The life and death of a bad player - A field study proposal

[HMS_Kilinowski]

Dear community,

 

I have been thinking about this for a while, but the recent experiences in the game have made me more curious.

I have always struggled to understand the players who are not getting better over time, sometimes even get worse. It's a fact that there always will be a heterogenous player base and a potential for conflict. The good players have expectations and so do the bad players. If the not so good players fail to see things from the good players perspective, maybe it's up to the good players to reach out and explore the world of the casual mindset.

 

So I am thinking about starting a project:

 

I intend to start a new account and experience first hand, what it's like to be a very bad player. This is a well established concept of social science, called "participant observation". If you want to find out about a peer group, you become part of that group, adapt to their habits and document your experiences.

I hope to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates different player strata. We have tried in the past to have discussions in here, but the peer group (a) was hardly present in the forum and (b) mostly refused to share their views. It's only logical to send a lab rat and after some reflection on the matter, I think about volunteering.

 

This is intended to be a slow and rather long-term experiment. I still want to play my main account. So I would just occasionally have a few games on this test account, when I am too tired to make an effort. I would monitor my stats and slowly readjust, depending on the actual progress I make. I intend to share my experiences in this topic as an interactive diary. So we will know how other players interact with me, if they are helpful or hostile.

 

So far for the outline. Now comes the hard part:

 

I am not a very bad player. As hard as it may be for a very bad player to play like an above average player, it is even harder for an above average player to play like a bad player.

After thousands of games, trying to get better, certain reflexes are tatooed into a player's mind. If you know how to aim, you cannot intentionally aim wrong. Who is to say that a bad player would have aimed the same way? If your inner voice tells you, an enemy will move to a certain area, how can you ignore that knowledge in your decision process? You cannot deliberately sabotage your game, since a bad player hypothetically wouldn't do that either. You see, you can hardly fake ignorance, which is why murderers often get caught and wifes know when their men are cheating.

 

Now I could - every now and then - be afk, get DCed or TK, but that (a) would be against the rules and (b) it would get me pink, which gets in the way of experimenting freely. I suppose I could TK, if it came as a byproduct of a real unawareness and was not intentional. I can yolo or sit in the back of the map or give an awful lot of broadside, but the way I see it, the only possibility to exercise a consistent lack of skill would be to commit to a fixed set of rules how to play, in order to at least simulate bad play.

 

So there would be certain rules like e.g.:

- Never use camos or signals

- Don't exceed a certain level of captain points

- Always stay with the majority of the players

- Don't move in smoke

- Don't use hydro or radar

- Never follow requests in chat

- prioritize damage over objectives

- ...

 

You get the picture.

 

I am not yet commited to do this project, unless I feel positive I can do it reasonably bad and still within the rules of the game.

 

So long story short: I am asking for your input.

Do you think such a project is practicable?

What actions do I need to refrain from, to fully comply with the rules of the game?

What rules come to your mind that could help simulating bad play? Mind, they can be specific to a ship type, game mode, map or be general in nature. Just be creative.

One question especially for the bad players among you: How can I get into the mood of playing your way? Is there any habit of (legal) substance abuse (e.g. drinking) or parallel activity (talking on the phone / watching a series while playing) that is recommended to maybe reduce awareness? I know this sounds a bit trollish, but I actually witnessed some players were less aware when drunk, so this is a legit point.

 

Share whatever thoughts you deem helpful in successfully conducting this experiment.

 

I know this all sounds funny. But if I decide to do it, it's gonna be serious. Feel free to also share your concerns. I just want to say this: WoWs has so many bad players that one more will not significantly impact your game experience. So don't worry about that. Also Wargaming is testing any kind of new ships and to some extent even meachanics on the live server, so I think one innocent test account again is not gonna make your game experience any less enjoyable. It is a small sacrifice for all of us, but the prospect of a better mutual understanding is imo well worth it.

 

Come on guys, we put a man on the moon. Let's put a man into casual mode.

 

Share your thoughts.

