Kickstarting your RGL
career
Sponsored by TF2 Coaching Central: https://discord.gg/ybSYAd9
Table of Contents
Who is this for?
WHO IS THIS FOR?
- Newbie Cup Alumni (NA)
- Players who are generally interested in trying out Competitive TF2
- Players who want to move out of pugs and play in a real team
- For those interested in 6’s or Highlander
Differences in Structure
SEASON STRUCTURE
- Solo queue / pair queue into teams
Newbie Cup Structure (AS OF CUP 3)
- Assigned coach / coach + co-coach
- 3-4 weeks training period (1-2+ days a week)
- 2 days of official matches for 3+ hours
- Swiss format (matchups paired based on “performance ranking”)
- Find team and try out
- Teams are not given coaches
- 6s: 8 weeks, HL: 7 weeks
- Plus time for playoffs if you make it
- 1 match per week during season
- Each week you focus on 1 map
- Matches: Best of 1 map, only one half
- Playoffs: Best of 3 maps, only one half
- Matches: Best of 1 map, two halves
- Playoffs: Best of 3 maps, two halves
- Swiss format (matchups paired based on “performance ranking”)
Differences in Structure (League Fees)
SEASON STRUCTURE
- Like real sports associations, RGL is a paid league (with prize pools)
6’s
- However, for 6’s; only the divisions above Amateur are paid. Newcomer and Amateur are completely free.
- For HL, only Main+ is paid
The chart above lists all 6’s fees as of Season 17. Including player and ringer fees (yes, you have to pay for a person to ring for your team!)
- Note, as of writing; all RGL cups are also free!
Time Commitment
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday*
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
6’s
HL
HL
Days that are generally “allocated” to each format for scrims and officials. Default official match days are marked by the format’s colours
Time Commitment
- The RGL Competitive community uses EST (NA Eastern time) as a standard
Note: These are simply standards used by the community, different times for scrims and etc can be done!
Typical Scrim times:
8:30 PM EST
9:30 PM EST
10:30 PM EST
- Because each format has 3* days allotted to it, people most commonly scrim 2-3 times a week, twice a night for a format
- In each time slot given enough time, you will play 2 maps or 2 halves of the same map.
- On a typical scrim day you would play 4 maps in total
Time Commitment
Teams also do activities outside of scrims:
Team building
I) Hanging out
II) Playing other games
- Demo Reviews (Watching a scrim / match and go over strategy, what went wrong etc)
- Map Reviews
- DM Exercises (Deathmatch refers to mechanical skills i.e shooting, aiming, movement)
I) MGE (My Gaming Edge, a 1v1 SourceMOD)
II) Deathmatch Servers
III) Training Maps (Links at the end of the slide to some, including Tr_walkway_rc2, Tyler Rocket Shooting 3
IV) Aim Trainers (Koovaks, aimlab etc)
Time Commitment
- Remember that all of these are team dependant and very modifiable to the needs of you and your teammates
- Whether you want a chill, serious or in-between teams. You can spend less or more time based off your situation(s)
- A typical team spends about 3 days a week, 2 scrims on a scrim day which is about 2 hours a night ∴ 6 hours a week
- Teams spend anywhere from 4-10~ hours a week on scrims, demo reviews, map talks etc.
ADVICE FOR TEAMS LOOKING TO GET SERIOUS: Find a consistent weekly schedule and stick to it!
FINDING A TEAM
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FINDING A TEAM
The Newbie.tf Team Drive:
Shoutout to Tony Olsen, M17, RoGuE, Tino, FlipFTW, Arcadia for the work they put in :)
- Newbie.tf is a 6’s oriented coaching server that hosts detailed PUGS (Mixes) with coaches
- A couple weeks before the RGL season starts Newbie.tf runs a Team Drive
In the Team Drive they:
i) Set you up with a full roster for a Newcomer / Amateur 6’s team (+subs if available)
ii) Provide you with a guaranteed mentor to help you learn the format
iii) Set you up with people who have similar goals, availability and time zones
JOIN THE NEWBIE.TF DISCORD FOR THE TEAM DRIVE OR PUGS
Newbie.tf Perma Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/aGWfrkuTYV
Link to announcement for S8 6’s google link: https://discord.com/channels/320269500719300610/324931355425112065/924708077800943666
NOTE: For the future, check their announcements for when the drive is starting up.
