Strikeball Guide by Trunks_Rage
Guide For Players
Lesson 1: (Advanced Passing)
Well, I guess it’s time to let it all out. Those conservatives passes won’t do anymore. Now you need to get a feel for prox. Make sure that you know how close is too close. Then you can better judge those risky shots. Sometimes you can pass though a crowd. It is all about timing and practice. How about having a little fun. Sometimes you can bounce pass, or as I like to call it bp. The most common place to do this is off the bottom edge of the court. The trick works just as well on the top. But for some reason people think down, not up. The key to these bounce shots are angles. If the angle is too sharp. Then you might make the ball bounce right back at you. Try for wider angles. This shot is useful to pass around the enemy. They will be most likely directly in front of you, when you try to pass. So you must shoot under them to pass. Here is a little trick, that I simply love. It works best with 2 on 2 matches, but can be applied to any team game of sb. Lets say your partner dies on defense. But you manage to get the ball, so pass it directly into the middle. You might even pass it right to your partner, just as he is spawned. If not, he will at least be able to retrieve it quickly. Most of sb passing is instinct. Plus, passing is like a cold; soon everyone catches it, and wants to give it up.
Lesson 2: (Advanced Shooting)
The next set of shots are a lot of fun. The first can be made through the 1-tile openings in the front of the goal. These shots usually only work without a goalie. Your best bet is to angle it at the middle hole in the net. You can experiment with different bounces, but to explain all of these is a tedious task. So I will just recommend a direct shot towards the center with no bounces, because it is the easiest shot. Another shot that I typically use is somewhat hard to describe. The idea is to shoot it from a good distance outside the goal, on either the top or bottom. With the correct angle you can shoot between the asteroids and right into the goal. The wider the angle, the easier the shot, but you usually only have time for sharp shots. Some sharp shots take precise accuracy into the net. They won’t simply keep bouncing till you score. It will go directly into the goal. Practice makes perfect, so try these shots as often as possible. During an actual SB game would be ideal. If you practice alone, then it won’t help your game much. You need to be able to make certain shots, at certain speeds. I think practicing alone is both boring and useless. The ideal way to practice is 1 on 1. Despite what some vets say, overall skill is tested in a 1 on 1 match. You must be on both defense and offense at all times. You need to take riskier shots, and can’t pass. Some see passing as an essential, but I believe that the longer you play without it, then more you come to respect it. It will come as a relief to be able to pass it often. If you often play in games of 5 on 5, then you might rarely see the ball, and don’t want to give it up so quickly. You will understand what I mean when you try it.
Lesson 3: (Starting)
If you are an advanced newb, then you can probably get on a SB squad if you want. A SB game is different from a normal pub match. First off, they hold them in ?go twsbl. So none of that wormhole shot bull. Plus there is a very different beginning to a league game. The ball will not simply appear somewhere; the host will place it in that center circle. Then when they say go, everyone will charge the ball, and it will be a bloodbath. There are different formations to take; these are vital to the pace of the game. Usually the team with the first goal can dominate most of that round. So it is an eager moment for both squads. The first formation is everyone in the safe. Two people charge the ball, and three fire at the other team. If you are playing with four, then only two will fire at the other team. The next most popular, is to spread out on your side. This way you can attack from all sides. Usually, all players should fire and rush at the same time. With one in the safe, and two on either side, as close to the edge of the outer circle as possible. This will usually cancel out the first strategy. So I suggest whatever the strategy is, make sure to implement at the last few seconds before the game starts. This way the other team can’t change strategies. Our third strategy involves a more defensive approach. You see, it is legal to have a goalie sitting in you goal before the game even starts. Then the remaining 4 to sit in the safe. Ok from here on it gets a little elaborate. The first 2 people will not exactly charge the ball, They will get as close as possible to the ball, then repel. Either both at once, or one after the other, each is pretty effective, Then the other 2 will fire on the disoriented team. If this doesn’t work, your team is still in a good defensive position. The two people who repelled can also fire at this point. After that, you will have to react to the game as it plays out. Once again, I have given you the technique that will probably be able to cancel out the one before it. The only problem with this technique is it only will work with a goalie, and they must be in place well before the game starts. You see if the other team manages to rush through (probably only one person) then they must be stopped. The last one I can suggest is very risky. When the host says go, just back up, everyone, then fire bombs, and rush. You can try to run right through, but that works once every 20 times. So try for the more sensible routes. You can come up with your own ideas, but I doubt that there is one much different which is any better. If they are too complicated, then your teammates will probably just screw it up. Plus, either use lots of repels, or none at all. If you use one, so will they, so don’t get them started up if you don’t need to.
