Absurd Minds

A lot of people are either pubbers or competitors. They'll either pub all day and never scrim, or scrim all day and scoff at the pub crowd. I personally have no idea where this mentality comes from, and think it's downright harmful any serious player. Here are a few advantages for a serious competitor within a pub setting.

1. Pubs usually have unusual maps. Many competitors will only play competition maps, and this does have some benefit. They get really comfortable with the map, they know its ins and outs, every little hiding spot; they know the timing perfectly so they know exactly where a person can be and where they definitely can't be; they know exactly how to throw a nade to hit an exact spot.

But it also can cause a person to lose certain qualities, or at least cause them to weaken. They tend to lose their sense of intution, instead relying on their expert knowledge of the map. This means that they can sometimes be surprised by a team with a very unusual play style. It can cause them to overlook certain things, thinking, "Nobody would do something that dumb", when, actually, you are going up against the team that actually would do something that dumb. And it really helps hone your brute skills, like reaction time and headshot accuracy, when you can no longer rely on your awesome flashbangs or knowledge of timing.

2. It's a low risk way to practice with non-standard weapons. Any good competitor knows how to shoot the m4, the ak, the famas, the galil, and the mp5. But what happens on an eco round when the only person you killed happened to have a tmp? Or the auto shotty? Are you good enough to take that non-standard gun and do just as much damage as you would with a galil? If you're in a pub, make the effort to buy a gun you're not used to using. You're good enough with an m4 now that if you picked it up you'd be fine. But who knows when you might play that weird team who is better with shotties than mp5s and that's the gun you need? Use that low key environment to get good at ALL the weapons, just in case.

3. Use it as an opportunity to get to know your teammates. Pick one clan member and follow them around the entire map. Maybe you're one of the competitors that always leads - learn how to follow this one teammate. Learn all their nuances. Learn all their quirks. Spend that time just following them around. Bonus points because they're playing on non-standard maps with non-standard weapons, so you'll be seeing every single little detail of their play that exists. It's good to learn your teammates in competition, but in competition people tend to play certain roles. This person always leads, that person tends to watch the back. By forcing yourself to adapt your style to what your teammate is doing, you'll be adding a new dynamic to your gameplay and a new level to your skill.

_________________
Server list
Donate

Don't follow me! I hate when people follow me in pubs and steal my kills. I'm a frag whore in pubs haha.

I like to use pubs to practice aiming, especially deathmatch servers. Try to get ONLY headshots. A game that I play that I'm sure many others play is the one deag game. Shoot and if you miss, reload. I do this with AK also, but with other guns I take a few shots, trying very hard to only shoot their face.

I also use pubs to practice not spraying. I have formed a habit where I spray in mid to close quarters and it is a terrible habit. Hone that reflex to throw your cross hairs on the enemy's head.

_________________
Honey Badgers have very tough skin. The skin is very thick and rubbery, which is almost impervious to arrow and spears. Even a blow from machete can't scratch the skin. The skin protects them from bites.

That is good advice for casual players that want to dabble in league play.

Pubbing, to me, is a completely different game than competitive CS. I do enjoy both aspects of the game but for different reasons. While all CS playing is technically practicing, pubbing casually does more harm than good given time spent.

As a former competitive only player (Scrimming 4-5 hours a night 6 days a week) I will try to explain the mentality I used to have.

You have x amount of hours of free time and you want to be a high level competitive player. What you do with that time should benefit you the most. Here is the game play priority.

1. Scrimming with your team (Always the same 5 players) against actual teams as good/better than you.
2. Developing strats, testing strats, perfecting timing, flashes, etc
3. Scrimming with a ringer/Pugging
4. Aim/Awp/Deagle practice.
5. Pubbing league maps (Preferably vanilla, FF on)
6. Pubbing for fun/custom/silly maps.
7. Playing modded CS
8. Not playing a game
9. Playing a different FPS. (Yes this is worse because no other game feels or behaves like cs)

If you are in a pub playing dust2/inferno/train/etc you already are basically playing another map. The amount of players, the mix of good and bad players, and the chance of being FFd or team flashed provides enough variables to keep you thinking and on your toes. Pubs cause players to become over aggressive, camp, or behave illogically especially against bad players. Speaking of which, the quality/skill of opponent and teammates in pubs are, for the most part, much less than in the competitive scene. This can bring your overall skill down as you become complacent, lazy, or cocky. People are not setting up positions or trying to do strats (besides Rush B, or rush long), and basically its everyone for themselves trying to get the highest score. A lot of the time even avoiding the objective entirely. It is very rare for actual useful communication to take place, and when it does, barely anyone listens. Listening is also very hard on pubs as there is usually 200-300% more players running around, or Mic spamming when you are trying to pinpoint footsteps.

I also disagree with practicing non standard guns. If you are against team that is buying shotguns or tmps they are either WAY better than you, or have no idea what they are doing. In either situation a deagle is preferred over most weapons. Anyway, the situation will never arise at high level play unless the other team is making you look bad already. I would only suggest learning them in Gungame. If you are buying non standard weapons in a pub, you are again taking time away from practicing real weapons. Prioritize.

People want to have the most fun when they are playing and that is what should happen. Everyone do whatever you please. However, if you commit yourself to a team then 4 other people are relying on you to be at your best.

_________________

I see where you're coming from, and I certainly agree that scrimming is always a better use of time. But in a clan made up mostly of well-established adults with jobs and families, scrimming 4-5 hours a night 6 nights a week is just unrealistic. And I think a good player can instill significantly more value into a pub setting than you are admitting. I will agree it is certainly more difficult to learn teamwork, and more difficult to learn timing and flashes, but you can practice that, and can use pubbing to a competitive advantage.

_________________
Server list
Donate

I agree and disagree with what you just said, Anubis. I agree that pubs CAN have some value if you look on them that way, but I disagree that you can practice teamwork or strats. I feel that working on those would be destructive to your skills, however, working on your own skills could be beneficial. I also think that it depends on your skill level. I beginner player would probably benefit more from pubbing so that they can work on their aim and start to understand CS physics. But I don't think an experienced player would benefit at all. I play in pubs for fun because when I try to practice in pubs, I end up creating worse habits and getting pissed off; but it won't be that way for everybody.

I think it's one of those things that if you BELIEVE that it will help you, it will. But if you BELIEVE that it won't help you, it won't.

_________________
Honey Badgers have very tough skin. The skin is very thick and rubbery, which is almost impervious to arrow and spears. Even a blow from machete can't scratch the skin. The skin protects them from bites.

CS Placebo effect.

_________________

I think if you know what standards you need in order to compete being in a pub won't affect you as long as you continue to play up to those standards. Especially if you have a teammate that is doing the same. If two people join a pub and follow each other around and can't learn teamwork with each other then something is wrong. I do think that if you relax too much in pubs it will dull your skills greatly. I feel anytime you play you can learn and hone your skills in some form or another.

_________________
I'm so official, like a dealer with a pistol or referee with a whistle.