I've been playing for 2 years and I am still godawful at this game. I only have 34% win rate on For Glory which is terrible.
For Glory should be seen as a place to learn, not a place to win. Your mistake isn't that you've been playing for two years and you're not very good at Sm4sh. Your mistake is assuming that playing for two years means you should be good. Playing for a duration of time doesn't mean anything if you aren't adapting. You could pick up the game in a month and adapt better than someone playing for a year. That is what makes the difference.
I know win rates on For Glory mean nothing but it's the only thing I have to go off of. I even lose to players that I KNOW that are bad. Even if they are spamming smash attacks or rolling I still lose to them. And the decent players? I get 2 stocked all the goddamn time. I don't even want to try tournaments because I'm so bad that I feel like I'll get completely destoyed.
I have a challenge for you. Take your losses as opportunities for growth. You don't have to think of yourself as a loser. Instead, you can think of yourself in two other ways: a winner or a learner. You either win, or you learn why you didn't win. There's no such thing as losing.
I have bad habits like always using getup attack, never spot dodging, always autopiloting, etc. I have pretty much the worst neutral ever. I try to look for openings in my opponents but they end up running in and overwhelming me and kill me before I even get to think. Can someone help me please?
If you always use get-up attacks, stop. That is one of the unsafest ways of getting back onto the stage. Your opponent could just stand there and wait it out so your attack is blocked. Or your opponent could stand at a distance to give you the impression that your attack will reach him or her so that he or she can punish you for your mistake. If you don't dodge, it's time to start dodging. If you auto-pilot, start thinking while you're playing. People auto-pilot a lot. It's easier on the brain, it seems. If you consciously observe your opponent, you'll perform better.
I auto-pilot as well. Everyone does. When you're better at something, your brain doesn't have to think about it. You just do it on the go. So I would suggest you watch videos of what you're doing incorrectly and find ways on how you can do things differently in similar situations. Watch what your opponent is doing as well when you're watching replays. Play people and ask for advice. Also, please read the following below.
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"I've honed a single attack the same way you've honed your body." - Ryu to Zangief, SFV
I like this quote. It stood out to me when I saw it. Its applicability holds true in anything you want to improve on. The purpose of practice is to teach you how to perform better than you originally would have otherwise. If this means learning how to use z-air more effectively to space yourself at the appropriate time, or even trumping someone from the ledge and following it up with a back air, your brain will alter due to neuroplasticity. This means you might become frustrated at your inability now, but the more you do it, the more you'll become conscious about how it's executed, which will make you better.
Training yourself will not only help you perform better with your character. You will become more confident in using that character. Again, this can be applied to anything, even if you lack self-confidence in a general sense. The more you become confident in yourself, the better you'll be able to deal with stressors you might encounter. Teach yourself to practice for at least an hour on performing a combo, or utilizing certain attacks properly. As a Samus main, I am aware of Samus' jab and its inability to connect, due to its Sakurai angle. A simple jab suffices, allowing me to either walk away or perform a tilt. It can be as simple of a task as this that makes a difference.
Recently, I have learned from a Samus main who goes by the name "Dream" on Discord. In a direct message, he once told me, "I can sometimes hit you before you're able to act again, all because of that one habit." While I became aware of this, I didn't see it for truly what it was until I became cognizant in certain errors I was making. Playing against my brother, I utilized z-air, my jab, and tilts in a different way, making it difficult for my brother to approach me. Yet, he had to approach me because I didn't have to approach him. With jabs and tilts, I built a wall between him and myself when he would approach.
It's difficult for us to see beyond the present when we're struggling to execute a task others make seem so difficult. We see others performing these seemingly difficult techniques, so we wonder why we can't do the same. While I don't perform perfect pivoting during actual matches, I can do it to some degree. I'm inconsistent in that regard. I had been performing a particular kind of dash in which a dust cloud would appear. While I flicked my left analog stick back and forth to attempt a perfect pivot, the only thing that kept me from achieving it was performing this flicking at a faster rate. Achieving this would allow me to perfect pivot successfully. I've been able to perform this three consecutive times.
When you are trying to learn something new, you might become frustrated. When you become frustrated, take a break. Taking breaks actually helps you improve and provides better productivity. Not only that, should you achieve what you've been practicing, and even if you have only done it once, reward yourself with something like your favorite snack. You can associate these achievements with rewards. This, hopefully, will keep you motivated and feel confident in what you do.
Often, we want to succeed, and we want it at the present time. We see professionals performing so well, treating them as stars or as talented individuals, rather than understanding that they're like you and me. They have wins and losses, courage and fears. What they have achieved can be achieved by you and me. You just have to work at it, even if you have to work at it a little more than most. You must learn to believe that you can do anything anyone else can do. Perhaps they picked things up faster than you. We call that talent, but we don't know their background or what they've done to make picking up things seem so easy.
I've been using Zero Suit Samus for a while now. I dedicated myself to using her, although I don't use her as often as I do with Samus, let alone feel as confident with her as I do with Samus. Watching Nairo playing in tournaments from YouTube channels like VGBootCamp and 2GGaming, I felt I had to play exactly the way he did. I didn't see any Zero Suit Samus players use forward special, for example. This is a faulty way of thinking. When you decide to pick up a character, you may use what professional players use in terms of meta-game because it works. Yet, you needn't be a copy of whoever it is who inspires you. You are you, and you can make up your own style and play your own way without feeling ashamed like I did.
At the same time, the more you use a character, the more you'll find what works and what doesn't, which may lead you to play similarly to other players. This, it seems, helped Prince Ramen perform well using Palutena. He was aware of which attacks would be effective and which attacks would hinder him. You don't need to limit yourself in the options you wish to use. You just need to realize that certain attacks may not be as useful most of the time.
If you think you're good, move on. There's nothing to see here. If you know you can always improve, then your way of thinking will get you places. You're thinking to yourself that it's possible for you to grow and develop. You're not static. You're not going to let some plateau stop you. You're going to think positively and believe you can overcome any obstacle that stands in your way. What? You keep getting two-stocked? That's just a problem waiting to be addressed through your persistence and good strategies. You are using good strategies, are you not?
No one has ever reached the top without any help getting there. No one. Don't be afraid to lose. Don't be afraid to ask for help. If you're concerned about losing, then you're not learning for the right reason. Someone who learns welcomes loss because it's not seen as failure, but rather a learning experience. Losing means learning new strategies. The winner, more often than not, doesn't focus on why he or she won, only that he or she got first. Take that opportunity to improve.
As a player, you should also set goals for yourself. Don't let the thought of having to work at something to be skilled stop you. Quitters don't win and winners don't quit. Keep at it, even if you're not good at it. Practice takes time and effort. If you don't want to put forth the time and effort, you'll remain stagnant while others improve. Be one who is dynamic, ever-changing, always improving. Be like water, which takes the shape of a volume. Do this in your matches against different opponents. Not everyone is the same. After all, no single medicine is used to remedy different illnesses. Why use the same methods on different people?
One final thing. You are allowed to rest. Don't think you must play for extended periods. If you're practicing a lot, take a break. Let your brain do its work by processing what you've been learning. Focus on other things. Perhaps you will come up with a new idea that you can try out. If it works, good. If not, it's no big deal. So, to wrap this all up, practice, watch videos of yourself to see what worked and what didn't, and of others to get ideas on what you can try. Be patient, take breaks, and don't worry about losing because you can keep trying. Set reasonable goals, and don't use the same tactics on different characters.
