Smash Wii U Losing motivation to play competitively, but can't pull myself away from the community.

[Linkip]

I've been trying to work this out myself for a while, but i haven't been able to. So i resorted to this. I know there are tons of threads about this but i think my situation is a little different because most of those threads are about not being able to improve and i feel like i am improving, but most of the time i'm forcing myself to play instead of wanting to and that's a huge problem. I'm gonna go into my issues and see if anyone has advice to share with me.

1. No real place to practice.
So i do all of my training in training mode and on FG. And i know going to a local tournament would probably be good for me but i have bad anxiety and going to a tournament full of actual people next to me would be the ultimate environment for me to flub and get knocked out in pools which would only make me wanna play smash less. And yes I've tried Anthers Ladder but i live in Australia and it's near impossible to find a match without lag.

2. Not going anywhere
It's always in the back of my head whenever i play Smash, what's the point? I can accept i don't have the mentality or reaction time to be a top player, and even if i did the best players from Australia very rarely get flown to events outside of Australia. The amount of money to actually fly to the USA would be far to much so i'd just be playing against Australian players. And of course i probably don't have the reaction time to even be a top Australian player as i said earlier so really it's pretty pointless.


These are the 2 main things that are killing my passion and one of the only things that makes me stay is the community. I love watching tournaments, i love the top players personalities, i love the community in general who are normally very nice. and the second thing is the actual game.
The characters and fighting style are really cool and are what made me wanna play competitively at all.

I feel like playing competitively is becoming a chore, but if i stop a lot of stuff i really enjoy goes with it.
People tell me i can still watch competitive Smash without playing competitively and that's true but as someone who has watched Smash as a casual and a competitive player it's a really different feeling. Watching as a casual is not nearly as entertaining.

Anyway i would love to hear if anyone else has had this happen to them and if they kept playing or quit. So post away!

 

[Crystanium]

I haven't been playing Sm4sh lately. I don't have a Wii U or Sm4sh, so the only time I get to play is if I go to my brother's, which is about once a week. I've been spending most of my time playing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. If I want to get back into Sm4sh and become a good player, I have to find ways to own a Wii U, Sm4sh, and time to play. (The latter wouldn't be an issue if I owned the first two items.)

1. For Glory and Training Mode
If this is your only way of playing Sm4sh, it doesn't mean you cannot enjoy it or become a better player. I've never gone to a local tournament myself, but my brother has. If you have the means to attend local tournaments, but if your concern is your anxiety, then you should probably find a psychiatrist and look for a medication that would help you with your anxiety. This is likely your biggest disadvantage, but it doesn't need to be.

2. You're not going anywhere
Just because you're not attending tournaments outside of Australia, let alone attending local tournaments, doesn't mean you cannot enjoy Sm4sh and become a good player. Some people attend tournaments through some kind of means. I'm not sure how. Some make a living from playing fighting games competitively. If you don't have the financial means at the current time, don't let that hinder you from enjoying Sm4sh.

You also bring up reaction time. This isn't the only factor, otherwise, the only person who would be the best player would be the one with the lowest reaction time. I doubt ZeRo has the lowest reaction time in all of Smash history. I also doubt M2K has the lowest reaction time in all of Smash history. The winner only wins because of two important reasons. The first is because he has perfected his strategy. The second is because he maintains a positive attitude. Anyone can do this, even you.

 

[Darth Battler]

To be fair, since you can acknowledge you currently don't have the mentality or reaction.. that means you're aware of the issues!

Mentality is certainty something that can be worked on! Otherwise philosophy wouldn't exist! Reaction time is something that gets better with experience and practice!

But improvements will come slower than you'd like if you don't have the mentality and fortitude to continue to seek out improvement! Regardless of winning and losing, you always gain experience!

