Coach Axiom · 33k PRWhen a fight is worth taking
A fight is worth taking when three things come together.
- You need it: Need means something you cannot farm. With 0 Shockwaves in Zone 3 and no gold to buy some at a vending, a fight for Shockwaves is worth it. Missing 300 brick is no reason, because you can farm that quickly, unless it is already late in the game.
- It does not take too long: The longer it goes, the more time a third party has to get there, see Third party.
- It gets you more than you lose: Early on you fight for the spot so you can loot it, the classic contest. In the midgame it depends on who you fight and for how long. The shorter the fight, the less you waste and the more you get from him, because he has not wasted much yet either.
When someone comes at you
- Stacked (mats, heals and HP): Box up, make space and let him come. When he keys you, full mats give you the choice to fight back, or to stay boxed and bet on him disengaging.
- Not stacked: You can take the fight. You need his loot.
In a cup
The goal is points, not kills. A fight you do not need is fine in game 2 when you already won game 1. If it is game 7 and you still need points, it is an unnecessary fight and you should walk away. In your last game with points still missing, you probably hold off on keying and play more defensively. In a cup without kill points, a fight that costs you a lot of HP for one kill is unnecessary when your mats are already good.
Finish it, back off or let him go
As a rule, you finish a fight you take. Backing out still costs you mats and heals, and you do not get the loot that would refill them.
When backing out of your own fight is right
- You took counterdamage and cannot keep up the pressure.
- You would lose more than you get.
- It would take too long, or the zone is coming.
- You are not confident.
- A new player shows up, see Third party.
- You are stacked and do not need his loot.
Counterdamage after a good entry does not mean the fight is no longer worth it. It depends on how long it goes from there. If you both heal briefly, jump each other and it is over, you still came out ahead. If you keep trading counterdamage for minutes, you end up in a bad position, get third partied and have nothing left.
When he shocks away low, go after him if you need the kill for mats or heals. If you are stacked, letting him go is the right call.
Killing a bot or NPC is a good decision if you lose nothing and get a Chug Jug or gold out of it. If another player beams you for 100 while you are on it and you die, that is a big mistake, because you had no awareness around you or were not built in.
When keying is the right call
Keying is not good or bad on its own. What matters is knowing when you have to key and when you do not, so before every fight, ask yourself if it is worth it.
Open cups without elo
At the start of an open cup everyone is on 0 points, so there is no elo yet and the lobbies mix every skill level. Good players use that and key, going for as many kills as possible and for the win. A high kill win is worth a lot more points than a normal win. The extra points feel like a whole extra game, without having to play one. In those games you barely play for timing and position. You fight.
It depends on your elo, not on the game number. If you play badly, you end up in low elo, and then you can be keying in game 5. In Div 1 cups good players do not play like this.
Keying from the edge
If you key from the edge, you want a good entry, 70+ damage, so the fight stays short. If it drags because you had no entry, that is a mistake, and you should have gone deep instead. A quick key from the edge is a good fight, unless it was not worth it for your mats.
When you need mats
If you are really low on mats, keying someone can be the right play, because you need the mats. A key that takes longer is fine if you had the entry and got the kill. A kill like that can save your whole game.
Right after landing
A short hit from distance in offspawn does not mean you have to key him. Right after landing you basically never key, unless he is really close and you are more stacked than him or you landed first. If the spot is free, finish looting and only key with entry. Otherwise you lose a spot you had for free.
How to key in solos
Once you go for a key, you commit to it. In solos a key without the kill is a mistake, no matter how much damage you took on the way.
- Entry first, then go in. Hit him before you commit. What counts as a good entry is in Entry and boxfights.
- Shock first if he does not know about you. In the midgame, if he does not know you are there yet, your Shockwave comes before the entry. How to tell if you have been seen is in Third party.
- Never shock onto someone who is looking at you. In the air you cannot build and cannot defend yourself, so he can shoot you out of the air.
- Finish what you start. Once you go in, stay on him and keep the pressure until he falls. A key you start and do not finish costs you position, mats and HP and gets you nothing.
The exception
If earlier mistakes left you with bad loot, for example a bad offspawn, getting outdropped or having to disengage, going all-in on a key with little loot is understandable and not a mistake.
Who started the fight
When I review VODs, the player who closes the distance started the fight, by walking, shocking or building toward the other, even if the other one lands the first hit. Running to a chest someone is camping does not count. If he sits there and shoots, he started it. If you closed the distance, it is your fight.