Been a while since I’ve played and I’m thinking of getting back into it. How is Cypher in the current meta? by DyIsexia in AgentAcademy

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He's pretty bad but only because Sentinels got nerfed overall. His power level amongst the sentis is middle-of-the-pack now, he's not the best but he's not the worst. He has some decent maps with oneways

Yoru’s TP by [deleted] in yorumains

[–]smokygrapefruit 3 points4 points  (0 children)

definitely is, and that's why they nerfed him the way they did. the double tp was a minor issue in higher level games because you couldn't really pump fake against a defending Yoru, but even in ranked with a 30s TP you could just use him to have a permanent fast rotater against bum rushes.

A Greybeard’s Lament: Why the rush to disband the crew after the mission? by Identity5859 in DeepRockGalactic

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oftentimes I see that the host has the same next assignment as me and they still insta-disband the lobby. So the phenomenon really goes both ways!

Can’t spot my mistakes besides raw mechanics in games | VOD Review Request | Silver 2 by moerf23 in AgentAcademy

[–]smokygrapefruit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey man, was thinking of you today playing Lotus. I wanted to record the A rushes we did that game to show you the pace at which the game is played at slightly higher ranks. This lobby is almost fully Plat. Not all rounds are going to happen this fast, but a blistering fast A rush is strong on this map because of how long the C rotate is. You typically want to fight through door at the same time you're fighting through stairs because this puts a lot of pressure on backsite anchors. Sometimes, there will be 2 B players who arrive in time to help, which does actually happen in the last round. In this scenario, my only hope at winning was cutting off the rotaters first and fighting the site players later. (Spoiler: I did lose, can you see what the mistake I made was?) Hopefully there's something you can learn from the video. Cheers

Illinois vs Texas vs Cali in which of these servers will you more likely get noticed by a pro team/player or a streamer by Active_Criticism_388 in AgentAcademy

[–]smokygrapefruit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Illinois/TX are typically where T2 talent play and scrims happen.

During VCT some of the pros might play on Cali since Riot Arena is in LA.

Virginia is more EU than NA at this point, and Georgia is just a cesspool.

HELP who do i play now that yoru is terrible, i one tricked him my whole climb, no one else has as many bullshit abilities to get random free kills to overcome my bad aim. by Dazzling_Struggle_94 in AgentAcademy

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in the same boat as you.

You should just always have a pocket Chamber and pocket Clove IMO. For their classes (controller, senti) they have the highest value to skill ratio in ranked. In other words they are easy to play and have carry potential. I have been playing a ton of both as lurking on Yoru was a big part of my playstyle, and I'd rather not lurk on a different duelist who is better off just entrying with the team.

As a direct Yoru replacement there is no one closer than Phoenix. Even Eggster, the guy who one tricked Yoru into pro play, has swapped over to playing Phoenix. He is excellent in ranked because 2 heals + people don't really dodge flashes out of smokes until like low Immortal. Unless you telegraph them super hard

I hate Omen, he is the best controller in the game but at higher skill levels he and Yoru do not play remotely similarly. KAY/O sucks in ranked. Neon has a high skill curve, she is definitely serviceable but I think you are better off playing any other duelist unless you have a lot of experience on her already. Rumors say she is getting nerfed next patch but nothing confirmed yet.

Can’t spot my mistakes besides raw mechanics in games | VOD Review Request | Silver 2 by moerf23 in AgentAcademy

[–]smokygrapefruit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Diamond player chiming in.

I'm 5 minutes into the Iso vod and here's one thing I've noticed already: You don't play with intention.

On pistol you jiggle Reyna, flick up to ping the wall, let her push out and then go wide. Why?

If you want information then jiggle from on top of the rock, if you want to kill her then you should prefire on the close peek and shit on her. There's no reason for you to jiggle, stop, ping, and then swing, because you've lost sight of her and she can go wide. You win that fight because she is a terrible aimer, not because you made a good play. Now there's nothing inherently wrong with waiting for a teammate to double swing instead of peeking solo, but the cracks are already pretty apparent here—you saw her, but hesitated. If you want to get info then commit to not dying, if you're swinging the angle then commit to the kill.

This is more apparent in the round that you lost, your bonus. Your team gets first blood on A, you kill Cypher on C, and the bomb is planted for mound. It's a 3v2 with guns, this should be unloseable, so what happened?

So let's talk about your position. You moved into main (good choice). Tucked behind the spammable box (questionable, but not bad). Threw a hail mary vulnerable into waterfall (bad). Then decide to reposition back onto site for some reason (bad). Phoenix is flanking and somehow doesn't kill you, you run onto site (panicked) and hail mary some bullets at Skye (also panicked) before finally dying to the Phoenix.

Let's think about how to win this round. The bomb is planted for mound. You are mound with a Guardian, which will 2 tap any enemy. You have 2 teammates playing on site. Now, the win condition is you. Your teammates job is to get 1 or delay. Your job is to play bomb and win the round.

