I'm done with smash (competitively)

[Coonstrudel]

Long story short:

-Got out of depression

-Practiced for 3 months every day to reach my dreams of being in a tournament

-Realized every smash is dumbly unfair and has at least one toxic character

-Realized all odds are against you in each game

-Controls are horrible and inaccurate no matter which controller or TV I wasted money on

-Sick of seeking advice just to receive snarky comments

-Kept dying in 80% matches I had with ANYONE, no matter how hard I tried

-Even tried changing my main, from Fox, still a horrible player

-Got made fun of publicly when playing with a friend

-Came to the conclusion that Smash is a chance based fighting game, that is very cheap, unpredictable, and has a (mostly) mean community.

-Gave up on my little dream, back in depression.

-This meant a lot to me. I grew up playing smash religiously, and I feel like I play as if I were a newcomer.

-Put all my smash games up, not wanting to see them again.

If they come out with a switch release, I might take a look, but for now, I'm finished.

 

[FamilyTeam]

I mean, I'm sorry to hear that. But perhaps you need to step back and think things through a bit.
Everyone has to train a lot, and sadly not everyone makes it to the top. But everyone can have their own little niche and moments in the community.
A lot of this can be solved with changes of mentality, actually. I still remember some discussions we had in the past (Youtube comments, here in this site) so if you wanted, this is something I'd be willing to help you fix if you want to talk more personally.

 

[Coonstrudel]

I mean, I'm sorry to hear that. But perhaps you need to step back and think things through a bit.
Everyone has to train a lot, and sadly not everyone makes it to the top. But everyone can have their own little niche and moments in the community.
A lot of this can be solved with changes of mentality, actually. I still remember some discussions we had in the past (Youtube comments, here in this site) so if you wanted, this is something I'd be willing to help you fix if you want to talk more personally.

I tried being friendly and just letting things go when I lost a game. I'd just stay upbeat about it so that I don't get upset. But there is just so much of Diddy's rocket flying the wrong way, or into the exact corner of the stage and making me lose, Mario recovering the wrong way even though I did the input correctly, Fox getting K.O'd extremely easily because it only takes up to 6 - 8 good hits, while he has to build up damage slowly, Corrin players using their counters all the time, even when I try being careful, and Bayo players using witchtime and not even giving me a chance to do anything sometimes... It's just not fair. I feel like I'll never be good

Sure, I can pull off some pretty cool moments and such, but it's just overshadowed by my numerous fails. And sometimes the fails aren't even my fault. I'm not trying to be a John, but as I said, sometimes my inputs don't work as they should, some omega stage designs just aren't fair to play on with certain characters, most characters can simply break out of my normal combo attacks, or strong combo attacks while i'm stuck in the animation still, and kill me.

I'm sorry, I should seriously stop ranting on about this.
I would appreciate your help. I'm just very angry with myself and the game

 

[FamilyTeam]

If you want you can add me on discord if you have that. It's on my signature (if you can't see it in my posts then go to my profile and see if that). Then we can talk.

 

[KirbCider]

This is honestly all a part of getting good at something. A skill takes time to develop, and how quick it develops depends on how much time and effort you devote into it. I've been drawing for just about 10 years now and my art is still at a moderate level.

It also helps to be knowledgeable in what you are trying to get better at as well. You can't just practice and expect it to happen.

Besides losing is simply part of the process towards improvement. It's going to suck and it's gonna frustrate the living piss out of you too. I'm pretty sure every single one of us on SmashBoards has at one point been at that level of frustration. It just sucks.

However whining and sitting on your butt with that kind of defeated attitude won't help you get where you want to be.

You either push through it or give up entirely thinking it's hopeless. I'm in a smallish Discord group and there's quite a few players in there who are much better than me. A few of them I can't seem to beat regardless of which tactic I use. Others I'm either on the same skill level, or very slowly catching up to them. I've poured a lot of effort and hardwork into getting better and they've been helping me out every step of the way. Without that small group I wouldn't of even gotten the amount of improvement I see.

Let me tell you, it sucks to feel like you've improved only to be proven wrong by those better players. It's even more frustrating when you feel like you'll never stand toe to toe against them because you keep losing. But I keep going back for more...

Why...?

Because if I just sat there feeling horrible and irritated at myself I never would of gotten as far as I have now.

I have to push past that wall of frustration, and so does everyone else. All my complaining and self-defeat will not help me. Now sometimes you just need to take a break regardless. It happens. Sometimes it just gets to us no matter how much of a cool head we try to have. Games are just like that, especially when it comes to competitive ones. Smash is definitely no exception there.

