ARE YOU NEW TO COMPETITIVE DOOM? ODAMEX? WDL IN GENERAL? ITT: TIPS FOR YOU!

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Whether it be that you are entirely new to Doom 2, or simply newer to Odamex and the World Doom League model, having an understanding of how the league functions is critical if you wish to get a shot at a spot on one of the many WDL teams each season. So here are some basic aspects of the league followed up by some tips that can help you set a clear goal on how to get noticed as a player for each coming up season:

1.) The amount of teams each season aren't set in stone, so private CTF matters!

While each season may see a variance in teams, one thing is always consistent about competitive doom 2 ctf no matter the port, era, or league: private CTF sessions is where you hone your craft and get noticed.

First of all, what are private CTF sessions? They are sessions where we join password protected servers running the latest compilation wad of competitive community-made CTF maps and do what is essentially pick-up capture the flag - think like pick-up basketball games. Except here, we have structure. Two captains are selected at random, and they proceed to draft accordingly by the players who have ready'd up. Many players go out of their way to try and include all players so the same 4-6 players aren't hogging the spotlight, but if for whatever reason those same 4-6 are dominating, do not be afraid to speak up and say you'd like to get in a game.

Secondly, joining the WDL discord (where you'll need to be approved by an administrator) is the best place to start in order to find these matches. You can join here: https://discord.gg/Sga53bUV8v. This is where people will highlight all the players in the WDL channel to start up a private CTF session. The times can vary, but generally they will happen at random so make sure you're settings allow you to be highlighted! While private CTF tends to happen more around the start-up of each season, getting to know the players that currently populate the WDL community is still a good thing. Moreover, many people look to maintain their form in the off-season, so even messaging people for duels is a great way to get noticed.

2.) The WDL draft is usually announced a few weeks ahead of time, so this is the most crucial time to get meaningful reps in and get your name out there to captains

What this means is that you'll want to pay attention to who the captains are. Captains will be announced around this same time, if not at the same time. Knowing who you really want to show out for is important.

Even if you don't get drafted, that doesn't not mean you still won't get a shot. Plenty of teams cut players each season for a variety of reasons. Moreover, teams are always looking to practice so even if you don't get picked up, being available to help teams practice is still a great way to get your name out there. It's also a great way to get familiar with the competitive 3v3 structure that the WDL uses, and simply put, to improve - more on that next.

3.) There are no set number of seasons: some years could have 1 season, others maybe 2 or 3. It just depends. Stay up to date in WDL discord!

4.) All the tips mentioned above are great: but the most important thing is developing your skills as a player! Learning about yourself is the most important of all.[u/]

This means that you need to identify your strengths and weaknesses as a player. How well do you aim? Should you work on that? Is your movement as clean and crisp as possible? Are you able to cleanly sr40, sr50? Can you maneuver around most maps without bumping into walls? Is your reaction time spot on? These are all questions you need to analyze about your own gameplay as you're practicing. There is no one correct question to ask, but generally when you play against someone and they beat you, it is pretty straight forward to understand where they're having success at and where you are not. Start there.

The same aforementioned questions and concepts apply to CTF, but these questions tend to be a little bit simpler. For example, if you're someone that has strong stand-still aim with some quick reaction time, being a defender is probably a good place to start. If your more movement based and deceiving as a player, maybe starting off as a runner is ideal. Floating and doing a bit of everything tends to liken itself to mid-players. All of these positions tend to be arbitrary though, they are descriptions we use to simplify CTF roles. Even though we tend to have static positions overall, good players and teams will often deviate in order to apply the most optimal gameplay. Don't get caught up in this right away, starting off with a simple preferred position is ideal in order to really take your game to the next level. If you continue to play with good players, you'll learn all the nuances of CTF along the way.

5.) Lastly, do not be afraid to ask for help. The WDL discord and competitive doom community is full of helpful and competent players. Many of us want to build you up, not break you down.

The WDL discord is not the only place to get a game of doom in. Other ports have competitive players, and while the doom ports have some drastic differences, many of the same philosophies of the game itself transfer over relatively cleanly so long as we aren't venturing off into far more newer doom physics and mechanics. You can go to the discords below to find players (and you'll often see many of the same players in each all of these discords)

Multiplayer Doom Federation Discord: https://discord.gg/6KbyvYCgWj

Odamex Discord (you must request for an invite be sent to you)

ZDaemon Discord (you must request for an invite to be sent to you)

There are more than the aforementioned, again, just ask around!

Good luck doomers, may your experience be eternal!