GETTING FAMILIAR WITH RGL
FINDING A TEAM
Getting Set Up in RGL:
RGL DISCORD LINK: https://discord.com/invite/3hJsWu7
- Go to #recruitment-and-scrims and emoji react with the formats you would be interested in. This will allow you to see the varying channels that teams in each format use. You can also react with CUP for cup specific events.
- RGL also hosts Highlander / Prolander PUGS (6’s too, on pugs.tf.plus). Read through #pickup-games-setup and react with what levels of notifications you would like when PUGS are ran.
NOTE: PUG stands for Pick Up Game. A sports term for pseudo-randomly assigned teams played in a competitive format. Most PUG servers utilize team captains (think school dodgeball) or randomly assigned teams by a bot.
FINDING A TEAM
Choosing a Division:
When choosing what division you would like to play:
- What level of OFFICIAL MATCHES are enough of a challenge for you?
- Ask yourself how well you can handle mid / top of a division’s teams.
- If you want more of a challenge, try scrimming teams in divisions above you (best of both worlds).
NOTE: In 6’s any division IM+ is a paid division and has fees for playing and ringing! Make sure to check out RGL’s Seasonal Articles that get released. Here’s S17 6’s fees: https://rgl.gg/?a=1797&r=40
- Since RGL has become more strict on NC, you should definitely play if you have the ability to do so
RGL DISCORD LINK: https://discord.com/invite/3hJsWu7
FINDING A TEAM
Using the LFT / LFP channels:
- #looking-for-team-6’s are for individuals or smaller groups looking for an already existing team
to join. Only use this channel when looking to be approached by a team leader.
- Teams don’t really take initiative to search for players, as people would much rather be approached than approach someone
- #looking-for-players-6s are for TLS (Team Leaders) who want to advertise open positions within
their teams
- Read through the advertised positions by players and privately DM them if you are interested!
- Send them your message and include your RGL profile!
FINDING A TEAM
Example of a good direct message to a team leader:
FINDING A TEAM
Posting Etiquette:
Your order of operations for posting should look something like this
i) Whether you are looking for a player or team
ii) Interested Division(s)
iii) Class and Class Role (i.e Pocket scout, Flank soldier)
iv) Position type (main player or substitute)
Example of a good post
LFT AM Scout Starter
Since the Division Abbreviations are the easiest to mess up reading, capitalize the letters of your abbreviation. Ex. AM / IM instead of am / im.
Main = Main person who plays the class
Substitute = Subs in for when the main player(s) are unavailable
Ringer = Player outside of the team who plays for when neither starter or substitutes are available
FINDING A TEAM
QUICK TIP: Searching Players on Discord
Step 1: Enable channel in RGL’s Discord Server
FINDING A TEAM
QUICK TIP: Searching Players on Discord
Step 2: Copy User ID (Developer mode option)
Step 3: Type ?profile [user ID]
FINDING A TEAM
QUICK TIP: Searching Players on Discord
Step 4: Click Dyno’s Link
Step 5: Success!
NAVIGATING THE RGL WEBSITE
NAVIGATING THE RGL WEBSITE
Scroll down and click on Go To League for whatever format you’re interested in.
it doesn’t matter which one you actually pick, you can always go to each one very easily and ALL formats are displayed on your profile, just in different order.
NAVIGATING THE RGL WEBSITE
NAVIGATION
In the tab containing the format of the website you clicked on, you can always click on the format again to access different formats and past seasons!
You can also donate to RGL via the green icon and go back to the home landing page via the home button.
NAVIGATION
The league tab will be your least utilized one except for PLAYER SEARCH, which is quite useful to search up tryouts.
- if you sign in, you can use someone’s discord ID to search them!
It also includes some useful information like Map History, Server Configs, Registration and the archive of all RGL articles
NAVIGATION
The rules tab is where you can access the Global Ruleset and some information on how RGL does class restrictions
Most importantly it lets you access the RGL Doc website
The rest are fairly self-explanatory
NAVIGATION
Help is where you will be sending in reports, for cheating, misbehavior etc.
There’s also a section for guides and resources, plus some useful FAQ’s
NAVIGATION
The most frequently used section of the website will be the drop down of your profile. This is where you will access your career page, format team page and team management page as well as leaderboard rankings!
There’s also a merch tab if you’re into that kind of thing! P.S the frog one goes hard!
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
Go to the front page of RGL: https://rgl.gg/?showFront=true
Click on GO TO LEAGUE for the format you want to register in
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
Go to REGISTER NOW!
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
Click on Create Team
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
Select Brand New Team (unless you are making the same team but for a new season) and click continue
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
Select the settings you’d like for your team and the password. The tag can be anything but should be shorter than your team name or an abbreviation. The password will be used by players who want to join.
Don’t worry too much about a perfect password, players still have to be approved by Team Leaders and cannot just join with a password!
Note: You may be rejected for your preferred division and placed higher or lower.
Finally, click continue
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
Nice! Now for any management click on your profile and go to LEADER ACTIONS.
Leader actions will also pop up as a button when your team is fully ready
IMPORTANT NOTE: Make sure to complete registration so that your team has the status: Ready
REGISTERING A TEAM
Registering a team in RGL:
IMPORTANT NOTE: Someone joining a team and inputting the correct password does not automatically roster them!
They must be approved by a Team Leader!
This page is where you will: promote people to team leader, manage roster and change any team information
JOINING A TEAM
Joining a team in RGL:
Here you can look for teams too, allowing filters for divisions, classes, and roles!
JOINING A TEAM
Joining a team in RGL:
NAVIGATION
Navigating Your Team Page:
- Sign into RGL, on the front page you can see your mini-profile banner with all your currently rostered teams
NAVIGATION
Navigating Your Team Page:
You can also go to your profile anywhere from the site
NAVIGATION
Navigating Your Team Page:
Click on your team name to go to the team page!
NAVIGATION
Navigating Your Team Page:
Your team page is where you will find important information such as:�
- Roster
- Opponents
- Scores
- Find your match page
- Team Leaders
- Access Team Info
NAVIGATION
Navigating Your Team Page:
Pay attention to your match page!
- It will include some important rules, required configs and the Home Team must submit match scores!
- You must declare RINGERS in the match communications page or else your team will be penalized.
NAVIGATION
Support Tickets:
Support tickets are not just for emergencies! Use them if you need to ask a question, inquire about events etc!
FINDING A SERVER
SHOUTOUTS TO
SHOUTOUT TO: Aerie and Kodyn et al who make free server services for the comp tf2 community.
Make sure to support them!
FINDING A SERVER VIA SERVEME:
Supra and Haly have an excellent guide on serveme:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1583640769
Go to serveme.tf or na.serveme.tf
If you are in NA!
Then click on Get Server
FINDING A SERVER VIA SERVEME:
Select your desired settings, server location, time slots, map and config!
FINDING A SERVER VIA SERVEME:
Give your teammates and opponents the Connect Info by copying it with the copy button beside.
The last part of RCON; rcon_password “password” is what you would put in your console if you didn’t make the reservation for RCON access
NOTE: DO NOT GIVE RCON OUT TO PEOPLE YOU DON’T TRUST
FINDING A SERVER VIA QIXALITE:
Qixalite Discord Server: https://discord.gg/Eaar9nCecN
Join the Qixalite Discord Server!
NOTE: CURRENTLY AS OF SEPTEMBER 1 2023, QIXALITE HAS TAKEN DOWN THEIR SERVICES FOR TF2 FOR THE TIME BEING
FINDING A SERVER VIA QIXALITE:
Typing: status in chat will show what servers are available and in which regions.
To book a server, simply type: book (location). For example, book chi for a chicago server.
Reginald, the server bot will set up the server and DM you with all the information you will need.
Type in tf2-booking: unbook to close a server
FINDING A SERVER VIA QIXALITE:
Unlike Serveme, passwords are automatically created for you and randomized.
