I started playing this game a few days ago, and I had no idea this was missing from my life. Unfortunately, I was spoiled last night playing with a group of people I knew that was actually able to utilize teamwork instead of everybody just endlessly rushing the ball in one big mashup of suck. It led to the most fun I had today playing 2 vs 2.
Honestly, it is already getting tiring playing with people that just plain suck. They don't watch the ball, predict movements, wait for their chance if the ball pops up in the air in an inconvenient place, or make any attempt to work with their teammates. I can't count the number of times a teammate has bashed me aside trying to take the ball, or came in and slammed the ball off to the side when I was an inch away from hitting it for a goal. One of the greatest offenses is thinking they can save the ball while rushing it from the side that will send it right into our goal with no intent of trying to get around it. They basically try to just hit it really hard at the goal and hope it goes off to the side or bounces off above. If you end up playing with an AI on your team because the servers are being disagreeable, that's when you really notice the discrepancy in skill. The AI works with your shots and outmaneuvers most actual people. I played a 2 vs 2 earlier where the other team ultimately left because I had an AI on my team that got a ridiculous 1,100 points during the match, a lot of its shots made off of my assists.
Don't get me wrong. I was a pretty terrible player just yesterday morning making many of these same mistakes, but it took only an hour playing with people that I knew, basically silent teamwork, to hit a point where working with the team rather than against it became the most natural thing in the world. Now I've had a few good 3 vs 3 matches today that reflected other people learning these same lessons, and we ultimately kicked all kinds of ass. I've had even more matches though where I had teammates get more goals for the opponents than the opponents did, or where they messed up shot after shot by insisting that they had to be the one to hit it even if their hit would do nothing but compromise the point that it sometimes took two minutes to just almost get. The worst is when the countdown finishes, and everybody just sits there regardless of their position thinking they should defend the goal just in case, then fail to actually block the clear shot to the goal the opponents take as they bash everybody around trying to get the save.
All in all, the game definitely needs some time for player skill to mature. A lot of people would benefit from playing with people that would actually hold them accountable for being a big bundle of suck and losing matches because they're too focused on trying to be the star.
