Spiral Knights - what defines a lockdown pro?

what defines a lockdown pro?

18 replies [Last post]

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 22:01

God-Form

I need an answer to this question! Usually when i am playing lockdown i try to get as much damage as possible because 98% of the time people oew, and aww over how much damage players get. Now that i usually get high damage people say "gods-corpse you never cap" , or "gods-corpse capping for the team is important than damage." , or "gods-corpse no one cares about damage be a team player." In my opinion no one respects people with high caps and defends. I have never in the entire time that i have played spiral knights heard people say, "omg did you hear about so and so he got 22 caps and 9 defends and 2k damage." I have never heard anyone say that. From my perspective the only people who are respected and envied are those with very high damage like feller, chris exileddread, skybrandon, mwacky, solimando, tennis, dravor, redblades, and a ton of other people (im just naming a few people if you know your good and i didnt list you my bad i was just making a point.)

If you want to say "gods-corpse you are a tool, and you are dead wrong abou
t what a makes a lockdown pro" i would like to hear it because right now i think damage is the only thing that determines if you are a LD pro or not.

_--gods-corpse :P

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 22:07

Thimol

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In my opinion no one respects people with high caps and defends.
Who gives a stinking buffalo turd what people think? The team with more points wins, and that depends on how long you have areas captured and how many of them you have.

That being said:
Skolver
Toothpick
GF
DA
Voltaic Tempest
Strategy

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 22:12

Timoria

I don't even...

Damage --> For keeping people off the control points
Captures --> For increasing score
Defends --> For keeping the point

Generic definition of "pro" --> What you said, nothing but damage is counted
Actual definition of a "pro" --> Subjective at best

I've met a lot of people with a lot of different viewpoints, and what it comes down to is that because people want to rack up as much damage as possible, they set themselves up as being remembered for being the best at getting the least important total in a match. Why these people are considered "pro" is because people just see high damage and go "ooo shiny they're strong"

At best, a "pro" would be one who combines high damage, high caps and high defends in a single match. Or a team player who bypasses damage entirely and instead distracts the other team so their own can steal the points. Hell, you can get 0 damage and still help win the match by luring people away from points. The true "pros" are often times the ones that go completely overshadowed by somebody on a mission to wipe the map of the opposing team.

Is damage important? Yes.
Does damage alone make a "pro"? Not even close.
Is this all opinion? Pretty much.

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 22:15

Exileddread

Do what it takes to win the match. Don't worry about being a "pro." It's only an image given to you by other players. I haven't been on in six months yet I was included in your list. It's just an image. All you need to do is try your best, whether it be in caps or damage. The more you play, the better you get.

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 22:17

Thimol

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Exileddread

ohh right, that was your name

Wed, 12/05/2012 - 22:53

Hungran

Whats?

Whats capping? (Joking of course).

Overall I appreciate damage more than captures BECAUSE, anyone can cap easily as a striker. However damage... Thats something else. BUT, damage doesn't only make a good player, you have to understand the mechanics to LD. For example, if we're capping a base, and it just turned "neutral" or "white", when we're about to lose, I always go for the next enemy base before finishing the original capture, because the neutral base wont benefit them, but their base will. Unfortunately... Some players dont have that mind set because they are new, etc.

During the summer I spent A LOT of time in LD, but I look back at it now, and see how much pressure and stress I had. Now i generally play 8 games a week (not that much) because I enjoy the game more, instead of it taking a toll on my life. Even so... I can really tell my skills have dropped a lot, but thats ok, because I enjoy LD more now.

So my defenition of a pro is: someone who can get damage, play strategically, and not rage at others (ex spammers)

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 12:24

Nexassassin

What is a "pro" lockdown player?

Let's break Lockdown into sizeable chunks.

Overall objective: Win. How? Holding control points via capturing + defending said points. Capturing and defending points....
Capturing and defending points...the enemy is doing the exact same thing. This is where damage comes in. It's safe to assume the more damage you do, the more kills you get, right? If the enemy defending the points are dead (or have at least gone back to heal) you can cap, right? And if the capping enemy is gone, then you've defended, aye?

Either way, damage is a good thing. It prevents the other team from doing their job and allows you to do yours.

It's the strategy, quick decision making and anticipating nature aspect (in my opinion) that separates high damage dealers and the pros. You know, those small little decisions they make that really make a big difference. That and a good computer.

P.s. It feels like there's been a thread like this before.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 12:40

Canozo

Pro = Professional
Professional = Does something for a living
Lockdown Pro = Plays lockdown for a living

Tecnically there is no such a thing as a "Lockdown pro"

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 12:45

Taalt

"Pro" means "Professional". Which means that you are a Lockdown pro when you can make enough money to support yourself doing it.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 12:45

Ruyter

Exileddread

<3333333333333333

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 15:42

#10

Forum-Brady

I'd like to point out that

I'd like to point out that stats don't cover a lot of crucial "teamwork" aspects. For example, bombers in general will sit on top of a cap with three of their teammates and cap it, to get high caps and make everyone think they're useful.

The best bombers will stand outside the cap and cover the choke points leading into the cap, while their team grabs the cap and will likely never actually get caps themselves. It's entirely possible for an incredibly useful bomber to shift the match in your favour but come of of the game with 0~2 caps, 0 defends and 0~1k damage. On the scoreboards they look useless, but did a massive amount to actually win the game.

"what defines a pro player?"

