Having the leadership role 'thrust' upon me.
Artistic Description: The 'Role Cabinet' with the shelf holding the 'leadership role' dropping down upon the opener due to extreme pressure/weight. Made by me in Paint!
Whenever I play Squad I want to play as a heavy machine gunner set up with a bipod mowing down the opponent but somehow the role of squad lead is always placed upon my shoulders. What happened to the previous squad leader? I check the scoreboard and no longer see him in game. Now, I could palm it off to somebody else but at this point the game has already started and people are asking for directions on where to go, requesting vehicles, wanting to know what the game plan is, and other useful information to know before we enter the battlefield. Now, I know enough about the game to lead competently but not enough to make split second decisions. I wasn't even looking to squad lead! But the way I see it, the match has already started and to chicken out now could leave my team in an unfavorable spot having 9 other players in the middle of nowhere. So I issue whatever order makes sense at the time and let the members do what they think is best.
I will play Hunt:Showdown with my friends and after the first clue, if there are no obvious signs of activity from other players, I will ask where we should head to next. They in turn will ask me which spot we should investigate next. Whoa whoa whoa! I asked you first, you make the call! Nope. Apparently because I am the most 'observant' player, making everybody aware of directions players could come from and telling people to be careful around an area, I should make the call. Instead of starting an arguement I will sometimes call out the most treacherous location as our next move just because. I often upstage myself because sure enough we get engaged in a fight with other players but usually win. Everybody congratulates eachother and praises my call as being a good one. The moment the next game starts the first question they ask me is "Where should we start?". I'd rather we just agreed on a location together but okay, I'll tell you where to go.
In DoTA 2 I am super aware of the map and often call out every enemies position when they appear somewhere else. Naturally this gives off the impression that I know what the hell I am talking about when in actuality I don't want the enemy to get fed because my teammates were too unobservant to notice the 5 'Enemy missing' calls and get ganked. By the 'roaming' phase of the game my entire team gravitates towards my position because I 'MUST' know what I am doing. I do but only for my hero. We'll have a few engagements but I won't full commit unless I see that we have a clear advantage(Other enemy players out of position, their mana is low, abilities on CD). Everybody goes in when I do and we win that skirmish. I receive 'good call' and 'WP' from players which is frankly a surprise to see in DoTA 2.
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When I log in to play a multiplayer game I am not expecting to be in a position to make game changing 'calls'. I am just here to play! But often I find myself filling a 'role' that has other players following my every move... I am probably the last person they should follow but the game is already underway and to find somebody else now would cause disruption amongst the team.
I just want to play like everybody else. I don't 'want' to be the de facto leadership role nor did I ask for it. I know that many of the players on my team are much better than me at the game and I think their better understanding of the game would allow them to make more effective calls. But what I think and what the reality is are two different prospects and I've begun to understand that Sometimes being a leader doesn't mean being the most knowledgeable player, it just means being a point for others to follow and they can do the rest.
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What do you do when you find yourself filling a role unexpectedly? Do you try and palm it off to somebody else or is there an attempt to do the best you can? Please leave a comment sharing your experiences!
Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed