Playing to Improve or Playing for Rank?

[OctobrushMingey]

Earlier today, I was playing bamboozler on ranked, a weapon that is new to me, but I'm really starting to love. The previous night, I was down-ranked from A+ to A, so when I started, I thought it wouldn't be too hard to rank up again. But it was rainmaker mode, and one of the courses was flounder heights, so you already know what is going to happen. My team was not playing well, which is bad because I pretty much needed to be carried. So I eventually down-ranked all the way to the hell that is A-, and that is no place for a bamboozler, especially a learning one, because you pretty much need to carry your team. So now I'm sitting in mid-A-'s, and It will be a challenging way back up.

So, with this story, my question is should we even try to keep our rank up? I feel like I would play a lot better if I didn't have to worry about my rank; no need for the 20 second left hail-mary into the center of the zone, and less robotic playing in general. The only thing that a rank really offers is that you won't get scoffed on by the S's. Ranked is extremely rage-inducing, especially rainmaker, but this could be softened by simply not taking a letter and a number so seriously, though certainly a challenging feat. So, I'll end this long post now and leave you with the question.

TL;DR: Why should we take our rank seriously if it only causes us to rage, play badly, and stick to the same boring weapon(s)?

 

[Holidaze]

Play with what you have fun with, get better with that weapon and just start rolling over faces. What's the point of playing a game if you stop having fun?

 

[Vitezen]

Improving and increasing your rank are the same thing. You are always at the rank you deserve.

 

[Zolda]

I think the underlying problem with rank anxiety for a large number of players isn't so much about their own skill as much as it's about how they want others to perceive them. They view their rank not as a way to gauge their own skill level, but as a status symbol to show off to others. Essentially, it is about comparing oneself to others. For higher ranked players who have this view it's a problem because it causes panic and anger over losses, often resulting in blaming external circumstances (e.g. blaming other players, matchmaking, maps, etc.) instead of looking critically at their own play to see where they can improve. This view is also a problem for lower ranked players because if they are struggling to climb the ranks, the comparative nature of this view results in them feeling bad about themselves because they can't get a higher rank, resulting in a defeatist attitude that eventually leads to giving up entirely.

In short, I think the problem is that too many people view their rank only in terms of how good it makes them look to others. This ultimately hinders improvement because they're too focused on others when they should be focusing on themselves and looking for areas they can improve.

 

[Mateiüsthesquidwarrior]

Improving and increasing your rank are the same thing. You are always at the rank you deserve.

There is a lot of chance involved. I've ranked up from B+ to A- about five or six times now. I recently made it back (hopefully I'll actually sustain it this time). The reason why I mention that is because there's always a chance you could be teamed up with a bunch of people who are of a lower level, likely resulting in a loss. Or you could be on a team with good players, but terrible weapon balance.

Again, there is a lot of chance involved in team placement, so I don't think it is fair to say that the rank you have is the rank you deserve.

 

[SquiliamTentacles]

I try to focus on the skill aspect, simply because if I play for skill and improving my personal playing, it should also show up in my rank. Yes, there are situations where the odds are against (or stacked towards) your team, but team composition and your teammate's skill are out of control. Focusing on your skill under a variety of situations is the only way to get reliably better, and should be prioritized over rank.

Personally, the main reasons I care about my rank are because it helps me get matched with similarly skilled players and that it means I get more cash per win.

 

[Wonderf]

Personally, I would just stick with playing to improve because with improvement comes a higher rank.

 

[Vitezen]

There is a lot of chance involved. I've ranked up from B+ to A- about five or six times now. I recently made it back (hopefully I'll actually sustain it this time). The reason why I mention that is because there's always a chance you could be teamed up with a bunch of people who are of a lower level, likely resulting in a loss. Or you could be on a team with good players, but terrible weapon balance.

Again, there is a lot of chance involved in team placement, so I don't think it is fair to say that the rank you have is the rank you deserve.

It's true, there is a lot of chance, but variance over long periods of time averages out. If you're playing hundreds or thousands of games, the times you've been carried or faced a stacked team will approach equal values. It's more helpful to think of your change over long periods of time, not a few matches played per day.

 

[FinInfinite]

You could use a non-main, low-rank account to begin using new weapons, and when you reach an acceptable level of skill with those weapons you could incorporate them into your regular play. That way, there is no pressure to excel with weapons you have no skill with.

 

[Holidaze]

You could use a non-main, low-rank account to begin using new weapons, and when you reach an acceptable level of skill with those weapons you could incorporate them into your regular play. That way, there is no pressure to excel with weapons you have no skill with.

Wish I thought of that when I started using Brushes, then chargers.

 

[FinInfinite]

I don't have a sub account, I bit the bullet (pun intended) when using chargers. Now I'm a charger main. However, lots of people in my squad do this.

 

[OctobrushMingey]

Wow, thank you everyone for replying! This helps a lot :)

 

[jsilva]

Some good advice (although I don't agree that matchmaking and point award losses is entirely random, but that's another discussion...).

One thing to keep in mind is that you're playing with other people. If you decide you are simply playing for fun and don't care about winning or losing and don't play your best you're hurting the other people you're playing with.

The point is that it's not all about you. It's about everyone playing and making it the best for everyone.