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How to play FPS games if you’re over 30

53 points by nigerian1981 4y ago

ok_dad 4y ago
I play hardcore FPS like From Hell or Insurgency because you die from a realistic amount of bullets, like one or two. You die more but you kill more too. I use a console because I think a controller is a great equalizer.
KingOfCoders 4y ago
I playing lots of FPS, started with Wolfenstein 3d, today mostly TF2, I'm 50+, mostly no problem.
- jeffbee 4y ago
  Still playing TF2. It is currently as popular as it has ever been, even though you could have concluded that it was dying around 2018 or so. It's a little different from other FPS since you can play several roles that aren't just twitch-n-click.
  - bovermyer 4y ago
    I tried dipping back into TF2 a couple months ago. The first two servers I tried had a cheater join and aimbot the bejeezus out of everyone. Gave up and uninstalled after that.
    - jeffbee 4y ago
      I use it the same way I use Twitter: only against people I know.
    - kipchak 4y ago
      This has been an ongoing issue, essentially people unusually dedicated to ruining the game run multiple Linux VMs with bots. Valve has recently done a bit to improve things after a community "save tf2" campaign, but it's a bit of a whack a mole situation. Practically joining a custom server with a moderator of some kind is the most effective option.
    - KingOfCoders 4y ago
      Sometimes it's bad and I join a deserted game full of bots, mostly today bots get kicked very fast. I think last year was worse.
- Sateeshm 4y ago
  I play like 3 tf2 payload matches before i start my work on most days. I'm 38
slowmovintarget 4y ago
tl;dr: Use good equipment and proper thoughtful strategy.
deleted 4y ago
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shortstuffsushi 4y ago
Is this intended for people new to FPS? I've been playing since early teens, coming up on 32 now... still consistently in the top while playing the handful of shooters I play. Perhaps it's because I'm not playing the twitch shooters though? I mostly play Battlefield.
- deleted 4y ago
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- coding123 4y ago
  I agree, I am super suspect of this article being true. Most of it is about training time. And Teens have much much more of it, given summer vacation, or, just not having any responsibilities ever.
  - shortstuffsushi 4y ago
    I would say any decline I've noticed is due to "training time," yeah. I will sometimes go a few months without playing... jumping back in will take me a few rounds to get back to "good," and I feel a similar slope when I start new games. I imagine if I played from end of work til sleep every night like when I had time as a kid, I would probably be as then-me, if not better.
- georgemcbay 4y ago
  Yeah it reads more like an intro to FPS play for anyone who is new rather than something age specific. I'm 49 and have been playing multiplayer online FPS games since Quake. I currently play PvP in Destiny 2 which is one of the fastest movement FPS games currently played and I'm ranked pretty highly in Elo across most of the playlists in the game: https://destinytracker.com/destiny-2/profile/bungie/4611686018430247198/overview https://destinytracker.com/destiny-2/profile/bungie/46116860... My reflexes haven't declined to any great degree. I'm sure if I measured them yearly since my early 20s there would be a measured decline, but it would be something on the order of handfuls of milliseconds, not a giant change despite the fact that I'll be half a century old next October.
- amalcon 4y ago
karweiss 4y ago
I don't need strategies, I've made my peace with the fact that I'll never be good at FPS games. I just play to socialize with friends and press buttons.
snarfy 4y ago
I play Unreal Tournament 2004, Unreal Tournament 4, Quake Champions, and Fortnite. I'm 47 years old. I'm by no means the greatest aim, but I can hold my own against semi-pro players, players that typically compete for money in tournaments. I'm often accused of being a bot. some tips: 1. Good equipment. I have 240fps monitor and wired gaming mouse. I thought I had it good with 60fps monitor but it makes a world of difference to have more. 2. Good settings. Your mouse sensitivity should be very low. I move my arm about 14 inches left/right to perform 180 rotation. It's a lot of movement and a bit of a workout, but it's the only way to make those flick headshots consistently. My mouse dps is set at 350, but really depends on your resolution also. My X resolution / mouse DPS = 4.8 (1680/350). 3. Good technique. Use your elbow and shoulder only for aiming. Do not use your wrist. Your wrist should always be straight. 4. Practice, of course! I play for about 20 minutes vs bots before I even go online.
- sph 4y ago
  This guy frags.
- o_1 4y ago
  4. couldn't agree more warmup is key
- deleted 4y ago
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- josefresco 4y ago
