I'm good at PvP but I suck at Huttball

[Tyraelium]

True story, or oxymoron?

 

So often I hear players saying things like "We out damaged you, we're better," after a Huttball loss, or complaining about others "How come you only have 83k damage done?"

 

"Good PvPers" playing Huttball understand that it isn't a deathmatch arena. Kill/Death ratio and Damage Done mean nothing. Killing the other team does not necessarily put you at an advantage either. This is especially noticeable in low level Warzones where you find yourself killing a group of players in middle only to see them again at the goal line because they all ressed before you got past the second fire.

 

Huttball is PvP, but PvP does not mean kill on sight. If you are playing Huttball kill on sight, you are playing it WRONG! Instead of fighting everybody you see, move forward into positions to receive a pass.

 

[Offense]When your team controls the ball:

• Pass quickly and pass often. The range is 30 yards! If you are not a tank, then don't hold the ball very long. Do NOT wait until you are near death to pass unless you are a tank and all your cooldowns have been used.
  
• If you are behind the ball, then you should be slowing/stunning enemy players that are behind the ball, peeling players off the ball carrier.
  
• If you are with the ball, run in front of an obstacle (past the poison pit, past a fire). This not only opens a passing option but also forces the other team to respond and you effectively peel other players off your ball carrier.
  
• Look at your minimap often to see the positions of your teammates. If there is no one around you, don't run forward expecting to score. Sometimes its smarter to hang back underneath the rafters, heal up while avoiding damage by using line of sight, giving your team time to resurrect and regroup.
  
• There is a travel time for the ball. Short passes are received quicker than long passes. This means you can 'prefire' a pass by throwing a leading pass, or throw a long pass at a stealthed teammate. He can delay unstealthing to avoid enemies pulling him or charging to him. Short passes to stealthed teammates will fail because there is no time to for him to react and unstealth.
  
• Killing someone only makes them res at the goal line with full health. Consider where your ball carrier is, where you are, and where the person you're killing is before you get that killing blow. Sometimes it is smarter to stop attacking and even let them kill you if it means that they are distracted from the ball carrier. Proficient pillar dancers can keep 1-4 people busy for quite a while. Use knockbacks to neutralize enemies instead of killing them. Powertech/Assassins can also stand on edges and pull -- done correctly, they will fall down when there is no room for them to land.
  

 

[Defense]When you dont control the ball:

• Isolate and eliminate enemy ball carrier by peeling him or his healers away. Use the hazards as much as you can; they do more damage than you do.
  
• Don't stand in places that allow enemy players to charge to you (Juggernaut, Marauder, Powertech, Sentinel, Guardian, Vanguard).
  
• If you have knockbacks, keep an eye out for the rafters and clear enemy players who are anticipating a pass. Knocking someone into the pit and leaving them there is as effective as killing them.
  
• Watch for easy interceptions. When you see an enemy dash in front of his ball carrier past a fire, you better be prepared for the incoming pass. Playing "man defense" leads to more interceptions and no easy passes for the other team.
  

[FLOW]If you are winning:

You have the advantage here. Your team can choose to solely focus on defense and constantly resetting the ball if you want to. You can play simply to run down the clock. Scoring is optional. This is why it is VITAL to score the first goal, and why the beginning of the match is a very important part of the game.

 

[FLOW]If you are losing:

Your team MUST get ball control. This can be hard because if your team is dying one by one, there isn't much time to regroup. Stopping the enemy ball carrier can be impossible. Sometimes, the best play instead is to regroup in the middle after a point and ensure your team is next to pick up the ball. If you can respond with a point of your own, then you can keep up the momentum of the game and even force their players to rethink their aggressive positioning. If you die and res alone, don't run into the enemy zerg unless you can conceivably CC them in the fire with the abilities listed below

 

Knockbacks

Stuns

Slows

Snares (remember snares work on players with resolve immunity)

Grips

Charges

 

I don't care how much damage you think you do. CC'ing someone or moving them into a hazard is almost always the best play and quickest way to kill someone (especially if you manage to pull them from behind). If you see an enemy ball carrier who has resolve immunity and is already past the second fire onto your goal ledge, you should probably run to middle to secure the ball instead.

 

[TIE GAMES]When time is running out:

Remember that in the event of a TIE GAME, the team holding the ball wins. If there is less than 2 minutes left on the clock, and the score is still 0-0, don't go all "4th Quarter Hail Mary". Bring/pass the ball to your side of the map, either in a corner on the goal ledge or inside the pit. Give the ball to your tankiest teammate or play hot potato between the team. Don't be too afraid to pass it to the enemy team if you're sure you can eliminate him fairly quickly. Carrying the ball slows the player down.

