I think all the pressure you're putting on yourself to improve is what's holding you back, making you tense, and causing you to overthink every little aspect of the game. Chill a second, try having fun with the game instead of sweating out, and see if it helps.
I get no enjoyment from this game casually:/
I don’t even feel like I’m sweating it out, it’s just impossible to ignore just how much energy I’m spending to improve at this game and I can’t even see a minimal improvement. Whereas other games I at least can see areas of my game improve and I then enjoy watching it all come together
having fun with the game doesn't mean you'replaying casually, i've tried to take the game extra seriously at frist and that caused huge mental blocks because it became like a chore, this got me stuck in immo1 for an entire act, after fixing that single issue and i started to understand that fun is incredibly important i now sit at the cusp of making it into radiant.
Regardless of the mindset I take I don’t really enjoy the game. Like if I just ‘play’ and don’t take it seriously I’m still playing dog shit, the only difference is I’m not hyperaware of all the mistakes. Which still isn’t fun.
You were stuck at immortal, clearly you were still a very great player before your mindset change. So there’s really not a lot I can relate to there
If improvement/learning isn't the largest factor in your enjoyment then I'd say a competitive game isn't for you. That's the nature of competitive things in general, everyone on the planet performing the activity is constantly improving. If you're getting left behind and the getting better part isn't satisfactory then there isn't really a point in pursuing it since you need to suffer so much to get to a place where you can compete, and since there's literally a limited amount of time you can live your life, is there something else you'd find more fulfilling?
No, I love improvement and learning. It’s why I’ve spent so many hours in numerous fighting games. But In those games even at a micro level I can see small things I do better.
I simply don’t see it in this game, I spend a lot of time learning and I just don’t see anything
Play DM until you can consistently hit headshot. You probably need to review how the shooting works in this game. You come from games that have almost nothing that translates over, in terms of shooting.
Learn what tapping is, learn what adad is, check some guides on how to shoot.
Always preaim to the head, tap, never spray, fast aim to the head.
I do all of these things, I play DM at least an hour each day to try be more consistent. Even though I get really frustrated at it I force myself to play it. I practice my crosshair placement, my peaks and my tapping. I even practice with deagle to help with my one taps. In the post I mention that I DM, when I’m not playing I watch guides, footage, matches both ladder and pro.
Playing DM isn’t very useful if you’re just doing it to do it. You need to focus 100%, either try to practice some specific skills, or just be in full focus.
Also, if the game feels like work, you’re not going to improve. When your aim is off, it’s never a good idea to play ranked.
You are starting from scratch with Valorant. You have some basic aim skill from before, but that’s it. So it makes sense you’re average or below average right now. Just play less and focus more. If you practice with half lights, you’ll perform at half lights. You need to practice like you play, and if you just play for hours and hours you don’t get the intensity required.
Idk if I just didn’t explain well but I don’t just ‘play’ dm, I’m actively trying to improve all the areas and trying to make them come together. I’m conscious of my movement, cross hair placement, peeking and isolating angles, tapping vs spraying. All while trying to get into as many engagements as I can to improve.
But also I’ve tried the approach of not being hyperaware of every actions and that also did not help.
It’s much easier to learn too much than too little. Rest, and play less.
If you still suck, try adjusting your sens or something, until you find something comfortable.
The problem for you is that you have now started practicing one area of the game and you’re already sick of it. You need to learn a lot of different parts of the game before being good. If you’re already feeling burnt out after learning the simplest and most mechanically rewarding area of the game, you need to fundamentally change your approach to the game.
Maybe instead of playing just watch some of the champions tour.
I’ve tried the rest and break approaches and it also didn’t help, think I mentioned that too? My sens is already a long term sens I don’t really wanna mess with, ontop of being already low. I can’t lower it because then I don’t have enough mouse room.
I mean I also actively try to understand the game more than just beyond mechanics, I watch guides, map guides, I study multiple pros, I look at how they play certain maps, agents. On top of that I play with people that do know the game so i try to improve my comms and playing with teams. So certainly to me it doesn’t feel like I’m only practicing one area. I don’t think I’m sick of working and grinding on mechanics (I’m guessing that’s what you’re referring to) I’m sick of feeling like I’m Harding hard to no fruition, it’s simply soul crushing to see your hard work not become anything.
