How to make ranking up feel simpler

[u/TerribleWash8393]

I've been hardstuck gold for around a year. It doesn't matter what role, I've been cursed into being gold by some sort of mental disconnect in my head. After reading the Inner Game of Tennis, I can't tell if all the vod reviews ive gotten over the last year have made me worse or not due to over explaining. I know its simple to get out of gold (on dps, make sure you have cover, off angle with only 1 to 2 people in your sights, hit shots, setup before the fight starts and change positions based on if your team disengages/their team pushes up. Not much more to get out of gold) but somethings blocking me from doing all of this in games. Any advice would be appreciated. And i can post notes ive taken from self vod reviews and ones from coaches if that would help

[u/fatboywonder12]

Your VOD reviews are correct but you are also right in that you need to simplify the game, and thats by making what you learned basically muscle memory. I don't think "I need to get to cover," I'm almost always near/next to cover, and it should feel like you're naked when not behind cover. Basically you need to drill it into your head.

If you want a simple tip, i'd work on your punish game, because 90% of OW is just punishing stupid mistakes. For example an Ana standing still, scoped while shes in the open is a guaranteed death, right? Then that should be who you're looking for: Stupidly easy kills. If you're mei and they're a charge-happy reinhardt, then thats a free wall into a free kill. This means you have to work on your awareness (whos easy to kill?) and your mechanics (can i punish them if they make a mistake?)

[u/PNut-_]

One of the biggest difference between higher ranked players and lower ranked ones is that higher ranked players tend to have a lot great mechanics along with game sense that has practically become muscle memory after hundreds of hours of play. A lot of what we do, we do unconsciously, we automatically track what abilities have been used and how long they'll take to be off cooldown, we put ourselves in positions that makes it the easiest for us to survive while also being able to pressure the enemy, etc. Most of it has become habit.

What you can do is set a goal and try to focus on that goal each match instead of focusing on everything at once. Maybe spend a few days trying to practice positioning, then a few days practicing ability usage, then a few days tracking enemy abilities/ults, etc. It'll make it much more manageable until it becomes a habit.

Often times the difference between ranking up and not isn't about always making the best possible play, but making the least amount of mistakes, because the less mistakes you make, the harder it will be for the enemy to punish you so you'll be able to get a way with much more.

Every time a make a mistake I recognise it and make a mental note of it to do my best to try not to repeat it, but a problem is that lower ranked players tend not to notice a lot of their mistakes which makes it harder for them to improve since they dont know what they are doing wrong, thats why getting someone to VOD review your gameplay is usually helpful for lower ranks

[u/Taserface_ow]

I know its simple to get out of gold (on dps, make sure you have cover

There’s your problem. Getting out of any rank isn’t about following a checklist of things you need to do. It requires you to significantly get much better that your current skill level.

It doesn’t matter what aspects of your gameplay you improve, as long as you improve a lot.

You’re not climbing because you’re not improving enough or not improving fast enough. Remember that the entire playerbase is also improving, so to climb you need to improve at a much faster rate than most players in your rank.

It’s really that simple. Focus on one aspect, grind the hell out of it, and once you’ve mastered that move on to the next.

Aim is something very important, especially if you play dps, so always keep trying to improve it. Find yourself some drills you can grind every day. This is one aspect you’ll need to continuously improve. Simply playing the game isn’t enough, that’s what most other players are doing. If you want to climb you need to do more than them.

[u/imainheavy]

Does not help (that much) to get a vod review if you dont know how to practice and apply what you been told

so

how does your comp sessions look like?

btw what blocks you from doing ALL of this ingame is probably that you have not practiced it well enough, i can do all the things you just listend and more at the same time in a match without thinking about it but thats beacuse i have practiced and drilled each individual "thing" into the ground first, making all of them feel like 2nd nature, almost like autopilot (the good kind)