 

"But I'm a <class>! I'm useless in Huttball!"

While it is undeniable that some classes have distinct advantages in Huttball, this doesn't make yours useless. Even the oh so often moaned about Operatives can provide the burst you need to take down an enemy ball carrier, or stealth ahead to receive passes. Any player can open a pass option with smart play and smart positioning. Every class can delay and peel.

 

Things happen like facing a team of 6+ Inquisitors, those games are bound to be difficult, but if you play the start of the match right, and prevent a runaway score, then you still stand a good chance.

 

tl;dr

Huttball is not kill-on-sight deathmatch. Medals, damage done and K:D do not matter much if at all. If you think you're good at PvP then you should be proficient in Huttball.

Yeah, I know I'll get some haters for saying PvP is not always about killing other players.

 

Verdict:

Oxymoron

Edited March 25, 2012 by Tyraelium

[Orangerascal]

there are no useless classes in huttball, only useless players.

[kenzeil]

Huttball is just a broken exploitable mess of a warzone, I'm not sure why anyone really still cares about winning or losing it.

[Fozy]

Huttball is the epitome of good pvp. The reason why u hear soooooooo much QQ is because its probably from DPS classes. If you are playing huttball for damage and kills, then you are just another baddie, plain and simple.

[MidichIorian]

I thought Hutball and PvP were synonyms.

 

But yeah, lost games are usually the outcome of five team mates thinking that it's more important to chase one opponent in our own pit. And that opponent is never the ball carrier.

[Bocherel]

I thought Hutball and PvP were synonyms.

 

But yeah, lost games are usually the outcome of five team mates thinking that it's more important to chase one opponent in our own pit. And that opponent is never the ball carrier.

 

I'd rather kill the healer who's supporting the ball carrier tbh

[Scudmungus]

DEFENSE

 

When you are defending, have everyone run up and down your three

platforms and touch down line in order to detect the three stealthers

waiting to receive the pass from the force users...

 

God, that gets old quick....

Edited March 25, 2012 by Scudmungus

[DarthxRage]

Excellent post. I would also like to add that if you are covering receivers, you can also intercept the ball and let me tell ya, picking off a pass at your goal line to setup a breakaway score is pretty baller. I cannot WAIT to coordinate with 8 people instead of 4.

[mordredz]

there are no useless classes in huttball, only useless players.

 

Agree to that and then some...

 

To the OP, if your bad at huttball your bad at pvp, hate to break it to ya...

[Ssfbistimg]

True story, or oxymoron?

 

So often I hear players saying things like "We out damaged you, we're better," after a Huttball loss, or complaining about others "How come you only have 83k damage done?"

 

"Good PvPers" playing Huttball understand that it isn't a deathmatch arena. Kill/Death ratio and Damage Done mean nothing. Killing the other team does not necessarily put you at an advantage either. This is especially noticeable in low level Warzones where you find yourself killing a group of players in middle only to see them again at the goal line because they all ressed before you got past the second fire.

 

Huttball is PvP, but PvP does not mean kill on sight. If you are playing Huttball kill on sight, you are playing it WRONG! Instead of fighting everybody you see, move forward into positions to receive a pass.

 

[Offense]When your team controls the ball:

Pass quickly and pass often. If you are not a tank, then don't hold the ball very long. Do NOT wait until you are near death to pass unless you are a tank and all your cooldowns have been used.

If you are behind the ball, then you should be slowing/stunning enemy players that are behind the ball, peeling players off the ball carrier.

If you are with the ball, run in front of an obstacle (past the poison pit, past a fire). This not only opens a passing option but also forces the other team to respond and you effectively peel other players off your ball carrier.

Look at your minimap often to see the positions of your teammates. If there is no one around you, don't run forward expecting to score. Sometimes its smarter to hang back underneath the rafters, heal up while avoiding damage by using line of sight.

Killing someone only makes them res at the goal line with full health. Consider where your ball carrier is, where you are, and where the person you're killing is before you get that killing blow. Sometimes it is smarter to stop attacking and even let them kill you if it means that they are distracted from the ball carrier. Proficient pillar dancers can keep 1-4 people busy for quite a while.

 

 

[Defense]When you dont control the ball:

Isolate and eliminate enemy ball carrier by peeling him or his healers away. Use the hazards as much as you can; they do more damage than you do.