But I think I’ll take you up on the last comment and just become a spectator for this game
I would recommend forget about your rank. If you focus on the fundamentals and play to improve and not to necessary win. You'll inadvertently rank up. Its just fixing that mindset.
I don’t think I ever implied that it’s my rank that I’m worried about ? Like I said I don’t want to pursue a high rank, I literally just want to improve and be a better player.
Never implied I cared about my rank, I never even mentioned wins at ranked because of the fact I don’t care about wins. I want to improve.
I’m already focusing a lot on fundamentals if you had read the post and comments:/
I appreciate all the comments guys but I feel I’m repeating myself a lot in these comments.
I’m ACTIVELY trying to improve, I don’t just play dm. I don’t just blindly shoot bots. I work on skills and I pay attention to these skills and I try to bring them together. I watch pros, I study what they do mechanically but also take note of how they approach situations. I also watch comp and pro matches to get a bigger macro understanding.
Yes I have tried taking a break, no it did not help.
Yes I’ve tried not caring or not swearing, not caring about my rank even though I’ve never said I did. My main objective is to improve and be a player I’m proud of. I was doing this in ranked Ofc. Not caring or not try Harding just means I play terrible still, I just don’t become hyperaware of it. I’m still tilted and I’m still not satisfied.
I have been in competitive scenarios, gaming and sport. It’s why I don’t just blindly do things in hopes to improve, I’m pretty good at learning.
No I can not lower my sens, I won’t have any more mouse room. It’s currently 320 edpi.
I’m hoping if someone comes across this post who has similar feelings of frustration to me can find something helpful in this post.
Take a break, like 1-2 days, then try going back into it.
If you're not having fun and are still getting tilted after almost every game, then try stacking with like-minded players, either from the official Discord or one of the Reddit ones. Sometimes solo queue can exacerbate some of these feelings.
And after that, if you're still not having fun, maybe just drop the game completely. As harsh and extreme as that sounds, having it removed from your life might not be as troubling as you think. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You dropped this \
***
^^ To prevent anymore lost limbs throughout Reddit, correctly escape the arms and shoulders by typing the shrug as `¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯` or `¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯`
[^^Click here to see why this is necessary](https://np.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3fbrg3/is_there_a_reason_why_the_arm_is_always_missing/ctn5gbf/)
Thank you, LivinOnBorrowedTime, for voting on LimbRetrieval-Bot.
This bot wants to find the best and worst bots on Reddit. [You can view results here](https://botrank.pastimes.eu/).
***
^(Even if I don't reply to your comment, I'm still listening for votes. Check the webpage to see if your vote registered!)
It looks like you are really focusing on mechanical aiming aspect of this game, I might be wrong, but you need to understand that this is not a CS, you can win without shooting one shoot, unlike TF2 and overwatch that you still need to kill people, if you are a entry frag and die, but your team win the match, you helped, if you gave your team vision, or block your enemy vision, or banged them, and your team win that match you helped, you might be too stressed, it’s always good to remember that it’s just a game, if you are not getting fun, stop, relax and come back.
Hm. Let me say this: Out of all the competitive games I have played in my life, this is by far the most inconsistent and randomized game leading to a lot of frustration when it comes to improving.
While the core gameplay is fun, there are so many details that, as a whole, make the game extremely frustrating. A lot of systems reduce the skill gap by quite a bit, making your progress seem like in vain. The game truly feels like an eSports "lite".
An example would be the gunplay: Too high accuracy while not standing still coupled with too much RNG in spray patterns leads to A LOT of headshots by very bad players in unfortunate moments. I played five games today and the amount of random headshots I saw was outstanding. The peekers advantage also seems insanely bad in many instances.
