Battle School - An Idea To Help New Players

Battleborn Battleborn General Discussion
#1

Problem: Battleborn is hard to pick up. It’s not really like anything else in the market, so if you’re a new player, it’s really easy to feel intimidated. Worse, if you take the leap and actually play the game, chances are good you’re going to lose…a lot…perhaps more than is healthy.

Solutions: There are a ton of things GBX could do to help this situation, and I talk about one potential path here

Today, I want to talk about another, “Battle School - Battleborn’s Community Coming Together To Help New Players Become More Badass”

##How It Works (Broadly)

  1. Vets Volunteer to teach newer players tactics and strategies in a safe, friendly environment.
  2. Usually these sessions will start with bot matches and will lead into either public matches, or matches against other students.
  3. These events will be posted on the Forum, Reddit and Discord Channels with the pre-face [Battle School]
  4. You can take as many classes as you want, and can use them to learn PVP in general, or to get help to learn a new character.
  5. The vets responsibility is to provide feedback, encouragement, along with tips and tricks to play better.
  6. Where possible, we are going to try to Stream these events. This is not, however, required.

##Battle School Rules / Next Steps (New)

Since I want Battle School to be a project that doesn’t require a huge amount of, “organization from the top,” I’ve come up with rules that should help anyone take the idea and run with it, while still maintaining the spirit of the original idea and keeping things organized.

If you have feedback, please let me know.

##Battle School - Steps To Badassery

Step Zero: Respect.

Above anything else, I want Battle School to be a place where people feel safe to learn and make mistakes, a place that shows how awesome of a community we can be. In short, I want it to be a place where we show each other the respect we each deserve.

All of us know this, but I think it’s important to state it explicitly, so here we go:

  1. Don’t be a jerk. This goes for both students and teachers.

  2. If you think you might have inadvertently been a jerk, apologize.

  3. If, for whatever reason, you are incapable of this, don’t start a class until you think you can.

  4. This goes for both teachers and students.

  5. If you take a Battle School class and feel like someone was being a jerk, please tell me. While there is nothing I can do, I will be happy to talk to the person and see what went wrong.

With that out of the way,

Step One: Making a Class

Any teacher can make a class at anytime that they are available. You should try to announce the class on the Forum/Reddit/Discord (whichever you use) at least 24 hours in advance.

Until a better system can be devised (I’m wide open for this), you can start a new thread/post and add [Battle School] somewhere in the title. I would prefer for all of these to be in one place, but we’ll work with what we have for now.

Step Two: Class Description

When starting a class, try to explain:

  1. What you plan on going over: Basic Tactics, a Particular Character, etc…

  2. How you plan to do that: Bot matches, public queue, some combination.

  3. How much time you have available to do it in, so that people understand your constraints.

  4. Any notes that are important to you.

A sample Battle School post might look like this:

[Battle School] Thorn Primer - Tomorrow at 5PM-7PM EST

I plan on running through some beginner strategies for playing Thorn in Meltdown.

We will go over helix choices and gear loadouts as well.

I have room for 5 players and plan to do:

  1. 2 bot matches_
  2. 1 public match (if everyone feels comfortable).

Note: 7PM is my hard stop. If we don’t finish by then, we’ll need to schedule another class at a later date.

Step Three: Private Sessions.

All of the teachers have been kind enough to provide their Gamertags and Availabilities. This does not mean that they will always be available to play during those times, nor does it mean that they will always be teaching.

Everyone here is a volunteer, and sometimes we want to play other games, play by ourselves, or play with our friends.

That being said, if you have something specific you want to go over and haven’t seen a class, feel free to send one message (preferably to me, but you can send it direct if you think the person won’t kill you) and we’ll do what we can to get you sorted.

If you don’t hear back from someone, we’re probably all busy or asleep. I hope that doesn’t happen too often, but we can only do what we can.

Step Four: Recruiting Students.

The next time you’re playing a game and notice someone not doing well, instead of getting upset, tell them about Battle School.

Send them here.

Give them my information.

