4 Tips to Stay Positive in a Negative Game

You’re fighting an uphill battle against a team that clearly has some seriously skilled players while your team has some less than desirable players. You feel your anger escalating at the fact that your team is letting you down or that you are clearly up against a hacker or smurf, making the game feel more like a chore than fun. There is nothing more aggravating in a competitive game than being against someone on a completely different skill level than you that just wants to “wreck some noobs”. There is however a way to learn from these experiences, become a better player, and not rage quit.

Now I am not one to preach to everyone about not raging in the middle of a match of CS:GO or League of Legends, however I have been working at it and gotten some advice from some great players on what makes them able to deal with the same problems as me. Yes there will still be those moments where you want to toss your keyboard against the wall, but hopefully these tips will help you to save some cash on destroyed computer gear and save you the stress of losing competitive games.

 Tip#1 If it bugs you, swat it and move on!

Online gaming is notorious for its toxic players who will call you every name in the book as soon as you make a single mistake. These people are generally just using your mistakes to vent their anger and the easiest target is someone who is easily offended. If this happens to you in a competitive match and you feel like that person is going to keep bothering you, just hit that ignore, mute, or block button and move on with your match. In no way at all is it going to help your game if someone just keeps harassing you for anything that they disagree with. If you continue to suffer through their abuse you will notice your gameplay go down a rapid spiral.

Tip#2 Don’t Go All Bruce Banner!

First off, you need to just take a deep breath and relax, don’t smash that keyboard! If someone is a better player than you then it means that you are just given a chance to get better and try to beat someone who’s a higher skill level than yourself. You also have to remind yourself that everyone loses at some point (yes even the pros) despite how good you are.
Now I am as guilty as anyone else for wanting to climb the ranked ladder and I am also guilty of not enjoying the game as much as I should be. The whole reason we play videogames is to have fun, not get angry with fellow gamers. One of the secrets to doing your absolute best in a competitive game is to have fun, it’s as simple as that! If you put your competitive match too high up on a pedestal then you are putting too much pressure on yourself and your teammates. If your next few games are provisional then hyping those games is one of the worst things that you can do, instead just act as if you are playing a normal game.
When the fun goes out of the game so do your skills and progression so instead of getting angry when you are up against someone who is better than you, enjoy it and try to accept the challenge and learn from it.

Tip#3 It Takes Time

If you want to get better than the people who have beaten you in the past, it is going to take time. If, for example, you are in the bronze division of LoL don’t expect to hit diamond or even platinum in the current season. Unless you are one of those professional players who get to practice nine hours a day it is simply impossible to climb the ranked ladder that quickly. Take your time, learn all you can about the game so that you have the advantage against those that don’t know every trick. I highly recommend watching streamers on Twitch to learn how to become a better player. Watching pros do what they do best can be one of the fastest ways to improve your games, especially if the streamer is interactive with their chat so you can have your own questions answered. Learning the mechanics behind a game is one of the biggest keys to having less rage quit moments in competitive gaming. By learning mechanics you will climb that ladder without smashing things on the way up!

Tip#4 Be the Bigger Player

Competitive gameplay will always have a bad community; there are no ifs, ands, or buts about that. There will always be those toxic players out there who are looking for any excuse to take out their frustration on you and the more you feed them with comments and responses, the more you are feeding the troll. There will always be other people who want more than anything to cause stress amongst others because they have the anonymous internet shield to hide behind. Be the bigger player and learn to not bite when those people taunt or verbally abuse you and do your best to not take any insults personally. At the end of the game don’t bother yourself with listening to toxic teammates or responding to them, instead ask yourself, “what could I have done better in that game?” and move on! Dwelling on how badly you and your teammates did will get you nowhere in ranked gaming. 

That’s It!
While I may not be a high rank in competitive gaming I do know that these tips can help you to rise up on the ranked ladders and also teach you to enjoy the game even if you lose. The main thing to pull away from these tips is that raging at your teammates, the game, or even yourself will get you nowhere if you want to get better at the game. Focus on what you have done wrong and aim to better your own play instead of harping on your teammates.