 

[v3ga]

have bad anxiety and going to a tournament full of actual people next to me would be the ultimate environment for me to flub and get knocked out in pools which would only make me wanna play smash less.

sounds like you might just not want to play then, if your sole intention is to play to win Lol. It's impossible to not be around other people to improve to the point of playing competitively, let alone playing in front of a crowd in a pressure situation. TBH just try and accept that fact that you probably won't ever be that good at this game and just try to have fun with the character(s) that you like against other people and I promise you, you will start to see major improvement

 

[Wintermelon43]

I've been trying to work this out myself for a while, but i haven't been able to. So i resorted to this. I know there are tons of threads about this but i think my situation is a little different because most of those threads are about not being able to improve and i feel like i am improving, but most of the time i'm forcing myself to play instead of wanting to and that's a huge problem. I'm gonna go into my issues and see if anyone has advice to share with me.

1. No real place to practice.
So i do all of my training in training mode and on FG. And i know going to a local tournament would probably be good for me but i have bad anxiety and going to a tournament full of actual people next to me would be the ultimate environment for me to flub and get knocked out in pools which would only make me wanna play smash less. And yes I've tried Anthers Ladder but i live in Australia and it's near impossible to find a match without lag.

2. Not going anywhere
It's always in the back of my head whenever i play Smash, what's the point? I can accept i don't have the mentality or reaction time to be a top player, and even if i did the best players from Australia very rarely get flown to events outside of Australia. The amount of money to actually fly to the USA would be far to much so i'd just be playing against Australian players. And of course i probably don't have the reaction time to even be a top Australian player as i said earlier so really it's pretty pointless.


These are the 2 main things that are killing my passion and one of the only things that makes me stay is the community. I love watching tournaments, i love the top players personalities, i love the community in general who are normally very nice. and the second thing is the actual game.
The characters and fighting style are really cool and are what made me wanna play competitively at all.

I feel like playing competitively is becoming a chore, but if i stop a lot of stuff i really enjoy goes with it.
People tell me i can still watch competitive Smash without playing competitively and that's true but as someone who has watched Smash as a casual and a competitive player it's a really different feeling. Watching as a casual is not nearly as entertaining.

Anyway i would love to hear if anyone else has had this happen to them and if they kept playing or quit. So post away!

I feel the same way! I have litertatly lost all desire to become a good player. And it's pretty much those 2 reasons you posted. It's that there's no real way for me to practice (I've tried Discord, very rarely does anyone reply, and when they do, it's hours later and I can't play anymore. And I can't do Anther's Ladder because of anxiety and pressure from losing and falling down in ranks. I can't even play the Ranked Modes in Splatoon because of it, there's no way I can do Anther's Ladder), and, even more importantly, that I have no way to get to tournaments. There's no point in putting a ton of effort into becoming a really good player, if I can't even put it to any use anyway since I have no way to even go to a random 10-man tournament. let alone a national. I feel like it's an entire waste for me to try to get good, espicially when it's nearly impossible for me to get good in the first place.

 

[Xandra]

It sounds kinda like you only want to play if you win. The thing is, if you all you can think about when playing a game is that you'll never be a pro player/you'll never win a major tournament or whatever, you're going to start losing motivation. Heck I know many really good players, but they've never won a major or a regular tournament. You don't have to win to have fun. Having fun comes from just enjoying the time you spend playing the game. Trust me - I used to have the same "What's the point?" mentality until I realized that winning isn't the best part of Smash. Making friends, going to tournaments and maybe not doing so well but having fun and chatting with people, etc. is what makes it so great.

As for your anxiety I totally feel you there, lol. I have super bad anxiety, even moreso in social situations. The best thing you can do for yourself is to keep pushing yourself. Try to go to one small Smash tournament. Keep doing that and eventually you'll grow more and more comfortable. You can't overcome something by not fighting it and pushing yourself to be the very best that you can be.

The Smash community is a lovable one. Even if you don't become super amazing at the game, the friends you make and the memories you'll have will be enough, trust me. c: (And if you want to know how to make friends, Twitter, this site, and Discord are really great places. They're where I found my amazing Smash bros.)