  > Your mouse sensitivity should be very low. > Use your elbow and shoulder only for aiming. What in the WHAT?!? As a fellow 40+ year old gamer, who's played more Q3A and UT4 AND Counter-Strike than I'd care to admit, I've never heard or scene this strategy. You must be very entertaining to watch with all the ...flailing about! UPDATE: I watched some YT videos of competition and while there's no "flailing" there's definitely increased arm movement. TIL thanks guys!
  - xboxnolifes 4y ago
    You've never heard about using low sens and arm aiming? That's basically every counter strike player I've ever met or pro I know about (plus every other tactical shooter with low slow enough movement).
ActionHank 4y ago
I feel like this was conceived of and written by people who don't play games. There is a huge gap between progamers who practice against progamers with coaches pointing out where they are falling short vs playing against any random teen. Having played games from childhood into adulthood I can confidently say I am a much better player now than at any point in my life whilst still playing less than I used to. If you were playing for the first time ever in your 30s then maybe the muscle memory and neural pathways aren't there, but that's just practice.
o_1 4y ago
tbh just play more reactive games like quake or csgo. Modern shooters don't sharpen your neural patterns the way classic gameplay does. More time trigger time less wandering around a map.
nawgz 4y ago
This article seems like pandering. > Medical studies suggest that reaction times peak at 24 and go downhill from there But if this peak is by a few percent, then why would a 35 year old be bad at video games? Also, if reaction times peak at 24, why would we be playing "superhuman teenagers", and not... superhuman early 20s? Side note - I think in NHL hockey they see early 20s is the most athletic / fast / skilled time you'll ever have, not surprised to see this here
- vkou 4y ago
  Because the explanation, of course, is very simple. Kids have a lot of free time, adults not so much, and practice time is the biggest factor in being good at almost any competitive activity.
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    Yeah, it's a whole lot harder to put 20+ hours a week into a game for several weeks on end, which is what it usually takes to get pretty-good-for-a-non-pro at a multiplayer FPS, when you're middle-aged with a job, a spouse, and (especially) kids. And still trying to have any kind of IRL social life whatsoever. Only really do-able if you're willing to give up most other interests for that period, and probably sacrifice some sleep, too.
Xeoncross 4y ago
All I want to know is where are the servers with the adults on them? I have enjoyed the more realistic FPS, but the kids running around everywhere just cussing at everyone or using aimbots kind of kills the fun.
- bovermyer 4y ago
  This is why I don't play Call of Duty or other similar games. Overwatch and its successor/patch Overwatch 2 have had less toxicity compared to other FPSes I've played. And I've almost never encountered a cheater.
  - Shared404 4y ago
    > Overwatch and its successor/patch Overwatch 2 have had less toxicity compared to other FPSes I've played. And I've almost never encountered a cheater. I've played OW off and on for years now, and have only seen two cheaters. One was using wallhacks (could see them tracking me back and forth behind a wall on the killcam) and one had incredibly blatant headsnapping (Genji with the worlds fastest sensitivity turning 180 degrees and landing a perfect headshot, repeatedly). A pretty good track record. Unfortunately, the monetization in OW2 has put me off. Hopefully that gets fixed eventually.
  - yamtaddle 4y ago
    The Modern Warfare and later Call of Duty games, in particular, made some really frustrating design choices that amplify the difference between players. The powerful rewards you get for success can turn a close-enough-that-everyone's-still-having-fun match into a not-even-close misery-fest for the losing side. It's a hell of a dopamine hit when you're winning (which is why people like it) but it really messes with the balance of the games.
  - GloriousKoji 4y ago
    My experience with Overwatch (1) is completely the opposite. In competitive queue there's blatant cheating about 1/20 games. Then there's the smurf problem where it might as well be considered cheating for about 1/10 games. Of course I report them and I see that thank you message about reporting but it feels like it hasn't done anything to curb reduce the numbers. Toxicity is the the inverse where 1/10 games feels like it's a match filled with rational minimally behaved adults. I pretty much stopped playing when Overwatch 2 came out.
xeromal 4y ago
I just play DayZ where everyone is from across the world with high latency and winning is more about planning and ambushing than quick twitch.
tstrimple 4y ago