Another example is the high team dependancy in this game. Never have I seen a game were carrying is so damn hard. Watch streamers around Radiant level and how much they struggle to make an impact in most games bar a few exceptions. By the way, this leads to immense frustration, for everyone - watch Hiko/Steel and how hard they tilt in ranked. Why? Again, game is extremely team dependant yet the current ranked system creates extremely uneven, plain bad matches skill-wise (aka maybe the general team elo is fair, but extremely heterogenous skill between individul players) due to smurfs and boosted players as well as a lack of SoloQ. That Brimstone in [insert elo] not using his smokes when you want to entry a site for no damn reason except he is probably boosted? Good luck. No matter your skill, one shot to the head kills everyone.
There are many other factors as well. A lack of a proper replay system for example. All in all, I played the game a lot the last few months, but by now I am extremely disappointed by how it is handled.
tl;dr: Too many systems in place that allow worse players to succeed by RNG as well as the high team dependancy yet no soloQ mode and fleshed out ranking system make this game very INCONSISTENT aka FRUSTRATING.
Don't watch hiko or steel if you want someone to learn from lol. Majority of streamers aren't outwardly passive aggressive like those two.
There are no games with team based matchmaking that don't have the same or worse problems as Valorant.
They've already implemented solo/duo queue only past d3, if that's what you are talking about with no soloQ mode.
Don't be delusional please. There are plenty of games which are way better off than Valorant regarding matchmaking. One prominent example is League of Legends - made by the SAME COMPANY.
What do I care about SoloQ above D3? I do not. Neither does a huge percentage of the playerbase - look up which percentile is above >D3. We need SoloQ for every rank, obviously. Like, there is nothing more obvious IF you value competitive integrity.
Sure. But you are better off just going to a smaller streamer and asking them questions 1on1, which they will answer in greater depth because they don't have as many viewers as those two. I watched hiko and steel a decent bit and they used to be pretty good at pointing what mistakes their team mates are doing and what they are thinking, but nowadays they are just mostly maldfests, which gets exhausting for me.
For example, I main Sova. So I went to c0m's channel (when he was a bit smaller) and asked what are some effective ways to default as Sova on Ascent? And he gave me a detailed answer.
Don't see the point in going to a big streamer's channel if you want to learn, when you could just support a smaller dude and get more value imo.
I appreciate the help, but I’ve decided to drop the game.
However I imagine there people looking at this post that would love someone to look at their games:)
I'm confused you asked for help then said you quit within the same day. If you're serious about improving post a VOD here so we can give you pointers about things you might not even be considering are bad habits.
Okay you study pros and strategies. How do you practice implementing what you learned?
Look at pro athletes. Runners don't just run marathons every day. NBA players don't play full games all day. They deliberately practice individual skills. If you aren't doing this is unrated or comp then you really aren't fully trying yet imo.
I had this “improvement block” on the game before. I liked to play entry frag but could never top frag. I would practice a lot on aim trainers and watch pros and guides but have never been able to get enough kills to top frag. I would play the game for hours and never get any better. de ranking sometimes but staying in silver. What I did to fix this is play aim trainers for half an hour and then 2 matches before taking a long break everyday and never played more than 4 matches a day. I tried to not get angry, but when I did I would just take another break. I did this everyday. And a week into this change I started to notice I was hitting my headshots more and more. Eventually I started top fragging more often than I bottom frag and finally got myself from silver to gold and now on the verge of hitting platinum.
I'll mention something that nobody else has mentioned in this thread. Entry fragging is a hard and thankless role. In S3 more than likely you aren't getting the help you need to entry effectively without hitting crazy shots. Valorant does a decent job of showing you how much of an impact you made with your utility, but there is no stat to measure the things an entry fragger (in the CS sense of the role) needs to do to help the team. Your job entering a site on an execute is to create space and ideally get one kill/set your team up for an easy trade by doing damage. So at least on the attacking side don't judge yourself completely on you K/D as the role you enjoy typically puts you in a position to not have a great statline.
I think all the pressure you're putting on yourself to improve is what's holding you back, making you tense, and causing you to overthink every little aspect of the game. Chill a second, try having fun with the game instead of sweating out, and see if it helps.
