Dealing with how demotivating losing is

[Kotal_Wannabe]

wish i could help u bro but i have zero experience with losing especially to nrs players

Oh pls lol

 

[EntropicByDesign]

I want to second what Crimson said. Don't always play to win .

I centrate. It's how I learn.. so when I'm playing I'm rarely trying to win exactly, so much as in stressing some aspect of my play. It leads to weird questions from people and some insults and confusion, but fuck 'em. Why did you throw so much? Why did you keep doing/not do/whatever this or that, etc. It's helped me enormously. Pig has talked about this in his stream before as well.

Can I ask a question.. how often do you actually play? Like vs people? This is an issue of mine that leads to losing vs highly stupid shit... I don't tend to play the game that much. Life, the absurd main-hopping and my hatred of random modes like Ranked make.it so I just don't get a lot of time in game called human opposition, an issue I need to fix.. and so even though I have the knowledge and I'm trying to take it 'seriously' I just don't have the.. I dunno, pad time, to do what's in my head, or to counter shit that's not "real" because I never researched or practiced how to beat horseshit. I'd find I would do better vs players about a step up from the "bottom" because I had some vague idea what was going on.. I just wasn't good enough to enforce my will on random horseshit.

 

[Brain-main]

You were probs only good at mkx coz it was a coin flip game and anybody with any minor ability could potentially take games through sheer luck.

Now you have to actually exert patience and skill.
It's demanding, and it requires hours of practice and know-how.

I fucking hate this game when I'm losing to some cheesy bullshit.
But... I like it when I overcome said bullshit, it's hella rewarding.
Either pick a different character or learn what in particular you are struggling with and get someone to practice it with you.
How many games are you playing? It takes more than one match to figure out an opponent, especially if you are
a reactive player versing scrubs.
They can be extremely unpredictable.

 

[Cashual]

It takes some patience, but honestly the best thing to do is to work on one thing at a time.

Temporarily remove your fixation on Winning or Losing, and just Get Better.

The hardest thing about improving is that it requires playing better in a number of different areas; and so if you're trying to fix them all at once, it can be overwhelming.

I'd say to pick one thing, and work on that first. If it's correctly responding to blocking attacks that are slightly negative on block, then just focus on that until you get it down. Don't worry about winning or losing -- just focus on improving that one area, through practice mode /real matches.

Then after you have that down, move on to something else.

If you do this in enough areas, the winning will start to come naturally. Give yourself encouragement for improving in one area, not just for winning.

Keep in mind that this game will throw stronger opponents at you the better you get -- don't let that discourage you. Your own incremental improvement can be your reward (ex. "I lost, but I interrupted Robin correctly after EX DP this time -- that's good!")

Great advice

 

[Flamelurkr]

Don't want to come off rude but hear me out. If you're experiencing what I'm experiencing, then you felt like a king in mkx and shit in inj. Honestly I think this is because mkx was for total scrubs.

Safe 50s is one thing but mkx lacked a neutral game and that's what I find myself lacking in this game. I know this because my best character is the flash. If i get in i win. not because of the character, moreso because this is how I'm use to playing. When i picked up ga as a secondary, i immediately find out that my neutral game sucks donkey dick.

I'm only saying this because you compared the two. I recommend using the game and the entirety of its life to learn neutral, then you'll be better prepared for the next game. There are multiple players whose success varies amongst games. Can't win them all man, if you love it then fight and you'll find an ending you'll be satisfied with.

 

[JontyHar23]

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat."

 

[myri]

Just don't lose, simple.

 

[SaSSolino]

Well...I kind of already took a break for 2 weeks.

Just come play Fantasy Strike with your boy.

 

[Invincible Salads]

its made me not want to play good players anymore or compete for that matter. Thats what happens when you put time into something and lab, try to get good, then face the people who regularly go to tournaments, fail to take a game off them, go back to the lab, , check your frame data, check your punishes, check your tech, try again and still the same goddamned result......Fuck it.

i don't know what i want anymore as far as fighting games are concerned. I'd love to go to tournaments, have some fun and stuff. But on the other hand, i'm just going to repeatedly end up failing against the same kind of people.

