Getting good at video games with little actual play
The Blind Eternities forum
Posted on Jan. 11, 2016, 6:45 p.m. by Arvail
Hey peeps.
I'm looking to get seriously good at League of Legends. I'm currently ranked Diamond V, looking to break into Diamond III or II within the next 10 months. That means breaking from the top 2% of players to about the top 1%.
Whether or not you're familiar with the game is irrelevant for this thread.
I'm a freelance writer and my free time consists of chilling on my laptop. I constantly use the mouse and keyboard. This has placed significant stress on my wrist. It became painful for me to type or use the mouse roughly two months ago. As a result, I had to drastically cut down on the time I spend playing. I've done all I can short of visiting the doctor to make sure my wrist is ok.
The pain is now gone and I'm able to use my wrist without any problems. Even so, I suspect that if I start playing for hours a day again, it'll flare back up. I don't want to fuck up my wrist.
Regardless, I want to improve at the game. That poses a problem. Mind you, if the game starts to seriously fuck my wrist up, I'll stop playing. The next season of LoL is about to start. I'll have about 10 months to accomplish my goal.
I come to you for ideas.
How do I maximize what I get from what little time I can devote to the game?
Has there ever been a time in your life you consciously dedicated yourself to getting better at something? If so, what was it? What did you do to get yourself to the next level? Is there something you think I ought to do considering that I can play maybe one or two games per day at most?
Animal Tax:
So you're semi in the position I am in for magic. I don't have anyone in my area that plays, the LGS is terrible, enough so it almost made me want to quit magic, and I don't have the money to start playing MTGO. What I've done instead is just watch a lot of streaming. I'm a fairly good player, consistently placing in the event that I go to, but want to get a lot better. However, the only way I'm going to get better is by actually playing and being put in the situations that the game requires.
With you, I suggest obviously just playing as much as you can. You might want to go see a doctor because carpal tunnel is a thing that can mess you up and they might have advice as to how to prevent the hurting. You might want to look into getting a wrist brace to wear when you aren't playing and one of the mouse pads with the cushion at the bottom where you can place your wrist.
Besides that best of luck to you. Hope it all works out for you.
January 11, 2016 7:51 p.m.
ducttapedeckbox says... #4
Do you know your weakest aspect(s) of the game? Some people have terrible map awareness, slow reaction time, trouble anticipating champion movements to landing skillshots, etc. If you can identify something like this, you might be able to find a different activity that replciates those movements / thoughts.
January 11, 2016 8:05 p.m.
Wrist excersize.
Building up muscle in the forearm can take strain off tendons.
Basic wrist curls or zottman curls can help develop forearms. Also skullcrushers alternatively workout your bicep and forearm. Also, lifting anything with a hook grip can increase forearm dexterity. I'd highly suggest checking it out
January 11, 2016 8:13 p.m.
I hear pleasuring your nether regions can increase wrist strength. Not that I'm recommending it, but I'm not not recommending it. =D
Or Shake Weight. Definitely Shake Weight.
January 11, 2016 9:20 p.m. Edited.
See? Wrist, forearm and bicep strength. It's perfect and not as messy as other alternatives.
January 11, 2016 10:37 p.m.
vampirelazarus says... #11
Perfect practice makes perfect.
Find an area you want to get better at, and use your limited time to practice that area. Over time, you'll get better at it, DVD will be able to move on to other areas.
It sounds like you developed carpal tunnel, which can be pretty serious. Look at the way your playing. Is your wrist bent door long periods of time? Are you putting unnecessary stress on it? If the pain continues, get a wrist brace,, and stop playing.
January 12, 2016 12:08 a.m.
I'm not sold it's carpal tunnel as I haven't been to the doc (no moneeeeh).
Still, I cut down on all use of my wrist, iced it often, started wearing a brace, began completing lots of stretching exercises I found online for wrist stress injuries, lowered my desk and chair a little bit, and adjusted my posture while writing and playing. Worked. No pain for a while now.
I'm thinking this:
- Focus solely on my two main roles. Play only those.
- Record and watch own gameplay.
- Spend time watching more streams.
- Create short and long-term goals.
- GET A BETTER MOUSE! One I've got is tiny.
January 12, 2016 12:50 a.m.
Souljacker says... #13
Haha the last point is directly related to your wrist; the a small mouse is super bad for it. Aside from the things you can do to reduce the strain on your wrist (you can easily find measures for that), I think you've nailed some good points.
I agree you should specialize to get great at a couple of things (instead of being able to do everything good). No more than 2 roles, and I know some pro's even play just a couple of champs too. That way you can maximize the mechanical skills for those champs.
Video reviewing your own play is super important in learning. Carefully consider what actions you could have taken differently, much like you do with deckbuilding.
Be careful with setting goals; while they help with staying motivated, you can lose your focus if you don't handle it carefully. Make sure they support the ultimate goal, and the requirements for that goal.
julianjmoss says... #2
Well there's only so much you can do that that level. Watching streams and professionals is really helpful but it sounds like you are at the point where the difference between you and the pros is just repetition. A lot of the pros simply are better from experience in match ups and scenarios where normal players haven't been before. You can't really simulate gut reactions without playing.
January 11, 2016 6:51 p.m.