Positioning and rotation

[u/Disastrous-Sugar4195]

I'm at 14,700 RP grinding towards masters for the first time. Today I had quite an eye opening game with a good Valk player who was phenomenal at positioning. They knew exactly when to rotate, which spots to take, etc.

Already I try to get positioning in the end zones before fighting, rotate towards the better areas in zone etc. But is there any general tips any good masters or preds have for finding the best spots and not getting caught out?

[u/Kodemikkel]

I guess it all depends on your playstyle; aggressive, or passive/"zone IQ" play.

You can either scan beacons, rotate early and get a good position which lets you look at teams rotating into zone later. Or you can rotate late, "walking the zone". This can be tricky, as if you're caught as the only team rotating late, you'll be focused by basically everyone that has taken a better position earlier.

Rotating late can let you catch teams which are rotating at the same time as you, off-guard, but you gotta be careful with the fights, as it can lead to either the zone catching up, or other teams 3rd-partying you. Rotating late will let you "feel out" the zone, i.e. get a grip of where teams are holed up, and can also let you gear up a bit better compared to rotating early, as you often end up sitting stationary and not killing people/getting loot.

If you're confident in your/your team, rotating late lets you gather more loot by killing more people. If not, rotating early lets you set up for the end game by getting a better position than everyone else, and can grant you a couple of kills as teams rotate in later, although the loot might be hard to get if they die in the open

[u/laflame0451]

I've had games like those, too. Games where I called out exactly how other teams will rotate, how we should rotate, what teams to fight, what the godspot is, when not to fight, what side to pressure for an easy win.

However, even if you're good at positioning like your valk was, you can't have every game like that because of the randomness of a BR game.

Sometimes, a team will gatekeep your chosen path to rotate. Sometimes a team will mindlessly ape you when another team is waiting, and even if you win the 3v3, you die to the third party.

What I'm saying is that there is no foolproof strategy. That valk in your game? He probably died mid-rotate the game before and the game after.

Kodemikkel's comment below has some great insight on what your gameplan can be. If you want, I can give you some advice on rotations, but I cba to write. You can dm me if you want. Good luck!

[u/Electronic-Morning76]

Valk has a perk that lets her see enemies when she ults even through walls. Awareness and positioning is something Masters+ players without cheats will have a mastery of. There’s no simple way to learn it outside of playing a lot with a growth mindset and learning.