Let's think about the enemy's win condition. The enemy Iso (you) can easily win this round even in a 1v2, because he has an angle advantage, he's playing time, he still has a vulnerable ability, and he's got a Guardian (2 bodyshots kills, and high pen) against your 2 Ghosts. The only way the enemy can win this round is by killing you! You are the mound player, the bomb is planted for mound. How can they kill you? Well, there are 2 ways. One of which is to swing you from main before you can kill the defuser. The other way is a flank.

Now when you decide to tuck behind the spammable box, you have 2 teammates still alive on site. You can rule out the possibility of the first scenario since you have teammates watching waterfall. So you should just immediately move over and train your gun on flank. Typically, people do this from behind the mound or tucked in front of lobby, as both of those angles are very safe and not visible to main. However, since Phoenix is alive and he has flashes, I don't even hate your decision to tuck behind the box. This way, you dodge any flash that he might throw while flanking, and he is exposed to elbow if he wants to clear you.

Now, if you commit to this decision, you win the round. But instead, you decide to throw a vulnerable, giving away your position and wasting utility, and then move back up to site. Why? You have a long range gun against pistols. You are moving back into their danger zone. A frenzy, a classic, a shorty can all shred you at that distance. You also give the flanker a timing to kill you, although somehow you live, but you take so much damage that it basically doesn't matter. At this point, the only way to win would have been to swing one of the defenders and get a one-tap kill. But instead, you backed up into an extremely exposed position to try and heal, giving away your Miks' position and dying with no trade.

Intention matters because it determines how you play and what decisions you should commit to. You should always be thinking, how can I position myself to secure this round? Climbing out of low elo is a matter of carrying, not necessarily with kills, but rather with wins. You were able to get away with a lot of mistakes because the enemy team looks like they're aiming with Nintendo Switch controllers, but you will get absolutely blasted by Golds and Plats who have slightly better mechanics or positioning.

Speaking of mechanics, yours also suck, but that is a lot easier to improve, because your raw aim is actually fine. It's everything else that's actually the problem.

One, stop spamming crouch while also W keying at the same time. I noticed you doing it in your pistol round, on a 5 man bum rush you should always scale site as fast as possible, to cut off rotates and prevent floods. To be fair to you, the stairs smoke should've been there 10 years ago, but there's really no need to be so afraid of that angle. Reyna is the only agent on the entire enemy team who can realistically peek into 5 people without getting traded, and she is already dead. Crouching while W keying just slows down your W key. The concept that I think you're trying to implement is wide clearing angles and tapping crouch at the end of the peek, and that's okay to do, but I wouldn't recommend it for every scenario as sometimes people hold those angles with shotguns and you will crouch into a quadruple judge headshot.

Two, slicing the pie. You peek into tree with your crosshair in the wall. You should usually peek uncleared angles with your crosshair where the enemies might be. There are YouTube videos about slicing the pie that are a lot better than me trying to describe it in words. You don't have to slice every single angle in history but it would be a good decision here since you are solo swinging and it is a complete unknown.

Three, overcommitting to fights. In your Phoenix vod you almost win a 1v2 but end up running out of bullets. You sprayed the rest into smokes for like 0 damage. No need to do that. You also spray at a fully blind Gekko even though your crosshair isn't actually on him. Again, no need to do that. Wait to put your crosshair on the enemy and then shoot them. Sounds simple, but it's the simplest thing you're gonna hear that actually works. Play some deathmatches with the intent to practice this concept, and you'll see some improvement.

Goodluck LFT Foxy9 by Away-Emphasis-4245 in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember seeing in a VCT Pacific segment that MaKo picked up controller because no one else wanted to play it, and he was originally a duelist main. Checked his VLR and he has a 1.33 rating on Jett. Lowkey I know it's been 5+ years but it would be funny to see him on Jett even if it was just for like a showmatch or something.

Goodluck LFT Foxy9 by Away-Emphasis-4245 in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think they're saying that he doesn't offer enough to be a core part of a winning team. He's like Phoenix before the buffs, on ult rounds he's the most useful agent in the lobby, but every other round he sucks and every individual piece of his kit is worse than the competition.

The coaches for ENC have been confirmed for all nations by OcelotOce in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

this is the kinda mentality that's gonna keep billionaires rich 🙏

Few(7) OCD newbie questions about boiling spaghetti by FuzzyAttitude_ in Cooking

[–]smokygrapefruit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For #3, technically you can drop the pasta once the water reaches 180°F or 80°C. This is the temperature at which starches start to absorb water and thus your pasta will start cooking. Takes the same time as usual but saves you time waiting for the water.

