The FPS Gamer Styles
Ever wonder what type of gamer you were? Take a look at this list. Classify yourself and friends.
Below is the list of basic gamer playing styles. Where do you fit in?
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The Whiner
We all know these players. They whine when they die whether they have 100 kills to 1 death or 5 kills to 5 deaths. They will always whine, but that’s just how they play. These players are generally the BEST players in terms of skill level and physical reaction to gaming events. While they whine, they are also the most intensely occupied by the gaming environment and when they are alive and playing you know they’ll be taking out the opposition. They play well with the team, even if they don’t always appreciate the whole concept of being forced to go to a particular place.
Number per Team: 1Work Best With: Leader, Veteran, and “Radio”
Work Poorly With: Strategist, Baiter, and Guardian
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The Leader
All teams obviously need a leader. This is the person in the team that demands the most respect or else they will be entirely in-effective. They are good basic players, but their strength is in holding the team together. They organize everything, set up the matches, and will be around nearly all the time to work with the entire team. The only major flaw of the Leader falls into their overwhelming responsibility. When they are dealing with all the other organization of the clan they fail to get the same amount of experience with the rest of their team members in preparation for matches.
Number per Team: 1Work Best With: “For the Team” Guy, Strategist, and Radio
Work Poorly With: Baiter, Lone Wolf, and Veteran
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The Veteran
Of course, you know this player? This is the type of player that can be sitting in a situation where he is surrounded and is just sitting back, relaxing. These are the strongest players overall in the game. While they may not always be the best in terms of skill, they are the best in keeping the team together. They are like the Leader, but much more content to sit back and play with the team rather than monitor it. They can aid almost all the players on their team. The veteran has a flaw in his armor though. The common veteran player tends to have two major issues in his game play. First, they can think themselves better for having the longer term of experience. The secondary problem that may come with a veteran is an attempt to spread too much of his own knowledge. They can quickly get into a power struggle with a Leader and hurt a clan.
Number per Team: 0-2Work Best With: The Whiner, Radio, and Basic
Work Poorly With: Strategist, Leader, and Baiter
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The Strategist
This is the team’s go-to guy for strategy. He is the type of player who knows other teams as well as their styles, but also knows how to work out the trouble spots in a map. They are commonly very smart players, but not nearly the best. A Strategy player is commonly the one that won’t play unless to call strats. While they commonly realize their strengths are in preparation and not actual participation, they are often the part of the group that can feel left out. Another key thing about the strategist is that the Leader can take this roll upon himself. While a very useful gamer, they are often the low self-esteemed part of the group that feels left out of the overall team.
Number per Team: 0-1Work Best With: Filler, Prophet, and “For-the-Team” Guy
Work Poorly With: Leader, Veteran, and Lone Wolf
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The Guardian
That’s the guy who won’t fold under the pressure of a team onslaught. They are very strong positional players and rarely leave a position once they are imbedded into it. The Guardian has one of the best senses of position in the game as they can commonly be called “campers” for their skill in hiding. That doesn’t mean they are entirely hiding types. They can easily change rolls to a rush-stopper because these players, while not the best, tend to have good shots and communication. The guardian’s flaw is his inability to move later in the round. While they are terrific for holding a spot, they fold under pressure and tend to be poor on offense. In a clutch situation from 1v5 to 1v1, these aren’t the people you look forward to being the last guy.
Number per Team: 1-2Work Best With: Strategist, Leader, and Radio
Work Poorly With: Veteran, Lone Wolf, and Whiner
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The Filler
You know that guy who’s just happy to get to play? That is the Filler. He can be anywhere from a decent player to a very good one. These guys are just the most versatile of all the groups. They are content to play any position and most commonly will get stuck with the position that no one feels is beneficial to them. They hold a team together due to their ability to change and they often have the most likable attitude of the gamer community. A tendency of the Filler is to not hold gaming in such high regard though. They enjoy gaming, but aren’t around as much as the other hard-core gaming members of the team. They hold an apathy towards all situations making them sometimes annoying to other people who care about competition.
