Communication

Each player sees and hears only part of the map. Communication combines five points of view: it is the fastest way to know where the enemies are, and therefore to make good decisions. A team of five average players who talk well often beats five good players who each play alone.

But communication only works when it is useful: lots of useless words drown out sound, distract people and make the important information arrive late.

A good callout answers three questions, in this order:

1. where: the name of the place (A main, mid, heaven...);
2. how many: one, two, lots;
3. what: a useful detail (hurt, Operator, rotating, used their ultimate).

"Two A main, one low". "Operator mid". "One rotating to B". Sentences of three to five words, and they contain everything.

The most valuable detail is often health: saying an enemy is hurt ("low", "one shot") changes a teammate's next duel.

During the round, almost everything you say should be information or a decision:

• information: where the enemies are, what they used, how many are left;
• decisions: "let's go B", "rotating", "staying", "need help on A";
• coordination: "flash and I go", "smoke in three seconds".

Things to avoid during the round:

• narrating your death in detail ("I was there, he came, I shot but..."): "one B back, Odin" is enough;
• comments on who made a mistake: they distract and sour everyone's mood;
• talking over a teammate giving important information.

Discussions, if needed, happen in the buy phase, briefly: "their Jett always goes A, let's put someone there".

Two kinds of communication that lower-tier players rarely use:

Ask for help early. If on defense you hear more enemies coming than you can hold, say it right away: "three B, need help". Your teammates need time to rotate; if you say it once you are already dead, it is too late.

Say what you are doing. "Going mid", "staying A", "saving", "rotating". It sounds trivial, but it lets your teammates know where you are without checking the minimap, and stops two people leaving the same area empty.

With people you do not know, communication is harder: different languages, different habits, sometimes nobody talking. A few tips:

• use the map's callouts and simple English words almost everyone understands: "two B", "one mid", "rotate", "low";
• use pings: a ping on the map is worth more than a sentence nobody understands;
• speak first, calmly: often one player communicating well is enough to get the others going;
• do not demand that everyone follows your plan: suggest it simply and accept a different plan if the team prefers it.

The buy phase is the best moment to talk, because nobody is fighting. A few seconds are enough to:

• decide the buy: "full buy", "eco", "who can drop me a rifle?";
• set the plan: "B fast", "default and then we decide";
• one correction from the last round: "their Jett is always mid early".

A team that uses the buy phase well starts the round knowing what to do, and needs to talk much less during it.

How you speak matters as much as what you say. A calm, clear voice helps teammates play better, especially in hard moments. An angry or nervous voice makes them tenser and more mistake-prone.

Some habits of teams that play well together:

• after a lost round, one sentence that looks forward ("ok, next one: let's try B") instead of one that looks back;
• acknowledge a teammate's good play: it costs nothing and lifts the mood;
• if someone is toxic, do not reply: mute them if needed and keep giving information to the others.

If you are playing with strangers and nobody is talking, go first: one clear callout early in the match is often enough to get the others talking too.

Communication can be trained too. After a match with friends or your team, ask: what information were we missing in the rounds we lost? Who talked too much and who too little? Which callout was unclear? Two minutes is enough, and the next match will sound different.