FPS games require skills along two primary axis. One is your physical skill. Can you click on heads very quickly and accurately? This skill has an age related peak. If you're good at this alone, you can be successful playing these games. Another axis is "game sense" which is a combination of map, player and meta knowledge. What are the most common routes taken by the enemy on this map? If we secure this site, what are the most likely avenues of approach the enemy will take? What weapons are my opponents most likely to buy based on the current phase of the match, and how can we respond? A player with better game sense can be competitive with people who are better at those twitch reactions by setting up scenarios which favor tactical advantage over raw shooting skill. Communication is key here as well. You have to be able to get your team onboard with setting up these scenarios. These skill do not decrease with age except at the extreme end. Obviously the best players are great at both of these. That's why many pro players have videos out there of them destroying people who are cheating with an aim bot. Their knowledge of the game and maps give them such an advantage they can overcome literally impossible reaction times from opponents. But being competent at either one will enable to you enjoy and be competitive in these games, especially if they use rank based match making to ensure you're not getting matched against those super players. At the lower to mid rank of these games, you can see examples all over the place where individuals are competent at one of these dimensions, but there is almost always a glaring gap in the other. Whether it's the person who can consistently get head shots but also runs themselves into unfavorable positions so they keep dying, to the people who are trying to coordinate and plan but lose almost every one on one engagement. As you get older you've got to rely more on that game sense than you can rely on your raw reactions and that puts a real upper age limit on pro level competition, but shouldn't in any way prevent people from being able to compete in the pleb arenas.
- watashiato 4y ago
  I was about to write up this exact post, almost verbatim. Excellent game sense can seem like you're able to predict the future. Someone who thinks they're "bad at FPS games" usually runs into a lack of game sense, but mistakenly blames it on bad reflexes.
  - shortstuffsushi 4y ago
post_break 4y ago
Easy, play Doom eternal, get good, and then every other FPS feels slow as molasses.
- dartharva 4y ago
  Does it really? I've found that playing Doom Eternal normally increases the chances of getting my ass handed to me in Counter-Strike. Most mainstream shooters are extensively built around mechanics like cover shooting and burst firing that Doom tends to completely shun and even punish at times. Play too much Doom and you'll be accustomed to just breaking into the middle of the field and throw caution and covering into the wind, which is a great way of getting killed in seconds in games like CSGO, Battlefield, Apex Legends, Valorant and CoD.
IronWolve 4y ago
One thing as an old gamer (who played many tournaments 30 years ago), tactics is really the key for good players. Map awareness, spawn points, lines of sight, travel directions, common congestion points. Learning weapon recoil of the game, learn what weapons have advantages. I probably won't beat the younger reaction times, but I can still make the leaderboards, and still have fun. The only thing that sucks, is most games are pay to win. I dont mind paying for simple xp boost and skins, but buying pay to win objects ruins the fun.
- mfashby 4y ago
  Second this about tactics over reactions. I play mainly Cs:go and it's far easier to win a fire fight when the other player isn't looking at you :)
giantg2 4y ago
The thing I've noticed is that many games seem to depend on connection/host, even more than in the past. Halo Infinite is pretty much the poster child for being shot through walls and otherwise being a several frames out of sync or behind. No amount of reaction will fix that. Am I wrong for expecting games to get better instead of worse over time? Seems like its all about loot boxes, subscriptions, add-ons these days. Actual game play, content, and consistency seems lacking. Caveat: I'm mostly talking about the big popular ones.
- vips7L 4y ago
  Only valorant and CSGO are running proper 120 tick servers nowadays. Everything else is like 20-50.
  - angrais 4y ago
    Fortnite is 120 too.
superbaconman 4y ago
The article misses probably the easiest way to level up: Join a team. A four-stack is almost always gonna have a leg up on a team of randoms. Playing a game consistently, with the same squad, form group dynamics and strategies that are much more difficult to execute with a first time squad.
- shortstuffsushi 4y ago
  In my experience, beyond just performing better, you'll tend to feel better. Soloing forever is not very enjoyable in team games, in my opinion.
anarticle 4y ago
Hiya, 40s COD player here, you'll notice a lot of groupthink in shooters where players get very predictable. That is where your old head pattern recognition comes into play and you can exploit that play style. With proxy voice chat now, mind games get even crazier. I would use this very often in Rust to trick players into doing things, or faking them out with other tactics. If you don't want to play with those kinds of players there are tons of other shooters, Hell Let Loose and Squad come to mind as slower more team oriented games.
