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[Fare thee well]

Hey GAFers,

How many of you enjoy the ideas, style and potential behind competitive/multiplayer games, but just find you just reach a low personal success rate no matter how hard you try? How do you deal with it?

I've always had to work hard and take every advantage I can get to keep up with the speed of things. I think if I dedicate enough time I can get fairly okay with a game, but it's interesting to notice when you are just hitting the limit of your capability. How many of you just casually accept it and keep on going? Or do you primarily move to games that remove the competitive elements (co-op, singleplayer)? Maybe you stick to specific genres to keep an edge? Maybe it's getting older or having a poor mental state? Maybe you just limit your time playing these types of games?

Recently I've gotten back into fooling around in Mordhau. It's a really fun and memey sword slinging game, but I would argue the skillcap feels insanely high. Still looks beautiful today especially with all that glorious customization, but gdam. It feels like every player is above rank 200 and it's so hard to improve. Sometimes when I practice at it, it even feels like I'm getting worse, haha .

Now obviously this isn't directed at people who find themselves on the top score of every game they play, but what does everyone else think?

 

[clintar]

I play Quake Champions. Sometimes I think I'm pretty good, then I get destroyed for 3 or 4 days straight. To deal with my impotence, I usually swear a lot, uninstall, then wait a whole day to install again and keep playing.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

I don't like competitive games, cept fighting games, those I love.
Probably because it's 1v1 and a lot of it comes down to mind games and recognising opportunities, don't mind losing either cause it always feels like I'm learning something.
Most shooters do nothing for me, especially those BR games; getting killed by some random person you never saw isn't my idea of a fun time.

 

[nush]

I'm shit at competitive online games, I accept this, I don't want to git gud but I have fun for a while and then play something else. I did like Splatoon though as it was team based and I could just focus on painting the map.

 

[teezzy]

Getting my ass handed to me repeatedly was just a way of life in Tekken

Learn or die

 

[eNT1TY]

"They shout and curse, stabbing wildly; more brawlers than warriors. They make a wondrous mess of things. Brave amateurs, they do their part."

 

[RavageX]

The latest game to do this was Chivalry 2. I like it, and I rarely do online focused games. I get my head lopped off, smashed in, along with other limbs constantly.

I suck at it, but the fact there are objectives helps.

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[struggler_guts]

If I'm insanely bad like in starcraft i stick to SP but if I can get good enough to have fun competing like rocket league I'll stick with it

 

[SpiceRacz]

I've been playing League of Legends for over a decade and I'm still garbage. I know my ceiling and I'm okay with that.

 

[Nico_D]

Used to play Splatoon a lot. I wasn't even near to the top but maybe around the best 70 %. That was high skill ceiling. It needed some personal growth before I could accept it but after that I was fine with it and just kept on playing.

 

[Sakura]

The only competitive game I play is CSGO. I've been terrible at it forever and I don't care.

 

[Tschumi]

I played battlefield 1 a year ago.. i enjoyed it, but it didn't take long before i realised that people had memorised every single place a head might pop up on a map and got headshots down to a fine art.. either that or they cheated.. anyway that was the last time i did online fps'ing, probably ever

 

[Flash Junkins]

I went from going like 23-4 in about every red dead redemption game....every game to the point of being banned and "investigated" by rockstar to going 4-11 in Halo Infinity.

My time has passed but I still have fun.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

The only MP game that I play in my late 30s is Halo Infinite. I love it because a person with higher IQ will always beat person with better aim. If there’s no desync with the server that is.

 

[Aion002]

I used to be really good on fps/tps games, as I got older and the lesser I played I ended up becoming quite bad at it.


The same thing as playing as rangers on Smite.

Basically, I am terrible at aiming.

Everything else seems fine... So far.

Also...



That's basically my experience on League.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

I'm getting old. And I feel like I'm getting worse at my multiplayer games despite putting a lot of time and effort into them. I deal with it by lashing out in chat if anyone in the lobby irks me in even the slightest way.

 

[kanjobazooie]

I rarely play competitive games these days, but when I do, I don't think about winning them. I just focus on small victories. lmao

Examples of small victories:
- Reducing the opponent health to half in a fighting game
- Landing a few shots here and there in a shooter
- Assisting in kills, or covering/reviving someone

Just doing something meaningful in these games is a win in my book.

 

[p_xavier]

I have arthritis in my left hand, never could do online gaming because I'm less agile. So I only play single player games. The hard games coming out are pissing me out because I physically am not capable to beat them.