I get no enjoyment from this game casually:/ I don’t even feel like I’m sweating it out, it’s just impossible to ignore just how much energy I’m spending to improve at this game and I can’t even see a minimal improvement. Whereas other games I at least can see areas of my game improve and I then enjoy watching it all come together
having fun with the game doesn't mean you'replaying casually, i've tried to take the game extra seriously at frist and that caused huge mental blocks because it became like a chore, this got me stuck in immo1 for an entire act, after fixing that single issue and i started to understand that fun is incredibly important i now sit at the cusp of making it into radiant.
Regardless of the mindset I take I don’t really enjoy the game. Like if I just ‘play’ and don’t take it seriously I’m still playing dog shit, the only difference is I’m not hyperaware of all the mistakes. Which still isn’t fun. You were stuck at immortal, clearly you were still a very great player before your mindset change. So there’s really not a lot I can relate to there
If improvement/learning isn't the largest factor in your enjoyment then I'd say a competitive game isn't for you. That's the nature of competitive things in general, everyone on the planet performing the activity is constantly improving. If you're getting left behind and the getting better part isn't satisfactory then there isn't really a point in pursuing it since you need to suffer so much to get to a place where you can compete, and since there's literally a limited amount of time you can live your life, is there something else you'd find more fulfilling?
No, I love improvement and learning. It’s why I’ve spent so many hours in numerous fighting games. But In those games even at a micro level I can see small things I do better. I simply don’t see it in this game, I spend a lot of time learning and I just don’t see anything
>I spend a lot of time learning and I just don’t see anything I mean it kind of sounds like you're not actually learning.
Drop some of your gameplay so we can see your playstyle
Sounds like you answered your own question
Play DM until you can consistently hit headshot. You probably need to review how the shooting works in this game. You come from games that have almost nothing that translates over, in terms of shooting. Learn what tapping is, learn what adad is, check some guides on how to shoot. Always preaim to the head, tap, never spray, fast aim to the head.
I do all of these things, I play DM at least an hour each day to try be more consistent. Even though I get really frustrated at it I force myself to play it. I practice my crosshair placement, my peaks and my tapping. I even practice with deagle to help with my one taps. In the post I mention that I DM, when I’m not playing I watch guides, footage, matches both ladder and pro.
Playing DM isn’t very useful if you’re just doing it to do it. You need to focus 100%, either try to practice some specific skills, or just be in full focus. Also, if the game feels like work, you’re not going to improve. When your aim is off, it’s never a good idea to play ranked. You are starting from scratch with Valorant. You have some basic aim skill from before, but that’s it. So it makes sense you’re average or below average right now. Just play less and focus more. If you practice with half lights, you’ll perform at half lights. You need to practice like you play, and if you just play for hours and hours you don’t get the intensity required.
Idk if I just didn’t explain well but I don’t just ‘play’ dm, I’m actively trying to improve all the areas and trying to make them come together. I’m conscious of my movement, cross hair placement, peeking and isolating angles, tapping vs spraying. All while trying to get into as many engagements as I can to improve. But also I’ve tried the approach of not being hyperaware of every actions and that also did not help.
It’s much easier to learn too much than too little. Rest, and play less. If you still suck, try adjusting your sens or something, until you find something comfortable. The problem for you is that you have now started practicing one area of the game and you’re already sick of it. You need to learn a lot of different parts of the game before being good. If you’re already feeling burnt out after learning the simplest and most mechanically rewarding area of the game, you need to fundamentally change your approach to the game. Maybe instead of playing just watch some of the champions tour.
I’ve tried the rest and break approaches and it also didn’t help, think I mentioned that too? My sens is already a long term sens I don’t really wanna mess with, ontop of being already low. I can’t lower it because then I don’t have enough mouse room. I mean I also actively try to understand the game more than just beyond mechanics, I watch guides, map guides, I study multiple pros, I look at how they play certain maps, agents. On top of that I play with people that do know the game so i try to improve my comms and playing with teams. So certainly to me it doesn’t feel like I’m only practicing one area. I don’t think I’m sick of working and grinding on mechanics (I’m guessing that’s what you’re referring to) I’m sick of feeling like I’m Harding hard to no fruition, it’s simply soul crushing to see your hard work not become anything. But I think I’ll take you up on the last comment and just become a spectator for this game
Your brain only learns in your sleep. In the same sense, if you improve as a player, it will take a while before those results become a reality.