I don't know exactly, but it's absolutely nothing we see in the scoreboards, that's for sure~

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 15:55

#11

Aureate

Processing Thoughts of You Always

Actually with UV locking VT is pretty much redundant now in t3, unless someone turns up who happened to equip Ash Tail or a Blazebrand by accident or something. :/

Pro player: someone who wins against all the odds, who rallies their team together even when they're four men down in a twelve-man match, who caps and protects his comrades, who works together with the others, who moves like a ninja out of the bottom of the screen, who knows tactics, who rescues their teammates from almost certain doom, who gets tag-teamed and still walks out with a smile on their face and dead bodies behind them, who has cool (okay, Divine/Prismatic/Volcanic) accessories on their LD armour along with shiny auras, whose mere presence causes the other team to go 'oh fudgenuckets we're doomed', who gets in the top 10 points leaderboard every day, who routinely racks up over 30k in t3, and who does it all using Winmillion, Tsudaruska, Iron Slug and Cyclops/Fencing. With no pentas.

Sadly, I have no candidates for this position, but I feel that Eten should at least get an honourable mention for being an excellent player whilst still getting obscene ping and lag.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 16:39

#12

Guardianknight

Most of this has already been said...

I think, as has been said before, most people view capping as easy (or at least the concept of capping).
You go stand on a point, wait for it to turn your color, and then move on to the next point on the map.

When you look at damage, it seems to require a lot more skill such as knowing when to boost or not, second swing etc.
But as we all know, aside from leaving the other team dead, the number you come out with for your damage has no impact
on the final score. It could be 4k, 15k, 28k, but it's capping and maintaining possession of the points that keeps the score
increasing; killing is just a way to maintain possession.

Also, the knights are a factor in whether or not your damage was even earned. I got 20k damage the other day as a
Guardian; does that make me pro? The other team consisted of 4* players and people who didn't work as a team; it was an easy
20k damage. If the other team consists of well-known players such as you've mentioned and you're able to rack up a lot of damage
against them then maybe that makes you a pro at damage. But how does one become a "pro" at Lockdown?

When I think of being a pro at Lockdown I imagine someone who can do it all; cap, defend, damage, distract etc. However it
seems to me that achieving a high score of all those things is very difficult, if not impossible. How can one be capping if he's
defending or off doing the killing? Lockdown is a team game so my definition of being a "pro" at it is playing whatever part
that's necessary to win the game. If there are a lot of people capping, go striker and distract the other team. I saw a 4* knight
do this just recently. Our team consisted of players with a lot of damage, other players with a lot of caps, and this one knight
with maybe 1 or 2 caps and hardly any damage but I can guarantee we would've lost the game if it wasn't for the way he/she
played the game.

If you want to be viewed by other players as a "pro" at Lockdown then sure, go buy trinkets, UVs, and do 30k+ damage...
If you want to be viewed as a "pro" player by me and apparently some of the other people here, be a team player, do what
you find you do best, and more importantly then anything else mentioned above...just have fun:)

- Guardianknight

P.S. Hey Exileddread!

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 17:29

#13

Lightyourfire

what defines a lockdown pro?

Equipment worth about 20k CE

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 17:52

#14

Orangeo

The person with the most

The person with the most health.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 17:53

#15

Doctorspacebar

What defines a lockdown pro?

Helping your team win the game, of course.

Now, naturally, the easiest way to do that is damage; a dead player can't cap. However, neither can a player that isn't on the CP in the first place.

This can be used to your advantage. A skilled Recon can distract two or three Swordies at one point while the rest of his team tears you to shreds at the other points. A bomber can hold a chokepoint to keep strikers from reaching a point (or the water in Furnace, I love laying bombs there), and during an assault, can blow enemies off the point or scare them away with shocking mist.

And there are ways to lessen the effect of damage. A Guardian can take hits for his team and slowly heal them over time. Taking hits for the team does the damage to the shield, which takes much less time to recover the damage than a player.

Teamwork, however, is the kicker. Two Strikers are harder to kill than one. And two Strikers versus a Striker and Guardian? My money's on the Striker/Guardian team, no matter what UVs are there, not even if it's two Swordies vs. a Gunner and a Guardian. This is because they complement each other; the Striker does damage, whether by swords or guns, and the Guardian takes hits for the Striker. A Bomber/Gunner Recon combo? You might as well have dug your own grave; you come close and get blown up, you stay out of range and not only do you not block the cap, but the Gunner is shooting you to death out of your range.

Just because someone did "Very little" according to the stats doesn't mean he was no help. What's better: a Striker or Recon that goes onto the closest enemy point, kills one enemy, and leaves, causing the point to be captured in twenty seconds? Or the Guardian/Bomber combo that holds off three or four enemies for a full minute before finally falling? I'll give you a hint: the three or four enemies attacking the point can't attack any other points while they're distracted by the guys on the close point.

There is still balancing to do; Bombers should, ideally, be able to deal damage without the bomb radius being shown to all and sundry. Bombs have always been used as traps, and the only reason anyone would have against it is "OMG I have to pay attention to the ground? OVARPOWARDDD", but it's a bit tough to use something as a trap when it makes a big red "HEY GUYS LOOK HERE THIS IS WHERE I'M GOING TO DEAL MY DAMAGE SO STEP OUT OF IT" circle. Kind of obvious for a trap, isn't it?

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 17:58

#16

Orangeo

Helping your team win by

Helping your team win by having the most health.

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 18:01

#17

God-Form

Orangeo +7

Thu, 12/06/2012 - 18:47

#18

Shidara

@Taalt

>"Pro" means "Professional". Which means that you are a Lockdown pro when you can make enough money to support yourself doing it.

This actually makes the most sense out of everything that's been posted here.

When you think about it, to profit from lockdown your win/lose ratio must be at least 3:1 in full teams. This may not seem like much, but to maintain that ratio for several games even against teams with the majority of better players in it takes some impressive work. That being said, it is equally possible to get into the "best team" just as much, but the targetted player is the carrier type that turns the game by posing as a distraction for long enough to camp out the enemy until the rest of the team arrives to back them up.

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what defines a lockdown pro?