Possible to be good without playing 1000 hours?

[dpodblood]

Since the end of last year I have been putting a lot more emphasis on playing MP games, something I really haven't gotten into in the past. Specifically into FPS. I've been playing quite a bit of COD, BF3, and Crysis 3. Probably around an hour or two per day and more on weekends. Since BLOPS2 release I gave played about 80 hours.

Still I find I am nothing more than an average player. If I am lucky I have a KDR of 1:1 in these games, and I make it half way up the scoreboard. At this point is seems like there are one of two options.

1) Dedicate myself to MP entirely.
2) Give up MP entirely.

No matter what there are people out there who have a ton of time to dedicate to these games. And for many likely their online FPS of choice is the only, or nearly the only game they play. For that reason I don't see myself ever being more than an average player. I just don't have the time to dedicate to a game like that. I mean I routinely see max prestige players in BLOPS2, and that game only came out in November. How many hours does that even take to do???

For me MP is all about improving yourself as a player, but without the time to ever become better than average what's the point of continuing to play? As a side note I often see players hacking, camping, calling eachother fags, and screaming other obscenities into their microphones. Why do I even want to play with these people...

 

[KaOTiK]

You can't use BLOPS2 as some kind of barometer. The game is really spammy and the skill threshold is low and it becomes more of a reflex thing. I'm guessing you are a bit older (nothing wrong with that!) and your gaming reflexes are probably not what they use to be, as is the case for the vast majority of us. Play games that require more thought/tactics/strategy instead of just plain running and gunning.

Also, KDR isn't a good measure to see how you are doing, especially in FPS's that are team oriented. I've spent lots of time and die many more times doing something for the team to win the game rather than go out killing. I much prefer support roles in general as a lot of people tend to not play them and they are usually always in demand. Using your head and playing smart will take you far though. I KDR for any give FPS I seriously would play was between 1.5-2.5/1

 

[dpodblood]

Well depends on what you mean by older. I am 26 now so I wouldn't consider that old, but compared to the 16-18 year olds that come home from school and play 4-5 hours a night maybe I am. And honestly my reflexes are pretty good, but the thing I find with most of these games is that there is nothing you can do to prevent from dying a lot. I mean in COD for example the opposing team can have a ton of kill streaks going and you may not even be able to get out of your base. Or maybe you get the drop on one player just to find you are getting flanked by two others you didn't even know were there. A certain amount of it is about reflexes, map knowledge, and situational awareness, but there is also a large degree of randomness in these games. It seems like the only way to be better than the other players out there is to put an absurd amount of time into the game.

I cite COD a lot when I am talking about this, but really it can be applied to any online FPS. Even in BF3 I am constantly being sniped. I feel like I have a lock on an enemy and yet they somehow take me down first. Or a tank rolls into my spawn and pummels me until I just quit the game out of frustration.

And another thing with any online game is just the complete lack of consistency. I can go into one game lobby and completely dominate. Top of the score board and crush the opposing team. This is when I really enjoy these games. But then the next round I can get spawn killed constantly have a KDR of less than 0.5, and no matter how hard I try I just get more and more frustrated.

It makes me just want to give up these games all together, but some sick sense of masochism or maybe just the fact that I can't stand being beaten by some kind who uses "i love you" as a regular part of his vocabulary makes me keep playing.

 

[KaOTiK]

Learning the maps is a huge huge thing, it is one of the most important things to being good in an FPS. You need to know where everything is, what are good spots for this and that and what are good routes to take to avoid stuff etc etc. COD is a spamfest, you do better running around like chicken with its head cut off than you do trying to play tactically.

I don't know what to tell you. Maybe watching some videos of how better people play xxx game would help to understan d how to play it better. My friend who played MW2 with me was average at best, after he sat down and watched me play for an hour and understand how you need to play it and not like other FPS' he improved dramatically very quickly.

