Tutoring for other tiers in Battling 101

[ShinyAzelf]

Currently, Battling 101 only offers tutoring for the OU tier. Now I understand that it is the tier with most popularity, and that is why the tier is often referred to as "Standard". However, I think we should offer tutoring for other tiers as well. There certainly are people who would like to learn other tiers, as they are very different from the OU tier. By introducing tutoring to tiers other than OU, we give our members a larger variety, and allows them to get tutored in any tier they want, other than just OU.

Since other tiers are generally played less, we could have less tutors for those tiers. With a wider arrange of tiers, we can have people who are strong in other tiers to sign up, and also allows the tutee to have more options to choose from.

Thanks for reading,

- ShinyAzelf

 

[(makeup)]

I completely agree with this. Less popular tiers such as NU and LC are arguably harder to learn with everyone being used to the OU metagame, and if anything, would really require tutoring to master. That isn't to say we should put too many tutors into "foreign" tiers like SA said, but this will encourage people to try something new as well as be good at it.

I'm in full support of this idea and would be interested in it if it gets implemented.

 

[polelover44]

I don't think there is a UU yet.

 

[ShinyAzelf]

I completely agree with this. Less popular tiers such as NU and LC are arguably harder to learn with everyone being used to the OU metagame, and if anything, would really require tutoring to master. That isn't to say we should put too many tutors into "foreign" tiers like SA said, but this will encourage people to try something new as well as be good at it.

I'm in full support of this idea and would be interested in it if it gets implemented.

Thanks -Charmander-!

I don't think there is a UU yet.

I know that, I meant DPP UU.

------------------------------------------

Anyways, the tiers that we could offer would include:


DPP Uber
DPP UU
DPP NU (?)
DPP LC
BW Uber
BW LC

Not sure about DPP NU, as there isn't an official ladder for NU on Smogon. However, I would like to see DPP / BW Uber and Little Cup get a tutoring program, and maybe even DPP UU.

 

[ck49]

There is LC, Ubers, and gen 4 has UU, NU, etc. Also, gen 3, 2, and 1 are important since the Smogon tour uses one of them now. On one hand, I like this idea, on the other hand, but I dont want a new person coming and getting tutored in ADV UU before he learns about BW OU or DP OU.

 

[smashlloyd20]

B101 now officially includes ADV OU as a tutored tier.

Just saying.

 

[DJXO9]

But, since the Smogon Tour is shifting from three DP metagames to the OU metagames of ADV, DPP and BW, we need to know which tutor is teaching which of these. Right now, the Battling 101 program will be focused on just the OU metagames of these three generations. But if you want your tutor to be able to teach you an UU or Uber metagame, ask them and they might just do it for you!

By adding in a ton of tiers, the entire system gets extremely complicated. Since DPP UU isn't very relevant anymore, outside of SPL and the odd tournament, not many tutors would be willing to exclusively tutor for it, and even fewer people would be looking to get tutored in an irrelevant metagame. I just can't see the minimal benefits for this outweighing the unnecessary complications.

Also, you could specify in your app post that you would to be tutored in BW OU, but would like some help in BW Ubers for example. One of the staff could attempt to put with someone who tutors BW OU, but also knows some BW Ubers. The same could go for other tiers.

 

[Accipender]

Alternatively, you could request a tutor from a particular person. If there are people willing to tutor people in the more esoteric metagames, just have them have a note in their signature and let the interested people come to them imo.

 

[JRank]

If this were to be implemented, shouldn't VGC 11 (or whatever the current year may be if this happens) be put ahead of say, 4th Gen NU, since it IS relevant and aside from use in tourneys there are real VGC events with real prizes.

But even so, I don't really think any tier besides OU will be implemented.

 

[ShinyAzelf]

Hmm. I like DJXO9's idea. If one enjoys playing another tier such as Ubers, we could pair him up with someone who knows about OU and Uber. Same for Little Cup.

