5 ms·

Guess I might go against the HN grain here. I played Counter-Strike competitively and professional from around 17-22 (I'd say on average 5-6 hours a day). I sti

by dvt 10y ago

Guess I might go against the HN grain here. I played Counter-Strike competitively and professional from around 17-22 (I'd say on average 5-6 hours a day). I still play every now and then, but don't compete at tournaments or in leagues. I'm 30 now. Not only was my experience irreplaceable and positive (I made many life-long friends and met many cool people), but it also helped me with many other aspects of "grown-up" life: - I learned to be goal-oriented and focused - I learned how to lead and work with a team to succeed at a common goal - I learned how to weed out shitty people that poison the environment - I learned what it truly takes and how hard it is to be the top 1% at anything (even at a stupid video game) - I learned how to negotiate contracts and balance budgets I think being in the top-tier at anything gives a very specific outlook on things. Playing casually or "just for fun" never really appealed to me as I have a very competitive personality.

thoughtpalette 10y ago
Hi there, We may've ran into each other online (I'm 29). I've played CS:S and CS:GO competitively and minor professionally, mostly under the team MM3 (Message Mode 3). I can't stress the importance of video games (especially on my industry skills). Typing skills, debugging, communication, economics, strategy, critical thinking, most of this on-the-fly decision making. It's been an immense help. I now play RocketLeague Competitively at the higher ranks and always wonder if I'm wasting time trying to reach that final high tier. (already made GE in CS:GO/15 LANS). But I'm seeing it start to affect my personal life. I can't stop, and I don't want to stop. Just some anecdotal experience, figure it may be interesting. VagDis|vDis-
kp1234321 10y ago
I am finding it very hard to get out of Silver because when I solo queue i frequently get matched with teammates who treat the competitive match like a casual game. Most people either don't use mics at all or they only use them for racial slurs, and many others just play like they don't really care about getting a win. It's difficult to lead the team when I get matched with three other kids who queue up together and dick around the whole match, and it's very demotivating to realize I'll have to endure at least 16 rounds of obnoxious chatter and getting owned. I really do want to get better, but I'm not yet at the point where I can carry an uncooperative team (especially when there are also smurfs on the other team). I feel like a good approach would be to find some consistent players and stop solo queueing, but I'd love to hear if you have any other advice. Also, what has been a good strategy for you to in weeding out toxic players? Definitely seems like an applicable skill in all aspects of life.
- siddboots 10y ago
  I'm in my mid thirties, and only play a few games a week. But I manage to stay at around MGE rank, and usually have good experiences. The best advice I can give you is never solo-queue. Add people to your friends list as soon as you sense that they are a good communicator and are giving a modicum of consideration to the experiences of the other players. Once you've built up 40-50 such people, you should be able to always start a game by joining a lobby, even if it might mean a bit more of a wait. The thing is that in a group of five people, having even two or three people being on the same page and taking the game seriously will tend to dictate the tone of communication. That alone will give your team a reliable advantage over others, particularly in silver and nova levels, so you should be able to rank up reasonably fast to at least nova 2 or 3 without needing to worry to much about your individual skill.
- s_m_t 10y ago
  You aren't focusing on the right skills. Until you get good at aiming, know how to move around the map, know how to read the minimap, know how to round a corner, know how to prefire, know how to place your aim ahead of time, know how to buy, etc you shouldn't think for a second about coordinating with your teammates or calling strats. Your best bet is to stop playing competitive for awhile. Just play aim/duel maps on the community servers and demolition to practice your aiming. Once you go back to competitive with some actual aiming skills and spray control you will easily blow past to MG on technical skill alone. Again, I highly recommend the aim maps or even a deathmatch server. Spectate whoever is at the top of leaderboard and try and compare to how you play. Silvers are so bad at the game playing with them is a waste of time. You have to play against people who are much better than you to get better.
  - obstinate 10y ago
    I like this advice. I never played CS:GO. But I did get to platinum in StarCraft 2 building nothing but stalkers. All I focused on was my economy and A-moving when it seemed like I had an advantage. Focusing on the right skills is important. Many players who were in gold and below were worried about strats and builds and micro. Totally putting the cart before the horse.
Baeocystin 10y ago
I paid for a year of college textbooks with Brood War. Won some decent hardware, too. Small beer compared to the competitions of today, but at the time it felt awesome. I can honestly say I learned just as much from the dedication required to be competitive at the time as any of my other classes, too. It was fun.
dbg31415 10y ago
I want to echo this. Leading raids in WoW was a great experience for me. Getting "server-first" took not only ability to play the game, but the ability to recruit and manage talent, practice clear and confident communication, and give constrictive criticism and praise (which is very important when you can't pay people). Getting good at a video game is a form of learning, it's entertaining but challenging to master all the ins and outs (every patch, no less) in order to stay elite. Few other things give you the sort of near-instant reward for your efforts that video games offer. The ability to flaunt your talents in front of others, in a situation where it's socially acceptable to do so... it's a nice outlet for some drives that you just can't do in the work place. That said... I generally can't play games "for fun" like some people can. When I play a game that doesn't have a level of competition to it... I get so bored. And when I play a game with competition and I don't have time to be good at it... I also get bored. Suffice to say I haven't been able to really enjoy a video game in years. (XCOM is maybe the exception. It's good "mindless" fun, and I feel like I have to work hard for every kill. I'm about 1/2 way through the new Long War DLC... I can't place why I like it so much, sure the nostalgia from the original in the 90s, and the challenge, but for the last few weeks I do a mission or two a night and it's amazingly fun. Playing the game my hands get all sweaty, pulse elevated... the terror and frustration of watching one of my favorite troops get blown away because I moved him 1 square too far... They did such a great job with this game.)

