on running straight at the hammer tank and punching them. But make sure to not try to run around hammers to get myself bounced over plate or be vulnerable to getting killed in air before landing.
H Reach:
Enemy tank with sword who have fast long sword swings? Can generally avoid unless I'm good at forcing the sword to lunge me at the timing that I want to guarantee the punch on the sword lunge.
Enemy tank with sword who have slow reaction timing or moments? Sure. Run either straight at em or the plate. Time the punch with their sword lunge or sword hit.
Enemy tank with sword who's not from US? Depends how much they trade. Rather avoid getting trades as a runner.
Enemy tank with hammer who can consistently one-shot an runner? No thanks.
Enemy tank with hammer who either has slow reaction timing, can hammer lunge moments or have no consistency with getting guaranteed one-shot on runner kills? More likely sure. As long as I avoid having that small percent chance of getting popped up by the hammer or punch the hammer lunging guy when I go for plate I'd get it. Can also most likely charge straight at an hammer and get guaranteed punch kill too.
My health is not full regardless of what weapon my opponent has? Screw that. Get a Health Pack.
H4:
Enemy tank with sword with fast lunge timings? Not likely unless they're bait-able or I can get really good in punching sword lunges. But generally, would rather avoid having a chance of getting traded with the ball.
Enemy tank with sword with slow reaction timing, reaction timing moments or swings on melee range? Yeah. Run straight at them and punch them. But if they're known to get trades against runner then I can take my chances to run away to try another push again.
Enemy tank with hammer with good one-shot potential and popups? Sure, but make sure to avoid getting one-shotted and if I get popped up then make sure my reaction time is good to simply throw the ball back to keep ball control.
Enemy tank with hammer who has slow hammer timing and usually swings when runner is already getting the punch lunge? Sure, thing buddy. I can run straight at them for a punch.”
“When handling multiple opponents, radar tanking is your best friend. Without radar tanking then you'd never see that guy coming from your flank.
Who I prioritize in killing? Either the guy who's the closest or the guy who's the most aggressive or aggressive on me first. More often killing the aggressive guys rather than the closest guys. But will go for the more passive ones when needed or if I simply want to go forward a little more on the court and move those passive tanking players back a little more.
For staying alive it's about learning the ranges for both on-screen and radar. On-screen helps with being more accurate in getting the kill. If you don't aim correctly then you may not get the best ranges with your hammer or not get the sword lunges. Additionally, getting the hammer timings down to know when you can get max range hammer kills is ideal to know max ranges that your opponent can kill you as well. While the radar helps keep me alive from knowing when to move certain distances away from certain opponents when their dots get closer when my hammer's not ready for them.
Additionally, being able to get kills through fast screen turns ( 90-180 degree screen turning) can be a good factor in helping with getting kills. But it's mostly just playing the dancing game that can help pro-long my life. Except dancing in H4 may matter less if you can't or don't sprint after hammer swinging. There isn't much way to avoid not dying from 2+ enemy tanks sprint charging towards from multiple direction without sprinting and dancing alone. Gotta practice being able to sprint as much as possible in H4.”
Pushes and Turnovers
So now that we’ve dealt with the 1v1s and the 1vfews lets talk some about actually recognizing and making pushes. You need to take as much ground as the enemies give you, as long as it doesn’t result in you being out of play or far too away from your team. Likewise recognizing where a push is happening to you is important to continue to control the pace of a game and not get scored on.
“I can see a potential push happening when a team starts getting closer to the opposing team's goal. Closing into an opposing team's goal can occur whether it be from simply winning tanking battles while heading closer to the goal and/or the team's edging closer to the goal from flanking from the outside (left or right) side(s) of the court.
Starting pushes on defense requires at least 1 player getting closer and closer to the enemy's team runner whether it be from pure positioning to the runner or winning tank battles to help edge closer to the enemy runner.
While starting pushes on offense require the runner to be aware to move with a tank that's starting to get multi-kills or the runner moves forward to the enemy plate successfully themselves. A tank creating a push can be done by either moving the enemy players backwards, getting around enemy players with flanking or getting the kills to do so. It can be an easier job for the runner to help the tank create pushes when a runner stays within range of going for a potential punch on an enemy tank but distanced enough to not needing to do so while the runner stands right next to his tank. Team tanking can always help in creating pushes.
Usually, a rule of thumb if you want your team to get more successful pushes going when your team has numbers on the enemy side is to have at least one player call out along the lines of "just go forward" or " charge forward". Cause in a 4v4 situation everyone getting trades except for the runner winning his punch can easily result in a goal if the action occurs before the first defender can respawn.
Alternatively, a push can happen in H3 if the runner gets a good launch to plate without potentially the need to kill any opposing player(s). Or a pass play occurs in”
Now that we’ve covered the basics of pushes and recognizing them let's talk sudden change situations. A team that loses the ball and can't react to it properly gets scored on, sudden change is one of the most exciting and nerve wrecking times in Grifball.
“When my team turns the ball over, I'd like someone to try to get the call out for the team to be on the same page of what's going on the court. It's better for the team to react to playing defensively than it is for a runner to feel embarrassed and not say anything for turning over the ball. Though a call out may not need to occur if the team is already self-aware to know when their team's ball turnover happens. Overall, it's just about being proactive and being ready to transition to try to play defense ASAP when a ball turn over does happen. There can always be bound for at least one turnover to occur so it's not about over thinking it and just transition from offense minded to defense minded.
As for what to do to make sudden turnovers happen, I make the enemy runner either make a mistake. Get them to get aggressive or too close to get max ranged sword lunged by me, one-shot or finish off a no shield enemy runner, or catch the enemy runner off-guard. Catching the enemy runner off-guard may include getting "not appearing on radar" flank kills on the runner and/or an enemy runner who's trying to avoid specific players on my team who happens to come my way instead. Can avoid appearing on radar by either walking slow, standing still or crouch walking. But I usually end up walking slow or standing still majority of the time for when I catch someone off-guard that way. Additionally for team play, team tanking to prevent the runner from making options to move to and/or pass back can help getting the ball from runner's hand to my team's. Then it's just about keeping the tanking line up long enough to get to the goal or having at least 1 player alive on H4 enemy team's plate for a pass play after a turn-over to happen.”
Comebacks, Mentality, and Thanks!
Finally, I want to talk about making the comeback happen and closing out a game. Ace’s mentality is certainly that of a winner, and in all honesty has changed the way I think about the score or the game.
“Sometimes I don't pay attention to the scores so I don't remember the score sometimes while in the middle of a game until it's in-between rounds. And when I do pay attention when my team's down 2-4. I don't really think much of it and keep playing my game until the game's over.
As mentioned, I may not pay attention to the scores sometimes. But when I do know my team just needs 1 more for the win, I simply think that the match may end on the next goal. But regardless I still play my game until the game's over. Not much else to think about but the gameplay while in the game for me.”
Thank you all so, so much for taking the time to read all of this and the other articles. Hopefully we all learned something over the course of this series and are able to adjust how we play to be smarter on the court. Of course, massive shout out Galvann, Dcleak, and Ace, as this would not have been possible without them. Until next time good luck, and have fun!