I don't just play League of Legends, you know, I'm also an avid Smite player. No, I am not GOOD at Smite, I just love the game. Anyway, I want to tell you guys a story that happened to me in the game, and if you're not careful, you may just learn something before I'm done.
A few weeks ago, I had just finished earning enough Favor (the in game currency used to unlock playable gods) to unlock a new god. I debated between getting a new Assassin (the role I play least) or a new Guardian (the role I play most, but own the least amount of gods). After some deliberation, I chose to unlock a new Guardian: Ares, God of War.
After I tried him out in a bot game (where you play against AI opponents) I decided to try my luck against human opponents. Long story short, I got owned. Hard. Seriously, I got destroyed every battle, it was embarrassing. My team lost. Who got the blame? THIS guy! I get called trash, noob, worthless, and I even got told to uninstall the game. It hurt.
I had two choices: I could either retire Ares and focus on using other Guardians, or I could try and improve on Ares. I chose the latter.
Second Ares game. I learn from my past mistakes, try a different item build. I still get owned, but this time, I at least managed to get some kills. Still doesn't stop my Hunter from saying I have zero presence on the field, that I'm worthless, that I should uninstall. And boy, did that hurt.
I asked myself "what am I doing wrong?" I looked over my builds: typical Guardian build, designed for defense with a little offence to aid the Hunter and the team. Perhaps it was my mechanics, how I played the god. I decided to practice those in bot games, before taking on human opponents.
After a few games, I decided to try my luck again versus human opponents. Once more, a defeat. But this time, no insults, no jeers, just a few friendly "good game" and "that's too bad." My mechanics had improved; but not perfected. I needed to look up some guides to figure out what I was doing wrong.
And then, the answer hit me in the face: my play style was wrong. I was playing Ares like a Guardian: defensively, passively, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Ares needs to be built and played aggressively: he's a Guardian in the sense that he takes a LOT of damage, but his role is to start fights AND finish them!
I needed to play Ares aggressively. Problem is, aggressive play is not my style. But I wanted to improve as Ares; my pride would not allow me to back down. So I buckled down and practiced. And practiced. And I kept practicing until I felt ready. When I played against humans again, I felt nervous, but ready.
My team won. I couldn't believe it; we WON. And I helped! I felt immense joy having finally won a game as Ares. I did great, even! 6/2/17, that was my score. I was so proud of myself. And when I played a second game with Ares, another victory! I felt vindicated, I felt like all that practice paid off.
What's the lesson? There are actually a few here. The most obvious is to never give up; if you really want something, fight for it. If you want to be the best, keep playing until you truly are. But I think the most important lesson here is that, if at first you don't succeed, keep on trying until you do.
Failure, ladies and gentlemen, isn't the be all, end all of life. Failing at something once, twice, or even ten times doesn't mean you suck at something, it simply means you're doing something wrong. You have to find out what it is, then stop doing it. Simple as that, really.
The important thing is to commit yourself to self improvement. You have to tell yourself "if I suck at something, I will keep improving until I'm good at it." It will take a lot of resilience to do that, a lot of dedication too. You need to stick to that ideal through thick and thin; through the good times AND the bad.
Yes, failing stings. Losing isn't easy to do, especially if you've pride in yourself. One of the maxims I live by is "win, and the world wins with you; lose, and you lose alone." It often feels like you're only worth something if you win; nobody likes a loser. That's a terrible way to look at life. But it's a harsh truth; often, when you lose, nobody will be there to help you back on your feet. You have to do it yourself; often quicker than you can, because life likes to step on those who are down.
But you have to get up anyway. Fall down seven times, get back up eight times. You can lose seven times in a row, but make sure those seven losses become the blueprints for fourteen future victories. Learn from everything that happened: what you did wrong, what other people did wrong, what others did right. Form your own strategy, practice, and when you're ready, get out there and win for yourself. That's what life is all about.
A lesson learned from a video game.
A few weeks ago, I had just finished earning enough Favor (the in game currency used to unlock playable gods) to unlock a new god. I debated between getting a new Assassin (the role I play least) or a new Guardian (the role I play most, but own the least amount of gods). After some deliberation, I chose to unlock a new Guardian: Ares, God of War.
After I tried him out in a bot game (where you play against AI opponents) I decided to try my luck against human opponents. Long story short, I got owned. Hard. Seriously, I got destroyed every battle, it was embarrassing. My team lost. Who got the blame? THIS guy! I get called trash, noob, worthless, and I even got told to uninstall the game. It hurt.
I had two choices: I could either retire Ares and focus on using other Guardians, or I could try and improve on Ares. I chose the latter.
Second Ares game. I learn from my past mistakes, try a different item build. I still get owned, but this time, I at least managed to get some kills. Still doesn't stop my Hunter from saying I have zero presence on the field, that I'm worthless, that I should uninstall. And boy, did that hurt.
I asked myself "what am I doing wrong?" I looked over my builds: typical Guardian build, designed for defense with a little offence to aid the Hunter and the team. Perhaps it was my mechanics, how I played the god. I decided to practice those in bot games, before taking on human opponents.
After a few games, I decided to try my luck again versus human opponents. Once more, a defeat. But this time, no insults, no jeers, just a few friendly "good game" and "that's too bad." My mechanics had improved; but not perfected. I needed to look up some guides to figure out what I was doing wrong.
And then, the answer hit me in the face: my play style was wrong. I was playing Ares like a Guardian: defensively, passively, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Ares needs to be built and played aggressively: he's a Guardian in the sense that he takes a LOT of damage, but his role is to start fights AND finish them!
I needed to play Ares aggressively. Problem is, aggressive play is not my style. But I wanted to improve as Ares; my pride would not allow me to back down. So I buckled down and practiced. And practiced. And I kept practicing until I felt ready. When I played against humans again, I felt nervous, but ready.
My team won. I couldn't believe it; we WON. And I helped! I felt immense joy having finally won a game as Ares. I did great, even! 6/2/17, that was my score. I was so proud of myself. And when I played a second game with Ares, another victory! I felt vindicated, I felt like all that practice paid off.
What's the lesson? There are actually a few here. The most obvious is to never give up; if you really want something, fight for it. If you want to be the best, keep playing until you truly are. But I think the most important lesson here is that, if at first you don't succeed, keep on trying until you do.
Failure, ladies and gentlemen, isn't the be all, end all of life. Failing at something once, twice, or even ten times doesn't mean you suck at something, it simply means you're doing something wrong. You have to find out what it is, then stop doing it. Simple as that, really.
The important thing is to commit yourself to self improvement. You have to tell yourself "if I suck at something, I will keep improving until I'm good at it." It will take a lot of resilience to do that, a lot of dedication too. You need to stick to that ideal through thick and thin; through the good times AND the bad.
Yes, failing stings. Losing isn't easy to do, especially if you've pride in yourself. One of the maxims I live by is "win, and the world wins with you; lose, and you lose alone." It often feels like you're only worth something if you win; nobody likes a loser. That's a terrible way to look at life. But it's a harsh truth; often, when you lose, nobody will be there to help you back on your feet. You have to do it yourself; often quicker than you can, because life likes to step on those who are down.
But you have to get up anyway. Fall down seven times, get back up eight times. You can lose seven times in a row, but make sure those seven losses become the blueprints for fourteen future victories. Learn from everything that happened: what you did wrong, what other people did wrong, what others did right. Form your own strategy, practice, and when you're ready, get out there and win for yourself. That's what life is all about.
A lesson learned from a video game.
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