4Game

You can find earlier posts here.

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3
• Part 4

Today we're going to talk about the minimap, because dammit we have to.

It's hard to quantify the increase to your Win Rate the correct use of the minimap will have, but if you're below 50% I will pretty much guarantee an increase of 2-3% simply from following this basic advice.

I myself struggle to follow my own advice, but the last 30 days (410 games) I've had a Win Rate of 57,56% and about 4-5% of that comes solely from getting better at watching the minimap.

• 1

You're in your TD, sitting in your bush, intently watching for enemies popping up in the bush they often use, right!? WRONG, you're watching the minimap of course.

The thing is, that you can watch that bush on the minimap as well, and since you're already aiming there you have a delay of around 0.5 to 1 second, moving your eyes from the minimap to the aim, correcting and shooting.

What you gain from that sacrifice though, is amazing. You watch where the team is going, where other enemies are, and you try and predict if you're in the right spot. Maybe you need to move despite being in your favorite bush, because the enemy is doing something other than how games on that map usually go, and you could gain several thousand damage by covering the rear of the heavy line instead.

• 2

You're scouting; you're in your favorite bush, and you're reading on your phone because it's boring just sitting there. Wrong of course, you're looking at the minimap because you're the team member with the most spare time if you're in a passive scout.

You're watching your teams movement, trying to see if there are holes in the defenses where you need to spot in case enemies sneak through. Maybe there's a flank you can spot where you would get more spotting damage, because both your team and the enemies are doing something different from normal, and you can even tell the heavies if they're about to be flanked, or the mediums where they could go to flank the enemy.

• 3

You're in your heavy, playing peek'a'boom with the enemy heavies, and you're currently reloading in safety. What do you do during your 10-15 second reload. You guessed CORRECTLY! You look at the minimap!

Sure you already know where your opponent is, since you're likely dancing around some rocks, but wouldn't it be nice knowing if you can expect a medium to arrive behind you to expand your rear armor with shell up the bum?

Wouldn't it be nice knowing that your other flank has collapsed and the entire enemy team is coming from behind? Wouldn't it be nice knowing that after you win your duel with the enemy heavies, you'll likely be driving into the enemy TDs and dying?

• 4

You're in your medium. You're looking at the minimap every chance you get, trying to see if you can find an opening in the enemy teams defenses. Maybe you can get side shots on the heavies, expose the TDs or grab the important piece of cover.

It can be easy to forget, in all the action packed fights, but since you kept an eye on the minimap you know there's an enemy light coming in from the side, and when you kill him you're the best scout left in the game.

• 5

You're in your artillery. You log out of the game, and go shame yourself in the corner. If you insist on playing, you literally have nothing better to do for 20-25 seconds after every time you fire, and if you're not looking at the minimap trying to find your next shot … well.

What's your point?

The minimap (press M if it's not in the lower right corner of your screen) is your most important tool. It's the key information center of your game.

If you watch it closely you will see when a flank is open, when your team all drove the other way and left you hanging, and where the enemy team is going.

The next part is of course using that information. Maybe all the heavies drove to their usual spot, but your light has scouted that all the enemy heavies are going somewhere unexpected. Now do you join the other heavies going to an empty flank and pushing, or do you get in the way of the enemy steam roll, trying to delay it?

That's something I can't really help you with deciding, but the fact that you CAN decide, instead of just being surprised when something happens, is a key first step.

Use the minimap. I guarantee you, that if you're stuck on 48% Win Rate, it's because you're not using it enough, and I've even talked to players that have it turned off. Use the minimap, it's a game changer.