Lesson 4: (Talking)
Don’t! If you are playing a league game, then it will be even faster pace then usual. So don’t say anything. You should be concentrating on the game, strikeball is not the best place to chat, and you will be hurting your team for every second you drift in space. Who cares if you screwed up? You don’t need to apologize. Just keep playing, but if you do well, sometimes it is ok to say ns. If you bother to do that, I would suggest a public message. It takes half the time without the stinking //. If anyone is pissing you off, then just let it go, don’t bother responding to rude comments. It shows class, and will help you concentrate.
Lesson 5: (Patterns)
Not too many people know what patterns in SB are. That is because I am the only one who can follow them. It takes a great partner to get into a pattern. One is the trick pass. I do this all the time, but they always fall for it. What you do, is pretend you are going to go under a bunch of enemy ships, at the time you have the ball. Then just stop and go the other way. This takes a quick thrust spin. You more or less do a complete 360; at first to look like you are going down, then back up to pass. This will clear the court, so you won’t pass to the other team by accident. It will work best if you partner knows you will do this. How will they know? Didn’t you tell us not to talk? Yes I did, you see the way for them to know the pass, is to know the pattern. One pattern can be to go to areas away from the enemy. So if the enemy is huddled around me, instead on staying back, my friend will go around them to follow the passing pattern. Regardless of my tricky moves, I will know where he is. Another passing pattern could be the top of the goal. Say I am on a breakaway, and my teammate is in front of me. Well if we agreed to pass to the top of the goal, he will swerve upward. These patterns can be as complicated as you like. Just base them off of constants, like direction, the goal, the middle, bounces, and players. If you want more advice on patterns, you would need to talk to me personally. They require lots of teamwork, and should be changed frequently. This will help to minimize confusion on the court.
Lesson 6: (Goal Tending)
I personally am not a fan of being the goalie. Even so, I know all about goal tending and the proper strategy (note: patterns will help). The best goalie, is a true killing machine. If you can steal and repel, well then you’re a sneaky rat. If you can slaughter the other team, you’re the snake, and we all know that the snake eats the rat. So if someone is charging the goal, instinct should be to bomb him or her. Guns are fun, but bombs are purely destructive. You will be more likely to kill 3 people will several bombs then several bullets. Once you fail to kill them all, this is your chance to repel. Never, and I mean never, repel before firing. Repels only work at close range, if you use the repel before firing, they will be to close to kill, and might even lag their way through. When you do retrieve the ball, make sure to pass it fast, and far. Feel too free to pretend you are passing it top or bottom, as many times as u need to shake the enemy. If there is no enemy you should use your own best judgment, which way to pass. This is much easier if you are following a pattern. Simply agree on top or bottom. Then switch it up now and then. If you want to, try to pass it through the wall holes, not the asteroids. But be very careful. Those holes are too small for error. Don’t make, once again, an ass of yourself, make sure you shoot it away from the goal, not back into it. There is also the issue of ball retrieval, I for one find this a more conflicting subject. If you are the closest to the ball, then you should always try to get it. If not, then definitely stay back in the goal. Even if it is within your reach, make sure the other team isn’t waiting to murder you. Repelling before moving will help to insure safety. Just make it quick above all else.
Lesson 7: (Respect)
Not everyone will be as good as you, and you will not be as good as others. So always respect everyone, make sure to help out the extreme newbs, never yell at anyone, it is just a game. You can brag if you like, but if someone better comes along, would you appreciate it if they bragged about creaming you? Never let your confidence get the better of you. This is strikeball, anything can happen. Newbs are capable of beating you, and you may beat a vet. That is why it’s such a great game. You can’t win by hiding, and you won’t lose if they spawn you. Any game that is won by 2 points is a good game, so feel free to say gg, even if you lose. Don’t feel obligated to say gg if you lose by 20 points. Because it wasn’t. Overall make sure not to insult those you beat, or vice versa if you lose. This all I think you know to become a vet. If you want to learn more, I wrote one final chapter 'SB for Vets', keep in mind that these those tips are more or less on how to run or start a squad, and only a little on strategy. So definitely read them if you want to make your own SB squad. It will also include some patterns that I think only the most talented SB players can pull of. So, only continue if you are a true creature of SB.