How Do You Deal With Losing Streaks?

[Joltik]

I guess ive found a resolution to Mario Kart 8 if everything goes sour .-.

Yes, MK8 is played competitively. :P

 

[Cephalopun]

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[jsilva]

I had one of the worst losing streaks I've ever had today, and now I feel really bad. I started to convince myself that I'm just never going to get any better at this game and couldn't stop playing despite being on full tilt.

I finally was able to stop, but even after taking a breather and cooling down I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Frustrating! I don't believe long losing streaks are entirely the fault of the player. However looking at yourself is the only thing you can do. Maybe you couldn't have saved the game but you can always look at ways you could have done better—was there a sniper stopping your teams' pushes, is there a way you could have taken the sniper out? Etc.

 

[Award]

I rarely ever play TW so I can't say anything about that, but the main difference I see in ranked has to do with game sense. By about the B range you'll find players who can splat extremely well but the games feel inefficient. It's hard to describe. I could give many examples but I'd write too long.

I still wish TW were a ranked mode option. It's technically the best mode in the game and the one that you really buy Splatoon for, the one that's fully unique and fully uses the maps. It's terrible that you can't get consistent level games out of it. When you get two closely matched teams in TW it's the most incredible game mode ever.

I think there's two possibilities about the difference between the levels. Or three. The one is simply the experience that goes with time. Splatoon is ridiculously fast paced, and the high level players play at even faster pace, so there's a lot of variables to take in and interpret at once, and intentionally look for. Less experienced players will not be good at (or even aware of) that. However I'd be curious if that difference is drawn by rank differences or if it has more to do with level difference. I.E. is it that A- players are less aware of this than A+ players, or is it that A- players are more likely to be level 35 and A+ more likely to be lv45 and therefore have tremendously more game time behind them with all the experience that builds (alts excluded of course.) Rank is so weirdly variable I'd almost expect pure experience in playing to be a bigger determining factor. (Mode specific strategies pending of course.)

The other possibility is simply understanding how to play the objective versus just going Team Deathmatch. The B's that can splat well might just be racing out to splat without really playing the objective. And in fairness to them, Splatoon does an absolutely, unconscionably horrible job at explaining the rules and objectives. I didn't even understand the rules through most of the C's, and the SZ penalty logic still confuses me. How many TC players below the high ranks do you think it ever occurs to that NOT going for the KO is in most cases the better strategy? Instead they fling themselves at the tower again and again while they're in the lead, getting splatted, and leaving the board open for the enemy. The game doesn't really make it clear that's even an option, and why doesn't Judd pitch in with some advice (too busy eating that tuna Callie's slipping him, I guess :p)

Then there's map familiarity. I still don't know why STILL did not block the left wall in Moray RM. That score jumping (permitted) cheat breaks the game so badly in the lower ranks. Most players do not know that wall is even in play, and never take the RM up the wall, and never defend it. And they can only figure it out to losing to that strategy again and again.

That all goes back to it being silly to score it as a team game when individual performance gets penalized for a team that doesn't know how to play, but that's probably a key difference.

Oh and one thing I forgot earlier is the people that insist that "you get placed in the right rank" - I wonder how many of those people are playing meta weapons in only one or two modes, effectively gaming ranks rather than mastering the modes. I'd rather be a solid C+ that has skill in all modes and maps with a variety of weapons than an S+ that got there through playing carbon roller on splat zones exclusively ;)

Doesn't matter to me :) As long as I play with an account that's at S I don't mind losing, if indeed we lose.

Sounds good, I'll have to add you! I still have to re-familiarize with maps/modes first. I expect a rough start where I LITERALLY sink into the C's after such a long hiatus, AND the first time playing Eliter and CHydra in ranked, so I need to get some working map strategies in place. Last I played ranked, it was all luna aggro on TC, carbon & splat charger on SZ, and I barely touched RM because I was trying to "meta" to focus on the rank itself. This time I want to play all the modes with a variety of weapons no matter what's in rotation, but that means there's mode/map combinations I haven't even played yet. And last time I wasn't confident enough in my sniping skills to take eliter into ranked. Now I am. And CHydra...well that didn't even exist yet! :D My poor rank will take quite the beating, but then I'll be confidently able to play any map/mode with any weapon. Theoretically I'll get my Lv50 tonight (or tomorrow if not), so then the first time RM is in the rotation, I'm going back to ranked (start with my worst first so I take the rank hit and get done with it) ;)

 

[Award]

I had one of the worst losing streaks I've ever had today, and now I feel really bad. I started to convince myself that I'm just never going to get any better at this game and couldn't stop playing despite being on full tilt.

I finally was able to stop, but even after taking a breather and cooling down I just can't figure out what I'm doing wrong.

This game does have a way of making you hate yourself and then asks "Would you like to be abused some more?" And every time, we slam "Yeah!" as fast as we can. :D If we ever had doubts that Nintendo's origins were in gambling, now we know... :p

Sometimes it really is ourselves doing something wrong - usually when I do something wrong, I know what I did wrong and hate that I did it. Charging too aggressively into unknown area, falling back waiting to ambush only to get boxed in, going down that same camped corridor again and again thinking "I'll clear the camper out THIS time!

Other times, it's not you. One thing I've taken to doing (in TW, it's a little more destructive in ranked), is just hang back and watch, or wear recon and park on the spawn when things go bad. Watch what your team is (or isn't) doing. Plenty of times I sat back and watch that and realized "well of COURSE we're not going to win with these guys doing that...." If you're getting splatted over and over and over, your enemy is simply superior in skill, and you can't fix that. They can flank you, ambush you, aim straighter than you, and evade faster than you, and they're a higher skill. You can assume they're moving up in rank (or are caught in the same limbo as you and were pushed out of the rank they belong in.) If the enemy doesn't seem to overwhelm you or seem particularly difficult to you, then odds are, they do seem difficult to the rest of your team, and the problem is you're going it alone because your team can't help. Or, your team just runs out and kills whatever moves with no care about the objective at all. So many times in SZ I see people that either play Team Deathmatch, or Turf War. I'm the only one even NEAR the zones. Try holding the Museum zone all alone with a splash-o-matic while your team goes to the opposing rotating wall. Yeah, I couldn't do it either. :)

 

[Award]

Frustrating! I don't believe long losing streaks are entirely the fault of the play

They didn't name it Nintendo ("Leave Luck to Heaven") for nothing, apparently. ;)

 

[AC_Decoy]

If I'm on a losing streak I go to my sub-account and play on an easier mode because playing ranked in Cs with guns I'm trying to learn is more pleasurable and rewarding than sticking it out on my main account where I just watch my hard-earned rank plummet. :/

 

[Award]

@jsilva , yeah, you probably don't want me on your team at present :p:(

Finally got my Lvl50 yesterday, and RM came up in rotation (start with the worst first!) so I FINALLY plunged back into ranked. I'm down to B! :p But I expected that. First time playing eliter in ranked at all (unless you count the two rounds on Moray when I realized I probably shouldn't do that yet a month ago.) And I wasn't prepared for trying to figure out RM with eliter quite so abruptly. It plays VERY different from anything else. The usual perches remained almost entirely unused, and I spent most of the matches on the ground, in fact trying to go CQC with enemies. Actually winning said encounters a fair number of times, but the bottom line is I have no serious map strategies for eliter in RM right now. TC & SZ would use the normal perches....RM really doesn't. Coming up with strategies is something that's going to take a lot of experimentation (and a lot of losing streaks.) Playing eliter I can't just rely on skill in shooting & evading like I could with shooters & rollers, I need total map control stategies per map & situation. No battlefield strategy makes eliter useless. Hydra too. Failing is the only way to figure it out. Not even sure of good places to put beacons - turns out I don't have to hide them thoroughly like I do in TW.

Worse, I used to avoid RM entirely and waited for either SZ (my favorite!) or TC (on certain rotations) in ranked (taking that letter seriously!) so as a result I've only even played 4 or 6 maps on RM. Triggerfish & Depot RM are entirely new to me. Thus I was playing a mode I haven't played much on maps I haven't even seen before (not familiar with the added platforms and how they change play), with a weapon I've never played that mode on.