Don't stand in places that allow enemy players to charge to you (Juggernaut, Marauder, Powertech, Sentinel, Guardian, Vanguard).

If you have knockbacks, keep an eye out for the rafters and clear enemy players who are anticipating a pass. Knocking someone into the pit and leaving them there is as effective as killing them.

 

[FLOW]If you are winning:

You have the advantage here. Your team can choose to solely focus on defense and constantly resetting the ball if you want to. You can play simply to run down the clock. Scoring is optional. This is why it is VITAL to score the first goal, and why the beginning of the match is a very important part of the game.

 

[FLOW]If you are losing:

Your team MUST get ball control. This can be hard because if your team is dying one by one, there isn't much time to regroup. Stopping the enemy ball carrier can be impossible. Sometimes, the best play instead is to regroup in the middle after a point and ensure your team is next to pick up the ball. If you can respond with a point of your own, then you can keep up the momentum of the game and even force their players to rethink their aggressive positioning. If you die and res alone, don't run into the enemy zerg unless you can conceivably CC them in the fire with the abilities listed below

 

Knockbacks

Stuns

Slows

Snares (remember snares work on players with resolve immunity)

Grips

Charges

 

I don't care how much damage you think you do. CC'ing someone or moving them into a hazard is almost always the best play and quickest way to kill someone (especially if you manage to pull them from behind). If you see an enemy ball carrier who has resolve immunity and is already past the second fire onto your goal ledge, you should probably run to middle to secure the ball instead.

 

[TIE GAMES]When time is running out:

Remember that in the event of a TIE GAME, the team holding the ball wins. If there is less than 2 minutes left on the clock, and the score is still 0-0, don't go all "4th Quarter Hail Mary". Bring/pass the ball to your side of the map, either in a corner on the goal ledge or inside the pit. Give the ball to your tankiest teammate or play hot potato between the team. Don't be too afraid to pass it to the enemy team if you're sure you can eliminate him fairly quickly. Carrying the ball slows the player down.

 

"But I'm a <class>! I'm useless in Huttball!"

While it is undeniable that some classes have distinct advantages in Huttball, this doesn't make yours useless. Even the oh so often moaned about Operatives can provide the burst you need to take down an enemy ball carrier, or stealth ahead to receive passes. Any player can open a pass option with smart play and smart positioning. Every class can delay and peel.

 

Things happen like facing a team of 6+ Inquisitors, those games are bound to be difficult, but if you play the start of the match right, and prevent a runaway score, then you still stand a good chance.

 

tl;dr

Huttball is not kill-on-sight deathmatch. Medals, damage done and K:D do not matter much if at all. If you think you're good at PvP then you should be proficient in Huttball.

Yeah, I know I'll get some haters for saying PvP is not always about killing other players.

 

Verdict:

Oxymoron

 

In wins I never top 80k in damage, in loses I'm always over 200K. So damage means nothing in huttball.

[Tyraelium]

Excellent post. I would also like to add that if you are covering receivers, you can also intercept the ball and let me tell ya, picking off a pass at your goal line to setup a breakaway score is pretty baller. I cannot WAIT to coordinate with 8 people instead of 4.

 

how could I forget about INTs?! Added a line under defense for this.

 

Thanks!

[rolotomasi]

i stop healing much in huttball long time ago. heal 300k always lose. heal 50k always win.

 

i just wait at opposition side nowadays.

[Humankeg]

In wins I never top 80k in damage, in loses I'm always over 200K. So damage means nothing in huttball.

 

Damage means a lot in Huttball. A group that is kill another team in damage can easily beat them mainly due to just flat out killing all the players coming their way, including the ball carrier.

 

There are many aspects in PvP, Hutball is one. Just because you suck or are good at Huttball, doesn't mean you suck or are good in Pvp.

[Itukaaj]

Good post! Huttball is also about positioning and every class has a different place where they should be- every class has a sweet spot location. Control middle before cap (either team's cap).

 

That goes for Voidstar as well. If you just go anywhere even in a pug you suck. Huttball is the best WZ this game has. Those who QQ just don't get it and probably are getting pwnd so it's no fun for them. Looking forward to rated matches.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Itukaaj

[lordkhouri]

there are no useless classes in huttball, only useless players.

 

This ^^

[ShadowOfVey]

Funny thing is, in huttball, unless you were assigned to controlling mid the whole game or something...if you have huge damage stats you probably played poorly.

[Fatesender]

Damage means a lot in Huttball. A group that is kill another team in damage can easily beat them mainly due to just flat out killing all the players coming their way, including the ball carrier.