 

[DDutchguy]

Good luck man and keep playing and try and have fun! Also.....don't let your self esteem ride on ranked matches man! Play people from here or on player match and when you find players you like, add them and invite to private games. Ranked blows.

Thanks man, your post was legit good and definitely helped me out.

It takes some patience, but honestly the best thing to do is to work on one thing at a time.

Temporarily remove your fixation on Winning or Losing, and just Get Better.

The hardest thing about improving is that it requires playing better in a number of different areas; and so if you're trying to fix them all at once, it can be overwhelming.

I'd say to pick one thing, and work on that first. If it's correctly responding to blocking attacks that are slightly negative on block, then just focus on that until you get it down. Don't worry about winning or losing -- just focus on improving that one area, through practice mode /real matches.

Then after you have that down, move on to something else.

If you do this in enough areas, the winning will start to come naturally. Give yourself encouragement for improving in one area, not just for winning.

Keep in mind that this game will throw stronger opponents at you the better you get -- don't let that discourage you. Your own incremental improvement can be your reward (ex. "I lost, but I interrupted Robin correctly after EX DP this time -- that's good!")

Letting go of the winning/losing mentality sounds like a good idea. It's still fairly difficult because to me winning and losing is an objective way of seeing who is the better player. But when I'm trying to improve and focusing on a specific thing (anti-airing for instance), I'm not really playing to prove something so at that point I should definitely let go of that mentality.

Did you play the first Injustice? You might have trouble adjusting to I2 from MKX if this is your first time also wt other fighters have u played as well?

Injustice 1 (as great as it was damn I had some good times) balance was not as great as it is in I2 movement was more clunky more 50/50s , Martian etc. my point is even in that game if I lost I felt like it was on me never did I feel like I got robbed , I could of made diff decisions that could have led to a diff outcome

The reason I bring that up is because I did not feel that way in MKX same thing goes for SF5 I lost and it would just leave a bad taste in my mouth mind like the problem is not with me but with the game and the mechanics itself ended up making me not enjoy those games at all, having someone just being able to get in for free by running in then just start going ham, or In sf5 I won't get into it but we all know the issues with that game

The point I'm trying to make is with I2 even if I lose I'm still enjoying the game , the balance is fairly good (I think it's amazing but everyone has their opinion, cept for Deadshot f$&k him lol) there is not such overwhelming stuff like the stuff I mentioned above so when it comes down to it if you lose its bcuz you got outplayed simple as that which means u can make improvements to prevent that.

It sounds like you are playing a lot of ranked matches mind you there is no problem with that but you are running into a lot of diff matchups with a lot of diff ppl playing said characters which also means lots of diff playstyles u can run into tele happy supergirls then run into a very methodical Supergirl making it hard to adjust so I would recommend playing sets more if you can that way if you are losing you can take a second and adjust to the player itself too not just the character then u will start to see yourselve improve and start not falling for that stuff you said you've been falling for

I'm lucky and get to play a lot of great players I can't tell you how many times it will b like my first set playing against them and I'm losing more than winning then I play a set against them again on some other day and start winning more eventually to the point were I feel very comfortable in said matchups , I had in my mind what I wanted to say but kind of turned into a rant lol but I hope something I said helps I2 is an amazing game and losing in it should not b the end of the world

I do have a couple of people I can play sets with, I shoud definitely do that more. One of them even gave me detailed explanations of what habits I had and what I was generally doing wrong, which really helped out.

The most optimal way is to not care about wins or losses ever. Everything is just a learning experience and you just do your best.

That's not how it works though since we're human. Caring about online wins and losses will drive you mad eventually tho. Really gotta let those go.

You're right, and that's what I plan on doing.

Can I ask a question.. how often do you actually play?

I'm getting back into the game right now so I imagine I'll be playing daily for the time being. Past couple weeks,I haven't played much though, so maybe yesterday I had to get a handle on things again.

 

[Zerodegreez]

I hear what you're saying and have felt like this many times throughout MKX as I started to take Fighting Games more seriously. I mean no one wants to lose but when you seem to lose and lose and lose it hurts and you feel small.

