Multiplayer games may be a standard feature today, but they are a relatively new creation. Just a couple of decades ago, being able to compete with or against someone else was a rarity and doing so online was nearly impossible.
Instead, you’d buy a game, play the single-player mode, and that would be it. Once you’d completed it, you could re-run the levels, but there was nothing more you could do. This meant that the gaming skills you developed were to beat the game and the NPC enemies thrown at you.
Since you could only play alone, you’d have little to no frame of reference of how good you were, aside from the fact you could beat the computer. Multiplayer games, on the other hand, can be humbling, particularly if you’re a new player.
Gamers who want to play online and achieve more than being blown away almost the moment they spawn need to level up their gaming. Here are some top tips for doing it.
Learn Strategies
In gaming, just like many other things in life, doing some preparation ahead of time can give you a strong advantage. For gaming, this can involve learning strategies before you pick up a controller or start clicking your mouse.
Today, you can find strategy guides and walkthroughs online from sites like IGN, without the need to spend any money. However, for games like poker and chess, you may find that books provide more depth for these very strategic games.
You can also find strategies by watching professionals play. Online streaming platforms like YouTube and Twitch can also be a great source for gaming strategies as there are thousands of hours of footage from professional gamers and esports athletes showing off their talents.
Pay Attention to Opponents
If you find yourself getting beaten every time you go up against other players online, you will find the same thing continues to happen if you don’t change your approach. Look for patterns and watch what they do so that you can find ways to counter their moves.
In poker, you watching your for the timing of your opponents tells and the sizes of their opens can help you to take the appropriate action in response. For example, when opening, typical online behaviour is between 2 and 2.5 for big blinds, however, if a player occasionally drops a 4.6 in an early position it’s likely that they are holding a strong hand.
A different approach is required for shooting games like Fortnite and Call of Duty. In these titles, your opponents are likely to bunny hop and/or quickly move to a prone position when they encounter you. Doing so makes it harder for you to shoot them but doing similar yourself can both provide you with that same protection but also give you more time to take aim.
In racing games like World Rally Championship, Forza and Gran Turismo, it’s also important to watch what your opponents do because, if they take a particular line into a corner when you try to overtake, this may make it harder for you to get past. For example, heading into a hairpin turn, you may brake later and take the inside to get by, but if they move to the outside, run deeper, and switch back, this will give them a better run out of the corner so that they can accelerate past you down the straight.
Photo by Edgar Almeida on Unsplash
Practice
As the old saying goes “practice makes perfect”. Of course, there is no guarantee that you can make your gaming “perfect”. In fact, it’s probably safe to assume that you will be far from perfect. However, there’s certainly no substitute for gaining first-hand experience.
Esports professionals have strict training regimes that include several hours of practice each day. That’s not to say that’s how long you should spend practising, but it goes to illustrate that a structured and consistent approach can help you improve your skills. Thankfully, since you’re playing for fun anyway, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Main photo by Erik Mclean on Unsplash
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