Hate PvP? Top 3 Guaranteed Ways To 'Git Gud'

#1  It’s Not Me, It’s You

Look, we’ve all had our rage moments when on a bad tilt. Maybe it was your diet that day? Perhaps even the alignment of the cosmos during your playtime? Or, now stay with me, maybe you just suck for the moment. It HAPPENS. It’s natural to get frustrated when you know you can do better. And while the most common topic of these rants is “THIS GAME SUCKS, DUDE!” (to keep it PG), there are times when that could actually be partly true.

Video Games are complex works of art, sometimes needing hundreds, if not thousands, of people during the course of their development to achieve success. (don’t worry, indie devs, we see you too!). Even so, it’s not unheard of for these to be buggy or ill-optimized once it goes online. If you suddenly have a feeling like something just isn’t working right, causing you to lose or die more often, check out that game’s community forums!

Whether it be Reddit, Discord, or any other place where players are active, if the issue is game-related, there’s a chance someone else might have already brought up the subject! But be careful. Sure, sometimes it can be the game, but other times it can be a loud minority of disgruntled players finding an excuse to trash-talk the game. But in those cases where it’s proven that there is some game-breaking exploit, SAY SOMETHING.

Sometimes, the devs won’t know something unless you get enough of the player base getting vocal on the issue. So before you go on a long rant about how the devs don’t care and they’ve made a “crap” game (putting it lightly), make sure they actually know what’s going on! Don’t let cheaters ruin the experience for everyone else!

#2 Wait, It IS Me?

Hey, sometimes there is some truth to “sounds like a skill issue”. However, unlike how many use that phrase to simply handwave someone’s struggles, let’s take a more nuanced approach to this!

The nature of PvP is that of competition, strategy, and above all else, determination. The last bit is what can truly separate the “rage quitters” from the winners. If you get discouraged from continuing a game because you do poorly and drop the game, or worse, blame it entirely, you’re doing yourself a disservice! Firstly, and you may not want to hear this, but there’s a chance you don’t like competitive games if being bad is enough to “ruin” the experience for you. But that’s part of the whole experience, friend!

Do you think every person who ends up being a top-rated player never sucked? Sure, there are SOME of those inhuman skill machines that are just naturally gifted, but for the remaining 99% of us, everybody starts somewhere. But let’s say you LOVE this game, and don’t want to drop it even though you feel like doing so. What do you do? RESEARCH, of course!

Watch videos of the latest meta-builds and strategies! Take some time to learn more about the mechanics of the game that many top players are utilizing to their maximum potential. If hit-boxes are an integral part of how to approach a game, and you don’t even know what the term means, you’re already at a disadvantage! Suffice it to say, if you enjoy a game enough to want to get better, take some time out of your day to see what top players are doing.

From animation-cancels to helpful key-bindings to even deep-cut game settings, you’d be surprised how little things can compound into MASSIVE improvement to your skills. In my Call of Duty days, learning the “Tactical” button layout was INSTRUMENTAL to my improved reaction times and mobility. And you know what? To this day, I STILL use this layout when on a controller. Sometimes it’s really that simple!

#3 Alright, So It’s Both?

Yeah, pretty much! There’s no single way to go about giving advice on this subject, as every game and every console/system has its own plethora of communities and ways of improving skillsets. If you expected this article to give you very simple and perfect advice that would improve your PvP prowess overnight, I’m sorry to say that’s exactly the mentality that may work against you.

Everybody has their own reasons for playing video games, and more specifically, everyone approaches PvP in a different way. For me, before I put too much pressure on being “good,” I familiarize myself with the controls and, if possible, mess around with settings. Sure, I can literally spend over an hour just experimenting with sliders and key-bindings, but here’s the thing: I can confidently say that any game I feel I’m quite good at, it’s because I took the time to really play around with the interface and settings before I actually fully lock into the game.

PvP Isn’t For Everyone

If all of this seems like far too much work and it’s simply not something you’re willing to spend energy or effort into, then perhaps non-PvP or even casual games may be more your speed! And you know what? That’s 100% valid! Play video games to make you happy in the way YOU want. Like any other passion or hobby, if you enjoy it, why not do some homework? Homework only sucks when it’s on something you don’t care about. Don’t let the crappy education system snuff out the striving for knowledge! Never forget: Knowledge is power, and power is an improved K/D Ratio!

Now what are you waiting for? The Article is done. DO YOUR HOMEWORK!