Needless to say, there was quite the losing streak. But what DID impress me was the fact that of the handful of wins I got, one of them I was the one that landed the RM. I carried the RM myself several times in a number of matches (on the ones they weren't quickly in our base), several times, though I felt I did badly, I was the only one on my team with a positive k/d, and I apparently have better aim than I thought going 12/12 (not trades, the splats were mostly separate from the trades, and mostly at the end when they were right in our base - got a few kills from kraken though.) once, and double digits a few times. Other times it was more like 2/6, 1/1, 0/3. And I' sure my team was grateful for the eliter that was actually popping the shield ;)

It's also hard to tell when my team did badly since I went in knowing I was going to do badly myself given I'm kind of restarting as a noob :D

On the the other hand I'm not at all salty about losing so much. Not even as much as in TW. It feels good to shed the rank in a way...nothing to hold onto anymore, I can just play! And it brings back the feeling of getting the game new for the first time having to learn map strategies all over again like I've never played it before, so it's kind of exciting.

Granted, I could just play Carbon, SSP, DS if I played in a squad.....but I'm committed to mastering eliter & hydra! :) (Carbon Roller for SZ all the way though...too much fun to give that up! ;)

The only down side is part of the problem seems to be, while I don't have much of a strategy, neither does anyone else at this rank. Even as the newbie fool that never saw the map in that config before I kept thinking "I just cleared 3 enemies and painted a straight trail for you, and even shot the wall to get to the top while I kraken'ed, WHY did the RM not follow me and go another way??" But I can't gripe at them much since they could know something I don't, too.

 

[jsilva]

@jsilva , yeah, you probably don't want me on your team at present :p:(

As I said, I don't mind. In fact, it'd be beneficial for you to play RM and TC with more experienced players. And as long as I play as an S it doesn't matter if I lose. On that note, my 'fun' account is now back up to S 58...

It's up to you though. Just no need to feel uncomfortable.

 

[Anaru]

The ranked system is pretty dumb. I spend weeks struggling just to gain a few points in S, then quickly lose them all and go back to the low A's. I get very mad at myself when I lose a few games in a row, which doesn't help. And I've been practicing so hard whenever it's possible for me during the last month, and I just hate losing streaks like this so much. I love this game so much, but sometimes it just feels like this game just randomly wants to murder your rank for no reason.

 

[Award]

As I said, I don't mind. In fact, it'd be beneficial for you to play RM and TC with more experienced players. And as long as I play as an S it doesn't matter if I lose. On that note, my 'fun' account is now back up to S 58...

It's up to you though. Just no need to feel uncomfortable.

That's cool that you're back to S58! That means you're just 34 points away from a downward spiral toward A-! :p;)

Well if you don't mind playing with an otherwise good sniper who has ZERO strategy or map awareness in RM yet, works for me!

I haven't played eliter or hydra in TC or SZ yet either but I have more of a sense for TC even on maps I haven't played, and don't feel the need to try to go aggro with eliter at the risk of a defensive position in TC like RM seems to require. I just wasn't prepared for "wow, all the normal perches, and possibly all perches, are entirely useless in this mode!" Recon doesn't give you a good sense of the movements.

I see why so many people loathe RM. It has so much less focus and flow than the other two modes and is somehow more chaotic. And I don't like the way they alter the maps main functions so much. TC does it too but since TC has a fixed objective it doesn't matter so much. Joining the bottom sections of Depot and the two halves of Triggerfish breaks the entire purpose of these map's designs!

Though...and it could be just because I don't know what I'm doing in RM and don't have a strategy....but I do wonder in triggerfish why my team NEVER followed the trail I created down the main enemy corridor to the gate walls when they had the RM and opted for the grated ramp instead. And why every time the enemy brought the RM to our base, I seemed to be the only one going up the gates to shoot at them from in front. I may not have been the only weak link on these teams... To me, if I had the RM, and an eliter krakene'd, took out several enemies, and created a straight trail to within 5ft of the goal...I don't know....I'd consider swimming in it? Maybe that's just me being naieve about map strategies here.

 

[Isan]

I rarely ever play TW so I can't say anything about that, but the main difference I see in ranked has to do with game sense. By about the B range you'll find players who can splat extremely well but the games feel inefficient. It's hard to describe. I could give many examples but I'd write too long.



Doesn't matter to me :) As long as I play with an account that's at S I don't mind losing, if indeed we lose.

If you guys need a Luna to help bring in a win, let me know Nivie. You've seen my work

 

[jsilva]

If you guys need a Luna to help bring in a win, let me know Nivie. You've seen my work

Yes I have... :)

 

[Isan]

That's cool that you're back to S58! That means you're just 34 points away from a downward spiral toward A-! :p;)

Well if you don't mind playing with an otherwise good sniper who has ZERO strategy or map awareness in RM yet, works for me!

I haven't played eliter or hydra in TC or SZ yet either but I have more of a sense for TC even on maps I haven't played, and don't feel the need to try to go aggro with eliter at the risk of a defensive position in TC like RM seems to require. I just wasn't prepared for "wow, all the normal perches, and possibly all perches, are entirely useless in this mode!" Recon doesn't give you a good sense of the movements.

I see why so many people loathe RM. It has so much less focus and flow than the other two modes and is somehow more chaotic. And I don't like the way they alter the maps main functions so much. TC does it too but since TC has a fixed objective it doesn't matter so much. Joining the bottom sections of Depot and the two halves of Triggerfish breaks the entire purpose of these map's designs!

Though...and it could be just because I don't know what I'm doing in RM and don't have a strategy....but I do wonder in triggerfish why my team NEVER followed the trail I created down the main enemy corridor to the gate walls when they had the RM and opted for the grated ramp instead. And why every time the enemy brought the RM to our base, I seemed to be the only one going up the gates to shoot at them from in front. I may not have been the only weak link on these teams... To me, if I had the RM, and an eliter krakene'd, took out several enemies, and created a straight trail to within 5ft of the goal...I don't know....I'd consider swimming in it? Maybe that's just me being naieve about map strategies here.

Yes I have... :)

You could invite Mr. Award to our conversation with Sora if you want Nivie, and I'll see if I can get a hold of Sora. Then we could have a team of four for once

 

[jsilva]

You could invite Mr. Award to our conversation with Sora if you want Nivie, and I'll see if I can get a hold of Sora. Then we could have a team of four for once

Will do. There's also another guy I've been in contact with who is interested in playing.

 

[Isan]

Will do. There's also another guy I've been in contact with who is interested in playing.

Bring 'em in! The more the merrier

 

[Award]

Sorry guys, sounds like I missed out on a fun impromptu squad session! Having never squadded before I had no idea how the WiiU works with that and kept waiting for a notice or open status from @jsilva, then checked back here and realized the WiiU apparently doesn't support anything like that, so I was supposed to coordinate here. Oops, I'll make it next time!

The plus is, I've discovered that I can do very well with eliter in TC and CHydra in SZ....so my suckiness is limited to RM until I familiarize with it. I won some, I lost some, but after crashing to B 26 in RM last night I've rebounded somewhat to B+58 with some awful loss streaks mixed in.

Also, more proof of what I was saying in this thread the other day about why ranks should not and must not be taken seriously, I found half the B- and B players I was playing when I started the night in TC actually played the objective MORE than the A- and A players I was mostly getting in B+ lobbies. The B- & B players I felt like they understood the rules and really focused on the objective even if they weren't top performers at doing so. The A- and A players were ungodly awful in every way. Some were playing Team Deathmatch, inked NOTHING in TC meaning we had zero mobility to defend a tower. They had high kills fairly high deaths, and lost. Others played and fought well and ignored objectives. I'd clear the tower off and it would sit there alone, because there was no one to get on it. One A player in Arowanna with an Aereo MG stood in the hall door overlooking the zone - the IDEAL Hydra location meaning I had to go elsewhere,, and kept trying to shoot the zone from the door. My end stat was 12/6. His was 1/12. I saw a LOT of double digit deaths, often without accompanying double digit kills from team mates. I don't even know how they managed to get double digit deaths. The objective wasn't even in play so much. The Port Mackerel TW syndrome that everyone runs down one side and leaves the other undefended, I'm sad to say, applies to TC as well. I found myself riding the tower quite often with my eliter. Sometimes it was advantageous since i had a kraken and could really push it. Team must have been really happy to see the sniper push the tower. The problem is with some teams I had to ride the tower more often than snipe..or worse...I had to snipe the enemy sniper from ON the tower. And often I had no backup. One round I went 12/0 and got the tower knockout myself. Other rounds I was the only team member with positive k/d (in a B+ lobby with mostly A/A- on my team - so the point loss was painful.)