 

Edit:

I want to draw your attention to the current update post.

[dommo77]

My guess is you will find it extremely hard to conduct, simply because of habits of good player that you have learned. It seems like you want to punish yourself ;) Or you will become alcoholic :D

 

But seriously, why not work with someone who is really bad or causal at the game and document what his thoughts are? Would it not be easier? 

[Yedwy]

Its not hard at all just think of the dumbest thing you can do in a given situation and do it...

[DFens_666]

38 minutes ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

Do you think such a project is practicable? 

What actions do I need to refrain from, to fully comply with the rules of the game?

 

I dont think you will succeed with minor stuff like not using camo/signals.

You would need to overcome map awareness, which i assume should be quite a challenge. Most bad plays result from bad map awareness coupled with being overly self-confident i.e. i just gonna push there and kill the enemies.

 

An easy rule which i have observed amongst many players:

- If something is spotted, be cautious and camp in the back

- If nothing is spotted, push in. <-- this obviously is againt better judgement of players who know whats going on. Like there is a DD, and you just rush it with your BB.

Under no circumstances i advice anyone to play like i mention in this spoiler (just as a disclaimer)

Spoiler

 

Other stuff that comes to mind:

- BB camp in back, always shoot >20km because you can

- Pick useless captain skills, like SE for BBs

- Shoot nothing but HE with BBs

- Shoot nothing but AP with german CAs

- Rush the cap with a DD ignoring CVs and Radar ships

- Rush the cap with a Cruiser to hunt enemy DDs regardless of which Cruiser you are.

- As a BB dont shoot DDs

- As a Cruiser only farm BBs with HE

- Shoot HE at broadsides (mostly Cruiser vs Cruiser)

- Torp other DDs while playing PA DDs

- Randomly pop Radar and Hydro

- Dont aim at the citadel with BBs, aim ~upper belt/superstructure instead

- Randomly open fire with your DD at Cruisers/BBs

 

 

Thats whats coming to my mind when i think about bad play. Just random stuff which makes no sense, either knowingly or unknowingly.

 

Overall, i dont know if that test makes any sense. We all know why bad players play bad, and a 45% player can be the result of different stuff (camping in the back or yoloing).

[invicta2012]

42 minutes ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

What rules come to your mind that could help simulating bad play? Mind, they can be specific to a ship type, game mode, map or be general in nature. Just be creative.

Well, alright then. I can definitely help with this.

 

1 - Fire "generally". What you're trying to simulate is a complete lack of judgement about specific parts of the ship and where to fire.

2 - Think reality. Battleship belt armour is thicker than it is anywhere else, so why hide it?

3 - Be too brave.

4 - ...but then run away as soon as everything starts to go wrong.

5 - Ignore captain skills. Or just pick the "wrong" ones.

6 - Play without a camo.

7-  Put out the first fire.

8 - Be unware of the red ships and their properties.

 

And you'd be me, really. There is one other thing -  And that's the bit you can't simulate.- It's the ability to unremittingly make the wrong calls under pressure.

[Hopeless_Guppy]

Ok this was explained to me by a player in WoT's a game which I play no more unless I want to engage in wall headbutting, if we are going on a bout stats wel lit is really simple, if you have had say 3'5k battles, your stats will not improve.

Another player in WoT's suggested I make a new account a re roll, I was sceptical but went ahead and did it, and it bore some results, both accounts for  WoT's and for this are in the 49% each with i think less that 1k battles, now I know all you you stat admirers out there that is nothing, but for a potato like me that is like standing on top of the Empire State building singing old sea shanties.


I think i had better come down before someone tells me off

[Sunleader]

1 hour ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

Dear community,

 

I have been thinking about this for a while, but the recent experiences in the game have made me more curious.

I have always struggled to understand the players who are not getting better over time, sometimes even get worse. It's a fact that there always will be a heterogenous player base and a potential for conflict. The good players have expectations and so do the bad players. If the not so good players fail to see things from the good players perspective, maybe it's up to the good players to reach out and explore the world of the casual mindset.