nathias 4y ago
your reflexes stay mostly the same for your whole life
bjt2n3904 4y ago
I believe the old quote was... "Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance..."
Minor49er 4y ago
I don't trust any articles about how to play first-person shooters if they don't say "gibbed", "fragged", or "suck it down"
phonepostingsux 4y ago
To see many real life examples of gaming after 30 check out qhlan(.org), a QuakeWorld lan party going on right now in Stockholm. People under 30 are a rarity here!
happytoexplain 4y ago
I was born over 30 in terms of shooter skill, and my winning strategy has always been: 1. Play games where there are options that don't lean heavily on precision/twitch shooting. E.g. class-based/hero shooters, or battle royales where positioning is more important and enemies are usually spotted at a distance. 2. Play with friends.
fallingfrog 4y ago
Yeah, people using all kinds of fancy hardware is kind of bad for me, since I generally play with a gamepad, cheap LCD tv as a monitor, and the sound turned off since everyone else is in bed (which means I can't tell if someone is walking behind me). It's hard to win super often when it's just a test of who can aim quicker, I usually have a K/D of 1/3 or something like that. Which, I don't care too much, but sometimes you get people swearing at you which is so juvenile.
keithnz 4y ago
I play a lot of Rust and I'm 51. I do ok! One of the interesting things I found when playing FPS games on Roblox with my 11 year old is that a lot of players don't know how to do the "Dance" so are always looking the wrong way in close encounters. Which just comes down to practice.
yosho 4y ago
36 year old here, I've gotten Diamond in both Overwatch and Apex Legends and was an LEM CSGO player. - I don't think reaction times matter as much as people think it does, positioning, movement, and general crosshair placement matter a lot more as does map knowledge and situational awareness. - Having good equipment is pretty standard these days, a good GPU and gaming mouse + keyboard is almost a must have as well as a 144hz or higher refresh rate monitor. - The biggest constraint on my ability to beat the best at an older age actually just comes down to how much time I can dedicate to the games. With a full time job, a wife, and 2 kids, gaming will always just be a side hobby and something I do with the little free time I have so I basically just don't practice as much as younger kids with more time. That's what 99% of it boils down to.
- deleted 4y ago
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keraf 4y ago
I enjoy more slower paced FPS' these days that don't require to maintain skill. Fini the Call of Duty and Battlefield days, these licenses have been milked long enough anyways. Even the newer licenses like PUBG or Overwatch require a regular time commitment to be any good at it (which make them enjoyable). I find myself having a great time on Rising Storm 2: Vietnam[0], Insurgency: Sandstorm[1] or Hell Let Loose[2]. They tend to have more mature audiences and less skill grind, easier to just jump in a casual game once in a while without getting obliterated for a consecutive hour. [0] https://store.steampowered.com/app/418460/Rising_Storm_2_Vietnam/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/418460/Rising_Storm_2_Vie... [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandstorm/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandsto... [2] https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/
- shortstuffsushi 4y ago
  For what it's worth, I actually found PUBG fairly enjoyable, given I only played two games. The first I dropped with a group who seemed to know what they were doing, but I spent about half the game in the menus trying to figure out some settings to switch. The second I got dropped solo and ... won the game. That felt a bit silly, I'm not that good. I haven't been back since though.
  - keraf 4y ago
    I hate to break it to you, but PUBG throws you in with bots for 10 sessions until you can play on live servers. You can get out of this earlier by completing the 4 challenges listed [0]. Once you play on live servers, it gets really difficult. I tried for a while, got pretty decent, dropped the game for a few months, tried again when I got back and it felt like starting from bottom again. It's a fairly fun game with friends, especially if they are regular players and you get carried around by them, you just listen and do what they tell you, try to aim straight, and it works out. [0] https://steamcommunity.com/app/578080/discussions/1/3180111158758097494/ https://steamcommunity.com/app/578080/discussions/1/31801111...
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thesneakin 4y ago
Who's in denial they're nearing 60?
singularity2001 4y ago
But can you out-cheat them?
t0bia_s 4y ago
Why would you even bother to compete with teenagers in multiplayer FPS games in your 30's?
rogo000 4y ago
I miss Planetside original