However, I don't believe the system will become THAT complicated, if just one or two tiers is added (Uber, LC).

 

[DJXO9]

What I'm saying is that sure tutors could be made available for other tiers, but is it worth it considering how few players are going to want to be tutored in LC as compared to one of the OUs? There are other bumps like trying to find people willing to tutor in the already small realm of LC or other side metagames.

Edit: agree with alphajolt

 

[AlphaJolt]

For small tiers such as LC or VGC it's probably just better to get onto an IRC channel or pm a user known for being good at the tier and asking for help. I'm not too familiar with the VGC people, but LC has lots of friendly users who are willing to show new people the ropes (from what I've heard though VGC is the same).

 

[Tomahawk]

@AlphaJolt: when I was new to the site, B101 was inactive so I PMed multiple users, but I didn't get a reply. It doesn't work that way

About the idea, I think we should wait with this until B101 is back on track, so maybe next round. I do think the smaller tiers should get attention though.

 

[masterful]

I cannot tell you how much I agree. I know how hard it is to go from being a completely OU player to participating in other tiers, like UU or Ubers. I'd love to be tutored in how to play LC effectively, or what makes a good Ubers team. That sounds like a great idea

 

[His Eminence Lord Poppington II]

I am hugely interested in this, I love the change from the standard OU metagame, in both IV and V gen alike and would be delighted to receive some advanced tips or suggestions from the experts. At the moment I've only dabbled in tiers outside of OU and my strongest tier is still DPP OU. It's a great way to experience a new aspect of competitive pokemon, and let's be honest, a completely different ballgame (the familiarization of oneself to new threats, the ways to play around them, speed tiers, etc).

tl;dr, I LOVE IT, ALL FOR IT.

 

[Exclamation!]

What about tutoring VGC?

I'm sure lots of players used to the OU metagame would really like to learn how to play doubles, specially VGC, since it is the only "official" metgame endorsed by Nintendo

 

[Plusle]

I would tutor Ubers/VGC/LC. I think their should be other tiers.

 

[cosmicexplorer]

@AlphaJolt: when I was new to the site, B101 was inactive so I PMed multiple users, but I didn't get a reply. It doesn't work that way

Have you ever participated in the lesser-played tiers like VGC or LC? I haven't played LC, but for VGC at least, the community is very accepting of anyone willing to learn, and will gladly help a newcomer.

Also, like DJXO9 said, the main reason not to do this is because it's not going to be worth it, because there's going to be very little interest for the tiers besides OU, and UU when it arrives for Gen 5.

 

[Siegrin]

This is one of those: I don't see wynaut situations

I mean, there are certainly C&C forums for these tiers to help enhance the competitve edge of tiers such as BW LC, DPP UU, etc.

I don't see why there shouldn't be tutors for it too, especially if people are willing to apply.

 

[Moo]

Ubers has always been a part of B101.

But I'm in full support of this. VGC / LC definitely need some tutors, and maybe GSC/RB. That would be great and I'm sure many people would be interested in learning those older tiers

 

[Veedrock]

The B101 program should not support gimmick metagames. This includes NU, LC, CAP, etc. It's a complete waste of resources.

Just the same, I don't think it should support dead metagames. This includes DPP UU and DPP Ubers. DPP UU is only used in SPL, and it will be phased out after BW UU launches. DPP Ubers has no competitive use anymore. (For the record I'm not against BW UU and BW Ubers tutoring)

I'm not in favor of RBY and GSC tutoring. I can say with confidence that RBY does not require a tutor to learn (read up on mechanics, play 3-4 matches, and you'll pretty much know the ropes). GSC is an aquired taste which I can imagine would make it difficult to tutor/learn, added to the fact that GSC is a "dead" metagame, but beyond that I don't have any real argument against it :x

I'm conflicted about VGC tutoring; with a lot less viable options tutors would either have to demonstrate with their own crafted teams (in turn ruining much of the value of the team), which can simply lead to the copying the team out of lack of better options, or the tutor might hold back and fail to tutor properly. I guess my point is there's not much flexibility with VGC. But on the other hand I recognize it as a legitimate metagame, so if it could be managed properly I'd be behind.

