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> Players who have made big jumps in Team Arena/HCS CSR, say from Gold to Diamond, or Plat to Onyx, what were some of the things you did to help you make that jump?
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> I started playing Halo 5 around this time last year after not playing much Halo, or many FPS’s, for several years. I was low-mid Gold at first, then crept into Platinum, and have just recently been hitting Diamond a couple times here and there (not in HCS, still Plat there). Some things that helped me were to stop sucking with precision weapons and working on movement, especially relative to teammates (still working on this). Right now, I’d say I’m a mid-high Plat looking to get to mid-Diamond or higher.
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> Moving forward, I think I need to focus on playing more of a support role, prioritizing slays, and not diving into objectives, power-ups, and power-weapons.
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> What has helped you make a similar jump?
Understanding how dominance hierarchies work primarily. Think of Halo 5 as a pyramid with the best players being at the top. The relative success you have in this game(and any game really) depends on a couple of factors. Firstly, time. The amount of time you invest into this game is directly proportional to your skill level. Where alot of people get mixed up is they don’t realize that not everyone starts on an even playing field, and they assume that their 26 days of game time equates to someone else’s, which isn’t the case.
Secondly, your baseline strengths. What I’m talking about here is what you were born with. Some people naturally have faster reflexes, higher cognitive functions which allow them to think faster which translates to game sense and spatial awareness etc. You can’t fix these if you don’t have them. The only way you can overcome is by compensating with the time in game and fixed variables, which I will get to in a moment. This is the reason you have a skill curve. Not everyone starts at the same level.
Thirdly, fixed variables. These are things which are independent of your skill level or natural abilities. They are things such as environment and internet. The short version is that if you live in an area that doesn’t get high speed internet, you aren’t going to be able to reach your full potential because you aren’t going to be able to maximize your training time. In addition, time itself can be a fixed variable when you work 40 hours per week and can’t devote all of your spare time to Halo.
All of these things considered, the next thing you need to consider is competitive mindset. How does the individual handle challenges? Do they get upset when faced with better opponents? And furthermore do they quit because their ego was challenged, rather than taking the opportunity to iron out inefficiencies and learn from better players? Beyond that the next thing you consider is this, are they paying attention to what works? Are they analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and comparing it to players who have been more successful? Are they going into theater and diagnosing each issue(i.e strafing) which caused a specific death?
The final thing I would urge you to consider in this particular query is community. The short version of this is that nobody is great in a vacuum. Hemingway was only as great as he was because of the community he surrounded himself with. Tom Brady is only as great as he is(barring the other factors I have listed) because of the countless coaches, mentors and teammates who have added to his game, bit by bit, throughout his career. How does this translate to Halo? Find a competitive community. Start scrimming. Start competing in tournaments. And soak up ever bit of knowledge you can from them. There are people who have figured all of this out before, and you dont have to reinvent the wheel to be successful.
Hope this helps man. Overall, stay positive. Never quit a game no matter what, and enjoy this awesome franchise.
EDIT:
Sorry, I forgot to add a very important point. You can be the most natural halo player in the world, but if you aren’t putting forth the time, you aren’t going to be winning games. You may have a natural strength, such as naturally knowing where everyone is at all times, or having insane reticle to head response time making you a SWAT god, but those situations only account for 5-10% of your game. The other 90% comes from practice, and practice requires hours.
And secondly, you can be the best individual player in the world and still lose to a great team made up of lesser skilled players, because they are talking and maneuvering on you. Lone wolves die young unless it’s ruble pit. Find a team and 4 stack it up dude.