 

So I am thinking about starting a project:

 

I intend to start a new account and experience first hand, what it's like to be a very bad player. This is a well established concept of social science, called "participant observation". If you want to find out about a peer group, you become part of that group, adapt to their habits and document your experiences.

I hope to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates different player strata. We have tried in the past to have discussions in here, but the peer group (a) was hardly present in the forum and (b) mostly refused to share their views. It's only logical to send a lab rat and after some reflection on the matter, I think about volunteering.

 

This is intended to be a slow and rather long-term experiment. I still want to play my main account. So I would just occasionally have a few games on this test account, when I am too tired to make an effort. I would monitor my stats and slowly readjust, depending on the actual progress I make. I intend to share my experiences in this topic as an interactive diary. So we will know how other players interact with me, if they are helpful or hostile.

 

So far for the outline. Now comes the hard part:

 

I am not a very bad player. As hard as it may be for a very bad player to play like an above average player, it is even harder for an above average player to play like a bad player.

After thousands of games, trying to get better, certain reflexes are tatooed into a player's mind. If you know how to aim, you cannot intentionally aim wrong. Who is to say that a bad player would have aimed the same way? If your inner voice tells you, an enemy will move to a certain area, how can you ignore that knowledge in your decision process? You cannot deliberately sabotage your game, since a bad player hypothetically wouldn't do that either. You see, you can hardly fake ignorance, which is why murderers often get caught and wifes know when their men are cheating.

 

Now I could - every now and then - be afk, get DCed or TK, but that (a) would be against the rules and (b) it would get me pink, which gets in the way of experimenting freely. I suppose I could TK, if it came as a byproduct of a real unawareness and was not intentional. I can yolo or sit in the back of the map or give an awful lot of broadside, but the way I see it, the only possibility to exercise a consistent lack of skill would be to commit to a fixed set of rules how to play, in order to at least simulate bad play.

 

So there would be certain rules like e.g.:

- Never use camos or signals

- Don't exceed a certain level of captain points

- Always stay with the majority of the players

- Don't move in smoke

- Don't use hydro or radar

- Never follow requests in chat

- prioritize damage over objectives

- ...

 

You get the picture.

 

I am not yet commited to do this project, unless I feel positive I can do it reasonably bad and still within the rules of the game.

 

So long story short: I am asking for your input.

Do you think such a project is practicable?

What actions do I need to refrain from, to fully comply with the rules of the game?

What rules come to your mind that could help simulating bad play? Mind, they can be specific to a ship type, game mode, map or be general in nature. Just be creative.

One question especially for the bad players among you: How can I get into the mood of playing your way? Is there any habit of (legal) substance abuse (e.g. drinking) or parallel activity (talking on the phone / watching a series while playing) that is recommended to maybe reduce awareness? I know this sounds a bit trollish, but I actually witnessed some players were less aware when drunk, so this is a legit point.

 

Share whatever thoughts you deem helpful in successfully conducting this experiment.

 

I know this all sounds funny. But if I decide to do it, it's gonna be serious. Feel free to also share your concerns. I just want to say this: WoWs has so many bad players that one more will not significantly impact your game experience. So don't worry about that. Also Wargaming is testing any kind of new ships and to some extent even meachanics on the live server, so I think one innocent test account again is not gonna make your game experience any less enjoyable. It is a small sacrifice for all of us, but the prospect of a better mutual understanding is imo well worth it.

 

Come on guys, we put a man on the moon. Let's put a man into casual mode.

 

Share your thoughts.

 

Wont Work.

 

 

 

1.

Lets make Clear some Terminology.

On the Active Side we got.

Skillset - The Skills and Knowledge of Tactics and Meta you have.

Experience - The Amount of Experience you have on the Game and thus the Ability to Realize certain things based on Past Experiences.

Training - The Amount of Time and Effort you are Investing into this Game in a Regular Manner.

On the Passive Side we got.

