Finding Your Playstyle: How To Get Better At Video Games

As esports has grown over the last one or two decades, so has the thirst to become a professional gamer. Competitive gaming is now one of the leading industries in the world. Playing video games is one of the top career choices for Gen Z people.

So, how do you become a professional gamer? How do you get better at video games to even be considered a pro player? Let’s find out!

What is a Professional Gamer?

A professional gamer is an athlete who makes a living playing video games. They compete in professional tournaments to earn prize money and prove they’re the best in the world.

Pro gamers join teams and are sponsored by organizations. They may also get advertising sponsorships, earn a regular salary and have other sources of income such as streaming.

10 Tips for Improving Your Video Game Skills

1. Choose a game you actually like

To start your gaming career, it is important to pick a game you actually like. Because you’re going to be playing this game, A LOT.

There are plenty of games to choose from, games like Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League, just to name a few.

2. Equip yourself with good gear

It is crucial to get decent fps in whatever game you’re playing. Otherwise, the experience will be frustrating and improvement will be hampered. A good mouse and/or controller is good for dexterity and comfort. You should also always play with headphones on to perform better.

3. Set a schedule

It is a good idea to set a schedule so you can finish all your other responsibilities and chores and focus on the game. This improves the quality of your practice and also the results.

4. Practice. A LOT!

Becoming a pro gamer requires immense practice. If you don’t have hundreds, or sometimes thousands of hours under your belt, you won’t be taken seriously in the gaming industry.

5. Improve your reflexes

Competing in esports games requires quick reflexes and active thinking. You should improve these not just by practicing, but also doing puzzles and games that are designed to better your reflexes.

6. Improve your mental

Pro gamers understand the importance of mentality on gaming to avoid tilt and make level-headed decisions. Competing professionally requires an extremely high level of mental resilience and stoic character.

7. Analyze your replays

Assessing replays is one of the best ways to get better at online gaming. We often don’t understand what mistakes we made at the moment. Watching your replays allows you to understand mistakes and perform better in the future.

8. Look up guides to improve

On sites like Metafy, you can get access to a gaming community with guides that’ll help you learn how to play better and improve your game. Learn things like how to deal with anxiety when gaming and how to improve your gaming performance.

9. Learn how to communicate

Being a pro doesn’t just mean playing well. In a team-based game, you also need to learn how to communicate well to perform as a single unit. Coordination is king in competitive gaming.

10. Find a Good Coach

Sometimes the fastest way to improve is to learn from others' mistakes. Thousands of players dedicated their entire lives to one game. Booking an hour or two with them could save you hundreds of hours of game time and accelerate your progression. 

5 Tips to Help You Stay Healthy as a Gamer

Take breaks - Playing video games for hours on end is not good for your health. It is good to take breaks to rest your mind, allowing you to focus equally in all matches.

Stand up and stretch - Sitting in your chair for too long can hurt your spine and cause health issues. It is advisable to do some stretching exercise every couple of hours.

Maintain good posture - The gamer hunch is a very common thing these days, and is proven to have negative health effects. Learn to sit straight and have a relaxed posture.

Protect your eyes - Looking at a screen constantly can cause eye strain and weaken eyesight. Use a blue light filter and practice to look away at distant objects during frequent breaks while gaming.

Hydrate! - This isn’t just for your physical health, but for your focus and gaming performance as well! Staying hydrated can be incredibly beneficial, especially during long practice runs.

Positive Effects of Video Games

Better Hand-Eye Coordination

Almost every mainstream esports game is likely to improve a gamer’s hand-to-eye coordination. Assessing information through visual and audio queues, processing that information, and then performing a series of complex actions in the fraction of a second is a feat of its own.

This is known to improve a person’s skills at a variety of day-to-day activities, such as driving, sports, organizing, and even cooking, among others.

Improved Teamwork

Like we mentioned before, becoming a pro gamer requires good communication skills, particularly in team-based games like Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Rocket League, etc.

This ability to synergize and perform well as a team translates to a huge number of domains in real life, even including regular day-time professional careers, traditional sports activities, relationships, and problem-solving.

Greater Accuracy

Professional gamers have incredible accuracy, particularly FPS games like Counter-Strike, Valorant, and Call of Duty. Many esports players use aim trainers and grind practice lobbies for hours to perfect their aim.

This accuracy translates to a bunch of real-life activities like sports, driving, and party games.

Enhanced Puzzle-solving Skills

Pro gamers acquire in-depth puzzle-solving skills through the process of learning and improving at their favorite esports game. It helps you understand which factors to consider when finding a solution, and which factors can be considered noise and ignored.

Understanding patterns and navigating their way through complex environments with a lot of noise is a rare skill that can help in practically all aspects of life.

Faster Decision-making Skills

Making rational, smart decisions on the go is a skill sought after by practically every employer in the job market. Time is everything, and that’s what every individual values. This applies to problems outside professional life as well.

Making quick decisions but with a good amount of thought put into it can improve your overall quality of life and maximize the fun in every situation.

The Final Boss

Want to kickstart your gaming career?  Want access to tons of tips and tricks on improving your gameplay and mindset so you can enter the competitive field of online gaming?

Join Metafy, a large, collaborative community full of experienced coaches, budding students and professional players ready to help you grow and be a better gamer!