But in the end, you can't expect to be better than someone else that puts in 20x more time into something then you do. They will know every nuance of the game and be more prepared. COD eliminates a lot of that by making it so spammy but even in that clusterfuck there is a system to learn. The better players will always prevail while even the mediocre players will still look decent just because of the way the game is.

 

[Snock514]

l0l scrub l2p

in all honesty blops sucks, weapon balance is horrid, maps suck, too many whiny kids, ect

a huge part about being good in that game is knowing the maps, picking an smg with the right attachment(the accuracy thing) and spraying not much skill involved.

in regards to getting better theres no magic tricks just play more, maybe ask some good players whats up.

 

[TheSlamma]

you need to get yourself a bucket.. (watch Battlefield friends)

Oh and like KaOTiK said don't use and CoD game as a measurement, TBH why even play those exploited to death games.

 

[Barfo]

At this point is seems like there are one of two options.

1) Dedicate myself to MP entirely.
2) Give up MP entirely.

How about:

3) Have fun playing and not giving too much importance to your score


This is what I do with BF BC2 which is the only MP FPS currently play. I stopped worrying about my KDR and score and started focusing on having fun and guess what, when I learned the maps, strategies and how to effectively use the weapons at my disposal my score and KDR went up, though I still don't care much about them.

 

[Maximilian]

How about:

3) Have fun playing and not giving too much importance to your score


This is what I do with BF BC2 which is the only MP FPS currently play. I stopped worrying about my KDR and score and started focusing on having fun and guess what, when I learned the maps, strategies and how to effectively use the weapons at my disposal my score and KDR went up, though I still don't care much about them.

This --^

Plus OP in an FPS if you're team sucks (50% are sniper/recon etc) then you will die a lot no matter how good you are, so it may not even be your fault if you go 0-10 one round

 

[CPA]

tf2

 

[frozentundra123456]

There is a wide spectrum of natural skill levels that varies from person to person, I believe. Some people just have better hand/eye co-ordination than others. Everyone can improve their performance with practice and learning maps and other techniques, but those who start out with a higher natural skill level will always come out ahead, assuming equal time spent. And no matter what, some with exceptional native talent can be very good with little effort, while others (like myself unfortunately) could practice an unlimited amount of time and never reach the skill level of an elite player.

Despite what people say sometimes, we are all limited ultimately by our natural talent. Otherwise, why cant some very dedicated athletes never reach the level of a top level player.

 

[BladeVenom]

Find a more mature group to play with. Just accept that you're an average player, and enjoy the game.

 

[moonbogg]

Despite what people say sometimes, we are all limited ultimately by our natural talent...

I think this is true of course (how could it not be?), but time spent is also critical. If you've been playing FPS games online with a mouse for 15 years and you actually like it, chances are you will not suck at most FPS games. Those skills carry over to new games once your eyes and hands adjust to the new game.
So yes, its possible to be good without playing 1000 hours at any particular game, but I am willing to bet that it takes way more than 1000 hours at gaming with a mouse in general to be good at all, regardless of natural talent.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I think this is true of course (how could it not be?), but time spent is also critical. If you've been playing FPS games online with a mouse for 15 years and you actually like it, chances are you will not suck at most FPS games. Those skills carry over to new games once your eyes and hands adjust to the new game.
So yes, its possible to be good without playing 1000 hours at any particular game, but I am willing to bet that it takes way more than 1000 hours at gaming with a mouse in general to be good at all, regardless of natural talent.

I spent about 3000 hours on COD1-COD:BO, and it's pretty much allowed my aiming skills to translate into whatever game I play now. I don't play as much anymore so I'm down in the number of hackusations I get, but they still come in just about every round I play lol.

 

[Agent11]

It helps to play a single game regularly, playing others will just teach you bad habits and slow your reflexes, at the top in any game there is no margin for error.

 

[dagamer34]

I would spend 4-5 hours per day doing something else... than CoD. Haven't you see the movie Wall-E? :whiste:

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Whatever you do there will always be someone better than you.