 

[cormack12]

You just have to find a playstyle. Unless you play a single online game, it's rare you will come off better in 1 v 1 overall. You'll usually hover 1:1 or just above/below. Which is fine. I don't have time to do what I did years ago and just sit there for hours playing de_dust2 to be a headshot machine. That's why I was hoping Battlefield would be decent again because I like all the extra ways to contribute.

I just play co-op games mainly now. I did play Halo MP and had a few cracking games but I can see the long term investment required and know I'm not going to do it. Some games affect me more though. Like PGA or Tennis is 1 v 1 and I'm fine playing that and losing or winning. Something like Fifa or PES though really fucking pisses me off with the various meta's etc.

 

[Gameplaylover]

Years ago i was really good at Chivalry, Paladins, WOW and Lead and Gold, but i don't have a gaming Pc anymore. But meanwhile i'm on console and not that ambitious anymore.

I just want to have fun playing. I'm mostly not very good at Halo and make a lot of mistakes, but i learned to laugh at myself and still enjoy it. Yesterday i highjacked a Warthog with 3 enemies and wanted to drive them into the abyss, but i didn't check that my mates had the same idea and the Warthog was finally full of allies. I Also failed at jumping out and it ended in 3 dead allies including me.

 

[Wildebeest]

I just look back nostalgically at the times when I climbed to the lofty heights of being average. When these competitive players start talking about how important their matchmaking and ladders are for the longevity of a game, I just groan and facepalm.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

I don't even know what it's like to lose tbh

 

[Y0ssarian]

I was playing Halo Infinite Arena in the bot bootcamp and someone had the gall to comment on my sniper skills, that I picked up off a dead bot I had killed.

I had no deaths and was hitting my targets - but wasn't getting headshots every time. "Don't use the sniper rifle". "Your shots are missing."

Uninstalled and haven't gone back. Don't need that shit in a fucking bot bootcamp match

 

[Ebidramon]

When it comes to online games, almost always I prefer cooperating with other players (for example Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker), rather than playing against them.

 

[Cornbread78]

I feel ya OP. I love playing MP games, but as I get older I keep falling behind more & more..... It kinda hurts when games don't use any sbmm to help people out now...

 

[Men_in_Boxes]

Seek out multiplayer games that are (Sid Meier) "A series of interesting decisions" rather than a repetitive test of reflexes.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

I gave up playing comp games and just started playing GTA & Driving games instead.

 

[Setsuna Mudou]

Practice and you'll get good at anything. And if you do find yourself not progressing, maybe look into videos of good players. You'll pick up on good spots, tactics, some game sense and all kinds of knowledge you just won't get by replaying by yourself.
Yes, reflexes go a bit down with age, but not enough you wouldn't be able to compete given enough time and study.

Also make sure you enjoy the game enough to keep pushing yourself. The people that do best, do it because they really love it.

 

[Scotty W]

I play Panel de Pon on Switch Online and what used to take 8 hours now takes about 30 minutes.

 

[JimboJones]

I used to think I played Halo Reach a lot back in the day when I looked at my accumulated time playing it over the first year but then you see people who started last month that have accumulated the same amount of hours you did.
It hard to compete against people like that

 

[PuppetMaster]

I admit, it is a heavy burden. Being one of the greatest of all time.

But I like to think I carry it it with poise and dignity.

 

[Calverz]

I love them. Especially ones with a proper ranking system. Siege is up there. And now halo infinite. I like to challenge myself as it’s in those desperate moments, I get the most satisfaction.

 

[Knightime_X]

It's not a job that I'm getting paid for so I don't mind if I'm under performing.

And even if I'm doing well it's not going to last forever so I just enjoy it one day at a time.

 

[Captain Toad]

Rocket League has one of the best algorithms to ensure you're always playing similar skill levels. It keeps the game fun for new players to pros and everyone in-between.

 

[Bernd Lauert]

I can't deal with it, so I don't play competitive games. Last time I played one was FIFA, and I played it for two months and easily 4+ hours a day until I got good enough to reach Division 1. Ultimately wasted way too much time and it was more exhausting than fun.

 

[ksdixon]

I tend to play to my strengths. On tlou mp I kinda suck at gunplay, so im the team medic, crouched behind boxes bandaging my teammate who's in a standoff, so he's regaining life and should win the gun fight handily. Or if a team mate goes down i rush in with revivor 3 and get them back up before the enemy can advance, and i try to then assist in a "so-called 2on1 advantage".