It's a tough, unforgiving road but you can't really give into your negative emotions or let them weigh you down. And most importantly never forget the real goal should be to have fun. If you aren't having fun at all then whats the point of playing Smash?

 

[Coonstrudel]

If you want you can add me on discord if you have that. It's on my signature (if you can't see it in my posts then go to my profile and see if that). Then we can talk.

I've tried but it doesn't seem to be working, but this is mine: Coolstrudel#4893

 

[Deleted member]

"Be encouraged, no matter what's going on
He'll make it all right, but you have to stay strong"

Now that is one of my favorite quotes I recite when I feel discouraged. Look, no one likes losing but it's part of improving. You're not really challenging yourself if you constantly win. Now, do make use of the resources laid out in front of you: there's character forums to get advice, matchup videos, guides on everything under the sun in Sm4sh. It's an extreme learning curve but time, patience, and enjoyment will make the going easier.

It takes a fair amount of time to develop a skill set. Me? I've taken up cooking since the early 1970s and I'm still at an only above-average level. I don't play Smash competitively myself but I'm familiar with frame data and advanced techniques. Your time is pretty much wasted if you don't put forth the effort in improving.

Sugar, the Smash community is not evil. There are so many friendly faces in this crowd. Meet someone, develop a rapport with them. We're here to lend a helping hand. But if you're set on giving up, do so. There's nothing we can do about that.

 

[#HBC | Red Ryu]

I won't tell you what is best for having fun and playing the game but I would recommend thinking about your mindset if you think that maybe trying different approaches might fix this.

 

[flamer180]

You cant give up.

You can become better if you try.

You just gotta be good, its not even about the character your playing, unless its jigglypuff or like ganondorf lol

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

I feel you, OP, though maybe not at such a level of intensity.

I'm turning 33 and the past year or two have been big eye openers to me on what motivates me, what I'd like to do w/ myself, etc. Now, my emotions and life are fine. But I still felt like I needed to be a part of something bigger than just the day-to-day grind.

So, a couple months ago, I decided to try to REALLY get into the FGC and be good enough to go tournaments. Various circumstances, that i won't get into, led me to that particular decision. But it was a big eye opener. How much work I had to do, how much training I had to put in time for, how much I needed to learn.

I had always just played NRS, Soul, and Smash games casually pretty much my whole fighting game life, and I practiced enough to be decent w/ a character enough to easily beat button mashers. Digging deeper into the FGC meta was really imposing. I came to the point where you are - wanting to just give up and go back to casual play or focusing on my backlog, etc.

But I said "F that". I decided to stick with it. Now, I'm still trying to find my niche, what game I actually really want to focus on (I have a bit of gamer ADD nowadays, which I can't stand!). It's currently between GG Xrd Rev2, Tekken 7, Brawlhalla, and Smash 4...maybe Skullgirls too. But sadly not KoF14. I know major tournaments are probably a pipe dream. But I'd prefer them be a pipe dream than an afterthought. So I'm still gonna try my best to be my best.

Anyway, that's all procedural stuff. Stuff I'm sure you know already. How about the mental stuff. You say you suffer(ed) from depression. I have as well. I've contemplated suicide as recent as just about 3.5 years ago. Now, I understand that competitive scenes usually have their share of dbags and a-holes, to varying degrees. Whether it be basketball, team online games, or fighting games, I've experienced it everywhere. When people (males in particular) compete, their competitive nature comes out and for some, that means belittling, insulting, and teasing others.

I don't want to say "you just have to roll w/ the punches", but you do. You have to realize those type of players are either secretly/subconsciously insecure or just psychopaths. Either way, their actions and words should be meaningless to you, personally. They really aren't IMPORTANT PEOPLE, are they? Just use it as motivation to get better. Learn to master that randomness or bad controls you mention. But you just have to accept that those toxic players are truly insignificant. There are some really good players out there who are quite nice and hospitable. Those are the ones you should try to gravitate towards.
Anyway, point being, you can give up if you want, whether it be completely or just competitively. But don't blame the game or other players for it. Maybe you can blame the proverbial "game", but it's still YOU that choosing to let this stuff affect you. I hope you stick w/ it, at least still play casually. Even local tourneys usually have the casual section, which shouldn't have the toxic players playing (tho they might). But whatever you choose, good luck and just try to have fun.

edit:
I should add, I'm aware depression isn't just about sadness and suicide. It can significantly just be about lack of motivation or drive, which is something I can empathize with as well.

 

[Captain Phobos]

Considering you made a whole thread to talk about this, I'd say that your still pretty open to the idea of coming back, so all I have to say is that Smash is far from a random game. Only calm and collected players can become the best. If you don't want to get involved, that's fine.