53 points by nigerian1981 4y ago

I play hardcore FPS like From Hell or Insurgency because you die from a realistic amount of bullets, like one or two. You die more but you kill more too. I use a console because I think a controller is a great equalizer.

KingOfCoders 4y ago

I playing lots of FPS, started with Wolfenstein 3d, today mostly TF2, I'm 50+, mostly no problem.

jeffbee 4y ago
Still playing TF2. It is currently as popular as it has ever been, even though you could have concluded that it was dying around 2018 or so. It's a little different from other FPS since you can play several roles that aren't just twitch-n-click.
- bovermyer 4y ago
  I tried dipping back into TF2 a couple months ago. The first two servers I tried had a cheater join and aimbot the bejeezus out of everyone. Gave up and uninstalled after that.
  - jeffbee 4y ago
    I use it the same way I use Twitter: only against people I know.
  - kipchak 4y ago
    This has been an ongoing issue, essentially people unusually dedicated to ruining the game run multiple Linux VMs with bots. Valve has recently done a bit to improve things after a community "save tf2" campaign, but it's a bit of a whack a mole situation. Practically joining a custom server with a moderator of some kind is the most effective option.
  - KingOfCoders 4y ago
    Sometimes it's bad and I join a deserted game full of bots, mostly today bots get kicked very fast. I think last year was worse.
Sateeshm 4y ago
I play like 3 tf2 payload matches before i start my work on most days. I'm 38

slowmovintarget 4y ago

tl;dr: Use good equipment and proper thoughtful strategy.

deleted 4y ago

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shortstuffsushi 4y ago

Is this intended for people new to FPS? I've been playing since early teens, coming up on 32 now... still consistently in the top while playing the handful of shooters I play. Perhaps it's because I'm not playing the twitch shooters though? I mostly play Battlefield.

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coding123 4y ago
I agree, I am super suspect of this article being true. Most of it is about training time. And Teens have much much more of it, given summer vacation, or, just not having any responsibilities ever.
- shortstuffsushi 4y ago
  I would say any decline I've noticed is due to "training time," yeah. I will sometimes go a few months without playing... jumping back in will take me a few rounds to get back to "good," and I feel a similar slope when I start new games. I imagine if I played from end of work til sleep every night like when I had time as a kid, I would probably be as then-me, if not better.
georgemcbay 4y ago
Yeah it reads more like an intro to FPS play for anyone who is new rather than something age specific. I'm 49 and have been playing multiplayer online FPS games since Quake. I currently play PvP in Destiny 2 which is one of the fastest movement FPS games currently played and I'm ranked pretty highly in Elo across most of the playlists in the game: https://destinytracker.com/destiny-2/profile/bungie/4611686018430247198/overview https://destinytracker.com/destiny-2/profile/bungie/46116860... My reflexes haven't declined to any great degree. I'm sure if I measured them yearly since my early 20s there would be a measured decline, but it would be something on the order of handfuls of milliseconds, not a giant change despite the fact that I'll be half a century old next October.
amalcon 4y ago

karweiss 4y ago

I don't need strategies, I've made my peace with the fact that I'll never be good at FPS games. I just play to socialize with friends and press buttons.

snarfy 4y ago

I play Unreal Tournament 2004, Unreal Tournament 4, Quake Champions, and Fortnite. I'm 47 years old. I'm by no means the greatest aim, but I can hold my own against semi-pro players, players that typically compete for money in tournaments. I'm often accused of being a bot. some tips: 1. Good equipment. I have 240fps monitor and wired gaming mouse. I thought I had it good with 60fps monitor but it makes a world of difference to have more. 2. Good settings. Your mouse sensitivity should be very low. I move my arm about 14 inches left/right to perform 180 rotation. It's a lot of movement and a bit of a workout, but it's the only way to make those flick headshots consistently. My mouse dps is set at 350, but really depends on your resolution also. My X resolution / mouse DPS = 4.8 (1680/350). 3. Good technique. Use your elbow and shoulder only for aiming. Do not use your wrist. Your wrist should always be straight. 4. Practice, of course! I play for about 20 minutes vs bots before I even go online.

