-Causes
A brief survey of the causes of Pocket Soldier Syndrome follows. This is one area that might benefit from further academic research.
*Structure of competitive TF2 - The Control Point 6v6 structure of TF2 no doubt contributes to many cases of Pocket Soldier Syndrome. Were the game played with more players per team, or no Medics, or a different format, the number of cases of Pocket Soldier Syndrome might actually be low.
*Introversion - The Pocket Soldier may be introverted IRL and have little or no experience in social situations. This inexperience is exacerbated by the nature of the Internet which provides no cues as to what social behavioural norms the Pocket Soldier should adhere to. An introverted individual may be unaccustomed to such responsibility and therefore not developed the social skills to manage it.
*Moderate-to-High natural gaming skill - Lower-skilled players are not typically afflicted with Pocket Soldier Syndrome. They often perceive the loss of rounds or matches to be, in part, their fault. However, moderate-to-highly skilled players will take the most basic rudimentary measure of their performance in assigning blame - the kill:death ratio (kdr). As the Pocket Soldier absorbs the most healing and invulnerabilities in a typical TF2 match, their kdr is naturally quite high. When they discover that their team mates' kdr is lower than theirs, the obvious conclusion is that the Pocket Soldier is playing well and others are not.
-Symptoms
Symptoms of Pocket Soldier Syndrome are generally verbal (ventrilo/teamspeak) or text-based (irc/steam chat), and derive from an inability to empathise with their team mates. They may include:
"I don't understand how you are dying!!!!"
"Why is everyone on low health???"
"You guys need to stop dying"
"I'm playing perfectly, the rest of you aren't"
"You guys should practice more"
"Somebody tell me why we are losing"
Gameplay symptoms are most obvious when the Pocket Soldier considers protecting the Medic a 'secondary concern' to fragging the enemy. The Pocket Soldier, wanting to maximise his/her kdr, will often put the Medic in peril by rocket-jumping away to chase kills, failing to check for sticky traps because they 'slow him/her down', and considering ubering other classes offensively as 'idiotic'.
If post-game discussion takes place, the Pocket Soldier suffering this mental disorder will continually rebuff criticisms of their own gameplay, instead preferring to change the subject, raise irrelevant points of contention, argue semantics, or treat other team mates with contempt.
-Treatment
Pocket Soldier Syndrome when in full swing is an incurable mental disorder. The Pocket Soldier's behaviour will continue until he/she is without a team, by alienating players and disrupting team morale to such an extent that either the team disbands or he/she
quits.
For teams wishing to avoid Pocket Soldier Syndrome, identification of the onset of the mental disorder and early intervention are key. Players will need to approach the Pocket Soldier collectively and without abstentions. Even if one other team mate agrees with the Pocket Soldier on a minor issue, he/she will take it as validation for their entire argument and belief system.
One advised technique for treating the early onset of Pocket Soldier Syndrome is to rotate the player into other classes for scrims and matches for an extended period. This will force the Pocket Soldier to confront the alternate realities of TF2 gameplay that they were hitherto unaware of.
In the end, if the Pocket Soldier's condition does not improve, or in fact deteriorates further, it may be necessary to remove him from the roster altogether for the sake of preserving the remaining core of the team. This can often be troublesome if the relationship between the team and Pocket Soldier extend to outside of TF2.