Mastering Positioning in Third-Person Shooters: Essential Strategies

destroy. >> Hey folks, Baxel here and today's guide is going to be a little bit different.

I'm with my friend Lone Shrike. They are a streamer in their own right and a lovely friend of the community. Now,

we're going to be talking about positioning today. It's kind of a part one to a series of two videos. The

reason why it's uh not going to be labeled as a part one is because we do have to cover some things about like

being aware of abilities and how to use that. We will go into that more into more depth. And the main idea of this

video is to give you a general understanding of how positioning works and a good foundation from which you can

play your games with. So you understand when you're in good positions and bad positions and so on. Now for our first

thing we need to cover is the basics. So these are like shooter basics. This will be true in any game where you have a

gun. And from here this is relevant for every single character in the game. Even things like Paige can benefit from this.

The way we're going to talk about it is we're going to first look at cover and how cover works in the game. So, because

it's a third person game, what this means is as I'm peeking from third third person like this, my enemy lone strike

here, they can't see me very well because most of my body is hidden behind it. And if they do the same here, we can

see that all we can really see is their gun whilst they're able to shoot back at us. Now, if they were to peek from the

other side of this cover, their whole body is exposed whilst they're shooting at us. Um, so similarly, we shouldn't be

wanting to peek from the left side cuz our whole body will be exposed. Now, what this means as well is as long as

having an understanding of what looks like good cover for us to peak from, we also can expect that the enemy will be

trying to do the same. So, if somebody is hiding behind a pillar like this, then we're going to see that they're

probably going to be on this left side. So if we have any skill shots that we're trying to land or anything like that,

it's a much safer and more reliable bet to try and throw them to this for our perception the left side from the

enemy's perception their right side of it. Now following on to that we need to talk about height. So how height works

is when you are in a position where you can just about see them they can also just about see you. But the difference

is is that the second I come out of vision so they can't see me anymore. I can reposition and I can peek again from

this height and I can go back and it's much harder for them to react. So, we're going to swap positions now and show you

what that looks like. We'll see here that as they come up, I can see their head and I'm trying to

shoot back. They get cover. They can move around and then all of a sudden my crosshair is no longer where they are

because they've moved without me being able to see them. And they get advantage after advantage by being able to do this

again and again. It's important to acknowledge that although high ground is very good, you become the center of

attention and you're sort of just risking getting jumped. So, it's great to take high ground in any circumstance

where you're moving around and you've got this sort of position of power where you can easily escape from, but the

second you become that center of attention and everybody's looking your way, you're probably just going to get

jumped and overwhelmed and pushed off the high ground. So, it's important to learn how to use it effectively quickly

and then sort of like fall off of it and regain the control shortly after those sorts of things. Now, our last basic is

going to be called slicing the pie. This doesn't really apply to deadlock, but the concept is still really important

because understanding it will help us with taking short trades and things like this. So, if we come to sewers for

example, if we take this sort of it's quite complicated, quite enclosed piece of cover. If if Shrike's sort of

standing in this area as we enter the room, if I just come out like this, all of a sudden I'm completely in the open

and they can shoot me. So, what I want to do when I'm entering any space is to keep my crosshair next to the cover as I

come around the corner and the second I see somebody, then I can start shooting at them. Now, if if we go on the other

end of that, if I'm stood here and they quick and they're sort of slowly peeking around the corner because they're in no

rush, it's exactly what we're talking about before with right side peeking where now they're right on this cover

and their body's sort of half exposed as they come around the corner. So, this is why it's good. Now, the downside of this

and why it's not super applicable is not every area is going to be like that. So, if we take an area like this veil for

example, if there's a fight going on around this bridge and there's somebody here that you're looking to approach and

strike swings around this corner to view me and I keep taking cover and they have to

swing out further and further to find me, now they're exposed. So, now they're in the open. So slicing the pie is a

great technique to understand, but the consequence of that is although you have a great position on one enemy where

you've got cover that you're right next to at all times, any other enemies that see you that are in different positions,

you're exposing yourself to. So that's pretty much it for our basics. So now we're going to have some background

footage from Hoot Listic and if we need it at the end, Zergy. All I've done is taken a game from each of them and tried

to cut out any moments where I don't think positioning is relevant. For example, jungle camps or rotating to a

to a lane. I don't think any of them played perfectly, but I do believe they're all excellent players with great

knowledge of the game. So, having their footage in the background makes the most sense for today's video. Let's continue

talking about our topic. There's no such thing as perfect positioning. The strength of your position can change

based on your abilities, your opponent's positioning, and the team's positioning. There is a flow to how you position, and

adapting to the information in front of you is our goal. As we discuss each point in more detail, how to achieve

this hopefully will become more clear, and with time, you'll be able to move from positional strength to strength in

a fight. The three main ways I try to view positioning are anchor, initiator, and flank. Whilst playing as an anchor,

dealing consistent DPS or providing aid to your allies is typically your goal. Your main goal is to be just behind the

center of a fight, never the focus, but always in a position where you have sight on your allies and enemies. Heroes

that will excel as an anchor will be carries like Infernace or Wraith or supports like Kelvin and Paige. Whilst

initiating the fight, you're the main focus. You will often need high mobility or high durability in order to survive.

whilst taking this forward position in a fight. In order to be useful in this position, hard CC to immobilize someone

is ideal. Heroes that like to take a position like this are fighters like Billy, Abrams, Warden, and then of

course pick heroes like Holiday and Paradox. If you're flanking, you likely have a

means to escape on your own, but you probably have less CC than someone is who is comfortable being an initiator.

Your goals are likely to capitalize on allied crowd control and ensure that you secure a kill with follow-up damage or

follow-up CC. Heroes that like this position are things like Mina and they excel in flanking position. Because it's

a much more advantageous position to be in in general, any hero can flank as long as certain criteria are met. For

example, if a page has a good escape plan, they can set up a dirty alt and route combo from an unexpected angle.

Now then, let's take a look at what can make a good position. But for number one, it's a low

likelihood of dying. There's not much to say about this, but understanding that sometimes you can have a good death if

you're setting up a winning fight for your team. And that if you are dying when you don't intend to, then it should

be something you're trying to reflect on and figure out when our positioning went from good to bad will help us massively

moving forwards. Number two is being able to fulfill your role. Kind of ties into like I was

talking about before about having a good death. Many heroes need different criteria to be met to be effective. A

burst hero like Calico may just need one target to be a little bit low on health and they can start snowballing a fight

by getting that pick. Other heroes like Vindictor need critical enemy cool downs to be burnt so

that they're not at risk of dying immediately. They need open sight lines for long snipes and they also need their

team to follow up on their tether and much more. Always knowing exactly how to play would probably make you rank one

overnight. So, I appreciate this is quite vague, but being mindful of this concept is still really important and

that's why it's number two. Being able to avoid taking damage. If you've ever watched Zurgie play, you'll see that

he's somehow never the center of attention until it's too late for the enemies to do anything. He'll be

consistently dealing massive damage to the enemies, but is always in a position where he can duck behind cover or

retreat to allies. Understanding when you're at a high and low risk of receiving damage or getting caught out

can massively improve your ability to fight for longer, deal more damage, and force the enemy to position poorly if

they want to deal damage to you somewhere with cover. You don't always get this choice. Sometimes you have to

fight out in the open to finish off a kill or to start a fight. So, it's worth mentioning if you have physical

structures around you that can provide cover, you need to be mindful of them and how you can utilize them to create

an advantage state for yourself, denying enemy strengths. If you're playing versus an echo shard paradox and you

chase her into a small room, she's going to press her bomb button twice and you're going to melt. This is something

you'll learn fairly quickly after you make the mistake. You'll be surprised how many times we're giving our

opponents the correct conditions for them to cast their spells with ease. Playing close to cover versus an AoE

spell can be bad as they can deal damage to your position reliably, playing in a doorway can make you a guaranteed hook

for a bop and so much more. It's all situational and you need to understand that although it can be a lot to think

about, if we're mindful enough to try and deny a few elements of an enemy's desired play style, then this can be

enough to overcome a soul difference in a 1v one or even make an outnumbered fight favorable if you play your cards

right. Positions with good escapes. Understanding your limits of how aggressive you can be based on your

available escape routes was one of the most transformative ideas for me. Stamina usage, vents, ropes, zip lines,

hero abilities, and so much more can change an escape route from a poss from a possibility to a reliable way to

leave. Being creative is king here, and experimenting is everything. There are a thousand different ways to improve this

skill. And again, be mindful of your escape routes beforehand will be massive boon to your play.

Positions in reach of your team. It's all well and good being able to dodge skill shots, deny enemy line of sight,

and having a great escape route, but sometimes you need help from your team. Understanding who is near you and the

ways in which they can assist you takes a lot of pressure off your allies from performing miracles just helping you out

in a simple, consistent way. Whilst running towards a viscous, I can think about walls that I'm stood near so that

when they cube me, they can puddle punch me away to safety. But whilst running towards an allied haze, I need to think

about things like how easy it is for them to land their sleep dagger. If I'm using a vent, my enemy will probably use

it to follow me. And landing a dagger on an airborne target is quite challenging. Playing around with this idea and making

sure that you're making sure your teammates have an easy time of it is the goal. Like I've already said,

positioning can become a really advanced topic. It's something we'll have to discuss at a later date to fully cover.

I wouldn't be surprised if you need a master's degree to get to a point where you can be considered an expert in this.

But I hope this provides as a good introduction to the topic. Thanks for watching. Please consider leaving a

like, comment, or even subscribing if you want to see more from me. And as always, have a good day.