My 8 cents.

EDIT: When I say waste of resources I exclusively mean within B101. I understand that tutors are volunteers, and nothing's stopping somebody from volunteering to tutor for NU/LC/whatever, but I don't think it should be managed or supported by the B101 program. Tutors for such metagames are a lot more scarce than popular metagames like OU, and OU tutors are already in short supply. I think it's safe to assume that LC players are also versed in other metagames, making them capable of tutoring for those instead (example: SDS). Because the program is already stretched to capactity, why should B101 put SDS forward to tutoring LC when there's a higher demand for OU? That's what I mean when I say waste of resources.

I don't think exclusive LC/metagame X tutors are a good thing either for two reasons: 1) as mentioned they'll be in short supply and with official signups in queue, it would become backlogged much more than any other tier, and 2) honestly I would doubt somebody's ability to tutor properly if they're only capable of playing one (arguably) insignificant metagame (and if they can play others, I believe they should be encouraged to tutor those, which is done by not supporting the metagame to begin with). 2 isn't up to me though.

 

[Elevator Music]

Not to jump down your throat Veed but....

The B101 program should not support gimmick metagames. This includes NU, LC, CAP, etc. It's a complete waste of resources.

Aside from the fact that LC is a legitimate metagame supported by the site, I disagree that it is a waste of resources. People volunteer to tutor. It's not like people who tutor are being taken away from C&C or some other part of the site and can't help there anymore. Tutoring is a pretty self-staffed project anyways. A few of the people who would be tutoring in legitimate non-OU metagames may not be contributing to the site otherwise anyways.


I do agree with you that we shouldn't support dead metagames. By definition there isn't a large playerbase for them, so I don't really see the point in teaching them...

 

[Nails]

When I say waste of resources I exclusively mean within B101. I understand that tutors are volunteers, and nothing's stopping somebody from volunteering to tutor for NU/LC/whatever, but I don't think it should be managed or supported by the B101 program. Tutors for such metagames are a lot more scarce than popular metagames like OU, and OU tutors are already in short supply. I think it's safe to assume that LC players are also versed in other metagames, making them capable of tutoring for those instead (example: SDS). Because the program is already stretched to capactity, why should B101 put SDS forward to tutoring LC when there's a higher demand for OU? That's what I mean when I say waste of resources.

I don't think exclusive LC/metagame X tutors are a good thing either for two reasons: 1) as mentioned they'll be in short supply and with official signups in queue, it would become backlogged much more than any other tier, and 2) honestly I would doubt somebody's ability to tutor properly if they're only capable of playing one (arguably) insignificant metagame (and if they can play others, I believe they should be encouraged to tutor those, which is done by not supporting the metagame to begin with). 2 isn't up to me though.

Not specifically replying to veedrock, just saying in general that I don't have any desire to tutor OU but I would love to tutor Little Cup.

 

[Server_Crash]

I completely support opening up B101 to other metagames. The argument of "there won't be enough interest" doesn't work in my mind. I've noticed that a lot of players don't play some of the 'out-of-the-way' tiers like LC or, to an extent, Ubers, but I think that this is due to

1) near-dead ladders and

2) very little means to learn the metagame. I know that the communities for these tiers are very welcoming to new players, but there's a difference between learning that Arceus will either run a CM set or a SD set and actually battling one. This goes back to point one, but B101 gives people an opportunity to not only learn the metagame, but to get experience battling in it.

 

[Eos]

Hmm, seeing as almost all of us agree on almost everything, I think we as a group should contact the members of the 101 battling staff and ask them about this.
Seeing as Mekkah is atm the head honcho of the Tutoring forum, I think it fit to seek him out.
Agreed?