Number per Team: 0-2Work Best With: Leader, Strategist, and Guardian
Work Poorly With: Lone Wolf, Whiner, and Baiter
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The Prophet
How did he know I was there?! Wasn’t he on the other side of the map?!?! Those are the common things the other team will say when they are playing these types. The Prophet is the guy who can instinctively understand a situation and rotate to where he is most needed. They are the fastest players in the game in terms of tactical ability and know the positional breakdowns of the map. They are decent for clutch situations and are often some of the best shooters on a team. The major flaw of the prophet can be their instinct. If they feel something is happening, they move with it or they overanalyze the situation and get themselves killed for thinking too much. They can be the best or worst players on a team depending on a match to match situation. They are probably the least dependable gamers to consistently perform, but when they’re gaming is hot, they can’t be stopped.
Number per Team: 0-3Work Best With: Radio, Leader, and Basic
Work Poorly With: Lone Wolf, Baiter, and Guardian
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The Lone Wolf
This is the class most gamers love to hate. They are decent to great gamers that have overall great skills on every area of the game. Their problem is their inefficiency in working WITH a team. They often have terrible communication skills and can be similar to the Whiner except they won’t listen to the strategy as closely. A Lone Wolf is good for some teams, while others they can destroy. The Lone Wolf often also has a superiority complex and isn’t afraid to show their ego.
Number per Team: 0-1Work Best With: Radio, “For the Team” Guy
Work Poorly With: ALL OTHERS
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The “Radio”
“He’s on B plant, watch your 6 for the second guy”. This is your “radio”. They are often the players who will break the silence in a match and call out the enemy positions. They are very good team players and are happy to call out a position rather than get the kill if they see it beneficial to the team. All of their efforts go into the group and their individual skills aren’t as honed as the other classes of gamers. However, like all gamers, they have a flaw. “Radio” gamers can be overly talkative and block up the team’s communications. They may be giving out useful information, but that time spent blocking the sound of another player’s headset can get him killed. A good “Radio” is precise and exact in his coordinates and can be valuable to any team.
Number per Team: 1-2Work Best With: ALL
Work Poorly With: —-
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The Basic
Yep, the guy who knows he’s not too good at anything, but tries. This is the type of gamer most clans are forced to settle with as a 4th or 5th slot filler. They can be decent, but that’s the extent of these players. They have yet to choose a direction to hone their skills in as well as generally lack the experience of the gaming environment. Once they develop, they commonly become very decent all around players, but until they understand what’s going on, they can be frustrating to the team. More than likely, this type of player won’t last long in gaming unless they can find strength.
Number per Team: 0-1Work Best With: Leader, Veteran, and Strategist
Work Poorly With: Whiner, Lone Wolf, and Baiter
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The Baiter
Oh boy, everybody loves this class of gamer! Of course, when you think about it, this type of gamer can be useful to the team. They have often developed into crack shots who quickly deal a fatal blow to the enemy upon the baiting of a team-mate. These types of players can save a team or destroy it, depending on their skill level. If a player is a baiter, they need to have terrific accuracy and speed to avenge the death of a teammate. The baiter can sometimes be a negative influence on the team’s chemistry however and can quickly destroy a team if no one feels safe when this player is watching their back.
Number per Team: 0-1Work Best With: ALL OTHERS ((Uses them))
Work Poorly With: Lone Wolf
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The “For-the-Team” Guy
“Yeah sure, I’ll do it”. It’s that guy. This is the guy who will bait himself for the team or run a suicide run down a street if he knows his death is going to save the team some trouble. They are often very likable people because they don’t get many kills and they are very versatile. They can be decent players to very good ones and can honestly be from any of the other gamer styles, just very much a team player. The flaw is their clutch situation strength. When you’re the guy who dies for the team and runs routes that you expect to die out quickly, you don’t take the time to look into the positions and map breakdown. It’s only a matter of time before this class of player gets bored with gaming though unless assigned other tasks.
