For Glory Nerves

[JimmyTheCaterpillar]

I'm not a bad player. I've been playing Smash4 since it came out and out of all the Smash games, I do the best in this one, although I played a lot of Project M up until I got the new one. I do pretty well in my local matches, and I came out in third place in my last tournament. So, I'm not a bad player. Let me just establish that. My main is Dedede.

But lately, for some reason, whenever I play FG1v1, I just can't ever seem to get a grip. I flub up my combos, my reaction time is disgusting, and it's just baaad. I don't know why this seems to happen, but For Glory just really gets to me. My win rate is quickly going down the crapper at 67.21% from what used to be a steady 75-79%. It seems the better I do in local matches, the worse I do in FG.

I'm wondering if anyone else has ever been in a rut like this, and if so, how did you get out of it?

Or... If I'm the only one well.... Peachy.

 

[BeatNinja]

I have a similar problem, when I take the first stock, something happens inside me, and I choke. Like, last week, I played a Rosaluma player, and took the first stock without taking a single percent of damage. But I still ended up losing the match due to nerves of taking the other stock. It's just a mental thing.

My theory? I think people can play worse when they're playing bad players. When I'm playing someone who doesn't really know what they're doing, I dunno, I just become lazy and nervous. But when I run into someone who knows a thing or two, I play better. My reaction time is better, and I'm more hyped and motivated to win because I wanna prove myself.

 

[GameAngel64]

I think getting lazy/careless after getting ahead is common, but there is also another possibility I wanted to point out. You mentioned playing Dedede instead of one of the really fast characters. I am of the opinion that the online input lag, no matter how minute, more adversely affects those characters that cannot just mash away on the buttons. If you are a character that relies on identifying key openings and extremely precise timing, you will be at a disadvantage because your timing will constantly be just a bit off and you cannot just throw out another move right away to compensate, unlike a Sheik, Yoshi, ZSS, or Greninja. Of course, if you are using one of those endlag-less characters online and are still having the same trouble, then maybe my theory doesn't hold up for you.

 

[Kwam$tack$]

that happens sometimes when im playing players who use chars that are faster than mine (and use them well). The speed/pressure starts to get to me and I try to play at their pace which 9/10 times gets me ****ed up. I just have to remember to go at my own pace and control the pace of the battle. Dont worry about what theyre doing right, just make sure you're not doing anything wrong. play your game; not theirs

 

[genesis_SOC]

Take longer, deeper breaths and force your self to smile while playing. What you're experiencing is called sports anxiety and it's extremely common especially in "ranked" competitive games. Breathing deeper more often helps get your body to naturally relax and forcing your self to smile should give you just enough consciousness to get back in the game.

Or it could just be that you need to adjust to the lag.

 

[ZobmieRules]

Interesting... Personally, (I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm not going to censor myself) my local group of friends really aren't a challenge to me whatsoever, and we've been smashing for so long, I've developed the ability to go on auto-pilot. I go on auto-pilot (as in I actually subconsciously play smash. Muscle memory, trained reflexes, etc), and just talk to the other people in the match or those who aren't playing at the moment. Most of the time, I *literally* cannot recall the match I just had, because I wasn't paying attention at all.

Now, for the relevant part. In online matches, if I take someone's first stock (especially if I did so easily), I lose all momentum, I'm unable to close the match, and I'll frequently lose because of it. At this point, I believe this is because I subconsciously think "oh, they're not that good, I'll stop paying attention now", then snap back to reality only when I'm on the ropes of my second life. If I shake myself out of it and remind myself to pay attention and focus, I can two-stock reliably. But, because of how bad my ability to close is if I'm not paying attention, my win rate is like 35%! Auto-pilot is not useful against people online who're actually good! xD

 

[Antonykun]

Interesting... Personally, (I don't want to sound like a jerk, but I'm not going to censor myself) my local group of friends really aren't a challenge to me whatsoever, and we've been smashing for so long, I've developed the ability to go on auto-pilot. I go on auto-pilot (as in I actually subconsciously play smash. Muscle memory, trained reflexes, etc), and just talk to the other people in the match or those who aren't playing at the moment. Most of the time, I *literally* cannot recall the match I just had, because I wasn't paying attention at all.

Now, for the relevant part. In online matches, if I take someone's first stock (especially if I did so easily), I lose all momentum, I'm unable to close the match, and I'll frequently lose because of it. At this point, I believe this is because I subconsciously think "oh, they're not that good, I'll stop paying attention now", then snap back to reality only when I'm on the ropes of my second life. If I shake myself out of it and remind myself to pay attention and focus, I can two-stock reliably. But, because of how bad my ability to close is if I'm not paying attention, my win rate is like 35%! Auto-pilot is not useful against people online who're actually good! xD

Actually i think that the Invincibility after losing a stock really punishes people who just go on auto pilot like you as it is designed to not allow the winning player to snowball the opponent.

 

[ZobmieRules]

Actually i think that the Invincibility after losing a stock really punishes people who just go on auto pilot like you as it is designed to not allow the winning player to snowball the opponent.

Either way, it's completely fair. It's entirely my fault if I'm not paying attention.