 

There are many aspects in PvP, Hutball is one. Just because you suck or are good at Huttball, doesn't mean you suck or are good in Pvp.

 

That never works on us because folks like you are too busy chasing for kills while the ball walks right by you.

[Dar-Ell]

True story, or oxymoron?

 

<wall of awesome text about Huttball>

 

Verdict:

Oxymoron

 

dude...when cross server warzones come out...can I be on your team?

Edited March 25, 2012 by Dar-Ell

[Anarchic]

The problem with huttball starts with medals and the scoreboard.

 

Just think how many athletes turn away from a better team and victory for more personal money. Sure there are some that are about winning, but that is usually later in their career and after they have their money

 

If you really want to fix huttball... the first, and necessary step, is to change the scoreboard. The only stats that should show up should be centered around the ball. For example: Remove total Damage and replace it with Damage = Damage done to ball carrier, person shielding ball carrier, and person who has healed ball carrier within 10 seconds... and damage done to a player who has done the preceding within 5 seconds. All other damage does not count.

 

Give bonus medals and valor/$/etc. for things such as: every player on team touched and passed the ball 1x, 2x, etc. Change up points where the first time a player scores its worth 3 points and then 1 point each time after (this way it rewards more points if different people score and not the same person over an over and encourges people to get more involved.)

 

 

There are lots of other things that could be done, but the point is simple: Pointing fingers at players and having "this right way to play" posts are pointless. You want better huttball with everyone involved: change the scoreboard. The majority of players do not read the boards... but they do look at the scoreboard. You give them a different token and remove others, you will change what they do.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Anarchic

[Ozzone]

there are no useless classes in huttball, only useless players.

 

Why must people always deal in absolutes. Of course there's no useless class. But I know from experience that some classes have a noticeable advantage over other classes but that's how huttball works.

[Humankeg]

That never works on us because folks like you are too busy chasing for kills while the ball walks right by you.

 

No, bad players that are not aware of their surroundings do that. Players like me kill you, kill you healer, kill your ball carrier, then score it ourselves... all while killing your entire team again on the way to the goal line.

[Meanerr]

Agree to that and then some...

 

To the OP, if your bad at huttball your bad at pvp, hate to break it to ya...

 

This.

 

Huttball is a different beast and good pvpers will make adjustments. Bad pvpers will go on forums and QQ.

[Orangerascal]

Why must people always deal in absolutes. Of course there's no useless class. But I know from experience that some classes have a noticeable advantage over other classes at certain things but that's how huttball works.

 

I changed that for you.

 

While a guardians makes a devastating ball carrier, he is rubbish at controlling the middle. Vice Versa for a commando.

 

Too many people want to be the stryker when they don't realise the midfielders control the game and back four prevent the opposite team from winning.

Edited March 25, 2012 by Orangerascal

[sonofchiefy]

When I'm leader now in Huttball I try organising a 2-4-2

 

2 defenders that stay 30m behind the ball, BH/Trooper is best

 

2 forwards that stay 30m in front for pass chain

 

4 around the ball at all times

 

It sort of seems to nicely organise PUG's

 

 

But f*** I'm bad at passing my throw point never allows me an up throw.

[face_hindu]

The problem with huttball starts with medals and the scoreboard.

 

Just think how many athletes turn away from a better team and victory for more personal money. Sure there are some that are about winning, but that is usually later in their career and after they have their money

 

If you really want to fix huttball... the first, and necessary step, is to change the scoreboard. The only stats that should show up should be centered around the ball. For example: Remove total Damage and replace it with Damage = Damage done to ball carrier, person shielding ball carrier, and person who has healed ball carrier within 10 seconds... and damage done to a player who has done the preceding within 5 seconds. All other damage does not count.

 

Give bonus medals and valor/$/etc. for things such as: every player on team touched and passed the ball 1x, 2x, etc. Change up points where the first time a player scores its worth 3 points and then 1 point each time after (this way it rewards more points if different people score and not the same person over an over and encourges people to get more involved.)

 

 

There are lots of other things that could be done, but the point is simple: Pointing fingers at players and having "this right way to play" posts are pointless. You want better huttball with everyone involved: change the scoreboard. The majority of players do not read the boards... but they do look at the scoreboard. You give them a different token and remove others, you will change what they do.

 

Don't worry - most of these changes are in 1.2. I play my usual style of game (score and prevent scores) - usually end up with low dps, moderate heals, and top of the leaderboard, instead of bottom third.

 

With 1.2, the leaderboard will actually show you who's good at Butt-haul.