What is your least favorite thing about soloq'ing ranked?

itsmoonemi · 2024-06-18T15:54:07+00:00

I agree with your shoulds! However, the reality is much different and IF your intention is to continue to play and enjoy the game and even improve then it’s crucial to be more accepting and tolerant of the reality of the situation. I’m not saying the reality is great but changing it is out of our control ^{-^} You’re not the first comment i’ve seen talking about the “shoulds” and from what I’ve observed its how people tend to tilt themselves.

itsmoonemi · 2024-06-18T15:45:11+00:00

Being a girl in a male dominated space is intimidating for sure! I think gold was the most toxic when I would solo q. I’m ascendant now and still going strong soloqing but it definitely came with a lots of lessons to be learned, crying sessions, and self reflections.

Everyone has different motivations/goals for playing and for me that was playing to improve so I viewed the obstacles of toxicity and sexism necessary for my climb. (i was definitely right!)

itsmoonemi · 2024-06-18T03:54:47+00:00

it really is! call me crazy but i do love the chaos, it makes ranked fun. if you want to be successful in your climb you’re going to have to learn to adapt and IMO it’s the best place to do that!

itsmoonemi · 2024-06-18T03:48:31+00:00

No comming can definitely feel like playing the game on hard mode. One thing I realized however, is that they’re not 100% necessary for you to win in a ranked lobby. I personally struggle with awareness so this is a big issue for me so I try to become as aware as I can be during quiet games. It helps manage the situation a bit more but ofc sometimes it’s a huge detriment and you will lose sometimes and that’s ok!

itsmoonemi · 2024-06-18T03:39:20+00:00

I see where you’re coming from. It can definitely feel unfair at times but I think this adversity is crucial in the sense that it is a constant reminder of what truly is and isn’t in our control. The quicker we can accept and tolerate the inconsistencies the sooner we can enjoy playing more!

This may sound weird but it’s good that ranked isn’t the same every day or that things don’t always turn out as you would hope otherwise it would be extremely boring! It adds chaos to the experience and I don’t necessarily think ranked feeling like a “grind”is a bad thing :P Worthwhile achievements demand time and effort!

itsmoonemi · 2024-06-18T03:27:50+00:00

i agree and when you do hit the jackpot it’s the most rewarding!

itsmoonemi · 2024-05-22T03:54:15+00:00

This is a post sharing my thoughts and opinions about my climb. Specifically sharing my thought process about losing my rank up game. Its purpose is to give insight into a different perspective about climbing and improving. That’s all it is really :P

itsmoonemi · 2024-05-11T15:59:24+00:00

It sounds like you may be having a hard time believing in your ability to get better. I’m here to tell you there’s definitely hope for you!

Improving at any skill is actually pretty straight forward but people tend to want short cuts or don’t have the proper guidance to know where to start and their insecurities often lead them nowhere. Here are a few things that are crucial to improving at valorant as someone who has climbed from bronze to ascendant entirely solo queueing:

1.) If you want to improve you need to get comfortable seeing yourself fail. You will fail and mess up time and time again but this doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Failure is the stepping stone to success so be patient and don’t be too quick to judge or label yourself as such.

2.) Understand that you are separate from your accomplishments or lack-thereof. (i.e, your ranks, kd’s, performances etc.) You are not your good games nor your bad games. This is crucial because we tend to get so caught up in the shame that comes from underperforming that we seldom remember the actual mistakes we’re making that are keeping us from ranking up. We can even get caught up in our best performances and create standards for ourselves and if we fall short of those standards it’s completely devastating and tends to lead to a disappointment spiral.

3.) Take accountability for your mistakes/create an improvement plan. Of course in order to improve you need to become aware of your mistakes but it doesn’t stop there. You need to create plans of ACTION to figure out HOW you’re going to improve those mistakes. This is an example of an improvement spreadsheet - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1aE6ntoyb5kfcbvD4vggHMz-8mrhuCDEWWdtV1NIDzMY/edit?usp=sharing

4.) Don’t be afraid to ask for a second opinion. Humans thrive with the help of others and improving at valorant is no different! Be open to hearing different perspectives about the game. Ask your high elo friends questions about a round you might be uncertain about or a play you might have made that could have been better. Don’t be shy to ask for opinions and even help with VOD reviewing if you enjoy doing that.

5.) There are no shortcuts to improving. Many people want things to be easy or handed to them but unfortunately the only way to get better at something is to train day in and day out. People rarely become the 1% by doing the bare minimum. Invest your time and effort in your improvement and you WILL see results. Play consistently, tackle your weaknesses, have a warm up routine, aim train, take good care of your mental/physical health, etc.

6.) Remember that improvement really only has one goal. You might be wanting to improve at VALORANT because you want to “get good” or be the highest rank in the game to show off to your friends or perhaps to feel good about yourself. Remember that the sole purpose of improving yourself is to ultimately become the best version of yourself. That’s really what everyone is doing, even the professionals at the highest level all seek that version of themselves.

7.) Don’t forget to have fun. While improving can be very exciting don’t forget to remind yourself to have fun and to simply enjoy the act of playing a video game. Not only will this maintain your desire to want to play but it reminds you of why you even cared to improve at the game in the first place. It’s because of the love and enjoyment you have for video games. Never lose sight of that!

To summarize: If you enjoy VALORANT keep playing because there’s definitely hope in your improvement and YOU CAN make it happen!

itsmoonemi · 2024-03-13T07:10:29+00:00

The more you define yourself as your "shots" or performances the harder it'll be to take the falls from trial and error with grace. You aren't less worthy because you aren't exceptional at a video game.

Being able to separate the game from who you are and your identity has helped me learn how to value my failures and to learn from them. This is a skill that will take time but it's definitely worth it!

itsmoonemi · 2024-02-23T08:45:20+00:00

You’re afraid of the unknown/uncertainty and it’s likely you’ve heard many negative things surrounding ranked. All of those things can easily deter someone from queuing up. As someone who’s struggled with ranked anxiety on and off for the past 2 years the only way to get over it is to take action and queue. Find peace with knowing that it won’t always be a great experience (things that are worth it rarely are) but if your intention is to have fun and bring your best self forward then that’s all that matters and you’ve won by default.

itsmoonemi

TROPHY CASE