For those that prefers to read, you can find the transcript of the video below.
Having the right Mindset
The most important thing is to play the game with right mindset. What is the right mindset ? Let’s state the obvious, we are in a MOBA where we want to become better so we are looking for a growth mindset, how do we achieve a growth mindset ?
First you need to be in a positive state, you need to be confident that you will be able to progress and that you will enjoy your session. Which means if you are tilted, take a break, don’t force it.
The second aspect is focus on progressing instead of winning. This can be a controversial take so let’s elaborate a bit. Winning feels great, winning is fun, ultimately we are practicing to be able to win but focusing only on winning will actually hurt your long term progress. Why is that ? Because if you want to win you will play at the best level you can currently. Huh, Mugi isn’t what we are supposed to do ? Well, no, because if you always try to do so, you will not go out of your comfort zone and learn new things, like learning a new character or a new role. Because realistically speaking when you try to add new skills to your gameplay you will naturally experience a setback period. But in the long term, gaining this new skill, will make you a better player.
Last critical point to perfect your growth mindset is that you need to take responsibility. Indeed you can only have control over your own action, so even if it is a multiplayer game, blaming your teamate, even when the blame can be valid, will never help you get better. It will actually do the opposite because it will distract you from the real question : what can I have done better ? MOBA are very complex beast and it is almost impossible to play a game perfectly, so even if you are one of the top performer in the match, you can still look for improvement. And if you end up losing the game while doing twice the work of your teammates, well tough luck but remember we are here to progress not to win, so once again, what can I have done better ?
Be efficient in your training
Nice we now know what is the right mindset to maximize our gains, so we just have to play thousands of games with this mindset and we are good to go. Well, you can and that definitely will lead you far but we can be even more efficient. Because if you just go into a game you will have to focus on hero mechanics, item builds, last hit, laning, warding, wave management, rotation, teamfight, jungle pathing, sieging, objective timer, split pushing, gameplan, team synergy, … and that is too much for your brain to handle.
So we have to start practicing with intentionality and do isolation training. Every time you start a training session, decide what you want to improve on and focus on bettering this part. For instance, just focus on your last hit and improving your warding to limit your death amount, that could be a direction. Indeed the human brain is not great at learning many things at the same time, so the best is to learn thing one by one, but MOBA requires so many skills at every moment in a match that naturally you won’t have this ideal learning environment by simply playing the game. So when you go into a game with intentionality try to focus on one or two tasks at most, it can be as small as just focusing on getting every last hit or as big as controlling every single Fangtooth. There is a reason FPS player practice their aim in separate aim trainer or aim mode, this is for isolation training. Of course focusing on only one aspect, will make you a worst player for that specific game but remember we are here to progress not to win. Your goal is to create behavioural schema in your brain that means that this skill will become subconscious, and once it’s the case you can move on to the next one while still fully mastering this learned skill.
Another important concept when it comes to efficient training is the 50/50 rule. Spend 50% of your time actively playing the core mode and spend the other 50% doing other thing still related to getting better at the game. Those include reading in details hero kit, theorycrafting, doing some replay analysis of your game or other top player games, discussing strategy with other players, reading or watching guide such as this one, … The main reason of the 50/50 rules is to avoid two of the biggest pitfalls when it comes to training. If you only play the game, at some point you will tunnel vision, stop getting external stimulus to expend your horizon and will start to become complacent which will slow down your progress rate. While if you only consume other resources, you will acquire a fountain of knowledge but that will be useless if you did not learn to actively convert it into actual skills in game.
So to resume, to be efficient in your training, play with intentionality, enforce isolation training in your play session, and respect the 50/50 rules.
It will take time
Becoming better at a competitive video game takes time and it is not a linear process. There will be some days were no matter what you do you will play badly, and sometimes you will have the impression to be stuck during a full week without making any progress. This is why it is important to trust the process, be convinced that if you respect the mindset of this guide in the long term it will work out. Keep in mind that we are not running a sprint here but a marathon.
Also you must find your own fun, playing the game must be fun to you, because finding the dedication to get better if you don’t even enjoy playing will be almost impossible. By finding your own fun, something as simple as enjoying discovering a new character can be enough, being happy of how you did not miss any last hit during the laning phase, or proud of outsmarting enemy team by staying alive after they chase you for 3 minutes, but be wary of not tying your own fun with thing that are not fully in your control. The main one is, of course, do not tie your fun to winning all your games because a MOBA is inherently designed so you win only 50% of your games if you play at your rightful level. And for those allergic at statistic 50% win rate does not mean you can’t lose 10 in a row.
Conclusion
So how to build the perfect Predecessor mental to help you becoming the best? Approach the game with a growth mindset, be efficient in your trainings, and invest time. It seems simple and it is simple, what is hard is to not forget it and respect it.
Thank you for spending the time on this content and I hope it has provided you some food for thought. Keep in mind that everyone around you also progress, and so if you want to rank up you need to progress faster than the pack. Following what we have seen in this guide will definitely allow you to do that, because very few play games with a growth mindset and efficient training. So go out there and feel free to share your success story in the comments. For me, I will see you in the future with more educational content to help you towards becoming the best at Predecessor.
Mugi out!