Inherent Ability - Your Inherent Reflexes and Intelligence which Dictactes on how fast you Understand Correlations between Events. As well as Dictating wether or not you are Physically Capable of actually Deploying Strategies you know.

Active Gaming - This is the Question on wether you Play Games in General. Because Games even if its not this Exact Game. Builds up certain Basic Skills from WASD usage to the Fact that most Gamers will know that Angling Increases Armor.

 

 

 

2.

Now a Player being Good or Bad depends on all of these above Factors.

And the more you have of each of these the Better you will become.

While if you lack any of these Factors either entirely or partially you will end up with a Decrease.

 

For example. Even an Active Gamer with a good Inherent Ability wont be able to Compete on High Levels in this Game unless he Learns the right Skillsets, gathers Experience and Trains Daily.

And even a Player which has 20k Games will often Struggle after he took 2-3 Months of a Break and will Perform below his previous levels because he Lacks Training.

(In the Case of a Returning Player there also comes the Decay of these Factors into it. As the Skillset might no longer be Up to Date and Experiences Fade as well as Training having not been kept up etc. )

 

Another Example. An Weekend Gamer only Playing maybe 30 Battles a Week. Mostly on Weekends. Will have Trouble Reaching High Levels. Because he just wont be keeping the Training up and thus even if he did this for Years and has Gathered Thousands of Games will not become a Unicum level Player.

 

On the other Hand. Someone Reading Guides to Learn about the Game and being Blessed with the Inherent Ability. Might actually become a Unicum if he Plays 20-30 Games a Day thus Accumulating not just Experience but also getting the Training to Automate alot of Actions and Reactions in the Game in the Right way from the Start due to Reading Guides.

 

 

 

3.

Now from the Above you can already see.

Your Question basicly Boils down to.

"How can it be that Players with massive Experience still remain Bad Players"

The Answer is that they Lack one of the other Factors.

 

 

For example. An Active Player with 20k Games and Playing Hundred Games each Week can still be Bad If they Lack both the Inherent Ability to Learn Correlations and also Refuse to Actively Seek out Guides and Advice. Then they might Simply be Unable to ever Form the Skillset Required to get Further. Because they Simply dont Understand how to Imrpove or maybe dont even Realize they could Improve.

This is actually one of the most Common Problems for Players. It is also why Players without a Proper Name and Clantag are vastly more Likely to be Potatoes. As Players inside a Clan will usually Pick up at least a certain Skillset over Time due to others telling them about it.

Assuming of course its an actual Clan talking to each other and not just an Anonymus Gathering for Naval Base ^^

Or putting it Simply. This is basicly the Average Potato which just Presses Battle. Drives Forward and Dies. As he Simply never bothers making an Effort to Understand what is happening. Neither by Inherent Intelligence nor by Learning from the Community.

 

 

For example. An less Active Player. Even tough he Watches Youtube Videos and Read Guides. Might actually have the Experience and Skillset. But because he only Plays maybe 2-3 Hours a Week. He just will not be Capable of Maintaing enough Training to Automate Decisions and Reactions. Thus often Simply not being Capable of Applying the Knowledge and Skills he Knows about. And thus remaining Bad.

This is the Playertype which will often actually know a few things and which might actually behave properly in alot of Matches but then do something that in the Eyes of the Observer Just seems Stupid.

In alot of cases he will Realize its Stupid afterwards. The reason he did it anyways being that he Panicked due to lack of Training and simply failed to make the right moves as he didnt have the time to leisurely remember what the right Strategy for this Situation was.

 

 

and then there is also the Group which Simply due to Inherent Ability will never be able to be Truly Good.

This can be Impaired People with some sort of Health Problem which therefore Simply do not have the Reflexes, Intelligence or Mental Fortitude to make and Implement Decisions in the Game in the Time Frame Required to Compete with other Players.

This can also be Players Impaired by their Lack of Technology for example by having such an Old Computer or such a Bad Internet Connection that they are Constantly Suffering from Lags and Synchronization issues etc. Which Handicaps them Severely against other Players.

