Do people not realise, that after all these years, that maybe the growth of the game isnt what's important to us anymore? I want to be able to play fun games and not have to worry about having zero medics or a player 3 divisions below the average on my team. We shouldnt be alienating the existing population just so we can get the spy main from a trade server to start playing competitive. Playing on faceit is just too much of a pain for it to be worth it, even with the hopes of 'growth' for the game.

dont give up ;-;

and im 2624 of them :)

Does seeds count? he techincally didnt 'debut' if hes not rostered on the team right?

This is one of the ever-present problems when it comes to matchmaking systems in general for any competitive game (be it dota, league, csgo) do you sacrifice wait times for higher quality games, or do you want almost instant games with a larger skill disparity. Obviously with a much larger playerbase in games like dota, this really only effects the very top level players (dota pros complain about low ranked players on their team etc.) but in tf2 it effects all level of play. The wait time for a pug of your skill level can be quite horrendous at times, but you also have to be able to understand the other side of the coin, its not fun being at a disadvantage because one of the players on your team is a lower level than the average skill of the game, which is why there is a hesitation to pick 'unproven' players.

It's hard to break into the top levels (for pugs) and start to get picked, but it is possible and there are many people that have done it and are considered good players by a majority now.

edit: im sure there are enough players that are willing to keep faceit alive in the advanced division, but I havent personally checked so I dont know for sure.

add DM to servers and add a timer to join the server (ban the player that doesnt join and sub them rather than kill the game) and its great

https://clips.twitch.tv/PhilanthropicTawdryFishPunchTrees

The amount of captains that are either: afk or completely incompetent at picking balanced teams (as in, not even knowing who the best players are, which i am guilty of in invite games) is quite ridiculous.

Not to mention that discord is utter garbage for competitive communication (random volumes every time i launch it, higher latency, causing lag for lower end PCs).

Also, not being able to see who adds to the pug after me (unless i stare at my faceit browser until it starts) is also really irritating.

The avatar system is stupid too, captains pick based on the persons' main class and if that person doesnt want to play their main then the draft could be fucked (first picking a scout main who doesnt want to play scout etc..).

Also pugs just arent fun, half of my games are decided in draft with multiple or no medic mains on one team, ultra virgin beam scouts on one team against offclassing scouts on the other. Pugs cant be laid back because there will always be at least a hand full of people who want to try hard because their stats are displayed publicly and there are prizes.

#bringbackpugchamp

yllen

I also dont want my house to get robbed, but ill still lock my doors at night :)

wonder if i can reach 15 minutes without a kill again

beginner is made for exactly what its named after, beginners to competitive. A more serious place than tf2 center for people to get a good starting ground.

But for medic tips, the biggest thing about lower level medics that is different is that they dont position themselves around the largest current threat. For example, if you are pushing second with full uber advantage, most likely the roamer will try to bomb you to force. So hanging back in choke for a few extra seconds and making sure the roamer cant reach you to force. Other examples could be if you win a midfight and there is only 1 player alive on the enemy team, think about how they will try to kill you, ask your team to check hiding spots for scouts/soldiers, tell them to check for sticky traps etc.
Also finally, dont be scared to pop uber, its often much better to use uber to prevent damage rather than using it to stop death. (i.e. uber before running through a choke instead of running through, getting spammed, and then using). Take everything i say with a grain of salt because im not really a big medic player, but i do play roamer so i know how enemy medics can play around what I try to do.

thank mr cinnamon :)