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Accepting your personal limit/capability in a multiplayer/competitive game

I fucking suck at everything as soon as it becomes multiplayer. I can hotlap in racing games like a pro and toy with even the best AI but as soon as I know the other cars are people I become Mr. Walleater McWhat'sasteeringwheel?

I still try though, at least I don't cause corner pileups...
 

VN1X

Banned
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.
Haha this is me with both QC and Hunt Showdown.

Where you from btw? Would be nice to maybe get some QC matches going? :lollipop_grinning:
 
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EverydayBeast

thinks Halo Infinite is a new graphical benchmark
Play defensively, run out the clock if you’re playing objective based games, win or lose score points if that’s your mindset, offensively if you’re a sniper stick together with a medic and a mountain. If you’re an assault class you have to lead the charge.
 

VN1X

Banned
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?
I'm 34 but still pretty decent at old-school type shooters that require 'game sense' and pure aim such as Counter-Strike, Hunt: Showdown, Quake, etc. I reached the highest in-game rank in CS:GO in 2016 (and have been up and down from Global to Supreme and back since then) which I was pretty proud of to be honest haha.

XSisacI.jpg


Back then the rank distribution of the matchmaking was this:

jJzIpcF.png


However as soon as you introduce mechanics such as the ones present in Fortnite or whatever I'm absolutely dreadful and just can't keep up (nor would I want to though lol). I'm also awful at competitive RTS or fighting games. I would love to wrap my head around a MOBA such as League but I fear I'd be 4000 hours in before even getting slightly competent so I'll stick to shooters while I am still decent at those hehe.
 
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Bo_Hazem

Banned
I'm usually at the top of the food chain so never accord to me. At 36 and feel I'm at my prime so far, much better than before. But there are certain games that I'm not good at due to preference or for being more narrow-focused. Multi-tasking isn't my strength so strategic games are pretty tricky to me, although I can get good if I played more but they just don't click.
 
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BigBooper

Member
I haven't been deep into a competitive game since CS:Source forever ago. I've played a few but i just don't take the competition very seriously. Last night I played BF1 for a few hours after not playing for around a year. I'm still at least better than most who were playing and I had one really good round.

I guess if I was always at the bottom of the scoreboard I'd probably feel worse about it, but you've got to be truly retarded to wind up there. Like shooting at your own feet all match or something.

Now, for BR I am towards the bottom of the list because I don't like the gameplay and don't want to take the time to learn the maps so I've never gotten good at one of those.
 
I'm getting older and surely don't have the reflexes I had as a younger man, but I've been pretty good in Virtua Fighter 5 FS online not so long ago - ranked pretty high. But I love that series so much that I really dedicated myself to it.

I was ranked in the top 100 on NFL2K5 on the PS2 back in the day. Granted, the player base was much smaller than games of today.

I enjoyed Rocket League for a long while, despite never being a really good player. But that game allows you to kind of find your level so that a good time can still be had.

On the other side of the coin, I'm garbage at online shooters. Granted, I don't really enjoy them or play them much - maybe because I'm so bad, lol - but I feel like I'm just running around getting clipped constantly by everyone, just spinning around saying "Where'd that come from!?!" :p I remember my child wanted me to get into TF2 to play together several years ago, and I tried, but man was I absolutely lost and pathetic. I just came to accept that it wasn't something I was going to excel at at - or even be modestly competent. I accepted the trash that I am. :p

Generally speaking, I don't play much in the way of online competitive games. I'm much more of a single player guy. But if I do play and I'm constantly over-matched, I won't beat my head against the wall. I don't derive my self-worth from pushing buttons better than other people. :p
 

MetalRain

Member
For multiplayer I mostly play games like Call of Duty or Battlefield, I think they are more forgiving than CS:GO or such.

How do I deal with being bad? Well sometimes I feel useless, I've had rounds where I have 0 kills and 10 deaths. Then playing feels kind of pointless, but most rounds are not quite like that. I can find some good moments with most rounds even if my net contribution can be negative.

I guess it's more about limiting the scope of competition. I don't strive to be the best or even good player, I just want to play some rounds and feel good. And that feeling comes from small personal victories, getting one life where you can surprise the enemy players and get two or three kills. Then I don't really remember the lives where I just don't get anything done.
 

Kilau

Gold Member
For most games it comes down to time. A moderate amount of skill paired with the time dedication to learn the ins and outs of a game is all you need to be successful in most online modes. I simply do not have the time anymore. I'll get destroyed by the guys that only play that one game each day for hours a day but it's not important to me.

The exception for me is fighting games. I have never been able to consistently pull off combos, it's beyond my ability.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
I have totally made peace with being Gold, maybe Platinum at best in Halo. Always been that way. Beyond that level you need to start tracking spawn points and opponents and communicating constantly.
 

Kikorin

Member
I was used to get salty during Smash Bros. Online after some lost. Luckily just happened online and not during offline tournaments, where I always enjoyed games even when losing (and I've losed a lot since I've not much time to play as a full time worker, so I was pretty average).

Some months later, I've seen some episodes of anime Pokémon after lots of years and I've seen as Ash taken every L with smile and good mentality, like "I can improve from that" and for some reasons I've been able to do the same. Then I've decided that I'm too old to play competitive multiplayer and I've come back to single player.
 
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Jaybe

Member
I enjoyed Rocket League for a long while, despite never being a really good player. But that game allows you to kind of find your level so that a good time can still be had.

Same here. Rocket League must have excellent skill based matchmaking because I would always feel like I was winning half the games and losing the other half. I guess at lower skill levels it’s not overly quick reflex dependent. More about positioning and spatial awareness.

With shooters, I generally prefer free for all modes. That way I’m not letting down my team.

Gears 5 competitive I liked a bit, seemed slower place with king of the hill having some more strategy to it. At some point I’ll sink a bit more time into Halo infinite now that there are slayer only playlists.
 
Just keep going.

I was shit at Call Of Duty Cold War and always had the lowest kills on my team and a ton of deaths.

Now I'm consistently getting the highest kills on my team playing ultra aggressive and sometimes camping (for the lolz).

I don't enjoy the easy matches. It's the matches that I'm forced to think, observe the enemy patterns of attack amd adapt to win the march that gives me the biggest rush.

So yeah just keep going and things will start to click.

BTW Merry Christmas to you fellow beautiful GAF members ❤
 
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Smasher89

Member
I rarely get close to my limit, but once had a tournament set in smash bros melee where a hit from Nana at like 15% (when both climbers were separated) lead to zero to death on a very good opponent, ended up killing his mindset and sweep 3-0 quickly in the first 15 seconds of the game, i felt i was close to that limit. Actually felt the physical limit as i was only able to keep that level of play until like 3am, 4am or whenever the final sets were playing at the tournament, someone made a unexpected comment and energy kinda drained and i ran out of juice. Made some money atleast, even if i didnt take the first place win that (kinda stacked) tournament.
 
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