The days of playing video games by yourself or battling it out, old school split screen style with your buddy, are pretty much behind us. We now sit comfortably in the age of online play, an age where you can challenge gamers from across the globe to face you in combat so you can prove to the world you really are as good as you say you are.
Which begs the question “How do you elevate yourself above the hordes of newbs that fill game lobbies to become an elite/pro gamer?”
Check out SG’s top five ways to maximize your online prowess after the jump!
I’ve been a competitive gamer, with an eye towards actual prize money/rewards and tournament play, since Mortal Kombat 2 was still raging through local arcades. Since then, games like Starcraft, which remains one of the most played competitive online games on the planet, along with COD, Halo, Supreme Commander and many more, have opened the doors for intrepid gamers the world over to stand up and say “I AM 1337!!!”
What follows are some general rules and practices that will increase both your skill set and the overall level of fun you experience online.
#1 Practice Against Other People: This is probably the most obvious piece of advice for anyone who wants to be respected in online gaming circles. By practice, I don’t mean play through the single player campaign on the hardest settings a thousand times. That has to be one of the biggest misconceptions I hear all the time in gaming forums. The hardest (non-cheating) AI is simply no substitute for battling against a real live person, and playing hour upon hour against the computer will only improve your skill set so much.
If anything, it leads to bad habits that will get you slaughtered when you take those same anti-AI tactics you perfected offline and put them into practice against real gamers. Your best offline moves make you look like a blind groundhog trying to cross a busy highway when you go online.
So, practice online. To be elite/pro your going to be putting in a serious amount of time gaming, above and beyond what your “average” gamer would put in. Keep your head up as you get pwned again and again by other gamers. This isn’t boxing, all that punishment won’t leave you a spittle dripping automaton. When you lose, and you will, pay attention to what your competitor did to vanquish you so easily. Every game, be it an FPS, RTS, or Racing title has its own set of “favorite strategies” that will become apparent the more you practice. Learn to master these strats, and their subsequent counter measures. Once you have this firm foundation, you can then begin to develop your own unique gameplay style. Just think of this as one of those training montages from the Karate Kid…only don’t try and do the Crane Kick. Seriously, that move NEVER works, but I digress…
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Lol at page 5…. is that savior or some other Starcraft pro?
You did a good job covering the basics, and….
First post!
I would add the category “diversify”. Mastering a single gun or a single race in an FPS or RTS and pwning for a little while does not make you pro. Pro’s are people (COD4 for ex.) who can pick up any gun and immediately change thier play style to suit that gun.
Saying you “get kills so why not” is one of the worst mentalities. One of the common examples in COD4 is the Grenade Launcher. Sure you can get 2 easy kills with that, but if you go 14-31 ….somethings wrong.
I’d say a large factor in gaming today for pros are those people who can master many aspects of a game and change up on the fly…I guess I’m saying be flexible without sacrificing skill.
Oh Lalizig, shush with your first post nonsense.
Excellent article PMPB, but NoneOfYourBusiness’s suggestion that practising with as many elements of a game as possible – be it weapons, classes of character or different types of cars – is a valid one.
What’s the use, say, of spending ages perfecting your powerslides in a Ferrari if you’re plonked into a race of Toyotas?
Also, CAPTCHA, “14:00″ is NOT a word.
^ Sure is. Always been a big fan of his and the rest of the gang.
^ Also, this is more an overview than a step by step instruction manual. I do feel that should someone actually stick to the above basics, they could very easily transition into the more hardcore aspects of pro gaming.
I agree with the Etiquite part of this post, the best way to defuse a trash talker is not to respond. Ive had personaly many instances of a trash talker repeatedly shouting my name and insults increasing frustration as i just carry on chatting with my friends. Of course you can always mute him, but its always a little bit of justice to hear his rants die down into nothing as you know he now feels like a little girl shouting over the internet!
#3 FTW! Nice article PMPB!
nice article, especially the etiquite part. but there is no such this as “pwn” just some moron that can’t type right and hit p instead of o. i hate the term “pwn” with a passion and it should die, burn, and rot in hell where the devil can even use as a torture/annoyance device against everyone there.
speaking of morons that can’t type right, this in the first sentence should be thing
^
dude.
you just ‘pwnd’ yourself.
but really, i agree with tb to a certain extent.
when speaking (not typing), saying “pwnd” (poned) is completely reprehensible. But typing “pwnd” instead of “owned” doesn’t bother me much.