Best advice I've received is watch your games see your patterns see what you did wrong and could have done better, see what was working for them, work out, If it's character releated, if it's a fundamental thing, if it's match up specific, input errors, nerves etc...then lab it. You can't lab everything but if you can improve for next time. Why not?

It worked wonders for me and I improved but I've also peaked because the hardest Truth to swallow is I'm not ever going to be a pro or even succeed competitively at a good level. I'm not going to be as good as my peers who put in much much much more time than me, who play thousands of matches, who study every single possible nuance and situation, because the truth is I don't CARE as much as they, other top players, hell, even as much as advanced online players do.

I have other things in my life that I'm not willing to give up to put more time into a fighting game to be the best I can be. So do a lot of other people on this site. We're not all ultra competitve 'elite pros'.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be the best you can be If that's what you really WANT. But that's Not what I want and I'm sure others here too. So I have to accept my level as some intermediate casual and nothing more. Sure I'm going to get my Ass handed to me than players much better than me but it doesn't matter I'll learn from it, I'll lab it, I'll hopefully improve. I'll be wiser for next time.

However, I'm not going to actively seek out players much better than me, I'm not trying to be the best I can be. This is a hobby and nothing more, something I do for fun. I can beat some people I can also lose Grandly but if I overall stop enjoying it I'll quit. And I don't want to quit, I like this game, it's fun!

My advice is accept the level you're at, accept the level others are at, especially the top players and know what you REALLY Want out of this game. Remember what you actually Like and Enjoy about the game then think: Do you want to be the best you can be? Do you have the time to be the best you can be? Do you want to lose and lose and lose till you eventually start going even with the Best. Is that a price you want to pay?

Or do you just want to let loose and have a bit of fun and find others at your level. Improve what you can with the time you got and enjoy other things or passions in life?

Anyhoo, what ever your reason may be hopefully you can enjoy the game again. It's a fun game but it can be frustrating as Fuck too if you don't know where you stand and what you really want.

 

[Tundra81]

wish i could help u bro but i have zero experience with losing especially to nrs players

Gross didn't have any problem handling the worlds best retired Batman.

 

[ismael4790]

@DDutchguy

From what I read, you should also question yourself about if you are actually enjoying the game or not. You will have a hard time getting good at something you don't like, and even if you manage to do it, you will never be as good as if you liked it. You are more likely to lose vs people who actually like this game if you don't.

Also, you still have an mk avatar. And your mood chooser is set to an mk character too. Maybe you are an mk guy. Not every mk fan needs to like Injustice saga just because the same company develops it. The spirit and mechanics of these games are too different.

Many players have transitioned to Injustice just because there's where the money is. If money was not involved, I'm sure many of them would continue playing Mk. If you are a player that likes Mk, and to play at high level but without worrying about tournaments/traveling/pots, you should not feel forced to make the transition to a game you don't like just because some people with different goals than you have decided to do it.

 

[DDutchguy]

@DDutchguy

From what I read, you should also question yourself about if you are actually enjoying the game or not. You will have a hard time getting good at something you don't like, and even if you do, you will never be as good as if you liked it. You are more likely to lose vs people who actually like this game if you don't.

Also, you still have an mk avatar. And your mood choser is set to an mk character too. Maybe you are an mk guy. Not every mk fan needs to like Injustice saga just because the same company develops it. The spirit and mechanics of these games are too different.

Many players have transitioned to Injustice just because there's where the money is. If money was not involved, I'm sure many of them would continue playing Mk. If you are a player that likes Mk, and to play at high level but without worrying about tournaments/traveling/pots, you should not feel forced to make the transition to a game you don't like just because some people with different goals than you have decided to do it.

I love Injustice 2 much more than I did MKX. Thing with MKX was that because I did fairly well in that game (could be because of how mixup-heavy the game was) I didn't see it as negatively as I do now, in hindsight.

Also you reminded me to change my mood chooser to Red Hood.

 

[rubmytaco]

Git gud, play against people you respect and are already gud, and get the hell off of ranked.