sph 4y ago
This guy frags.
o_1 4y ago
4. couldn't agree more warmup is key
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josefresco 4y ago
> Your mouse sensitivity should be very low. > Use your elbow and shoulder only for aiming. What in the WHAT?!? As a fellow 40+ year old gamer, who's played more Q3A and UT4 AND Counter-Strike than I'd care to admit, I've never heard or scene this strategy. You must be very entertaining to watch with all the ...flailing about! UPDATE: I watched some YT videos of competition and while there's no "flailing" there's definitely increased arm movement. TIL thanks guys!
- xboxnolifes 4y ago
  You've never heard about using low sens and arm aiming? That's basically every counter strike player I've ever met or pro I know about (plus every other tactical shooter with low slow enough movement).

ActionHank 4y ago

I feel like this was conceived of and written by people who don't play games. There is a huge gap between progamers who practice against progamers with coaches pointing out where they are falling short vs playing against any random teen. Having played games from childhood into adulthood I can confidently say I am a much better player now than at any point in my life whilst still playing less than I used to. If you were playing for the first time ever in your 30s then maybe the muscle memory and neural pathways aren't there, but that's just practice.

o_1 4y ago

tbh just play more reactive games like quake or csgo. Modern shooters don't sharpen your neural patterns the way classic gameplay does. More time trigger time less wandering around a map.

nawgz 4y ago

This article seems like pandering. > Medical studies suggest that reaction times peak at 24 and go downhill from there But if this peak is by a few percent, then why would a 35 year old be bad at video games? Also, if reaction times peak at 24, why would we be playing "superhuman teenagers", and not... superhuman early 20s? Side note - I think in NHL hockey they see early 20s is the most athletic / fast / skilled time you'll ever have, not surprised to see this here

vkou 4y ago
Because the explanation, of course, is very simple. Kids have a lot of free time, adults not so much, and practice time is the biggest factor in being good at almost any competitive activity.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  Yeah, it's a whole lot harder to put 20+ hours a week into a game for several weeks on end, which is what it usually takes to get pretty-good-for-a-non-pro at a multiplayer FPS, when you're middle-aged with a job, a spouse, and (especially) kids. And still trying to have any kind of IRL social life whatsoever. Only really do-able if you're willing to give up most other interests for that period, and probably sacrifice some sleep, too.

Xeoncross 4y ago

All I want to know is where are the servers with the adults on them? I have enjoyed the more realistic FPS, but the kids running around everywhere just cussing at everyone or using aimbots kind of kills the fun.

bovermyer 4y ago
This is why I don't play Call of Duty or other similar games. Overwatch and its successor/patch Overwatch 2 have had less toxicity compared to other FPSes I've played. And I've almost never encountered a cheater.
- Shared404 4y ago
  > Overwatch and its successor/patch Overwatch 2 have had less toxicity compared to other FPSes I've played. And I've almost never encountered a cheater. I've played OW off and on for years now, and have only seen two cheaters. One was using wallhacks (could see them tracking me back and forth behind a wall on the killcam) and one had incredibly blatant headsnapping (Genji with the worlds fastest sensitivity turning 180 degrees and landing a perfect headshot, repeatedly). A pretty good track record. Unfortunately, the monetization in OW2 has put me off. Hopefully that gets fixed eventually.
- yamtaddle 4y ago
  The Modern Warfare and later Call of Duty games, in particular, made some really frustrating design choices that amplify the difference between players. The powerful rewards you get for success can turn a close-enough-that-everyone's-still-having-fun match into a not-even-close misery-fest for the losing side. It's a hell of a dopamine hit when you're winning (which is why people like it) but it really messes with the balance of the games.
- GloriousKoji 4y ago
  My experience with Overwatch (1) is completely the opposite. In competitive queue there's blatant cheating about 1/20 games. Then there's the smurf problem where it might as well be considered cheating for about 1/10 games. Of course I report them and I see that thank you message about reporting but it feels like it hasn't done anything to curb reduce the numbers. Toxicity is the the inverse where 1/10 games feels like it's a match filled with rational minimally behaved adults. I pretty much stopped playing when Overwatch 2 came out.

xeromal 4y ago

I just play DayZ where everyone is from across the world with high latency and winning is more about planning and ambushing than quick twitch.