Number per Team: 0-1Work Best With: ALL
Work Poorly With: —-
If you liked this article be sure to check out (http://www.quazen.com/Games/Video-Games/The-Four-Cs-of-Gaming-Addiction.481053)! Thanks for reading!
Liked it
Liked it. This is very well detailed. I now more about it. thanks keep up the work.
Yea definitely the filler pope, until i get more scrims i probably wont be getting anywhere
This is a great article i just found out im a combo between The Strategist, The Prophet, and the Radio
strategist ftw =P
Definitely a guardian. A bit of the lone wolf as well. Depends on my mood.
Haha, the lone wolf. I never use strategy, but I’m nothing like the whiner. =O
Definitely the Prophet, especially in Gears of War. Some days I can be a teams worst nightmare or… my teams weakest link. I love it though lol =]
Im definitely a whiner and prophet who always performs.
Nice article! It looks like I’m a prophet. In one round, I would own everybody while maintaining perfect health, another round I would get killed 20 seconds after the match started.
Thank you all for reading the article and even more thanks to those who left comments! If you like this article you might enjoy some of the other miscellaneous articles I have.
http://www.triond.com/users/Blake+Synel
Thanks again and keep passing this around to your friends!
I’m the guardian for sure. xD Sniper in TF2.
You forgot “Ace”
The Ace is the guy you KNOW will get that win, or help the comeback when he is outnumbered 1 to 5. He probably plays much like a loner, however he can take one for the team as well. He tends to ride the top of the scoreboard and his team usually wins. His main weakness is that when things start looking bad, he knows he cant win and starts to whine and blame others because they are noobs.
i was looking for something hilarious like the “pre-pubescent eardrum destroyer” lol
I’m definitely a prophet/radio/for-the-team guy. When I’m not doing great, I communicate a lot and try to take one for the team, but when I’m on fire, it’s all silence on the other end.
My apologies for any errors. This is meant to be comical and relaxed, but that is an error. I respect your criticism and thank you for taking the time to post.
Thanks,
Blake
I’m a strategist.
I’m probably a Prophet or Lone Wolf. Most of the time I don’t really play in a team environment, or all-talk is on so you can’t communicate effectively and exclusively with your team.
wow this thing can read me like a book
i am sad to say it but i am a for-the-team girl. especially in halo. good guide, i liked it
Haha, brilliant,very well detailed and amazingly accurate.
I definately fit the category of the veteran, perfectly.
nice article, im a guardian/radio/”for the team” guy. not bad.i like wat i am. cool
Such a good stumble / read
I am such a whiner. If I die once in a game I feel like the game has been lost ever though I have the most kills. The only thing that keeps me going is making sure that my kills are twice as much as my own deaths.
HA! FOR THE TEAM! i just run in to traffic hoping to get A kill.
I never should have stopped to play at that damned pub!
You forgot the charging bull type – the guy who runs straight into enemy territory which either ends in;
him making it halfway and getting gunned down
him making it all the way and managing to pull of loads of stealthy kills on the enemy who think he’s infront of them.
I tend to do this XD
I guess you could call it a subset of the lone wolf.
This needs to be turned into one of those quizzes that you answer and submit then it tells you what you are similar too
I’m likely a mix of filler, Defender, and strategist.
I’m definatly a veteran. I always chill when I play and never worry. I hate whiners though..I have a friend who whines non-stop no matter what. He gets almost to the point of crying. I just wanna smack him one!
I’m not sure which one i am. I’m the one with the most kills and the most deaths. i think i’m half lone wolf and half whiner.
I think I’m a Guardian / Radio.
–>Team Fortress 2
This was great…I was able to label everyone I play with.
Myself
This is just great, I love videogames you know, specially play station and game cube, still not used to wii even if I have one, FFX is my favorite one, I played it for almost two years in a row, because I loved it a lot. I know you are talking about on-line games, my sons play them a lot, I don’t because of the video card (in my PC it is integrated, I still have a celeron) and because of the keyboard, I can not get used to play with it.
But, this is a great article, so let me put this one to all over some of my places.
Claps for you kid, you are talented.
