Burnout & Uncertainty

[Jester Joe]

You're insanely lucky then.

Even Diamond gets nasty. If it isn't your team falling apart, it's the enemy team, and usually out in the open so there's no illusions.

Hell, I just had a guy screaming at me because I went Widow the last 30 seconds despite us having been ineffective at halting them all game and getting some picks within that short duration. Why? "OH WE LOST BECAUSE WE HAD A WIDOW FUCK ALL OF YOU!" -- What? Guy was absolutely ballistic.

Didn't even realize that was damn near a last-second selection and not something we carried from the start to the end.

It's possible I am lucky.

Or it's possible that since I always play a healer/tank, no one else has a chance to even be angry for a "bad comp" really, or at least never really directed at me.
I'm not saying you deserve the rage for that pick at all mind you, I'm just saying people are far less likely to be agitated at you if you play a healer or a tank and do at least decent.

[Averrix]

Is it Sylphea? They're actually one of the rare exception of nice player, especially considering. I've enjoyed playing with them for the most part in the past.

But also do virtually no competitive and clearly don't take the game seriously on just about any level. How they have the time to dedicate to it still yet(and why) is beyond me considering common modern motivation which tends to be extremely "douchey". A rare one, they are.

I don't remember the name, maybe if I look on recent players list it will still be there, doubt it though.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

It's possible I am lucky.

Or it's possible that since I always play a healer/tank, no one else has a chance to even be angry for a "bad comp" really, or at least never really directed at me.
I'm not saying you deserve the rage for that pick at all mind you, I'm just saying people are far less likely to be agitated at you if you play a healer or a tank and do at least decent.

Maybe that's it. They usually focus their ire at trivial, irrelevant details merely because they stand out and not for anything truly significant.

Basically pick on the easiest target. In that particular instance I notated; me being a Widow. That was a red flag for him and he went for it without hesitation.

[Averrix]

But on this subject matter, you sound like someone who is at that age where gaming starts to lose some of it's enjoyment level or you are starting to question your own life and why you keep doing what you do. Me, when I play Overwatch, I don't care if I get stomped, yeah it sucks, but I just move on to the next game and don't let it bother me. If it is bothering you this much, you should quit. Or maybe just take a break and reevaluate things in your life.

[Dawnrage]

I can't interpret your post as anything but wanting a circle-jerk of people sitting down going, "yeah, hate those no-lifers in games! I miss the good ol' days where everyone sucked and we had a good time!"

No one seems to be complying with that so far.

Look, I say this in the nicest way possible - don't play competitive games. It's that simple. Any game that has a competitive nature is always going to end up like this at some point. No matter how new and fresh it seems at the time, people will dissect a game and it's core mechanics, and figure out the best and fastest way around and about things, and there's nothing the good, the bad, and everyone in-between can do about it.

I myself am old with a family of my own now, so I can't devote myself to endlessly improve and "git gud" but I am still very much competitive and hate it when I see myself getting destroyed in any game. However, that's just the nature of a competitive game and I don't feel upset about the game's evolution nor the people that play it - only at how I am no longer capable of competing in that environment anymore. Just move on - that's all I do in every competitive game I play. When it becomes clear I am no longer at caliber that is competitive with the current population of the game, I simply find the next newest and best thing to do and enjoy the feeling of being a newb with everyone else until the inevitable yet again. If you can't handle that, then as I said from the start, just don't play competitive games anymore.

[Trollfat]

Because I enjoy not being screamed at or hearing other people scream at one another. I have almost zero interest to do competitive. Got to Diamond for the limited time I played last season and I'm struggling to muster up interest for another go. I'm burning out on the shitty fucking community. The shitty fucking atmosphere. The shitty fucking behavior. Some of which I've seen bleed over here when all I am doing is questioning why these games have devolved into this choice where you either accept brutal mediocrity or absurd(though meaningless) empowerment but only if you're willing to forsake all else.

I'm beginning to question. In its entirety. The whole point of gaming at its core and maybe more to the meat of the matter, the assholes that circle around it. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to just be able to enjoy myself and have fun. There is no middle-ground. There is no reasoning. That's what it comes across as.

Sounds like you need to take path 3 and quit, mate. I came to the same crossroads as you where trying to get better and climb wasn't worth it, and stomping/getting stomped in QP wasn't fun. I now only ever play if my RL friends want to.

Also, the whole point of gaming is entertainment. If you're part of the 99% crowd that doesn't get paid for it you need to take a step back and consider why you continue to play a game that torments you so.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

I can't interpret your post as anything but wanting a circle-jerk of people sitting down going, "yeah, hate those no-lifers in games! I miss the good ol' days where everyone sucked and we had a good time!"

No one seems to be complying with that so far.

Look, I say this in the nicest way possible - don't play competitive games. It's that simple. Any game that has a competitive nature is always going to end up like this at some point. No matter how new and fresh it seems at the time, people will dissect a game and it's core mechanics, and figure out the best and fastest way around and about things, and there's nothing the good, the bad, and everyone in-between can do about it.

