Current as of 12/5/2011

Links to my guides:
The Scout Essentials (http://commforums.com/mr-slin-scout-guide-t4686.html?t=4686)
Guide to Getting Started in Competitive 6v6 TF2 (http://communityfortress.com/tf2/blog/guide-to-getting-started-in-competitive-6v6-tf2-part-1.php)
New to competitive TF2? Here's a few tips. (http://commforums.com/new-competitive-tf2i-heres-t5759.html?t=5759)


1) MR SLIN
http://steamcommunity.com/id/slin
IRC: Mr-Slin on Gamesurge (find me in #tf2.pug.na or #tf2scrim)
ESEA Profile Page: http://www.esea.net/users/380413 (http://www.esea.net/users/380413)
Legit Proof Page: http://www.legit-proof.com/user/slin

2) California

3) As far as mentoring goes, I'm currently mentoring medics only. In addition I am always, always, ALWAYS available to talk to if you want quick tips or help. See point 7 for more details.

4) I am currently playing medic for BESTEST VIDOE GAMMERS (http://esea.net/teams/56914) in ESEA-Open Season 10.

I roster rode this past season (scout) in ESEA-IM on Stay Classy (http://esea.net/teams/42179) for 5th in IM. I just played this past season in TWL Division 1 and won first place. I also participated in the CommFT Highander Tournament with the team Oediupus and the Mother F*ckers where we got 3rd.

Last season (S8) I played on the team Mediocre at Best in ESEA-IM as a scout. I've been playing TF2 for over three years, and I've been playing competitive TF2 for two of them. This is the first game I've played competitively.

5) I would be a good mentor because I am thorough, clear, and considerate. I have a good amount of experience and an understanding of the game. As one of the more experienced mentors in the program, I have mentored a lot of people/teams and have a good idea of what I am doing. Also, as the head admin of the CommFT Mentor Program I have had a chance to see a lot of other mentors at work, and have been able to develop my own unique style that combines the best elements of mentoring. My strength is identifying weaknesses in your gameplay and giving you actionable steps to solve those issues.

6) I am currently a college student so I have some free time. Feel free to message me anytime that I am online. You can also reach me by private message through these forums.

7) I'm always available for help regarding any class. Help means I will answer your questions, give advice, and I'll watch demos on occasion. I'm also available for team help such as suggestions and strats. Feel free to add me on steam friends. If you're a new player, try to read my guides before contacting me (that's what they're there for).

As far as mentoring goes, I'm currently only doing medic mentoring. Thanks for your understanding.

MR SLIN's CFG
A few people have asked me for my cfg folder. I started out using m0res FPS config, switched to Quantum's Little Config, and now I use Chris' FPS Config (http://fakkelbrigade.eu/chris/configs/). It's a little messy, so feel free to ask me about any parts of it if you need clarification or help with scripting. IF YOU'RE NEW TO TF2: DON'T JUST COPY+PASTE THIS INTO YOUR FOLDER. It is custom designed for me and will mess up your config if you try to directly copy it. Unless you know what you're doing, I suggest that you use the Ask a Mentor Section (http://commforums.com/ask-mentor-f121.html) or have your mentor take out the parts that you like.

DO NOT JUST COPY AND PASTE THIS CONFIG
This is for reference purposes ONLY.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/33596836/Configs%20and%20Mentoring/slincfg.rar
Current as of December 5, 2011.

do you mentor players from the uk aswell even though your in america?

Sorry I'm only mentoring North American players at this time. I found that my knowledge of the EU scene isn't as good, and I'd rather put my time towards NA players. Thanks for your interest though.

awesome guy. great scout . medic mentor has helpful information for your whole team!

Helped me on dmg control greatly, And positioning even knows a bit about solly and demo

Are you taking any additional mentees at this time? Here's my mentee app:

http://commforums.com/medic-cevo-hoot-t5380.html?t=5380

Mr Slin is sexiest guy ever, let him mentor you.

'ello.
I was just curious if you would consider myself as a mentee.
My mentee app:
http://commforums.com/mentee-application-majesty-t5444.html?p=62323#post62323

I've actually played with you in lobbies. And a couple of month ago, you talked to me about getting into comp tf2 which is when I began.

bump. starting to open myself up and i am available for mentoring on the weekends. please be on an ESEA roster.