 

[Protagonist_1]

@DDutchguy

As a player who has lost plenty of sets sets convincingly, it's just as @CrimsonShadow and @Juggs stated. You have to see every loss as a learning opportunity. When you focus too much on winning, that's when it's easy to be discouraged. Daigo actually has the same philosophy, he chooses to play in a style that works for him, a style that usually results in him losing a lot early in the games life. He focuses on improving that style, not losing.

And to make you feel better, before the first capcom cup of SFV, Xian faced Infiltration and lost 200-4 in a set. He would later get 9th at capcom cup while infiltration went 0-2.

Also, quick question. Do you watch your match footage? Watching match footage and breaking it down, after losing is the most important aspect of improving. Memory can only go so far, it's the primary reason I have improved as a player compared to what I was a year ago.

 

[Cashual]

I hear what you're saying and have felt like this many times throughout MKX as I started to take Fighting Games more seriously. I mean no one wants to lose but when you seem to lose and lose and lose it hurts and you feel small.

Best advice I've received is watch your games see your patterns see what you did wrong and could have done better, see what was working for them, work out, If it's character releated, if it's a fundamental thing, if it's match up specific, input errors, nerves etc...then lab it. You can't lab everything but if you can improve for next time. Why not?

It worked wonders for me and I improved but I've also peaked because the hardest Truth to swallow is I'm not ever going to be a pro or even succeed competitively at a good level. I'm not going to be as good as my peers who put in much much much more time than me, who play thousands of matches, who study every single possible nuance and situation, because the truth is I don't CARE as much as they, other top players, hell, even as much as advanced online players do.

I have other things in my life that I'm not willing to give up to put more time into a fighting game to be the best I can be. So do a lot of other people on this site. We're not all ultra competitve 'elite pros'.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't strive to be the best you can be If that's what you really WANT. But that's Not what I want and I'm sure others here too. So I have to accept my level as some intermediate casual and nothing more. Sure I'm going to get my Ass handed to me than players much better than me but it doesn't matter I'll learn from it, I'll lab it, I'll hopefully improve. I'll be wiser for next time.

However, I'm not going to actively seek out players much better than me, I'm not trying to be the best I can be. This is a hobby and nothing more, something I do for fun. I can beat some people I can also lose Grandly but if I overall stop enjoying it I'll quit. And I don't want to quit, I like this game, it's fun!

My advice is accept the level you're at, accept the level others are at, especially the top players and know what you REALLY Want out of this game. Remember what you actually Like and Enjoy about the game then think: Do you want to be the best you can be? Do you have the time to be the best you can be? Do you want to lose and lose and lose till you eventually start going even with the Best. Is that a price you want to pay?

Or do you just want to let loose and have a bit of fun and find others at your level. Improve what you can with the time you got and enjoy other things or passions in life?

Anyhoo, what ever your reason may be hopefully you can enjoy the game again. It's a fun game but it can be frustrating as Fuck too if you don't know where you stand and what you really want.

Great post, well said

 

[trufenix]

If you're absolutely mystified by your fights and seeing zero positive results, you're not participating in worthwhile matches. You're not going to learn anything from those losses. Put bluntly, find someone else who sucks and play them.

If this is your local scene, go slum it with the guy who still does wake up supers until you feel better about yourself. If it's online stop playing online, or at least stop playing randoms. Get some friends, or some regulars. The next match you feel like maybe it wasn't the worst experience ever, that's the kind of person you need to be playing.

Also, it doesn't hurt to hit the lab. A lot of people only think that means practicing setups and combos. It can also mean just plugging away at a dummy (or a buddy) for an hour without the pressure of rounds and win screens and character select.

Finally, this board is full of sharks, but plenty of us suck too. Don't be afraid to pm someone for a set.

 

[bishbash]

Honestly for me the enjoyment comes largely from the character I'm playing, up until a couple of weeks ago I only played Cheetah across all MUs, honestly losing with her was more fun for me than winning with anyone else. I'm trying to pick up Canary ATM because I also find her incredibly fun to play.

I try not to worry too much about losing, as long as I'm not giving away the games for free I'm generally pretty happy to lose but I can empathise certain things do make me roll my eyes a little especially if I keep getting caught out by them.