Note about Qixalite servers:
- They do not automatically run configs so you will need to exec them after the server starts
- They always start on badlands but can be changed
- Qixalite has a special config for pre-game which allows for 99 class limit and turns off special whitelists for taunts
- Qixalite automatically starts and ends due to inactivity so they aren’t reserved very long in advance like serveme
FINDING A SERVER VIA SERVEME:
That’s it! Server should take a minute or two to initialize. You put the connect info in your console (or use a discord bot for an auto link to click on, i.e Payload Neo) and join!
If you’re interested in getting Payload Neo for your team’s discord server: payload.tf
Basic RCON
BASIC RCON
CURRENT MAP VERSIONS USED IN RGL:
Put the map file into your map folder from the TF folder directory
BASIC RCON
IMPORTANT RCON COMMANDS:
If you are using a Qixalite server or you are not the original serveme booker; put this in your console to give yourself RCON privileges
NOTE: If you use Web RCON. You do not need to put in rcon before every command!
rcon_password (insert password here)
changelevel (map name here)
exec (config name here)
Kick (insert steam name or server ID here)
- Type status in your console to find the server id of the player
Mp_timelimit 30 (this will set the time limit to 30 minutes, you can set it to less if you have a scrim to go to and only 10 mins left to play)
All commands should be preceded by rcon (in console) or !rcon in chat
Mp_winlimit (this will set the number of round wins needed to end a match, ex: mp_winlimit 5 for 5cp scrims. You can set this number lower to end a match if it’s ended but there’s still time left on the clock!
BASIC RCON:
ALL IMPORTANT RGL CONFIGS:
rgl_6s_5cp_scrim
rgl_hl_stopwatch
rgl_hl_koth
rgl_7s_stopwatch
rgl_7s_koth
RGL 6’s:
RGL Highlander:
RGL Prolander:
rgl_6s_koth_scrim (for scrims)
rgl_6s_koth_match_pro (for officials)
rgl_6s_5cp_match_pro (for official matches)
DEMO FILES AND LOGS.TF
DEMO FILES AND LOGS.TF
SHOUT OUT TO ICEWIND AND ZOOOB FOR CREATING AND MAINTAINING DEMOS.TF AND LOGS.TF RESPECTIVELY
DEMO FILES
What are demo files?
- Chronological recording of game events from the Server’s or your game’s perspective.
- STV Demos:
- Game recording from the Server’s perspective using SourceTV plugin (enabled on on all Serveme and Quixalite servers, if you want to host your own personal server, make sure to have this sourcemod added!)
- POV Demos:
- Game recording from your computer’s perspective, is much more accurate but you cannot change perspectives and camera lock
NOTE: All leagues require you to record POV demos for all official matches (including cups!), RGL requires you to keep them for a maximum of 3 months after the match.
DEMO FILES
Use the demos.tf website to find uploaded STV demo files, click on the blue link to go and download them!
- To find your demos, click on your profile in the top right corner or use the player search bar
DEMO FILES
- Put the demo file into your TF folder (make sure the file name has no spaces or special characters!)
- Type playdemo into your developer console, click on the name that comes up or use the arrow keys to parse through them.
- Press enter to load the demo
DEMO FILES
- Type demoui to bring up the control panel for pausing, moving forward, speeding up or going to a particular tick
- You can also setup a bind for the demoui (or put it in your auto-exec)
Bind “KEY” “demoui”
- NOTE: It is a requirement for ALL RGL players to keep POV demo recordings from official matches for a maximum of 3 months after the match. A guide for POV demo recording will be in the slide for Extra Resources
LOGS.TF
- Logs.tf is a website that hosts pages with player statistics from matches that use a TF2 server plugin
- Serveme use this plugin by default
- Click on profile and sign in on the top right corner to find logs that include you. You can also search people in the top search bar
LOGS.TF
- Your profile will list server host, map, format, time-stamp and the number of people that viewed that log.
LOGS.TF
- Logs can be useful to identify potential problems (ex; a lot of deaths)
- Important Note: Remember, numbers are not the end all be all! Space made cannot be found on logs!
