Standoff 2 Guide to Solo Queuing: Learn How to Manage Random Teammates
Unless you’re playing for a team of five, every game you queue up for is going to be a bit of a gamble. Most of the time you’ll at least get a balanced game. Maybe you’ll be lucky enough to have a carry. In the case that you do end up at a disadvantage, don’t tilt because you can still win. In this Standoff 2 guide, you will be going over how to win with a bad team. Whether you’ve been matched up with some bots or just don’t have enough raw firepower, here you will find some tips to help you squeak out a win. So you’ve noticed your team hasn’t been able to string rounds together, and you’re getting pretty mad.
Do Not Tilt:
Whatever you do, do not tilt. A big part of winning with a bad team is having a good mentality. Part of what makes Standoff 2 an amazing game is how any game is winnable regardless of the scoreline. You can come back no matter how bad the half, even if you’re down multiple rounds. Although the results may look bleak, there’s absolutely no reason why you should tilt. Of course, tilting doesn’t only take the form of getting rid of your team. You could also tilt and stop communicating entirely or start going for plays that give your enemy a free kill. If you catch yourself tilting, try to take a deep breath and reset your mentality.
As long as there are still rounds to win, your focus should be on how to win those rounds instead of reasons you think you lost the previous ones. Constant mistakes should be thought about and addressed. However, if you start in-fighting about rounds that have already happened, you’ll just end up taking crucial focus away from the round at hand and the subsequent rounds. If you’re annoyed by a teammate’s mistakes, try to remain positive while telling them how they could have supported you or the team better. If they messed up on an individual level, chances are they already know why.
So there’s no reason to give your input mid round unless they ask for it. Ultimately, if you make sure not to tilt, both your mentality and your team’s overall mentality will be better off. Giving you a greater chance of winning.
Solo-ing Utility:
That’s the first tip out of the way. Now, you’re going to assume that your team wants to win just as bad as you do. However, they just can’t win individual gunfights. In this case, your best bet is to use utility to your advantage whenever possible, whether you’re organizing an entire strategy, execute in Standoff 2, or simply throwing a good pop flash for your teammate. Any amount of utility can even the playing field on T’s side. Consider defaulting around the map while holding onto your utility before deciding where to go to. Spread out through the map and hold any potential pushes by the enemy. Just make sure to hold on to enough utility for later.
The idea here is to slowly try and gather information on the way your opponents are playing in order to make a more educated decision later in the rounds. If you were to execute a strategy right away, you’d essentially be forced to run through all the CT’s utility and perhaps even a stack. This only really works in Standoff 2 games if your team is mechanically stronger than your opponents. Playing this way allows you to both have an easier time when you do execute in the end. It also offers you the opportunity to find picks on your own before you execute. Try to bait out a bit of utility from the enemy if you can by throwing a flash or shoulder peeking a few angles.
Whether you’ve gotten a kill or not, tell your teammates to group up and take an area using flashes and smokes wherever possible. If you play these rounds slow, you should group up for each sight take and use your utility while going in. It’ll be really difficult for the enemy team to win simply by out aiming. Make sure not to give up any free kills early on, and you’ll be fine on CT’s side. Remember to shut down any early rushes by the enemy team with molotovs or grenades. Use flashes wherever you want to go for a peek. If you see a teammate going for some kind of aggressive peek, you can toss flash behind them for support.
Make sure to tell them you’re throwing it, so they’re not caught off guard. When you’re retaking, make sure to use all of your utility to clear out parts of the site and block off places the enemy could be holding. Good utility usage can not only make fights easier but also guarantee kills depending on how you use it. Forcing your opponents to run through a smoke late into a round will make killing them a lot easier, and not even a perfect player can counter a good flash. Even if your teammates don’t know how to use their utility, supporting them with your own will improve their chances with each fight.
If your teammate is holding down the site, and you’re both out with an AWM, throwing flashes on their shot will allow them to repeat and go for more kills. Having good utility usage is an important skill to learn, but it’s also one of the most difficult in Standoff 2.
