Tips for ZLTAC 2019
Having already mastered the Sunshine Coast arena (It’s not bragging to say I’m the best Dunedin player who went to Pre-Nats 2) I feel uniquely qualified to give some advice about how to prepare for ZLTAC 2019 in Sunshine Coast. I’ve been thinking about this a lot, since I’ll be taking a team of rookies this year and want to prepare them as best I can.
Get intimate with a wall
This maze has some of the most lockable bases I’ve ever played in. The strength of defence will be proportional to how strong your holds are. The angles are pretty wide and it will take quite a bit of practice to get to the point where you can see the whole door without exposing anything. For bonus points, practice panelling while in a crouch or on a knee. This will give you some protection from cross shots in several positions.
In Dunedin (and most of the mazes in NZ) we don’t really have to break static positions. It’s usually easier to walk around to the other door and shoot the defender than it is to charge them down head on. This is something I intend to spend a lot of time on with my team since the breaking concept will be foreign to them.
Buy life insurance
A lot of tight corners and fast plays are required to succeed in this maze. The best way to break the bases is a fast run on a shallow angle through the doors. The angled doors make it impossible for players exiting the base to check if it’s safe before stepping out. Players preparing for this event should take extra note of their speed and safety during training. If you’re running a league or other event with refs, I suggest cracking down on speed over the next few months since this is likely to be a major theme in Sunshine Coast.
Work on your communication
Check out Mouldys article for how to comm properly. The main thing you need to watch out for in Sunshine coast is that you can barely hear any calls. I’m not sure if the maze absorbs sound, or it’s a particularly noisy maze, but one thing is sure – it’s impossible to hear anything in this arena. Defensive calls from front to back of a base are difficult and maze calls from base to base are all but impossible. To prepare work on your volume. Practice this in training so you don’t wear your voice out on the first day. Try to come up with strategies and techniques to play a coordinated game despite not being able to call as effectively as usual. This means high cohesion and pre-planning will matter more in Sunshine coast than in other mazes.
Practice watching a door while you take the base
I’ve said before that the take-and-watch is one of the most important skills in Zone. In many mazes it will literally double how many bases you can get, and Sunshine Coast is no exception. It’s particularity difficult in this arena because many of the take spots are set up so the base is behind you. It’s important to be able to shoot a base behind you while continuing to watch the door in front of you. This is tricky even for experienced players but gets much better with training. Most mazes have a place you can train this. You should be confident taking a base that’s behind you while being rushed from in front. Practice this in both low and high grips.
Run up some stairs or something
Improving your fitness is always a good way to prepare for Zone but this is one of the more physically demanding mazes I’ve played in (or maybe I’m just extra unfit this year). It seems like everything is so far apart for such a small maze. Every reload seems to take about a year and the maze encourages a ton of rapid base swapping and fast plays which take a toll. If you haven’t been to a long event like this before, remember it’s a marathon not a sprint. You need to get to the last day in top condition to advance as far as you can in the Finals Ascension.
Spend some quality time with the maze map
There are a ton of spots in this map that need names. Each base has at least 4 good take spots, plus a ton of spots for defenders to be in. When breaking a base, it’s best to go in with a plan. When you arrive, you need to be able to quickly communicate to your teammates which defensive setup you see and which break pattern you’re going to use. You need to work out where your push will go when empty, and how they can sweep the maze to miss anyone hiding out for a free base. This is all stuff you can do in advance (and refine during the event!).
Learn to play half-heights
Each base has a half-height wall which you can shoot over. Not everyone spends a lot of time working on their vertical panel game, but most arenas have a half-height or window somewhere you can practice with. You want to make sure you can shoot over the half-height wall without exposing anything. Remember that the Helios gun is easy to hit, so hold it upside down for maximum protection.
It’s also important to remember the rules regarding the half-height walls. The half-height is considered a barrier and so no part of your body or equipment may pass over the wall. It’s possible to position yourself in such a way that there is no legal shot against you from over the wall. Learn to do this. Sunshine Coast has fancy lasers to detect if you break the barrier, so it’s worth spending some time training this to avoid some costly penalties later on.
Make sure your accommodation has air conditioning