tstrimple 4y ago

FPS games require skills along two primary axis. One is your physical skill. Can you click on heads very quickly and accurately? This skill has an age related peak. If you're good at this alone, you can be successful playing these games. Another axis is "game sense" which is a combination of map, player and meta knowledge. What are the most common routes taken by the enemy on this map? If we secure this site, what are the most likely avenues of approach the enemy will take? What weapons are my opponents most likely to buy based on the current phase of the match, and how can we respond? A player with better game sense can be competitive with people who are better at those twitch reactions by setting up scenarios which favor tactical advantage over raw shooting skill. Communication is key here as well. You have to be able to get your team onboard with setting up these scenarios. These skill do not decrease with age except at the extreme end. Obviously the best players are great at both of these. That's why many pro players have videos out there of them destroying people who are cheating with an aim bot. Their knowledge of the game and maps give them such an advantage they can overcome literally impossible reaction times from opponents. But being competent at either one will enable to you enjoy and be competitive in these games, especially if they use rank based match making to ensure you're not getting matched against those super players. At the lower to mid rank of these games, you can see examples all over the place where individuals are competent at one of these dimensions, but there is almost always a glaring gap in the other. Whether it's the person who can consistently get head shots but also runs themselves into unfavorable positions so they keep dying, to the people who are trying to coordinate and plan but lose almost every one on one engagement. As you get older you've got to rely more on that game sense than you can rely on your raw reactions and that puts a real upper age limit on pro level competition, but shouldn't in any way prevent people from being able to compete in the pleb arenas.

watashiato 4y ago
I was about to write up this exact post, almost verbatim. Excellent game sense can seem like you're able to predict the future. Someone who thinks they're "bad at FPS games" usually runs into a lack of game sense, but mistakenly blames it on bad reflexes.
- shortstuffsushi 4y ago

post_break 4y ago

Easy, play Doom eternal, get good, and then every other FPS feels slow as molasses.

dartharva 4y ago
Does it really? I've found that playing Doom Eternal normally increases the chances of getting my ass handed to me in Counter-Strike. Most mainstream shooters are extensively built around mechanics like cover shooting and burst firing that Doom tends to completely shun and even punish at times. Play too much Doom and you'll be accustomed to just breaking into the middle of the field and throw caution and covering into the wind, which is a great way of getting killed in seconds in games like CSGO, Battlefield, Apex Legends, Valorant and CoD.

IronWolve 4y ago

One thing as an old gamer (who played many tournaments 30 years ago), tactics is really the key for good players. Map awareness, spawn points, lines of sight, travel directions, common congestion points. Learning weapon recoil of the game, learn what weapons have advantages. I probably won't beat the younger reaction times, but I can still make the leaderboards, and still have fun. The only thing that sucks, is most games are pay to win. I dont mind paying for simple xp boost and skins, but buying pay to win objects ruins the fun.

mfashby 4y ago
Second this about tactics over reactions. I play mainly Cs:go and it's far easier to win a fire fight when the other player isn't looking at you :)

giantg2 4y ago

The thing I've noticed is that many games seem to depend on connection/host, even more than in the past. Halo Infinite is pretty much the poster child for being shot through walls and otherwise being a several frames out of sync or behind. No amount of reaction will fix that. Am I wrong for expecting games to get better instead of worse over time? Seems like its all about loot boxes, subscriptions, add-ons these days. Actual game play, content, and consistency seems lacking. Caveat: I'm mostly talking about the big popular ones.

vips7L 4y ago
Only valorant and CSGO are running proper 120 tick servers nowadays. Everything else is like 20-50.
- angrais 4y ago
  Fortnite is 120 too.

superbaconman 4y ago

The article misses probably the easiest way to level up: Join a team. A four-stack is almost always gonna have a leg up on a team of randoms. Playing a game consistently, with the same squad, form group dynamics and strategies that are much more difficult to execute with a first time squad.

shortstuffsushi 4y ago
In my experience, beyond just performing better, you'll tend to feel better. Soloing forever is not very enjoyable in team games, in my opinion.

anarticle 4y ago

Hiya, 40s COD player here, you'll notice a lot of groupthink in shooters where players get very predictable. That is where your old head pattern recognition comes into play and you can exploit that play style. With proxy voice chat now, mind games get even crazier. I would use this very often in Rust to trick players into doing things, or faking them out with other tactics. If you don't want to play with those kinds of players there are tons of other shooters, Hell Let Loose and Squad come to mind as slower more team oriented games.

nathias 4y ago

your reflexes stay mostly the same for your whole life

bjt2n3904 4y ago

I believe the old quote was... "Old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance..."

