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Coach Mode?

Kal Vas Flam··5 votes·1,572 views

I realize the timing for this thread is probably bad. Everyone is focused on the game changing preseason 6 patch. I would like to bring up an idea I've had for a couple of years though, if that's alright.

I think it would be interesting to have a coach mode, that is, a 6th member of the team that views the game through a kind of limited spectator mode, but who can also communicate with teammates. The objective here would not be to have an extra set of eyes for map awareness (I would propose a 5 second or so delay), but instead to be more of a guide over the course of a match.

Some basic parameters I had in mind would be:

  1. The coach's vision would be limited to his/her team's vision, have a short (5 or so seconds) time delay, and could (ideally) flag items in the shop for players in accordance with priority.
  2. The coach could use ping functions, but remember there would be a time delay; so this function would be for planning objectives to take, not for active action currently happening. "Markers" would be a nice addition as well. Similar to waypoint markers found in other games, these markers could be used to give players visual aids when trying to explain pathing and such.
  3. The coach can communicate with his/her team, but not the enemy team.
  4. Down the road (I doubt this accompany coach mode at launch), an in-game notebook for tracking strategies, itemization, team progress and such would be a nice little addition. Another great feature would be to have formations like a real play book. It could use the new marker system to insert an semi-transparent overlay on the minimap or even the main map to help set up the team for proper positioning in teamfights.
  5. At first coach mode would probably only be available in organized team play, but I would I wouldn't mind trying it in solo queue as well.
  6. The coach would be unable to ever force players to do anything. It would be a game of trust between the players and coach to make the right decisions.

The role of the coach would be to do just that, coach players throughout the course of a game. Note that this is not the same as a manager. A coach guides players while a manager actively directs players. We don't want in-game managers, we want coaches. In this role the coach could:

  1. Plan objectives for his team over the course of a match.
  2. Help players with itemization choices.
  3. Monitor the behavior and play patterns of players and help them make adjustments on the fly.
  4. General assistance via team communication (let's see your Vi walked over a pink ward and for some reason didn't see it).
  5. Do, you know, coach stuff.

Probably the biggest advantage I see with having a coach mode would be for point # 3. If your Jarv is going on tilt a good coach will be able to see that and can try to bring him back to Earth. If a player is doing something right a coach could reinforce that good gameplay to prevent them from changing for no reason and doing stupid shit (every Bronze game ever). That kind of stuff.

A lot of people, such as myself, enjoy the strategy of the game as much (or more in some cases) than the action of the game. I think a coach mode could bring up LoL across the board as a more thoughtful gaming experience, as opposed to simply hoping someone on your team gets fed early and hard carries the game for you.

Thank you for reading, have a cat gif for your troubles:

http://cutestcats.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Best-15-Very-cute-baby-cat-photos-571x571.jpg

6 Comments

Jack º3 votes

the gif not working for me :( but I like the idea, but the possible troll coach would be annoying, can we report bad coaches?

Blades of Navori1 votes

Most likely, I don't see why not

Kal Vas Flam1 votes

If in solo queue I think this would be a must, but I am fairly confident this would see organized play first. Could be wrong.

GetMariahCarried1 votes

You did say this would be for competitive play at first, but I think it would have to remain strictly for team-competitive play always. Otherwise, this seems like an excuse for ragers to add "I'M THE COACH ****IT, QUIT SUCKING" to their repertoire.

I mean, yes, if you've got a team together, and you have a dedicated coach for competitive play, coach-spectating for long-distance matches would be great! But for the rest of games? There has to be some ACTUAL interaction between the coach and the game mode, rather than just another ping-spammer/kda-reciter/general-rager. I want someone who's actually affecting the game in a way that adds to the entertainment, not just another dude whining at a random laner, polluting my chat that I thought was meant for meaningful things, shouting out orders riddled with flaws that I mute so I can actually do something useful in the match.

Kal Vas Flam1 votes

I've found that the worst ragers and trolls are in Bronze (surprise), but there's a fair share in Silver too. Once you get to Gold and up and it gets better. Maybe the solution to this problem in solo queue would be to open coach mode only to Gold + players. This could open the door for making the system an educational program as well. Plats and Diamonds for example could coach Silver and Gold teams. Most people willingly doing this would be the types that enjoy helping other players out.

I like that idea GetMariahCarried, good job! There will always be some trolls, but I think most people coaching for 2-3 ELO tiers below them will be the type that want to educate and assist other players, and those types are much less likely to go full rage mode. This is especially true if these players know before hand that they'll be working with lower tiered players.

Of course mute and report options would still be available. I think most Gold+ players would not want to risk their account being banned and would probably avoid coaching if they didn't think they could manage their frustrations. I think if we structured the system in this way then most coaches you see would fall into two categories:

  1. People who are in a bad stretch or don't want to take chances in ranked due to be tired/tilting/etc., and would prefer to play coach for a game or two instead of queuing a new match.
  2. People who are serious about becoming good coaches and coach their respective ELO brackets and who simply try to give their teammates good advice.

There is really only one way to know for sure.

GetMariahCarried1 votes

Fair points, although now non-ranked and low-ranked players (kinda includes me) get to feel even more like chumps.

"We don't get to coach?" "No. You don't get to coach nubs."

I suppose that's deserved :P.

Not sure how much this all matters to me really as a non-competitive player. I approach game adjustments from a more "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!" philosophy than a grand master chess player philosophy. This is where I and gold+ players part ways.

BUT, with THAT in mind, this whole "coach" idea gives me another thought for a potential "experimental" game mode where, as I threw out earlier, a 6th player DOES in some way affect in-game activity as a spectator. For example, you might have such a "leader" who decides to allocate unique buffs among players, or maybe identifies certain targets (similar to the ones randomly picked in Dominion) as sources for bonus gold/exp/etc. if they're hit. In so doing, he does "dish out" orders, but in a way that's not entirely communication. It has tangible in-game effects.

I remember eons ago, before Halo 3 came out with Forge (for those people that know what I'm talking about), I was suggesting some type of sandboxer overseers in regular matches that manipulate the battlefield. What we ultimately saw wa sandboxed map creation with Halo Forge, not in-match sandboxing, as I was suggesting, but I'm still interested in the idea of in-game manipulators. Again, I'm KIND OF OFF-POINT, but you have gotten me thinking about these things as a non-competitive "give me something to giggle, not agonize, over" player.

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