Or it can be Players which are Simply already a bit Older. Because Yes. Funny enough there is actually quite a few People in this Game which are 50 or 60 and more. And which despite having a Good Head on their Shoulders and knowing exactly what they Should do in a Certain Situation. Will no longer be Capable of actually Implementing this Action in a Competetive Timeframe against other Players :)

 

 

 

4.

And Finally this is also why Your Experiement will not Work.

You say you want to keep Playing your Main Account.

That however also means you will Never actually Decay your Training, Skillset and Experience.

As Such you Simply will not be able to Play Badly unless you basicly Throw Games on Purpose.

 

After all. You will Maintain Training and Skillset for your Main Account. Thus you never actually dont know the Right Action to take.

Instead you just Handical Yourself by not using Advantages.

But thats not a Bad Player. Thats just a Good Player Handicapping himself to not Overwhelm Bad Players :)

 

Therefore you Experiment will not Yield you any noteworthy Results.

 

 

 

5.

If you want to do this Experiment for Real. You would need an Actually Bad Player to Play with you on a Daily Basis.

If you want. I can Recommend you an Old Clanmate of mine from my previous Clan which will Gladly Teach you just how exactly Bad Players happen.

Because he will usually want to Drive Forward and Brawl in his Kremlin and doesnt give a Crab about Victory as well as not really having any Idea how the Game works because even if you Explain it to him he will just do what he thinks is right anyways and will claim right to your Face that something works different or something happened different even if that can literally not have happened with the Game mechanics ^^

 

 

[Odo_Toothless]

1 hour ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

So there would be certain rules like e.g.:

You forgot about:

- at game start wish a google luck and use hydro or spotter plane, so everybody will know that You are a noob

- spam tops not watching of thier range

- use AP not watching they can't penetrate angled target. Especially "fun" with low caliber guns.

- when playing ships which suppose use AP ex. Yamato, spam HE

[TeaAndTorps]

First, a point of order: I think 'bad' and 'casual' are distinct. There are good casual players and poor dedicated ones.

 

Second, I'm not all that sure that playing like a poor player is the best way to understand what motivates them. I imagine players of all levels have all kinds of different motivations for playing the way they do. And your motivation for playing that way is to find out what it feels like, which is not other people's motivation.

 

All that said, some ideas that have not been mentioned:

 

– Launch torpedoes at the grey marker about 3/4 of the time

– Rush forward to set up torpedo runs at all costs

– Very importantly, set the minimap to its default size. Have it only showing weapon ranges and surface concealment, but don't look at it much. No last known positions, no ship names.

– Disable detailed ribbons

– Disable alternative interface. It is very important to not be immediately told whether that cruiser is a Fiji or a Cleveland or an Alaska. Shell flight times? What are they?

– When playing a BB, pick a line to push and stick to it throughout the whole battle. You read that pushing is better than camping!

– Hunting the carrier is a very important objective

[Edit] – Play on a laptop, using the trackpad instead of a USB mouse. Play in bed with the laptop at an awkward angle. Spam battles without really considering the outcome beyond the moment you sink.

 

Basically, play like I did for the first few hundred battles. If you want an idea of how that works out, feel free to check my stats on all my RN CLs, Tenryu, Kuma, Nicholas, Kawachi, Bellerophon, Wakatake, Minekaze, Mutsuki (I skipped Isokaze after getting a FXP SC), Émile Bertin, Bogatyr and Svietlana, and every non-premium T2.

[TeaAndTorps]

Oh, also, just turn on hydroacoustic search about 60 secs into the battle! (idk, when I started I thought it would make it easier to spot the other ships or something. Good grief I'm glad I found the forum and various CCs on YT)

[Saltface]

@HMS_Kilinowski

 

mate, I dont know if your experiment will be successful. All the luck to you.

 

However, this thread has all the donts of playing the game.