by dvt 10y ago

thoughtpalette 10y ago

Hi there, We may've ran into each other online (I'm 29). I've played CS:S and CS:GO competitively and minor professionally, mostly under the team MM3 (Message Mode 3). I can't stress the importance of video games (especially on my industry skills). Typing skills, debugging, communication, economics, strategy, critical thinking, most of this on-the-fly decision making. It's been an immense help. I now play RocketLeague Competitively at the higher ranks and always wonder if I'm wasting time trying to reach that final high tier. (already made GE in CS:GO/15 LANS). But I'm seeing it start to affect my personal life. I can't stop, and I don't want to stop. Just some anecdotal experience, figure it may be interesting. VagDis|vDis-

kp1234321 10y ago

I am finding it very hard to get out of Silver because when I solo queue i frequently get matched with teammates who treat the competitive match like a casual game. Most people either don't use mics at all or they only use them for racial slurs, and many others just play like they don't really care about getting a win. It's difficult to lead the team when I get matched with three other kids who queue up together and dick around the whole match, and it's very demotivating to realize I'll have to endure at least 16 rounds of obnoxious chatter and getting owned. I really do want to get better, but I'm not yet at the point where I can carry an uncooperative team (especially when there are also smurfs on the other team). I feel like a good approach would be to find some consistent players and stop solo queueing, but I'd love to hear if you have any other advice. Also, what has been a good strategy for you to in weeding out toxic players? Definitely seems like an applicable skill in all aspects of life.

siddboots 10y ago
I'm in my mid thirties, and only play a few games a week. But I manage to stay at around MGE rank, and usually have good experiences. The best advice I can give you is never solo-queue. Add people to your friends list as soon as you sense that they are a good communicator and are giving a modicum of consideration to the experiences of the other players. Once you've built up 40-50 such people, you should be able to always start a game by joining a lobby, even if it might mean a bit more of a wait. The thing is that in a group of five people, having even two or three people being on the same page and taking the game seriously will tend to dictate the tone of communication. That alone will give your team a reliable advantage over others, particularly in silver and nova levels, so you should be able to rank up reasonably fast to at least nova 2 or 3 without needing to worry to much about your individual skill.
s_m_t 10y ago
You aren't focusing on the right skills. Until you get good at aiming, know how to move around the map, know how to read the minimap, know how to round a corner, know how to prefire, know how to place your aim ahead of time, know how to buy, etc you shouldn't think for a second about coordinating with your teammates or calling strats. Your best bet is to stop playing competitive for awhile. Just play aim/duel maps on the community servers and demolition to practice your aiming. Once you go back to competitive with some actual aiming skills and spray control you will easily blow past to MG on technical skill alone. Again, I highly recommend the aim maps or even a deathmatch server. Spectate whoever is at the top of leaderboard and try and compare to how you play. Silvers are so bad at the game playing with them is a waste of time. You have to play against people who are much better than you to get better.
- obstinate 10y ago
  I like this advice. I never played CS:GO. But I did get to platinum in StarCraft 2 building nothing but stalkers. All I focused on was my economy and A-moving when it seemed like I had an advantage. Focusing on the right skills is important. Many players who were in gold and below were worried about strats and builds and micro. Totally putting the cart before the horse.

Baeocystin 10y ago

I paid for a year of college textbooks with Brood War. Won some decent hardware, too. Small beer compared to the competitions of today, but at the time it felt awesome. I can honestly say I learned just as much from the dedication required to be competitive at the time as any of my other classes, too. It was fun.

dbg31415 10y ago

I want to echo this. Leading raids in WoW was a great experience for me. Getting "server-first" took not only ability to play the game, but the ability to recruit and manage talent, practice clear and confident communication, and give constrictive criticism and praise (which is very important when you can't pay people). Getting good at a video game is a form of learning, it's entertaining but challenging to master all the ins and outs (every patch, no less) in order to stay elite. Few other things give you the sort of near-instant reward for your efforts that video games offer. The ability to flaunt your talents in front of others, in a situation where it's socially acceptable to do so... it's a nice outlet for some drives that you just can't do in the work place. That said... I generally can't play games "for fun" like some people can. When I play a game that doesn't have a level of competition to it... I get so bored. And when I play a game with competition and I don't have time to be good at it... I also get bored. Suffice to say I haven't been able to really enjoy a video game in years. (XCOM is maybe the exception. It's good "mindless" fun, and I feel like I have to work hard for every kill. I'm about 1/2 way through the new Long War DLC... I can't place why I like it so much, sure the nostalgia from the original in the 90s, and the challenge, but for the last few weeks I do a mission or two a night and it's amazingly fun. Playing the game my hands get all sweaty, pulse elevated... the terror and frustration of watching one of my favorite troops get blown away because I moved him 1 square too far... They did such a great job with this game.)