My team is currently looking for a mentor, so if you have any interest feel free to contact me.

http://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197988056771

http://esportsea.com/teams/52022

Sure I'd be glad to help you out. Can you add me? We'll talk tonight.

Hi guys. Not mentoring teams anymore but I'm looking to take on 2-5 mentees right now for an experimental thing I'm calling "gamesense mentoring". This is perfect for open level players who have great DM but don't understand game flow. Are you the caller for your team? I'll teach you how to make calls too (medics and pockets mainly). I'm going to start out slow and just take a few to make sure I can handle the load, then ramp up to a max of 5. All classes are welcome. This is just something I'm testing out for fun.

Be on a league roster! ESEA not required but preferred. If you're not on a team, feel free to add me and I'll still help you out; it just won't be the same level of dedication or follow through.

Prepare to watch a lot of demos if you're my mentee ^_^.

slin watched one of our team's demos and went over our game plan and communication skills (or rather lack thereof).

i'm putting together a video of his granary overview including class rollouts and push/def mechanics.

he's a really chill guy and a great resource to the community :)

Can you properly explain what "gamesense mentoring" is for those in open..

I'm just starting to do this with a few people so I'm not completely sure where I'm going with this.

Basically your personal skill level can be split into two pieces known as DM and gamesense. DM or deathmatch ability is your skills regarding how you aim and move. Some people are naturally more talented at this than others, or they have played other FPS games on the computer that helped them to learn skills that are transferable to TF2. Examples of these games are quake, counterstrike, natural selection, etc. DM takes a lot of time (hours logged) and practice to get good at.

The other part of the game is gamesense. This is your knowledge of how the format works and how the game flows. An easier way to explain this is to say that if you have good gamesense, you know exactly what to do at any moment in time. You know what your team is doing, you know what the enemy team is doing (generally), and you know how to react to the situation. If you have bad gamesense, this generally results in a feeling of confusion. Players with bad gamesense can become overwhelmed by the situation, and their inability to orient themselves usually results in a mistake (the most common of which is overextending).

I want to make it clear that these two things are not unique to TF2. In Starcraft 2, you need DM which is your ability to macro and micro units, and gamesense to know what you're doing in contrast to the enemy. In basketball, DM is your ability to shoot and pass the ball in addition to your footwork and handles. Gamesense is knowing what to do in the situation.

Think of your TF2 CommFT mentor as your basketball coach. He watches you play and helps you figure out what to do. He tells you what you can do to practice DM (through drills that help you practice specific, isolated things). He pulls out the whiteboard and draws X's and O's, and draws plays for your team to help you with gamesense. And he gives you motivation and tells you what you need to hear to be your best.

I'm not that guy. I've done it a lot and I've done personal and team mentoring. Gamesense mentoring is a little different. It's for people who want to understand the entire game. A personal mentor will help you learn about just your class. A team mentor will help watch your team as a whole and go over strats and comms. My job as a gamesense mentor is to teach you the various roles of each class, the gameplay as a whole, the metagame (the game within the game), and more. I think that it's what you need to be a caller for your team because if you don't understand how all of the pieces on the chessboard move, then you won't do a good job of calling the shots for your team. I also thought that this would be good for players transferring to TF2 from other games with great DM but are just unfamiliar with how the game plays.

The reason I want higher level mentees (players in ESEA) is because at the lower levels there just isn't enough strategy involved to even talk about gamesense. Players have a hard enough time trying to figure out how to move and kill let alone figure out the strategies of push, hold, and retreat. It's like AYSO soccer or Little League baseball. You need to figure out how to hit and catch the ball before you try figuring out the strategies of stealing bases and the pitcher vs. base runner metagame.

So yeah. Let me know if you want me to elaborate or have questions about a specific part of that. I'm also trying to figure out how to make YouTube videos that I can upload to have this same effect...

Heyo. Gamesense mentoring worked for the few people who tried it (thanks for going out on a limb with me), but it's not really good for the long term.

I'm looking to take on another 2-3 medic mentees for the offseason and ESEA season 10. Message me if interested.

bumping because it's finals week, winter break is starting soon, and i'm bored. hit me up.