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Rant / Other I really want to get better but my mentality is killing me

Oz o:

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Aug 11, 2019
Messages
214
I've been wanting to get better for years before Ultimate, but I feel I have a horrible crippling mentality about the game, to the point I literally feel it's holding back at least half of my skill. I can't think clearly during matches sometimes. It's like I got even worse somehow from the jump to Smash 4 to Ultimate, and even worse since last year (I had way better placings, for example).

I feel it's really worth noting, a lot of this has to do with online. We've been in quarantine for over two months here in my country, and online is our only option at the moment. Never have I realised it was this bad until I started playing every day. I feel like half the time, I'm not actually having fun, and I'm just getting really annoyed, frustrated and stressed. I lose to people worse than me constantly. Like, legitimately worse people- people I wouldn't ever lose to offline. I admit, I have an ego problem, it gets progressively worse. I don't even want to take a break from the game, because I know it's a game I really enjoy, and the problem is pretty much just this. It's really hard for me to just suck it up and laugh when half the things people do online irritate me.

I invest a lot of time on this game and trying to get better to have to deal with this crap. I don't actually have a problem getting my ass kicked by someone who's legitimately better than me. If anything, I keep going.
 

OnyanRings

Smash Ace
Joined
Mar 11, 2019
Messages
711
Location
The Cale-Zone
Switch FC
SW-4662-0014-5533
If you're not having that much fun anymore, why do you keep torturing yourself ? A games primary purpose is to be fun, if it's not fun, why bother ?

Maybe go play another game or find something else to do for a while and then come back to smash, it'd allow you to take a step back and come back with a fresh new mindset. It's what i do when i get bored of a game that i play often.
 

DougEfresh

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 23, 2020
Messages
212
For what it's worth, I feel your pain about online. Even well before this quarantine timeline started and had its worldwide impact, it's unfortunately been my only way of practicing to improve. For a while, I was kind of content with this because I don't have anyone nearby that's equal to my skill level for offline practice and my one local friend plays smash, but with less earnest than I do (at least he doesn't usually play with items and hazards on anymore, I'll give him that). Online really has been horrible since everyone has been house-bound due to the virus, though it took longer for me to realize than most since Ultimate is the first smash game I've played online (was a casual during the Brawl days and didn't play smash 4 or even have a Wii U), and while I'm interested in offline competitive events when they can start back up again in my region, I worry that I'm suddenly going to get destroyed because of how little offline practice I've gotten against genuinely skilled players (I suppose I need to accept this possibility but also remain confident in the skills I know I've developed over Ultimate's lifetime so far).

I agree that taking a break from Ultimate is the best choice you can make for yourself to help get out of this mindset of stagnation. Whether it's playing other games or going back to hobbies outside of gaming altogether, we all need break (however short or long) to stay healthy and motivated to continue improving ourselves and this applies to just about everything in our lives. If you do insist on continuing to play Ultimate though, at least play some completely different characters from your mains and learn them from the ground up if it helps you stay on track while giving you something novel to work on (plus, no pressure to do particularly well since this is a new character you're pretty much learning "for fun").

Even though it's monotonous, another thing I may be doing again soon is just taking several days off from matches with other people, but still hitting the lab hard most days for a couple weeks to practice a movement option I can add to my gameplay or experiment with different set ups and combos to see what I come up with. This way, I'm still working towards my own improvement as a player, but not stunting that goal by excessively playing online and getting tilted because of that, and usually the difference between my gameplay before and after this period is night and day and my confidence is reignited when I see how much the training paid off to help me improve and win more often than before. Just something I've done that I wanted to share, since at the time I was in a very similar position to the one you're in now and thought this could help. Good luck and don't give up!
 
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RetrogamerMax

Smash Legend
Joined
Sep 3, 2018
Messages
12,221
Location
Houston, Texas
NNID
RetrogamerMax2
I think playing against players as good or better than you will help you improve your game. It's how I got better. Yeah, I feel you in where half of the time you can't think clearly while playing matches. I use to play a lot online during Smash 4 and I had a 75% win rate and a 25% lose rate. I got tired of playing online because of the lag input of my moves during online play. I haven't yet played Ultimate online because of this. I might just try to enter a local tournament in Houston because no lag would get in my way there.
 
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DougEfresh

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 23, 2020
Messages
212
I think playing against players as good or better than you will help you improve your game. It's how I got better. Yeah, I feel you in where half of the time you can't think clearly while playing matches. I use to play a lot online during Smash 4 and I had a 75% win rate and a 25% lose rate. I got tired of playing online because of the lag input of my moves during online play. I haven't yet played Ultimate online because of this. I might just try to enter a local tournament in Houston because no lag would get in my way there.
Yea the online in this game is hot garbage and a half, not sure how Nintendo remains so far behind the times when it comes to online capability and stability. Doesn't help that my mains are not wifi friendly characters (except for banjo, but even then, I get seriously screwed over with the varied amounts of input lag) either. Is Houston or the state of TX as a whole reopening enough for offline tournaments to resume in your area? You're very fortunate and I'm envious if so.
 
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DougEfresh

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 23, 2020
Messages
212
I'm not really sure, I believe so. I don't go out that much.
You can always look on smash.gg to see what's going on in your area, and in case there still isn't anything yet, hopefully you have friends or practice partners nearby who can help you get offline play.
 

RetrogamerMax

Smash Legend
Joined
Sep 3, 2018
Messages
12,221
Location
Houston, Texas
NNID
RetrogamerMax2
You can always look on smash.gg to see what's going on in your area, and in case there still isn't anything yet, hopefully you have friends or practice partners nearby who can help you get offline play.
I don't know anyone personally or even really anybody I practice with online either back in the day.
 

DougEfresh

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Mar 23, 2020
Messages
212
I don't know anyone personally or even really anybody I practice with online either back in the day.
You probably recall me saying this over in the Banjo & Kazooie social thread, but I'd be down ro exchange friend codes in DMs so we could play in arenas if you wanted (it's better than nothing at least). Probably better to wait till next Monday when I can get a router and fully set up a wired connection though, especially since I live in VA and the distance could interfere and cause lag otherwise
 
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