C'mon guys - I'm playing weapons I've never even played in ranked before with maps I've never seen these modes played on - how am I doing better than all of you? I should be the weakest link on my team. But no...I'm still carrying....with support weapons.

So, yeah....ranks really just can not be taken seriously in any way. Mr. 1/12 aerospray in A rank should be pretty ashamed as the only person in the lobby with that poor performance. But that's what the ranks look like nowadays... we have to play it for fun, not for rank!

 

[SupaTim]

I'll be up for squads after this weekend. Sometimes I think I want a M-F 9-5; this is one of those times... (by next week I'll feel different, I'm sure).

 

[Tuff]

I usually try to play a few matches to see if I can get some momentum going again and if I can't I'll take a break and exercise or do something that is good stress relief just to get it out of my head. I've dropped from S down to A- plenty of times in a single sitting and it's not fun. You just gotta keep a cool head and always be thinking when you're playing and just be aware. Usually if I'm in a close match and it's starting to irritate me I'll close my eyes and take a deep breath after every time I get splatted to refresh my mind and think about what I did wrong and what I can do to press an advantage from that point.

 

[Award]

I'm going to double down on my comments from the other day. The A's are a fetid cesspool of misery.

There seem to be a lot of players in the A's that are quite seriously bad. I mean so bad they make C+'s look semi pro. I suspect it is for this reason that the losing streaks happen the way they do when descending from S for @jsilva and others. The fall from S is the normal kind of losing streak. Some bad matches some bad players, whatever. Then once you get to the A's you're kind of sunk and the spiral will continue.

So on my way up today, again, after descending to B 6 at one point in RM, I was playing SZ and TC in B. Mostly B-, B, B+ lobbies. Matches weren't as frantic as with higher ranks, but the pacing was fine, the objective contested, matches were more or less tight...everythin was fine. People played Splatoon. In SZ I had CHyddra...on Mackerel its like taking candy from a baby. Just park over the one zone, hold it alone, the rest of the team can press the other zone....and the second zone is the only point of contention. Our zone is locked by me and the enemy can't take control, only we can.

Then rank up to B+. All lobbies are now A-, A, A+. No B+'s....I'll never understand this. Suddenly my teammates feel like playing Turf War. They're behind me. They're painting the base....a few try to rush the other zone...they die. Now I have the ENTIRE enemy team coming at me exclusively, in waves....I can't hold them all off forever. Wave after wave they keep trying to take the zone....3 of them at once. Finally I get backed into a tiny corner by a wail only to have an inkstrike land on me while the wail was boxing me in. Where's my backup? No team....they probably didn't look at the map. They weren't pushing the other zone.... So I have to get of my perch, STOP defending the on zone we have...and try to push myself into the other zone.... Similar scenarios in multiple lobbies. Why is it the B's knew to push the other zone while the Hydra defends the close one and the A's do not?

Then there's the round where 2 of them decide to squid party.

I lucked out when I got back to A- actual rank. I started getting some B+'s on my team finally....and then we started winning some...the B+'s were tough against the A ranks on the other team.... And I probably lucked out since it was late at night. Read: Mid-Sunday in Japan....so the serious players were all playing :D

Bottom line is, I'm convinced the A's are quite possibly the worst set of ranks in the game.... I've consistently seen A's get destroyed by B's. In TW as well.

It's not that there aren't good rounds, and good plays by A players....it's just that those A players are probably the S players that got deranked in a losing streak. It's just that there's this HUGE concentration of truly awful players in the A's that are definitely worse than the majority of B & B+. :)