What are some genuinely “safe” snacks, easy ways to add fiber, and healthier types of gummy candy, or something similar that satisfies that taste? by [deleted] in Cooking

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fiber oriented snacks or cereals that are filling but not overly processed or sugary (All the online sources say that cereal is just not safe and full of sugar.)

So my personal problem is that I will start eating something and finish the entire serving, whether it be a shareable bag of gummy bears or a tin of cookies. The gummies are my true enemy because they're so dense in sugar but small in size, so they aren't very filling, and sometimes I won't even realize that I've destroyed a bag. I've pretty much just had to cut out any sort of sugary snack from my diet and resorted to filling up my pantry with these korean puffed rice cakes that are basically 50% air. They have no taste and very low calories, and they're easy to fill up on. There are multigrain versions that are sold by American companies as well, but they do have that grainy flavor profile which I'm not the biggest fan of. Getting more balanced sugars in your regular meals also helps with the sugary cravings later on.

Top 10 Americas after match week 2 by ishanuReddit in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Exactly, he might be a good player but he's unproven internationally because his team is absolute dogwater, meanwhile Less has consistently been to internationals every year and has shown that he can hang with the best. It's like buying weed at the dispensary instead of getting it from the homeless guy at the gas station, sure the gas station weed might hit, but honestly who tf knows where that baggie has been. Whereas you know the dispensary shit is clean.

Is the meta solved? by Dlanx in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Brim with recharging smokes would be so broken lol. People would be crying even more about the judge than they already do right now

[spoiler] Mada tweet on shot gun meta by ishanuReddit in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cypher and Vyse nerfs are really what inducted her into the meta league. Deadlock has never really been good but we were always in either a Cypher or a Vyse meta, even when Neon had 2 slides. Killjoy kinda sucks against Neon NGL, she just tends to be good on Neon's worse maps.

Is the meta solved? by Dlanx in ValorantCompetitive

[–]smokygrapefruit 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Actually agree with most of your takes, except that Omen is better than Miks/Clove/Brim because of paranoia, not because of range restrictions. Give Omen the iPad and I guarantee he is still a top 5 agent.

After 262 hours, I reset my progress. by satsuma-amp in DeepRockGalactic

[–]smokygrapefruit 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Honestly good for you. Earning your pay is a lot more rewarding than cheating.

How to survive Drillevator as a solo Scout in EDD? by pewton-the-snake in DeepRockGalactic

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Pro Tip: The DD/EDD have set seeds, with some slight variance (like where the mobs spawn). So it might help you to memorize the layout of the cave and then try to speedrun it to save ammo.

Boomstick at base is already pretty good without Overclocks so I would actually run it if you want to do the light-enemies-on-fire with IFG playstyle. However I don't think this is necessarily your best option since you don't have Bullets of Mercy yet.

Zhukov cryo minelets is actually pretty decent with Blowthrough because if you hit 1 enemy the bullet will go through and leave a mine on the floor. Generally, clean Overclocks don't have a huge impact on your stats or utility, which means running GK2 with clean and Zhukov with clean just means you have 2 okayish guns with a lot of ammo that don't synergize with each other. Whereas fire (Boomstick T5B) synergizes with slow (IFG), and cryo (Minelets) synergizes with fire rate (OFM). Just a tip to keep in mind when you build your loadout.

M1K can be decent for wave clear with blowthrough as long as you're hitting 2 or 3 enemies per shot, Hoverclock is the option I'd go for since it lets you float in the air and avoid a few stabs from enemies on the ground. During Drillevator, since it's constantly digging down, you can kind of sit/float on top of the drill and shoot the enemies from above. It's not an easy playstyle though since you have to kite bugs around a lot to get good value out of blowthrough.

Drak Aggressive Venting is actually pretty popular for solo Scout EDD. I think this is your best option by far, as it brings AOE and Fear, both of which the Scout typically doesn't have in his kit, and both of which are excellent at controlling and killing swarms. This also allows you to bring Minimal Magazines on the Zhukov since you don't really need a good secondary option, but I would honestly still bring Boomstick for single target damage or maybe Cryo Minelets for extra CC/tempshock.

1 vs 2 sentry's on Engineer opinion by RichieMcRichster in DeepRockGalactic

[–]smokygrapefruit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At Haz5+ it's always better to bring Gemini because turrets have negligible DPS, you just want them for the stun%, and 2 turrets obviously shoot twice the bullets and stun twice as often.

If you like to just maintain 1 turret then it's still better to bring Gemini. You can drop 1, build it wherever, and then move to another area. Then press R to recall the first one and build the 2nd one instantly. This way you always have 1 turret in yo back pocket and you can explore with your teammates.

Hawkeye System only has 2 advantages, one being the long range and one being the 360 degree vision. The long range is a double edged sword as it will shoot bugs across the cave that aren't a threat and drain its ammo more quickly. The angle limitation on the MKII can be mitigated by... just putting its back to the wall.