It's really easy to lose in such a momentum based game and it's not always due to skill gap. It can work both ways I feel l've won games I maybe shouldn't have and lost some I could have won. Usually I only ever get salty at myself though unless gear fuckery is involved.

I usually smoke while playing this also keeps me pretty chill about things

 

[SaucyD0ge]

The souls series has ruined me:
I usually play against the people I lose against until I tear that win out through sheer will and adaptation.
Most tend to quit after grabbing 5-10 matches for free.


Also get in those player matches and play long sets with competitive mode on.Have one character you play stacked with op gear just in case some peon wants his gear ability sh**; people will turn on comp. 80% of the time, it's better than what you'd expect.

I'm also looking for european players with decent connection on psn.
Feel free to send me a request
ps tag: d0gesurge

 

[CountHyuga]

I hate losing as the next guy. When I am a losing streak I keep pounding on and I can throw away all day until I am satisfied. With this attitude used to play ranked. And let me tell you it didn't helped me one bit in anything. Ranked one and done doesn't teach you anything and sometimes you get paired with laggy people and get salty. Player matches with comp on are the real deal. I always find people on my level or stronger (I think of myself as an average guy) and see lots of techniques. There are mus I used to lose all the time and now I know how to handle. For learning. And when the game asks you can just dive back in ranked and see what happens. About losing and winning... there are good days and bad days for everyone. Just don't make those more than what they are.

 

[HappyPow]

Makes me think about me. I was actually dominating in the early days... Felt back home with Adam lmao but actually I was winning so much that I wasn't grinding the same way people were grinding. Between 1-2months later peeps that I used to win consistently against started to kick my ass. Patch came out and nerfed Adam and boom surprisingly I can't even get a streak with him...
However somehow now I am "known" as a Flash main (even if my Fav character is Adam haha). What happened is because I was too comfortable with Adam... I didn't even know how to lab that sheet correctly, I didn't even realized that I needed to adapt, I didn't even realized that I needed to control the game at some point.
So I went Flash, grinded the sheet, lost over and over and I was like you not long time ago (honestly couple of days) but peeps and I talked : How to get better (now I've grind enough), what should I do... What I shouldn't?
I keep working on that but except if you are the cream of the cream or whatever (and if they are on the top, it is because they worked hard for that), you are going to feel like you're stuck but that is not the case!
Like @Roy Arkon said keep going, try to get as much talk as you can. Ask what's wrong, what's painful during the MUs, get the same MU xp from dif players to be sure it is not an issue from a specific player and be patient with yourself.

 

[Red Hood MKX]

After a long days work ive realized the only way can i play fighting games any more is to truly let go of trying to win so much and not focuse on getting better or learning just focus on staying in the moment and having fun its almost a meditative experience for me now.

Just stay in the moment stop caring about the outcome and most importantly have fun and you will start to notice that your overall play will start to improve your reads are better your reactions are better your guessing is better and your experience will be more enjoyable.

One last mind trick i like to use too ive even heard of sonic fox using this technique, is to start the match of thinking you've already loss that way there is absolutely no pressure on yourself and you play entirely in the moment and for fun. while your in this mindset your openent is more than likely stressing out and trying way too hard to win and is more likely to make mistakes because of the pressure he is under

 

[Dankster Morgan]

One big thing is you have to love the game and love to play the character you're using to feel motivated to learn more.

 

[SixPathsOfHate]

This. You can't touch this game with any sort of loyalty to anyone.
Find a character whose BS you can bang with comfortably.
Then, find somewhere to start. Something you do that drives you crazy.
Work on it until it isn't a big deal anymore. Go from there.
If you're genuinely burned out, you won't have the patience, which is fine because as Tweedy said, this shit can drive you crazy depending on your mindset.
But if it works, if you feel better, find something else. Challenge yourself a bit.

I'm only good with villainous killing machines.
Can't play Red Hood well. Or GL. Or Sub or Swampy or Starfire.
The shit just does not work for me. So I stick to the bad guys.

We all have our things.

Seconded...For me its brainiac and his illusion of a plus dive kick that people dont think I wont loop over and over never ex'ing it.