Hello and welcome to Silevern's guide on managing training rooms.
The most important traits that a successful Training Rooms host must learn is patience. Any collection of players, whether it's just you and a buddy or an entire queue of 20 people, will inevitably be excited, hyper, confused, or impatient. You must be able to handle your room effectively while making sure no one because frustrated enough to quit your room.
Step 1: Define the Purpose of Your Room Clearly
You must take the time to write a concise yet meaningful Training Room title. The name "Let's Play Around" is vague and does not tell a viewer what your room will feature. Instead, be more specific, such as "Manhunt - 7 Players Only." This title immediately tells a viewer what kind of game is going to be played in the room and also tells the viewer what kind of Manhunt is being played. It is also highly recommended to fill out the Description bar with as much detail about your room as possible; using the same example above, if you simply say "we're gonna use tanks and shoot things," that could be anything from an official Clan War to a Castilla blind-shot room. Write something like "turn off all markers and minimap, every man for himself, start shooting at 6:00." This is much more detailed and not only gives the viewer information so he can consider joining or not, but also saves you from having to explain the rules of the room in the chat every single match.
Step 2: Maintain Discipline
Countless Training Rooms with strong concepts and good titles will fall apart due to improper discipline. Sometimes this could be chaos erupting when someone decides to shoot everyone else. Sometimes it could be from a rogue player or a rogue group of players who don't do anything but try to climb into camping spots. Sometimes it could be a pair of Jagdpanzer E 100's from the same clan trying to kill everyone in the room. The important thing is that you make sure that if this kind of thing happens, you follow the following three steps:
- Deal with the immediate threat. This could be as simple as returning fire. One helpful tip is to always be wary of higher tier tanks or tanks with exceptionally powerful guns, such as the FV215b 183 or the KV-2. If you see a pair of players both using large guns from the same clan, immediately red flag them. It is likely they will troll the room by shooting other players. Either use a tank with a strong gun yourself, or ask them to use a lower tier tank. Be tough with them: You are the one with the power in this room, and you can tell them to either use a weaker tank or get out. It also helps if you, a trusted teammate, or both load up "discipline tanks" if the room does not require everyone's participation: for example, if you are hosting a tier 5 race around Castilla, you should load your T-62A or Leopard 1 and follow the racers, and kill anyone who starts shooting.
- Reprimand the perpetrators. Make it clear to them that violence or rule-breaking is not tolerated. Threaten them with kicking from the room at all times: again, you have the power in the room and you are the one who makes the decisions.
- Kick if necessary. Should be clear: if the rule-breaking continues, kick the player out. Make sure you remember the player's username as well; many players will try to enter the room again using a different tank, and room hosts who are not paying attention might add them again.
Step 3: Select a Lucrative Gamemode
Most room hosts are trying to attract more players as a primary goal. In order to do this, try to theme your room on a popular gamemode:
- Runners vs. Rammers: By far the most popular gamemode in Training Rooms. The concept is simple: upper tier tanks must ram the lower tier tanks to death without shooting them. Typically, all of the tanks in this mode are fast, such as the Luchs or the Ru 251. The popularity in this room lies in the amount of skill required; shooting tanks in Random Mode is one thing, but trying to out-maneuver and trick tanks into corners and dead ends requires a completely different mindset, which excites most players.
- Manhunt/Hide-And-Go-Seek: Rising in popularity, this gamemode is unique in that it requires markers and minimaps to be turned off, thus leaving players to rely completely on line-of-sight to find out where enemies are. Players are all put on the same team to prevent auto-aim and spotting lightbulbs. Each team has one or two hunters/seekers that wait until a set time. During this wait, the rest of the team, using small tanks, will scatter around the map and hide in bushes, behind cover, or in hiding spots. The hunter(s) will then go look for them and kill anyone they find. This gamemode is famous for its intense, Jaws-like action and requires the hunter to concentrate on every nook and cranny of the map.
- Realistic Battle/Hard Mode: Similar to Manhunt/Hide-And-Go-Seek mode, except with all tanks of the same tier. With markers and map turned off, all participants scatter around the map and, at a set time, begin a free-for-all. Because players cannot rely on the map or markers, nor on auto-aim and spotting lightbulbs, the gamemode requires players to have precise movements and keen vision. Some rooms feature free-for-all, others feature team or pair battles.
- Glitch/Easter Egg: These Training Rooms are more light-hearted and are intended more for entertainment than competition. In these rooms, players attempt to either find or exploit glitches in various maps; examples include launching tanks into the air, shoving tanks into buildings, or pushing tanks up on top of unreachable locations. There are so many glitches I will not list any. In other rooms, players find or activate Easter eggs.
- Gladiator: In these rooms, players will congregate in one location and host one-vs-one duels with one another, usually with tanks of the same tier. One of the most popular arena locations are the temple platforms at Lost Temple; others are used as well. Many rooms will use bracket-style competitions to crown 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners.
- Duel: Simple, one player on each team, kill the other to win. Hosts who want to test their ability in one-vs-one situations will frequently make these rooms.
- Clan Combat Training: These rooms are typically mock battles or scrimmage battles. Players from the same clan or clan family join the room and engage in combat, and afterwards commentate on each others' performances. These rooms are excellent settings for testing out new tanks, testing out various stock and upgraded modules, and penetration testing at ranges and with different ammo. The important thing is that the members are all clanmates, meaning they can not only be trusted to perform well, but are also much more willing to give feedback. They're also great fun!
- Clan War Scrimmage: In preparation for an official Clan War or simply for fun, sometimes two clans will organize a scrimmage between them. This teaches clan members valuable skills in communication and group combat; while in Random Battles you can never trust anyone to perform well, you can always trust and sometimes predict what your clanmates will be doing, giving you wider flexibility in role.
Step 4: Enjoy Yourself!
This is the most important part of being in a Training Room! As frustrating it may be to be host of a Training Room, if you are not enjoying yourself then why put yourself through this? Make sure you are having fun, or managing the Training Room will not work out for you.
Thanks for reading my guide. Be sure to check out any of my other guides; I keep links in my profile page and in my signature.
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Silevern