Other times im spotting and marking enemies for teammates, so we can watch enemy mobement patterns as they glow through walls. You can mark a whole enemy team if theyre huddled together, and send a bomb down and see how they scatter, or if they go down etc.

 

[K' Dash]

Playing with your friends is the fun part.

Getting destroyed doesn't bother me as much when I'm shit talking with my friends.

 

[Black_Stride]

All the time.
Im not 18 anymore Im just not quick enough for some of these things.

• Fighting games, let me just win a round or do one cool combo.
• Battlefield I just PTFO and dont care if I die a million times.
• Call of Duty I just stopped playing....it started getting really sad.
• Racing games....NOT last!
• Battle royale....im too old for this shit.

 

[RoboFu]

I’ve always been horrible at online shooters. I just can’t aim fast enough…
Yet I find mouse and keyboard too cheap and easy. So I just don’t play.

 

[Sleepwalker]

I used to be a pro player until recently. Some things were awesome, like getting to travel around the world and meeting tons of people but I'm glad it's over.

Im way more chill about my games nowadays and love a single player game.

 

[Fake]

I don't even know what it's like to lose tbh

You will lose in Goodbye Volcano High multiplayer.

 

[DaGwaphics]

I played battlefield 1 a year ago.. i enjoyed it, but it didn't take long before i realised that people had memorised every single place a head might pop up on a map and got headshots down to a fine art.. either that or they cheated.. anyway that was the last time i did online fps'ing, probably ever

This is me in every online shooter. Failing badly can still be fun so I get some enjoyment out of trying to complete some of the GP quests. Not something I do on a regular basis because it feels like you might be ruining the game for the serious players around you.

 

[ReBurn]

Getting my ass handed to me repeatedly was just a way of life in Tekken

Learn or die

This is how it is. That's why I normally only play fighting games online. All that matters is how good you are in that moment.

I quit playing most other online games because the progression systems are geared more toward making people feel good about the hours they spend playing more than their ability to play games well. People becoming more powerful through stats or level-based drops/powers because they play longer makes sense in a tabletop RPG. But it killed the experience of many online multiplayer games for me over the last two generations. Some kid who soaks 72 hours in one week into an online game and gets a super powerful level-based weapon to spam for two hit kills ruins the game. Then when you get in close and kill them because they actually suck at the game they spam you with butthurt messages and report you for abuse. So I stick to playing only with friends and to a few fighters like Tekken and Soul Calibur. And Mario Kart on Switch is usually fun online no matter who you play with.

 

[ReBurn]

I play Panel de Pon on Switch Online and what used to take 8 hours now takes about 30 minutes.

It's great fun. For those not familiar it was also released by Nintendo outside of Japan as Tetris Attack. I play it a lot but I'm still not good at all. My friends obliterate me when we play online.

 

[kyussman]

I don't play multiplayer these days....but back when I used to I realised very quickly I couldn't shoot straight for shit,lol......so I always played support roles.....that's why I enjoyed the Killzone games multiplayer so much,I always found the support roles a lot of fun.

 

[Decontamination Silo]

I'm old and play PC games with a controller from the couch so I'm not very competitive. However in previous Battlefield games I could still contribute and get a good score playing medic or engineer. That's all gone in 2042. I play some casual PvE stuff to, Division, Killing Floor 2, Destiny etc. Just no raids.

 

[Kupfer]

I always have very high expectations of myself and, if I invest time and effort, I want to be as good and efficient as possible. I've noticed over the years that some of my friends are similar and play their games that way, but others are not. In both cases, it would eventually become toxic if someone in the first group couldn't keep up, or if my friends in the second group didn't meet my standards for the game.
I had to admit to myself at some point that the toxic behavior and resulting bad mood was the complete opposite of why I originally played games - for fun.
The fun got lost at some point while trying to get better and better, and I realized it with Warzone at the latest. You can't get past a certain level in this game because the SBMM completely blocks your path and motivation.
After I saw and realized how reckless people are cheatIng in "my" games and nobody cares, I just couldn't find any sense in playing competitive no more. I don't play any competitive online games anymore, except for Hell Let Loose (on PS5, because there are no cheaters and it's not about your personal score but the teamwork, it also doesn't feel competitive somehow, more like a coop game or 100ppl meeting having fun - reminds me of the old BF1942/2 mod-days), and I have much more fun playing single player or cooperative games.

 

[Griffon]

Can't play MOBA nor RTS games anymore, it fucking hurts my hands just thinking about it.

 

[OverHeat]

I’m getting old so I accept that I won’t be onyx in Halo infinite.