[Competitive Improvement] (WIP) Section 1 Up

[Nakamaru]

Recently I have been focusing a lot on how to improve my game. I have always been able to play quite well against the top level players, but I always seem to fall short. So I started to put down my thoughts and ideas down on paper to better analyze what it is I need to do to improve. With a lot of the finer details removed I thought I would share in my road to competitive
improvement.

“But Umbreon Mow already made a thread about competitive improvement. Why not just use his thread?” Yes he did, and it is very well written and a great resource for those looking to get better. However it is more on the general side of improvement giving a broad stroke across a large range of topics. Covering everything from the physical to mental and even meta aspects of Melee. My intent is somewhat different. I will only be focusing on 3 key areas that I believe are what separate the names from the rest of the community. These 3 areas are primarily mental and observational. Since Melee has such a rich community of veterans that have been playing for some 4-6+ years players have become very adept at tech skill. So going over any of the physical aspects of the game I feel would be redundant as players now can perform very complex techniques without a second thought.

This “guide,” if you will, is more focused on how to apply those tools properly. Using an understanding of how you, as a player, see the game, as well as how others may see the game. Also being able to review and understand why something works and why other things don’t. So without too much rambling here are the 3 points I wish to cover:

1. Removing Assumptions and Preconceptions
2. Analyzing and Adjusting Your Style
3. Mental: State of Mind and Mental Endurance

“What is the difference between Assumptions and Preconceptions? I thought they were basically the same thing.” While they are similar yes and can overlap, they cover two different thought processes. A preconception is a preconceived idea or prejudice. An assumption is accepting something as true or certain to happen, without proof. An example of a preconception, in relation to competitive play, is expecting to lose to an opponent because you lost to them before. An example of an assumption is playing a matchup like Fox/Pikachu and expecting to win just because it is in your favor as a Fox player. “Alright, but what do they have to do with a competitive environment?” They have everything to do with a competitive environment. Whether it is a large scale national or those small anime-con tournaments you love to ROFL-stomp so much. Your preconceptions, not matter what they may be, are the foundation for what your initial mindset will be.

Let us use the infamous “scrub” as an example for this. The most well know preconception is the “Honor Code.” It is the idea that certain acts are considered “cheap” or “gay” and therefore are frowned upon, as well as any player that chooses to use such acts to win. Because of this the “scrub” has lost the match before he has even put in his controller. There is absolutely no rule or constraint in the game that prevents these acts. The “scrub” has a preconceived notion that these tactics/acts dishonorable and because of this he is only limiting himself and his chances to win. To use a much higher level example of this let us look at Hungrybox and his style of play. Or rather how the community reacts to his style of play. He chooses to abuse a move that has an incredible hitbox along with a very opportunistic, campy style. Many people cry “gay” whenever they play against, or watch his matches. You also hear people spout how what Hungrybox does is so easy to do and isn’t impressive. Well he has won or placed top 3 at numerous national and regional tournaments. So the players that cry “gay” in his direction or saying they would never do anything like “that” are doing nothing more than hindering themselves. If there are $3,000 dollars on the line you do what you have to in order to win.

Things of this nature are part of the game, and you have to remove the preconception that any of these tactics or styles are cheap, gay, easy, stupid, etc. Otherwise you will have a harder time piercing the veil so you can start to pick apart your opponent and find a path to victory. That is ultimately what removing preconceptions and assumptions is all about. Piercing these veils that cloud your ability to see the game as it really is. A zero-sum, anything goes competition (with exceptions such as bans, but that is irrelevant) and putting any further restrictions on yourself just puts yourself at the mercy of those who don’t think twice about chain grabbing you to death or camping your *** for 8 minutes. Once you come to peace with the fact that these things will happen you won’t be so angry or frustrated the next time you are faced with some “gay” style. Instead you will enter ready to see the holes in their play and patterns to their style.

There are many common traps you can fall into. Playing a known good player and expecting to lose. Playing someone you’ve never heard of and expecting a free win. Going into a matchup and expecting an easy win because it is in your favor. Playing bad in winners/pools and expecting to continue to play bad for the rest of the tournament (this can even be from a match to match basis in a set). It can even be on the level of expecting a chain grab to lead to a Zero-death. None of these can, in any stretch of the imagination, be considered fact. Yet so many players often fall into the mindset where they almost go out of their way to prove to themselves that any of these are factual for them.

TBA

TBA

Feedback is greatly appreciated. I am mostly doing this for my own benefit, but i do hope others can gain something from this.

 

[Cactuar]

I'm super amused at all these improvement theory threads.

 

[Geenareeno]

This is definitely helpful, and well written, but it would be so much beter if I didn't have to read it in blue italicized font

 

[Cactuar]

I also found it very difficult to copy and paste the text into a word processor and remove the text mods.

I also found it very difficult to open a quote for your post and copy and paste just the message into a word processor.

I also found it very difficult to refrain from making a heavily sarcastic post about how difficult it is to find a solution for hard to read text.




Edit: Seriously though, you shouldn't style your posts like that. Breaking your paragraphs down a bit to help separate points/ideas would also be of tremendous aid to anyone trying to digest your content. You want the majority of your paragraphs to be <= the size of the last paragraph in section 1. I try to keep most of my posts using a 6 line maximum for each paragraph. I get carried away often and create huge walls of text, so its not uncommon for me to go through and insert lines just to make it easier visually.

 

[Massive]

People love bullet points!

Well, I do anyway.

Itemized lists are:

• The bee's knees
• The cat's meow
• The dog's bullocks
• Other random animal followed by body-part or vocalization

I highly recommend them!

 

[JonnyW]

Massives posts make me laugh more than anyone elses