How to Get Better At Video Games

Some gamers seem to never get better though, no matter how long they play, because they aren’t actively trying to improve. They are playing the game passively, letting things happen to them and then reacting to what is happening on the screen as it occurs. Many gamers mistakenly think that being good at a game all boils down to reaction time and dexterity (i.e. who can shoot faster and more accurately). While these attributes definitely play a large role in whether or not you can physically be good at a game, there’s much more to it than that. A large portion of video game skill is also mental ability.

This doesn’t just mean intelligence or wit. In order to compete at a high level you have to constantly be running through scenarios in your head as you play the game. For example, whenever you enter a room in Call of Duty you have to have mentally prepared yourself for a number of scenarios and already developed a contingency plan for each of them in your head. What will you do if you confront several enemies upon entering the room? Will you engage them or retreat? What will you do if you start taking fire from the left or the right? Where is the best cover you can immediately get to in order to protect yourself from that particular side if that were to happen? What will you do if you start getting shot from behind? Will you run further into the room to get away or will you try to spin around and return fire? Perhaps what kind of weapon you’re wielding affects your response. These are just some examples of countless scenarios you have to always be thinking about. These ideas happen unconsciously and within fractions of a second. And you have to think like this every second of every game. This is why playing at a high level can be mentally exhausting whereas playing casually is relaxing.

This type of thinking is important because it saves you time in reacting. The fact you have already considered a situation prior to it happening means you can just rely on 'muscle memory' to respond. It is the same idea that military training is based on. Soldiers are trained to react to situations through muscle memory by drilling the same actions over and over and over, relying on their training to help them. They don’t have to actively consider how to respond to something, it just becomes instinct to them, second nature. They don’t have time in the heat of battle to consciously think about what they are doing when seconds can mean the difference between life and death. The same concept can be applied to gaming. Your response time will be slightly faster than it otherwise would have been if you were to simply burst into a room without thinking about what you were going to do ahead of time.

A skilled gamer also constantly thinks about how to keep things to his advantage whereas a 'regular' gamer takes things as they come. For example, a skilled gamer will stay in areas of the map he is confident in and avoid areas that he feels are too risky to traverse. Some commentators on YouTube call this 'patrolling an area.' Skilled gamers don’t put themselves in danger then try to overcome the odds; they let their opponents do that.

A good rule of thumb is that you always want to have the first shots on your opponent. That doesn’t mean camp and wait until they wander into your sights, but try to extend your awareness of the game beyond what is simply on your screen at the time. Awareness helps you get the drop on enemies and also to avoid enemies getting the drop on you. Skilled gamers are aware of everything going on around them. In chess, players think several moves ahead. You need to do that while playing a video game as well. Try to think in terms of what is going to happen, not what is currently happening. This is why when a skilled gamer gets killed it often comes as a surprise to him because things didn’t play out the way he envisioned it. Maybe he failed to account for an enemy in a certain spot or a game mechanic worked out in a way he weren’t expecting it to. When you do die, take it as a learning experience. Own that it’s probably your fault and ask yourself what you did wrong so you can avoid it happening again. Watching kill cams in Call of Duty or replays of your defeats in StarCraft can help you grow as a player.

Building on the concept of constantly trying to keep things to your advantage is knowledge of the game’s mechanics. You need to know what presents the biggest danger to you. Is it the sniper rifle? Rocket launcher? If you’re playing Halo, where are those weapons on the map and how can you control them? How would you react if you suddenly ran into someone using one? Knowing exactly how many Battle Rifle shots it takes to drop someone’s shields gives you a huge advantage in a gunfight over someone who doesn’t know that information.

Always consider the benefits of engaging an enemy and weigh them against the risks. In games like Call of Duty and Titanfall, engaging an enemy will give away your location on the mini-map. Think about that before you shoot. If you’re in an area that isn’t safe enough, showing up on the enemy’s radar will likely cause your opponents to descend upon your location like a pack of hungry wolves. Be prepared for that and act accordingly.

One other aspect of the mental game that you should consider is that you should always hold the belief that your life in-game is more valuable than your opponent’s. This means you shouldn’t want to commit suicide just to get a kill because if your life is worth more, your opponents are actually benefitting from that exchange. Preserving your own life should typically trump the desire to get a kill with the exception of objective based game modes. In those modes, the importance of the objective obviously trumps staying alive.

I’ve already compared becoming good at video games to military style training but it is also applicable to sports as well. Tom 'Tsquared' Taylor was one of the best Halo 2 / Halo 3 players in Major League Gaming. He is a huge advocate of the mental aspect of gaming and once credited the book Mind Gym by Gary Mack and David Casstevens as helping him immensely in this area. Mind Gym highlights how important mentality is in sports. It makes the argument that when player has an amazing game one night then has a completely dreadful game the next – it’s all mental. Obviously his hard-earned skill didn’t suddenly diminish from one day to the next. But his attitude might have gotten worse or his confidence might have dwindled. Mind Gym also gives exercises on how to strengthen your mental toughness and is a must-read for any competitive gamer.

This article was written so far using examples from first person shooters but the ideas here can be applied to any genre of games played competitively or even just games you’re looking to get better at. The same principles of mental preparedness and proactive learning can help you get better at Smash Brothers, StarCraft, Gran Turismo, or even World of Warcraft.

In conclusion, the way to get better at video games and avoid simply becoming a 'trained noob' is to work on the mental aspect of your game. Always be aware of your surroundings, analyze what works and what doesn’t, continually think several steps ahead of what is currently happening on your screen, and actually learn from the games you’re playing. And of course listen to Fatal1ty when he says, 'practice, practice, practice!'