This is a very good breakdown of gamer archetypes. Your types are very solid, as these also hold true for non-FPS guilds like raiding or arena guilds in WoW. Nice work! It is actually more useful to me than many marketing studies I have seen within the video game industry.
Good day!
It is very informative and has a very good quality in it.
I like it…
http://www.Squidoo.com/MPI
mliragana.blogspot.com
Thank you very much for your time.
QUOTE: You forgot “Ace”
The Ace is the guy you KNOW will get that win, or help the comeback when he is outnumbered 1 to 5. He probably plays much like a loner, however he can take one for the team as well. He tends to ride the top of the scoreboard and his team usually wins. His main weakness is that when things start looking bad, he knows he cant win and starts to whine and blame others because they are noobs.
Thats spot on what im like LOL
aha this blog makes me want to reinstall Halo PC..
im sure a lone wolf
thx for info
Im a whiner
maybe radio and maybe “for the team guy” or just evrything 
Radio/Leader
That’s me 
Ok i lied, my friend tells me im a lonewolf…i go rando commando on my teamates asses all the time apparently
nice. im somewhere between veteran and lone wolf. i rock. lolz, jk ^_^
I’m the filler!
D
Wow nice article m8. Its really useful. thanks. btw: I’m definetly the prophet. I run around the map when I see somebody, wait for them (because I know they will come) , and shoot them. Sometimes when I’m on my way, I think for the best route, I get shot because I’m not looking around me for other enemies XD. On the other end I’m the veteran. I (nearly) always have kill/death ratio 2 (42 kills; 21 deaths or lower…). And again: very nice article!!!
$h4rp
yeah. im a combination of lone wolf, guardian , prophet and sometimes the “veteran”
funny story: we killed them all in one room a newcomer throws a nade in the same room and says “whoops” >_<
oh and don’t forget “flanker” the guy that goes around the main fight and shoots the enemies asses into oblivion hahahaha
definitely veteran, im always relaxed, i hardly ever have to try i get 2:1+ k/ds while barely paying attention.
Haha, heck.. I’m the Lone Wolf..
Let’s see… the leader, veteran, strategist, filler, prophet, radio, baiter, and for-the-team-guy all are roles I play, usually several at a time. If I start doing poorly, I’ll just switch up my play style till I find something that works. Keeps the enemies on their toes, and that can be advantage enough sometimes.
Totally a Lone Wolf. If the enemy is a poorly coordinated team then I can ruin them and usually finish off top of the board. If they are well coordinated then I die within’ the first minute or so. Also, you should add “Usually ignores objectives in non-deathmatch gametypes” to the Lone Wolf category.
Well developed, but lacks at lot and it’s missing some stuff. Number per team? It always depends on what game you’re playing; and on what server. You didn’t give any indication of it.
Also most people never fit squarely into any of those catergories, really..
Overall though good article.
Thanks for the comment, appreciate constructive responses.
As for the number per team section, it is on the assumption of the 5 man squad that is represented in 75% of the FPS gaming world. I realize some games do have different numbers, but this is all in generalization(Battlefield 2 for example has 6v6/8v8 groups).
It’s also not designed to just lump you into a group, just give an idea of your strengths and player zone. It’s a pretty basic article meant to amuse and entertain more so than be serious.
Thanks again, keep passing the article to friends!
the beggar.
the beggar barley plays yet is logged in all the time.He’s always asking those of greater skill to lead in completing adventures assigned to himself.he would rather sit and wait for help rather than tackle a task on his own,such as taking lead and forming a group.Get him to solo is next to impossible.this type of player ranks highest in getting an ignored status in chat.
Guardian/Baiter here.. shiiiiiit everybody hates me ;P
I’m an above average Filler – Radio – For the Team Hybrid! Finely I can have some sweet sweet skill classification Aw yeah.
100% accurate. nice work.
great work, I’m still analyzing myself to put myself into one of your classes. I can fit into the guardian, filler, and prophet classes.
can’t seem to find the right kind of player. since i change my game style depending on the situation
radio, prophet, lone wolf, guardian, strategist… im all around..
great analysis..