- Example of stats and useful info that can be found in logs
- Kills / Deaths
- Accuracy
- Total Healing, uber usage / Uber building time
- Chat logs
MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF AND NETWORKING
MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF:
WAYS OF MEETING PEOPLE IN TF2 COMP
- Play PUGs
- Ring for other teams: Check out the #looking-for-ringer(s) channel and DM people who are in need of one!
- Add people in MGE / Deathmatch servers to be practice partners
- Talk in chat! Join up in VC and public demo review sessions
Being fun to play with and having a good network can let you skip tryouts entirely, sometimes people will just ask you to play for them!
MAKING A NAME FOR YOURSELF:
PUG SERVERS (Mainly for lower div players)
Newbie.tf: Detailed Learning Oriented (mostly NA) 6’s PUGS: https://discord.gg/V6MBXk7REj
TF2CC: 6’s (mostly NA) > HL > Prolander PUGS: https://discord.gg/ybSYAd9
A.I PUGS n’ PALS: 6’s PUGS: https://discord.gg/cvsPhJgNjp
Potsfield Chamber of Commerce: HL PUGS: https://discord.gg/YbNjPAJUAp
Ask around in league discord servers!
PugHub Na 6’s PUGS: https://discord.com/invite/uVhtJqx9Y3
RGL also hosts HL and PL PUGS: https://discord.com/invite/3hJsWu7 , RGL PUGs
The Definitive List of PUG servers 2023 spreadsheet: linked here
TF2 PUG Website directory: https://pickup.tf/
EXTRA RESOURCES AND PLACES:
Newbie.tf TEAM LEADER GUIDE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oE3NAoZ_WwXWNRlzxiqfhRO-6qhalI0xxm_PE8ky9UM/edit
Mastercomm’s Custom Game Configs: https://mastercomfig.com/
Discord server: https://discord.gg/CuPb2zV
RGLs Demo Recording Guide: [TF2 Guide] How to Record Your Point of View - YouTube (not actually outdated, just don’t use prec)
RGL’s Doc site guides section: https://docs.rgl.gg/guides/welcome/
TF2CC Guides and Resources channel: https://discord.com/channels/727627956058325052/728033726608441374
Request a demo review: https://discord.com/channels/727627956058325052/751157930002350210
Comp.tf Competitive Wiki: https://comp.tf/
TF2 Comp Terms and Definitions: https://comp.tf/wiki/Glossary
EXTRA RESOURCES AND PLACES (OFFLINE MAPS):
TR_WALKWAY_RC2: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oE3NAoZ_WwXWNRlzxiqfhRO-6qhalI0xxm_PE8ky9UM/edit
TR_TYLER_ROCKETSHOOTING: https://www.teamfortress.tv/4808/tyler-rocket-shooting-map
ALT-LINK: https://gamebanana.com/mods/74806
EXTRA RESOURCES AND PLACES:
Extra Terms Glossary
- BM (Bad Manners)
- Refers to “disrespecting behavior”, i.e taunting, Tea Bagging, chat binds or standing still as you kill a target
- Logs
- Logs are pages of player statistics from a match or scrim on logs.tf
- PUGs
- Pick Up Games are “randomly” assigned teams that play in a competitive format for practice and fun!
- PUG - Scrim
- An established team versus a “randomly” assigned team
- Spoon
- The market gardener
- Minecraft
- Someone died to the escape plan
EXTRA RESOURCES AND PLACES:
Extra Terms Glossary
- Creature
- Going for very bizarre, odd plays
- B4nny bind / Resup Bind
- A key bound to a tf2 loadout allowing you to resupply while in spawn without using the cabinets
- Rat / Ratting
- Going for selfish plays involving hiding spots
- Double Sac
- The Roamer and Flank Scout both sacrifice for an important pick (demo / medic) or to force the enemy team to use uber
- 4 Man Sac
- Sending 4 players to die to kill the medic or force them to use uber. A common strategy on KOTH maps
- Seed / Seeding
- Your position in the seasonal leaderboard and what ranking you are
F I N