 

At the end it will be the most comprehensive collection of mistakes and errors while playing WoWs

[SV_Kompresor]

Don't forget to use survivability expert on BBs

[Deckeru_Maiku]

Bah, everybody can play like a potato... I do it all the time...

 

But more seriously:

Most of the above marks a player as untrained... what makes a real potato is utter ignorance of the minimap, either because it has been minimized to the size of a fingernail or because interpreting it needs at least a couple functioning braincells...

 

So for me, what marks the real potato is: absolutely no sense for tactical combat.

 

[TeaAndTorps]

Tbf it's a kinda anti-social experiment too, but I guess you've already considered that!

[invicta2012]

24 minutes ago, Deckeru_Maiku said:

So for me, what marks the real potato is: absolutely no sense for tactical combat.

Yes, but the right tactics come from understanding the mechanics of the game. And I know that my original time playing the game (first year or so) was based on complete incomprehension of both, resulting in stats that were deep cherry red (just take a look at how I played in Japanese cruisers). I should have also added "you must use torpedoes if you have them" to the list of bad things to do, as that was a real problem. Got myself killed so many times doing that!

[Butterdoll]

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- Never use camos or signals

at least use camo.

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- Don't exceed a certain level of captain points

use the highest you'll have

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- Always stay with the majority of the players

No, not always, go on your own sometimes, take advantage of the opportunities you find along the way

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- Don't move in smoke

Move as you wish

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- Don't use hydro or radar

Use them

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- Never follow requests in chat

yeap or no depending what is asked of you + oportunities = failure

2 hours ago, HMS_Kilinowski said:

- prioritize damage over objectives

- ...

always prioritize a kill

 

you are gonna to regret your little experience.

focus in a target, one target at a time don't pay attention to the bigger picture

aim randomly 

 

 

[Mad_Dog_Dante]

You are looking in the wrong area I'm afraid. Bad players are looking for the next ship because it will be 'better', they are not interested in a better understanding of gameplay. They are not willing to invest in practice and understanding gameplay to get good, but in progressing up the tiers because bigger = better. And for that, you don't have to git gud. As long as there are ships that look like they can fix your problems, there is very little need to fix yourself. I bet these players don't even realize that skill is a deciding factor.

[Deckeru_Maiku]

57 minutes ago, invicta2012 said:

Yes, but the right tactics come from understanding the mechanics of the game.

No, it's a total lack of purely basic tactical knowledge, not restricted to this game, but to probably every game requiering even a marginal amount of tactic. Stuff like:

 

• if there are two regions vital for a victory - yours and the enemies' - then it's needed to defend your own while taking the other... so blindly storming ahead without any thought spend on defense will lose the battle
• never fight a land war in russia.... (this had to be put in here, even though it's more strategy than tactic...)
• if the enemy is weak on one flank, then push ahead to break him
• etc. etc.

stuff many players learned from playing battle simulation games (like the old games from SSI) or from doing active service in the military.

Many of the really, really, REALLY bad players see WoWs as a pure action game and think there's no need for tactic, as long as they shoot faster/further/harder than the enemy...

 

I've seen - and won by being the DD - quite a few games, where both teams in a standard battle got so focussed about shooting at each other at the flanks, that I could manage to slip through the middle into the enemy cap to win the game, with the number of ships per side being of no matter, if the enemy was just far enough away to keep me from capping. In fact, often it was helping, when my team was losing the battle by numbers and retreating, as the whole enemy team followed them to destroy them, and ignoring the gigantic whole in the middle of the battleline.

 

This has not much to do with game mechanics, except for the "win by capping" mechanic which is so basic, that even a player with an negative IQ should be able to comprehend it. It only has to do with pure tactics.

 

Many of the other things - staying at maximum gun range, doing the Lemming run etc. etc. - result from the lack of basic tactical knowledge.

