We all make mistakes when we’re learning to do something and this is where practice comes in. The more we practice, the more we fail, but the more experience we get in order to avoid failure.
However sometimes we get over confident or just don’t have the opportunity to practice. In these situations we’re pushed into roles that we are not fully prepared for, which generally results in subpar performance or failure. Because of this ever present danger of failure we can sometimes try to do things carefully, but this is one of the things that can lead to failure.
Today we’re going to be looking at how the over cautious approach can lead to problems. We’re taking this example from one of my favorite games Rising Storm 2: Vietnam.
Rising Storm is a hardcore shooter and this game features helicopters as the only real vehicles available. Flying them is a hard task and it takes a lot of skill in order to do it right. This is particularly true when the map being played is more challenging for pilots than others.
Recently I got to watch and suffer with some rather new pilots. We were playing on a map called Resort. It is essentially an amphibious assault perpetrated by helicopters inserting troops in to take over a small coastal town in Vietnam.
This map is very polarizing, some people hate it and other people love to the point that there are at least two servers that only have Resort as the game option. I generally find myself on one of those servers because I like Resort, it was the first map I actually figured out how to play the game on.
These servers also have a lot of regulars and those regulars know to assault and defend on Resort. When you’re defending the easiest way to win the whole match is to hold the beach. This is done by having a large number of your team on the capture zone and shooting down helicopters or killing the troops in them.
This is very easy to do due to the mechanics of the game. But Resort is won and lost on the skill of your pilots. A good pilot team will make a significant difference in the chances of taking the first point. This comes down to coordination and speed.
The assault pilots’ job is to clear the beach of any enemy infantry and destroy the enemy’s ability to conveniently spawn on near the beach. The transport pilots’ job is to get their own team’s infantry onto said beach or in an area where they can safely push in to flank the beach.
Transport pilots who are really good will get a squad to the beach before it can be manned, which is essentially less than a minute into the match. Once this time expands the likelihood that the game will result in a shutout loss increases.
So we were not on one of the Resort 24/7 servers and Resort was selected as the next map. I ended up being on the American side which meant we got to assault the beach. I got in one of the helicopters and we took a very leisurely ride to the beach and then in another attempt we made out way towards the rice fields.
Each time our pilots slowly took us down, carefully landing each time without any damage to the skids or other parts of the helicopter. This is completely fine when it comes to a normal landing. However there is intense gun fire coming at the helicopter during this entire time, and this put the squad in jeopardy.
If half the carried troops die before they reach the ground that means the man power to reach the beach is lost or not effective enough to capture the point. I have seen dozens of helicopters come in fast and hard on the beach, land troops, and fly away to get the next set all with minimum troop losses.
This leisurely, safe approach actually put us in more danger than anything. The pilots at this particular time were so bad I hopped into the role myself, and I never try to fly because I know I’m not that good. A number servers I play in have a stated rule “If you’re a bad pilot practice elsewhere or you will be role kicked.”
Sometimes we have to learn on the job. And sometimes acting out of caution can be beneficial. But we have to recognize when we need to commit to an action and do so forcefully in certain situations. These times require that we just “do it”.
There’s an old saying “He who hesitates dies.” Sometimes being what we think is careful is actually hesitation. This hesitation can lead to us “dying” in our efforts. This is manifested by failure or just the bare minimum of success.
So make sure you commit to your actions and don’t be too gentle when you do decide to act.
Think about it.
Sincerely,
The Irreverent Gentleman
gentlemansuniversityofmanliness 