Help with ladder anxiety?

Hawkyns·1/7/2015, 7:26:37 PM·6 votes·1,560 views

So, whenever I've been playing ranked recently, trying to care less about winning/losing and I do, but before I play a ranked game I still have anxiety and during the game it gets a little worse. I've tried many different things to try to get rid of it, but nothing seems to prevail. I have fun, and enjoy the game, but I still have anxiety and get a little scared about everything. In normals I play extremely aggressively, and don't really care what happens and play like I want to an extent. In ranked I play extremely passive usually and if I try to make any kind of aggression i usually end up messing up due to being scared of the outcome and put half effort into it. I was wondering if anyone had any things they could share to help coup with this?

11 Comments

Aurelius Maximus1/7/2015, 9:50:08 PM3 votes

In the music world, when you are learning how to perform in large audiences, a big deal for many artists is nerves. Let me tell you, some people NEVER get "over" it and are still successful.

First, you simply must play more ranked. One of two things will happen.

One, which happens to about 60% of people. is as time goes you will just get more comfortable and you won't be as nervous.

Two is you will never stop getting nervous. If that happens it's ok. What you do then is learn how to play WHILE nervous. When you are nervous it's ok because your reflexes are gonna be on point and your senses will be heightened. Get used to your nerves and feel comfortable with them. Turn it into useful energy.

The most important thing is to not let your nerves stop you from playing. Work through it. It takes time to figure out if you will adapt or not.

F33dMeKills1/7/2015, 7:34:30 PM2 votes

Think of it like: Bronze/Silver isn't great. Once you hit Gold+, you can get the next year seasons reward. If for example you're in Silver III, just convince yourself that you need to make it to Gold and every time to lose your steps, you'll eventually get to Gold+ regardless.

Skylimetoon1/7/2015, 7:44:20 PM2 votes

you just have to relax and not be so completely focused on winning. the object of your game shouldnt be winning it should be learning from your mistakes so you can improve yourself and get better at the game. If you view every game as a minor victory when you lose you will have less anxiety. focus on improvement over winning. 1 loss isnt going to be the end of your ladder career so no reason to put so much stress on any 1 game. other wise you just over think the outcome and miss opportunities to improve. also just play the way you want anyways. the best way for anyone to play is the way they want to and are most comfortable with. Its similar to someone going first time "whoever" in ranked. just play wat your best at in the way you like

Grimspeake1/7/2015, 7:28:20 PM2 votes

standing under a ladder is bad luck

Hawkyns1/7/2015, 7:40:25 PM1 votes

@f33dmekills I'm already gold, so that's not why I play ranked anyways. I play to get better, but I can't force myself to play the way I want because I get scared.

Majidesuka1/7/2015, 11:35:38 PM1 votes

Play as you normally play in a game, you don't improve overnight, you improve over duration where experience and trial/error is key. Dont force yourself into a corner thinking "This Is The Only Way". Just be yourself, ignore the ragers/flamers/etc. Take in all the comments and constructive criticism there is to be offered. Review the games you play and think about the what-ifs scenarios or situationally plays that can be done differently. Above all else, Keep an open-mind, stay positive, and have fun.

ChexMex1/7/2015, 11:53:26 PM1 votes

When you lose, you deserve to lose. When you win , you deserve to win.

With those two facts in mind, treat each loss as a success and a win as room for improvement. Unlike most people, I swapped them around.

When you lose, you have succeeded in created an opportunity to fix something you would otherwise have not fixed as long as you are actively trying to correct it. When you fix it now, you dont have to fix it later.

When you win, you have more room for improvement. That's the checkpoint saying 'i fixed my mistakes, but i need to polish my overall play'.

Lose, and love it. Win, and crave it.

Ranked is a practice grounds, an exam. A place for you to improve, even bronze 3's may harbor more talent than d1's...It's just untapped because they are too focused on getting better or winning rather than fixing their mistakes.

TL;DR You can't polish a shield unless you get all the existing flaws out.

Hasztalan21/8/2015, 12:00:13 AM1 votes

There is only 1 cure for anxiety: play 2-300 ranked games and it will go away.

asdbnmrty1/8/2015, 1:47:34 AM1 votes

Don't take the perspective of not caring about wins/losses, as that is not the root of the anxiety. Ranked is the pinnacle competitive mode, you are suppose to care about winning or losing.

The key is to accept whatever tier or division you are at. The ranked anxiety comes from people not liking to lose because it brings their ELO down. ELO (representing your 'level of skill') is visualized and solidified by tiers and divisions.

While people don't want to be publicly seen as 'lower skill' represented through their ladder position, they especially don't want to see themselves there. And that is the key. Most people can't accept that they are not Diamond, Master, Challenger. They don't want to see themselves are Bronze or Silver, they can't bear being below average or average.

This brings on a whole different set of concepts like people displacing blame on teammates, but fact of the matter is that they have influence in the game and they couldn't pull it off. Regardless of how much the odds are stacked against them, a truly skilled player can still pull it off.

Anyway the point is, you're anxious because you don't want to lose and don't want your rank to go down which solidifies to yourself that you are not MLGnoscopeSWAGpro. And that's OK, you're not.. not yet. Be OK with losing, be OK with not being the best. This way you can look at what you are doing and how you can get better, and actually execute getting better rather than fooling yourself into thinking you are something you're not.