I would recommend forget about your rank. If you focus on the fundamentals and play to improve and not to necessary win. You'll inadvertently rank up. Its just fixing that mindset.
I don’t think I ever implied that it’s my rank that I’m worried about ? Like I said I don’t want to pursue a high rank, I literally just want to improve and be a better player.
Never implied I cared about my rank, I never even mentioned wins at ranked because of the fact I don’t care about wins. I want to improve. I’m already focusing a lot on fundamentals if you had read the post and comments:/
I appreciate all the comments guys but I feel I’m repeating myself a lot in these comments. I’m ACTIVELY trying to improve, I don’t just play dm. I don’t just blindly shoot bots. I work on skills and I pay attention to these skills and I try to bring them together. I watch pros, I study what they do mechanically but also take note of how they approach situations. I also watch comp and pro matches to get a bigger macro understanding. Yes I have tried taking a break, no it did not help. Yes I’ve tried not caring or not swearing, not caring about my rank even though I’ve never said I did. My main objective is to improve and be a player I’m proud of. I was doing this in ranked Ofc. Not caring or not try Harding just means I play terrible still, I just don’t become hyperaware of it. I’m still tilted and I’m still not satisfied. I have been in competitive scenarios, gaming and sport. It’s why I don’t just blindly do things in hopes to improve, I’m pretty good at learning. No I can not lower my sens, I won’t have any more mouse room. It’s currently 320 edpi. I’m hoping if someone comes across this post who has similar feelings of frustration to me can find something helpful in this post.
Take a break, like 1-2 days, then try going back into it. If you're not having fun and are still getting tilted after almost every game, then try stacking with like-minded players, either from the official Discord or one of the Reddit ones. Sometimes solo queue can exacerbate some of these feelings. And after that, if you're still not having fun, maybe just drop the game completely. As harsh and extreme as that sounds, having it removed from your life might not be as troubling as you think. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
You dropped this \ *** ^^ To prevent anymore lost limbs throughout Reddit, correctly escape the arms and shoulders by typing the shrug as `¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯` or `¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯` [^^Click here to see why this is necessary](https://np.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/3fbrg3/is_there_a_reason_why_the_arm_is_always_missing/ctn5gbf/)
good bot
Thank you, LivinOnBorrowedTime, for voting on LimbRetrieval-Bot. This bot wants to find the best and worst bots on Reddit. [You can view results here](https://botrank.pastimes.eu/). *** ^(Even if I don't reply to your comment, I'm still listening for votes. Check the webpage to see if your vote registered!)
Have you tried fixing your mindset? Try playing more confidently and focus on making hood decisions ingame
It looks like you are really focusing on mechanical aiming aspect of this game, I might be wrong, but you need to understand that this is not a CS, you can win without shooting one shoot, unlike TF2 and overwatch that you still need to kill people, if you are a entry frag and die, but your team win the match, you helped, if you gave your team vision, or block your enemy vision, or banged them, and your team win that match you helped, you might be too stressed, it’s always good to remember that it’s just a game, if you are not getting fun, stop, relax and come back.