Give us an opportunity to work with them, and to make them better.

I firmly believe all ships rise with the tide, and I’d love a chance to match folks with potential, with some of the great people here who want to hone and shape it.

Step Five: If you can Stream, please do

I don’t want to twist anyone’s arm, but if you like to Stream, please do. Battleborn can use all the good press it can get, and something like this could be great.

Step Six: Send constructive feedback

I want to hear what works and what doesn’t. I want to hear what types of classes you want to see more of, and what formats are the most useful to you.

I want to hear feedback of all stripes, but please, please, please make it constructive. Remember, everyone here is a volunteer and only a handful of us are real teachers, so try to be patient. :slight_smile:

##Updated Teacher Roster

Here is an updated teacher Roster, I’ll add it to the top as well.

##PS4

sbspalding [Thorn, Alani, Kleese]
Discord Name: sbspalding
PSN: Timocracy
Office Hours: 1AM - 3AM (EST M-F, Variable Weekends)

Lafon [Thorn, Alani, Oscar Mike, Miko, Galilea, Reyna, Caldarius]
Discord Name: Lafon
Office Hours: Afternoons and Evenings (EDT)

Credible23 [Attikus, Benedict, ISIC, Montana, Miko]
Discord Name:
PSN: Credible23
Office Hours: After 4PM (EST M-F)

Bigfarmer85 [Reyna, Thorn, Montana]
Discord Name:
PSN:
Office Hours: Variable (EST)

ckgz800873 [I can teach all if need be, favs: 9 melee characters, OM, Ambra, Montana]
Discord:
PSN: SoloSmile
Office Hours: 2AM - 7AM (PST M-R), All Day (F-Su)

burrekurreNuffsi [Attikus, Boldur, Benedict, Ghalt, Orendi, Oscar Mike, Rath, Thorn]
Discord:
PSN: Nuffsi
Office Hours: (GMT +1)

JuriJsojurujmarino [Orendi, Reyna, Miko, Mellka, Ambra]
Discord:
PSN: JuriJso
Office Hours: 10PM - 1AM (GMT +1, Weekdays), 2PM-7PM (GMT +1, Weekends)

HandsomeCam [Toby, Orendi, Shayne & Aurox, Benedict, Rath]
Discord:
PSN:
Office Hours: 12AM- 5AM (Central Time, US)

Defabian711 [Reyna, Miko, Benedict, Marquis]
Discord: blpsycho
PSN: S_O_D_cd
Office Hours: Available Nights and Mornings (EST)

Ryballs [Miko, Kleese]
Discord:
PSN: rymo-
Office Hours: After 8PM (GMT+8)

Growingpain [Most Characters]
Discord:
PSN: Growingpain
Office Hours: Various

LegacyofAwesome [Alani, Deande, Mellka, Orendi, Oscar Mike and Thorn]
Discord:
PSN: LegacyofAwesome
Office Hours: 12PM - 6PM (GMT, Various)

epicender584 [Kleese, Reyna, Phoebe, and Orendi]
Discord: epicender584
PSN: epicender584
Office Hours: 7-10PM (EST)

SNKXGUNNER [Alani, Marquis, Miko, Orendi, Oscar Mike, Thorn, Toby, Whiskey Foxtrot]
Discord: SNK
PSN: SNKXGUNNER
Office Hours: 7-10PM M-F (UTC+2), 9PM-2AM S-Su (UTC+2)

##XBOX

TimJCEstrello [Marquis, Oscar Mike, Ghalt, Orendi, Shayne, Whiskey, Alani, Boldur, Attikus, Mellka, ISIC]
Discord Name:
Gamertag:
Office Hours: (GMT +2)

Pizzonage [Most Characters]
Discord Name: Pizzonage
Gamertag: Pizzonage
Office Hours: 7pm-11pm (CST, Most Evenings)
Note: Will hold class in Live games.

mshldm1234 [Ambra, Benedict, Caldarius, Deande, El Dragon, Mellka, Oscar Mike, Reyna, Shayne and Aurox, Thorn]
Discord:
Gamertag:
Office Hours: (EST)