 

[Eureka]

FPSes don't need a lot of dedication but you need reflexes. You can still get pretty good if you're carrying over skills from previous games. To get the high K ratios, you do need to dedicate thousands of hours.

Now, you can try other modes which are less reflex important and more tactic important. Playing deathmatch is truly about reflexes and you're never going to get good without lots of playing. Playing things like CTF or other objective based levels tend to even out the playing field a bit.

I don't have the reflexes I did when I was 12-13 (that was over a decade ago), but I can still keep positive K by playing strategically (think of the long run, position yourself so that reflexes don't put you at a great disadvantage).

 

[JTsyo]

Come join us in Plaentside2 and you can stop worrying about you KD and think about how to help your faction.

 

[Goothry]

I've got some tips for BF3 to possibly make it more fun!

1. Actually play with your squad!
Most people just run around and do what ever they want, but actually spawning on your team mates and supporting them in what ever way you can is a big xp booster. Your squad may not always want to help you, but that shouldn't stop you from helping them!

2. Use those class abilities!
Don't just use your gun, use everything! Classes have roles for a reason! It seems almost silly to say that medics should heal and support should help get everyone ammo, but a ton of people don't care and are missing out on xp they could be gaining.

3. Familiarity is key!
Learn to play on only a few different maps, with a particular class, and with a particular equipment set up. Switching guns and equipment too much doesn't let you master any of them, and can make it frustrating. Personally, I only play on one map 90% of the time, and I find it way more enjoyable when I can be situationally aware of what is important and where enemies are.

4. Following these tips and disappointed with the results? No worries, use the oldest trick in the book: use others as guinea pigs!
Not sure if there is an ambush waiting around that next corner? Let your team mates find out, and you clean up the mess! Some times it pays to wait and see how things pan out in front of you.

Hope these tips help make bf3 more fun

 

[HardcoreRobot]

you can be good if you have natural talent, but to be great you need to practice a lot. just like with anything else in life.

i dont know how to quantify a lot, but the more you play the better you will get.

 

[SlitheryDee]

Someone who is naturally good at shooters will be better than most of the people playing in the first 10 hours or so probably. That's just straight deathmatch though. Team based stuff probably takes a lot longer to get really good at.

 

[Midwayman]

The point of continuing to play is to have fun. I'm not a stellar player or anything, but what really makes the games fun is to get a regular group on VOIP. Play as a team and you'll see even an average player can do well. Plus you'll have a lot more than than dropping with random pubs all the time.

 

[dpodblood]

True. I am pretty happy to have at least one friend to play games online with. Makes is a lot more interesting that just playing by yourself on random servers. One feature of BLOPS I thought would be really neat was the "league play" which is supposed to match you up with players of your own skill level. But I was never able to find anyone else on PC playing league so the feature turned out to be pretty useless.

 

[KentState]

The one thing I notice is that people will jump all over the beta and learn the game. I then come along a month after release and get destroyed. It takes me another month to get competitive and then the next big thing is released and the cycle repeats. I guess what I'm saying is that you will never get good enough quickly on what's already released. Find something that you want to play while in beta and stick with it.

 

[Paul98]

The one thing I notice is that people will jump all over the beta and learn the game. I then come along a month after release and get destroyed. It takes me another month to get competitive and then the next big thing is released and the cycle repeats. I guess what I'm saying is that you will never get good enough quickly on what's already released. Find something that you want to play while in beta and stick with it.

You shouldn't have to worry about starting at beta you can come into any game at any time and can become competitive in a short amount of time. But you need to learn as you play, the problem the average player has is that they stick with what they know and do very little to improve their game. Makes most people an easy target.

If you want to get better learn the mechanics of how things work for the games you play such as how to move, fire the weapons, and other things that may be specific to each game. Learn the maps and where the good places for cover are, along where the players normally camp and come from. Once you have the basics down watch the good players see what they do and learn from it.