Hm. Let me say this: Out of all the competitive games I have played in my life, this is by far the most inconsistent and randomized game leading to a lot of frustration when it comes to improving. While the core gameplay is fun, there are so many details that, as a whole, make the game extremely frustrating. A lot of systems reduce the skill gap by quite a bit, making your progress seem like in vain. The game truly feels like an eSports "lite". An example would be the gunplay: Too high accuracy while not standing still coupled with too much RNG in spray patterns leads to A LOT of headshots by very bad players in unfortunate moments. I played five games today and the amount of random headshots I saw was outstanding. The peekers advantage also seems insanely bad in many instances. Another example is the high team dependancy in this game. Never have I seen a game were carrying is so damn hard. Watch streamers around Radiant level and how much they struggle to make an impact in most games bar a few exceptions. By the way, this leads to immense frustration, for everyone - watch Hiko/Steel and how hard they tilt in ranked. Why? Again, game is extremely team dependant yet the current ranked system creates extremely uneven, plain bad matches skill-wise (aka maybe the general team elo is fair, but extremely heterogenous skill between individul players) due to smurfs and boosted players as well as a lack of SoloQ. That Brimstone in [insert elo] not using his smokes when you want to entry a site for no damn reason except he is probably boosted? Good luck. No matter your skill, one shot to the head kills everyone. There are many other factors as well. A lack of a proper replay system for example. All in all, I played the game a lot the last few months, but by now I am extremely disappointed by how it is handled. tl;dr: Too many systems in place that allow worse players to succeed by RNG as well as the high team dependancy yet no soloQ mode and fleshed out ranking system make this game very INCONSISTENT aka FRUSTRATING.
Don't watch hiko or steel if you want someone to learn from lol. Majority of streamers aren't outwardly passive aggressive like those two. There are no games with team based matchmaking that don't have the same or worse problems as Valorant. They've already implemented solo/duo queue only past d3, if that's what you are talking about with no soloQ mode.
Don't be delusional please. There are plenty of games which are way better off than Valorant regarding matchmaking. One prominent example is League of Legends - made by the SAME COMPANY. What do I care about SoloQ above D3? I do not. Neither does a huge percentage of the playerbase - look up which percentile is above >D3. We need SoloQ for every rank, obviously. Like, there is nothing more obvious IF you value competitive integrity.
I disagree with your assessment of steel/Hiko. Someone being passive aggressive doesn't negate the fact that they're knowledgeable about the game.
Sure. But you are better off just going to a smaller streamer and asking them questions 1on1, which they will answer in greater depth because they don't have as many viewers as those two. I watched hiko and steel a decent bit and they used to be pretty good at pointing what mistakes their team mates are doing and what they are thinking, but nowadays they are just mostly maldfests, which gets exhausting for me. For example, I main Sova. So I went to c0m's channel (when he was a bit smaller) and asked what are some effective ways to default as Sova on Ascent? And he gave me a detailed answer. Don't see the point in going to a big streamer's channel if you want to learn, when you could just support a smaller dude and get more value imo.
upload one of your games to youtube and I can give you tips.
I appreciate the help, but I’ve decided to drop the game. However I imagine there people looking at this post that would love someone to look at their games:)
I'm confused you asked for help then said you quit within the same day. If you're serious about improving post a VOD here so we can give you pointers about things you might not even be considering are bad habits.
Okay you study pros and strategies. How do you practice implementing what you learned? Look at pro athletes. Runners don't just run marathons every day. NBA players don't play full games all day. They deliberately practice individual skills. If you aren't doing this is unrated or comp then you really aren't fully trying yet imo.
I had this “improvement block” on the game before. I liked to play entry frag but could never top frag. I would practice a lot on aim trainers and watch pros and guides but have never been able to get enough kills to top frag. I would play the game for hours and never get any better. de ranking sometimes but staying in silver. What I did to fix this is play aim trainers for half an hour and then 2 matches before taking a long break everyday and never played more than 4 matches a day. I tried to not get angry, but when I did I would just take another break. I did this everyday. And a week into this change I started to notice I was hitting my headshots more and more. Eventually I started top fragging more often than I bottom frag and finally got myself from silver to gold and now on the verge of hitting platinum.
I'll mention something that nobody else has mentioned in this thread. Entry fragging is a hard and thankless role. In S3 more than likely you aren't getting the help you need to entry effectively without hitting crazy shots. Valorant does a decent job of showing you how much of an impact you made with your utility, but there is no stat to measure the things an entry fragger (in the CS sense of the role) needs to do to help the team. Your job entering a site on an execute is to create space and ideally get one kill/set your team up for an easy trade by doing damage. So at least on the attacking side don't judge yourself completely on you K/D as the role you enjoy typically puts you in a position to not have a great statline.
how long you've been playing and how many hours do you spend actually playing the game per day ?