Corrison [No Characters Specified]
Discord:
Gamertag: Corrison
Office Hours: Evening and weekends (PST)

v0lum3 [No Characters Specified]
Discord: v0lum3
Gamertag: v0lum3
Office Hours: Most nights (7-8PM, 11-12AM PST)

secUnd3r [All Characters]
Discord:
Gamertag: secUnd3r
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/secund3r
Office Hours: Daily (6PM-12PM PST)

SbreckS [All Characters]
Discord:
Gamertag: SbreckS
Office Hours: Not Specified

Kenespo [All Characters]
Discord:
Gamertag: Kenespo
Twitch: www.twitch.tv/Kenespo
Office Hours: 4:30PM - 7PM (Timezone Not Specified)

FrostyBunny [OM/Phoebe/Miko/Deande/Alani]
Discord:
Gamertag: Zephyrus Vex
Office Hours: Most Nights, All Day Weekends (NA)

iLickBurntToast [Alani, Ambra, Attikus, Caldarius, Ghalt, Kelvin (personal favourite), Kleese, Marquis, Miko, Montana, Orendi, Oscar Mike, Phoebe, Reyna, Rath, Thorn and Toby]
Discord:
Gamertag: x Puck Bunny x
Office Hours: 11AM - 1AM (EST)

Goon on Games [Team composition, variety of heroes]
Discord:
Gamertag: Goon on Games
Office Hours: 4PM - 11PM Weekdays (EST)

##PC

Aengusrafferty [ISIC, Orendi, Montana, and Thorn]
Discord:
Steam: Gotta Git Gat Ghalt
Office Hours: Variable (EST)

Studdugie [Oscar Mike, Phoebe, Mellka, Whiskey Foxtrot, Buldur, Reyna]
Discord: Studdugie
Steam:
Office Hours: (EST)
Note: Also offering classes in PVE

NatsumeRyu [ISIC, Non-Melee]
Discord: NatsumeRyu
Steam:
Office Hours: Noon-2PM (UTC), 7PM - 11PM (UTC, when working)

RedX801 [Deande, Reyna, Phoebe]
Discord:
Steam: RedX801
Office Hours: All day Friday

Benedict_87 [Kleese, Miko, Reyna, Toby]
Discord:
Steam:
Office Hours: Available on Weekends

IZEDx [Toby, Miko, Oscar Mike, Alani, Whiskey Foxtrot, Phoebe]
Discord:
Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/izediv
Office Hours: 4PM - 3AM (UTC+2)

WabiSabiWill [Montana, Caldarius, Oscar Mike, Toby, Marquis, Attikus]
Discord:
Steam: Wabi Sabi
Office Hours: PST

Bosqo [Kelvin, Miko, Oscar Mike, Boldur, ISIC, ambra, thorn, benedict, melka]
Discord:
Steam: Bosqo
Office Hours: Daily 4-6PM (UTC+2), 12-1AM (UTC +2)

##Students

###PS4

Wolffman5150
PSN: Wolffman5150
Wants to Learn: Oscar mike / Reyna
Availabilities: Evenings

Floataway3
PSN: ProdigalEko
Wants to Learn: Phoebe, Rath, Miko
Availabilities: Not Specified

Lexluther4291
PSN: Spyderman4291
Wants to Learn: Not Specified
Availabilities: Not Specified

PSN: Revolver_Mjolnir
Wants to Learn: New to the Game
Availabilities: UK-Based (GMT+5?)

###PC

hattieinduni
Steam:
Wants to Learn: Alani
Availabilities: Not Specified

Gulfwulf
Steam:
Wants to Learn: Montana
Availabilities: Not Specified

Steam: rantioch
Wants to Learn: Miko, Orendi, Thorn and Kelvin.
Availabilities: MST

UPDATE @Ryballs (PSN: rymo-) and @Shield_Biter (PSN: JCKARL) are interested in helping the Aussie Battleborn, since so many of the rest of us are in very different time zones!