Coordinating in Solo:
You can still coordinate plays, even if your utility usage needs some work. Simply pushing with two players on the CT side for example could ensure a kill or at least a trade. Sometimes you might have to double push for information or boost two players quickly for early map control. Having a teammate take any fight with you will improve your odds of winning. Especially if the fight is just a 2v1. Going for gimmicky boosts can secure a free kill as well.
Plays that catch your enemy off guard are great for teams that may not be the best mechanically. Unpredictable behavior is impossible to counter. Take initiative with these kinds of plays if you see an opportunity. You can tell a teammate where to boost you or ask a teammate to push with you if you think you can guarantee a kill. Coordination is key to winning with a bad team, since you can’t just rely on luck to secure each round.
Solo Plays:
If you can’t seem to get your team to work together, the next route is to make individual plays. Understanding individual plays come from experience, but the goal here is to secure an early pick without dying. Some players prefer such individual plays, while others will go for rifle kills. If you’re on a map like Sandstone, going for early picks is a safe bet since you can back off easily and reposition yourself after each kill. You also don’t need to rely on your teammates as much for flashes or other utility. You should be able to kill any players that peek into you.
If the enemy team is overly aggressive, grabbing an AWM and holding for over peeks can net you a few opening kills. Just make sure to not get too greedy and end up dying early on. If you want to get picks with a rifle, you’ve got a couple of options. One is to peek early with utility, whether it be your own or teammates. With a good spawn, a rifler can easily catch players running across at the start of a round, assuming a teammate flashes as they peek. Tossing a molotov and having a teammate flash for you can get you a free kill on enemies playing overly aggressive. Such early plays can work if you’re confident in your aim. However, they will have bad repercussions on your team’s success if you end up dying without a kill.
Lurking Lone:
This brings to the less dangerous option of lurking with a rifle, which can also net free kills. There’s a lot to lurking, and you don’t want to end up being a bait. Lurking in Standoff 2 can work if you understand how the enemy team is playing. A good lurker capitalizes on rotations by sneaking onto a site the enemy is rotating off of or holding an aggressive spot quietly for free kills.
You don’t have to be silent as a lurker. Using ear ringing utility sometimes while your teammates prepare to take the opposite site can make their take a lot easier. Plus, it might even help you find a kill on your side of the map. Try not to lurk every round, especially if your teammates aren’t able to get kills on their own. Swinging onto a site with a teammate will always be a better play later in the round than just hiding. If you’re down in numbers, just give up on the lurk and regroup with your team.
Some Additional Info:
With everything said so far about using teamwork and coordination to win, it’s important to remember your constraints. If you’re playing a game with completely random players or you queued up with some lower level teammates, complex plays are probably going to just confuse them. At the end of the day, you’ll only be playing with them for that hour. So try not to run a double fake or an intensive 5 smoke execute unless you’re completely confident in their ability to throw the utility needed. If you’re going to call a play, keep it simple and concise. Try to throw the supporting utility yourself to leave little room for error.
While holding a sight, it’s good to have a setup in case the enemy team executes on your team. Just don’t spend more than a few seconds explaining it. Instead, tell your teammate to flash if something happens or decide who’s going to take the first fight. Then make sure you have your gun out and focus on the round at hand. No matter how good of a team you’re playing against, there will be something that works against them. Perhaps they have too many AWMs, or they play too aggressively. Try to figure out a counter and stick with what seems to work. If your team has had success just rushing with all five, then don’t be afraid to catch your opponent off guard with another rush.
If they have a player pushing up every round, make sure to wait for someone to pick that player off before making your move. If grabbing an AWM seems to be a great counter to their rushes, then keep picking it. Every game you play is winnable. If you could make good individual plays, coordinate with your teammates and utilize your utility. You’ll be able to chain rounds together regardless of the overall skill level. If nothing else is working, just grab an AWM or a rifle and go for some opening picks. Make sure not to tilt, and you’ll make it through the game just fine.