Minor49er 4y ago

I don't trust any articles about how to play first-person shooters if they don't say "gibbed", "fragged", or "suck it down"

phonepostingsux 4y ago

To see many real life examples of gaming after 30 check out qhlan(.org), a QuakeWorld lan party going on right now in Stockholm. People under 30 are a rarity here!

happytoexplain 4y ago

I was born over 30 in terms of shooter skill, and my winning strategy has always been: 1. Play games where there are options that don't lean heavily on precision/twitch shooting. E.g. class-based/hero shooters, or battle royales where positioning is more important and enemies are usually spotted at a distance. 2. Play with friends.

fallingfrog 4y ago

Yeah, people using all kinds of fancy hardware is kind of bad for me, since I generally play with a gamepad, cheap LCD tv as a monitor, and the sound turned off since everyone else is in bed (which means I can't tell if someone is walking behind me). It's hard to win super often when it's just a test of who can aim quicker, I usually have a K/D of 1/3 or something like that. Which, I don't care too much, but sometimes you get people swearing at you which is so juvenile.

keithnz 4y ago

I play a lot of Rust and I'm 51. I do ok! One of the interesting things I found when playing FPS games on Roblox with my 11 year old is that a lot of players don't know how to do the "Dance" so are always looking the wrong way in close encounters. Which just comes down to practice.

yosho 4y ago

36 year old here, I've gotten Diamond in both Overwatch and Apex Legends and was an LEM CSGO player. - I don't think reaction times matter as much as people think it does, positioning, movement, and general crosshair placement matter a lot more as does map knowledge and situational awareness. - Having good equipment is pretty standard these days, a good GPU and gaming mouse + keyboard is almost a must have as well as a 144hz or higher refresh rate monitor. - The biggest constraint on my ability to beat the best at an older age actually just comes down to how much time I can dedicate to the games. With a full time job, a wife, and 2 kids, gaming will always just be a side hobby and something I do with the little free time I have so I basically just don't practice as much as younger kids with more time. That's what 99% of it boils down to.

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keraf 4y ago

I enjoy more slower paced FPS' these days that don't require to maintain skill. Fini the Call of Duty and Battlefield days, these licenses have been milked long enough anyways. Even the newer licenses like PUBG or Overwatch require a regular time commitment to be any good at it (which make them enjoyable). I find myself having a great time on Rising Storm 2: Vietnam[0], Insurgency: Sandstorm[1] or Hell Let Loose[2]. They tend to have more mature audiences and less skill grind, easier to just jump in a casual game once in a while without getting obliterated for a consecutive hour. [0] https://store.steampowered.com/app/418460/Rising_Storm_2_Vietnam/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/418460/Rising_Storm_2_Vie... [1] https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandstorm/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/581320/Insurgency_Sandsto... [2] https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/686810/Hell_Let_Loose/

shortstuffsushi 4y ago
For what it's worth, I actually found PUBG fairly enjoyable, given I only played two games. The first I dropped with a group who seemed to know what they were doing, but I spent about half the game in the menus trying to figure out some settings to switch. The second I got dropped solo and ... won the game. That felt a bit silly, I'm not that good. I haven't been back since though.
- keraf 4y ago
  I hate to break it to you, but PUBG throws you in with bots for 10 sessions until you can play on live servers. You can get out of this earlier by completing the 4 challenges listed [0]. Once you play on live servers, it gets really difficult. I tried for a while, got pretty decent, dropped the game for a few months, tried again when I got back and it felt like starting from bottom again. It's a fairly fun game with friends, especially if they are regular players and you get carried around by them, you just listen and do what they tell you, try to aim straight, and it works out. [0] https://steamcommunity.com/app/578080/discussions/1/3180111158758097494/ https://steamcommunity.com/app/578080/discussions/1/31801111...

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thesneakin 4y ago

Who's in denial they're nearing 60?

singularity2001 4y ago

But can you out-cheat them?

t0bia_s 4y ago

Why would you even bother to compete with teenagers in multiplayer FPS games in your 30's?

rogo000 4y ago

I miss Planetside original