UPDATE Tons of new volunteers from the Reddit, and a few new people looking for mentors!

If you see your name, and something is miss (Discord, Gamertag, ‘Office Hours’) or incorrect, please let me know.

Still looking for more volunteers, especially on Xbox One and PC.

33 Likes
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#2

Uh… Shouldn’t YOU be the one to organize your school? I can be the gruff janitor with a heart of gold!

3 Likes
#3

Ssh! I was hoping that someone would take the ball and run with it. :slight_smile:

1 Like
#4

Ahhh… Going with the superintendent role, i see. That’s cool. Now we need a principal, a few teachers, a nurse (to bandage people’s hurt feelings on the forum), and a lunch lady that’s frugal with the salt (there’s enough of that on the forums already…).

8 Likes
#5

Ha! That reply alone makes this thread worth writing.

1 Like
#6

I’m trying to be the Patch Adams of the Battleborn forums, to keep people’s morale up.

Seriously though, if you get this idea off the ground, i’m in.

3 Likes
#7

Can I be the sarcastic teacher that is sarcastic because he actually believes in all of the talent but finds it hard to express?

1 Like
#9

I’m down to help people who are struggling with this game…providing I can find the time and get a new mic(hopefully soon lol) probably one day a week or so.

I could only help with incursion though I dont play enough meltdown or capture to be any help to anybody.

Oh and I wanted to be the janitor with a big heart but @HandsomeCam beat me to it :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:

#10

Sorry, friend; you gots to KNOW people to get a job like this.

#11

That depends… Is this request sarcastic?

#12

I love this idea. I’ll volunteer to be one of the Vets.

#13

You mean “teachers”.

This means you will most likely be underpayed, and never have a sufficient supply of chalk.

3 Likes
#14

I can work for apples and such.

2 Likes
#15

Oh well, i guess ill just stick to being the teacher that believes to much in my students even when it looks hopeless

1 Like
#16

I’m not the best player, but I’m happy to teach people what I’ve learned, on pc or ps4.
I can’t stream it most hours of the day, but I can record it and post it.
I’m with Tokesy on using Discord for it, it makes the Battleborn experience far more stream lined, especially for helping others out, though that would be my personal preference if I was teaching. It just adds to the resources available for the teacher, because you could have an entire 10 man match, with two student groups, or have other teachers in the voice chat but not in game.
It just adds to the flexibility.
Sign me up, if you want me. I love talking strategies, even if I can’t always execute the best.
It’d also be killer for teachers because Im sure Id learn more about battleborn teaching as well. winwinwin.

edit: also, even if we dont have a full group of students, im happy to party up with a newbie for whatever and just give them tips as we go.
having a mentor certainly wouldnt hurt, i feel like the full group might be hard to schedule. but if we have a schedule of when mentors are available, a mewbie reading the post could just message the mentor and ask to play.

1 Like
#17

Oh, Ho! Now we have a sarcastic teacher AND an Eric Cartmenis “How do i reach these KEEDS?!” teacher. Delightful!

2 Likes
#18

I’m happy to teach people how to play support characters on PS4. If it helps I can also advertise the Battle School on my PS4 community ‘Battleborn Forumites’.

#19

You sound more like the nurse we’ve been looking for! Welcome aboard!

2 Likes
#20

As an avid fan of Kleese, I think I would prefer the title ‘The Professor’. :stuck_out_tongue:

1 Like
#21

OH SNAP!!!
YOU’RE STARTIN’ A SCHOOL!!!
OOOHHHH!!! I WANNA BE THE HALL MONITOR!!! I WANNA BE THE HALL MONITOR!!!
I wanna tell those little brats… "Hey y’all… stop runnin’ in the halls."
Then I’ll put on my cool guy sunglasses, and I’ll be all like… “Or else.”

And if anyone gives me any lip… ROCKET TO THE FACE!!!
Because I am THE LAW!!! And you best be respectin’ THE LAW in these parts HATCHLING!!!

7 Likes