[Aetius85]

I don't really get how you can enter in the "bad player mindset" only trying to simulate the bad playing. I think it would be better with a new account to enter in some clans not interested in WR/PR and maybe enter in div with other 2 40% wr guys..maybe talking with them you can learn better than playing bad and get insults in chat

[Karasu_Browarszky]

36 minutes ago, Europizza said:

You are looking in the wrong area I'm afraid. Bad players are looking for the next ship because it will be 'better', they are not interested in a better understanding of gameplay. They are not willing to invest in practice and understanding gameplay to get good, but in progressing up the tiers because bigger = better. And for that, you don't have to git gud. As long as there are ships that look like they can fix your problems, there is very little need to fix yourself. I bet these players don't even realize that skill is a deciding factor.

 

I see you been reading my game book.

[invicta2012]

35 minutes ago, Deckeru_Maiku said:

No, it's a total lack of purely basic tactical knowledge, not restricted to this game, but to probably every game requiering even a marginal amount of tactic. Stuff like:

This is like the Spanish Inquisition. The two main reasons for my incompetence were...

 

An almost total ignorance of game mechanics

A lack of strategic thinking

and the Ability to make the wrong decision when reacting to events

 

(hold on, I'll come in again)...

[novents]

I would personally like to see a project from someone who’s a bad or an average player (or in your case - a self described “above average” player) to become a good or a very good player. And document your journey along the way. I think this could be a) more beneficial for you personally; b) somewhat more interesting to follow; and c) actually a healthy initiative for the community. 

 

I see this same question posed by different people so often - what motivates “bad” players? In short - nothing. 

You don’t make a conscious decision to be bad. You don’t wake up in the morning and motivate yourself to be bad at the game while listening to Eye of the Tiger track on repeat. 

 

I suppose that in vast majority of cases it is entirely possible that people just don’t care about being good at a pixel game. Which is fine. It’s their game, their time, their money (if they choose to spend). You’re not David Attenborough and bad players are not zebras in the Savannah. You don’t need to study them. 

 

I shared the same clan with you for 5 months @HMS_Kilinowski - I know how you play randoms. Matchmaking monitor up, spending more time hypothesising about why the team is so bad than playing. Looking at what the camoless Bismarck is doing at the back rather than worrying about your own map positioning. For someone who whines so much about bad players on a daily basis it seems odd to suddenly want to become one of them. 

 

So why not turn your exercise upside  down and actually document a journey of becoming a good player? Maybe that would motivate those who you call “bad players” to improve after reading your success story.

 

Why don’t you be a positive role model? Instead of going on a journey of actively (and consciously!) griefing your future teams and laying down tactics like have no camo, always sail broadside, put out the first fire, overextend etc. 

[waxx25]

On 8/8/2020 at 5:56 PM, dommo77 said:

My guess is you will find it extremely hard to conduct, simply because of habits of good player that you have learned. It seems like you want to punish yourself ;) Or you will become alcoholic :D

 

But seriously, why not work with someone who is really bad or causal at the game and document what his thoughts are? Would it not be easier? 

This makes sense. The post a OP made is 100% troll and 0% scientific value. *edit*

Get rid of matchmaker, (I have started using potato alert and then only AFTER the match is over) and it is cancerous to use before match starts.

Stop worrying about others and concentrate on your gameplay. Some of my best and most memorable games were defeats. Only one of my 300k+ games was a win.

Once you get past this you can climb towards the rest of us in your WR.

Edit: to be honest your win rate is far above your PR. You have the PR of a 52-55% WR player (not a bad thing at all). 

[Sunleader]

1 hour ago, novents said:

 

 

Why don’t you be a positive role model? Instead of going on a journey of actively (and consciously!) griefing your future teams and laying down tactics like have no camo, always sail broadside, put out the first fire, overextend etc. 

 

Because going towards Unicum Levels takes alot of Time and Effort.

Something not everyone is Ready to Expend on a Game ;)

And in alot of cases it ends up being Work rather than Enjoyment.

 

Testing how it Feels to be a Potato meanwhile takes no Effort ^^

And can be quite Fun Sometimes xD

[_DeathWing_]

Are you a masochist?