I myself am old with a family of my own now, so I can't devote myself to endlessly improve and "git gud" but I am still very much competitive and hate it when I see myself getting destroyed in any game. However, that's just the nature of a competitive game and I don't feel upset about the game's evolution nor the people that play it - only at how I am no longer capable of competing in that environment anymore. Just move on - that's all I do in every competitive game I play. When it becomes clear I am no longer at caliber that is competitive with the current population of the game, I simply find the next newest and best thing to do and enjoy the feeling of being a newb with everyone else until the inevitable yet again. If you can't handle that, then as I said from the start, just don't play competitive games anymore.

...When was this ever? There have always been varying tiers of ability and time investment. Maybe comparatively over an entire timeline, sure, but even CS:S and my favorites from back when were plenty competitive in their own right. The difference? They tended to be more friendly and people didn't drop tons of hours into them for the sake of "git gud" but because they had a love of the game.

What happened to that? Why is it all about the "git gud" now? It's this crazed obsession that stems from a very bitter, unpleasant place and drives people towards extremes like never before all so they can shit on the other guy. I don't get this. I don't want pity for myself but pity for what once and what it has become. Maybe an in-depth discussion on how we got here and what we can do about it.

I mean, it's like you said. It just sucks after a certain point because it loses all enjoyment or we quit. Either that or we accept the morally vapid idea of column C. We join them. We shirk everything else, play to shit on others, not for the love of, and invest that immense time-sink in order to effectively do so. Likely becoming toxic ourselves in the process.

[Museigen]

You are toxic and you create toxic atmosphere by acting the way you do, it's why you see it wherever you go. You want the fix the problem? Stop being a whiny, toxic and immature person. You'd be surprised how much changes when you stop insulting everyone and asserting absolutely childish notions like, "I stomp noobs but anyone who beats me has no life." Or be keep on keeping on blaming everyone and everything that isn't you and wondering why nothing changes.

[Rudol Von Stroheim]

You are toxic and you create toxic atmosphere by acting the way you do, it's why you see it wherever you go. You want the fix the problem? Stop being a whiny, toxic and immature person. You'd be surprised how much changes when you stop insulting everyone and asserting absolutely childish notions like, "I stomp noobs but anyone who beats me has no life." Or be keep on keeping on blaming everyone and everything that isn't you and wondering why nothing changes.

I love how I can clarify that I've lost plenty and have no issues with those losses but rather with some of the individuals and their crude obsession; yet that keeps getting overlooked and little thought given to it in order to better drive a false narrative that comes across as oddly ironic. -- Mind you, not their obsession with the game itself but with their desire to stomp you into the floor so they can legitimize their shit-talking and crass nature. There's a combination of behavior here. Let's not pretend that suddenly one of the most common interactions within competitive, modern gaming isn't alive and well and that I'm making these individuals up. Sorry but I haven't quite slipped into the straight-jacket just yet.

[WskyDK]

...When was this ever? There have always been varying tiers of ability and time investment. Maybe comparatively over an entire timeline, sure, but even CS:S and my favorites from back when were plenty competitive in their own right. The difference? They tended to be more friendly and people didn't drop tons of hours into them for the sake of "git gud" but because they had a love of the game.

What happened to that? Why is it all about the "git gud" now? It's this crazed obsession that stems from a very bitter, unpleasant place and drives people towards extremes like never before all so they can shit on the other guy. I don't get this. I don't want pity for myself but pity for what once and what it has become. Maybe an in-depth discussion on how we got here and what we can do about it.

I mean, it's like you said. It just sucks after a certain point because it loses all enjoyment or we quit. Either that or we accept the morally vapid idea of column C. We join them. We shirk everything else, play to shit on others, not for the love of, and invest that immense time-sink in order to effectively do so. Likely becoming toxic ourselves in the process.

I find enjoyment in victory.
I find more enjoyment in knowing I've beaten someone else. There are precious few games I play that are for the enjoyment of the game itself, and they're all single player.
Overwatch is just a vehicle for competition.

[Rotted]

You sound like a person that should stick with PvE MMO or Single player games.

Sorry but I have to agree with this,

Form what I gather in your post, you either;

1) want to dominate new players who don't have a clue what to do
2) want to go against players at your level but who sucj

Essentially, it sounds like you want a 100% win rating,

I'm roughly in the same boat, I got shit on by the matching making system (long story short, I sucked in S1 then improved), I won 8 drew 1 lost 1 in the last season and placed in 1200, I climbed to 2200 and dropped to 1500 in a space of a week. All my friends who I play QP with who are in masters and I hold my own against and with them, it's incredibly frustrating especially when you know when your better than your rank and getting shit on from trolls or boosters promoting their services, but I seriously don't understand why people get so hung up in things like this. Just play and enjoy, if you don't then don't play

[Phookah]

Rule #1 of life in general: There's always someone better than you.
Even when you're grandmaster rank, the game tries to keep you at 50% win rate, i.e those uber players lose around as much as you do.

[Zenfoldor]

You sound like a person that should stick with PvE MMO or Single player games.

PvE games can be more competitive than PvP because leaderboards. IE: item bracked rankings in warcraftlogs

Problem with PvP is it's often apples to oranges. One person has an advantage due to innate imbalance. Leaderboards, or high scores are much more emblematic of true skill(say their team-mates are more skilled than yours, or their class has a mechanical advantage).

My example to prove my point is the high score in Donkey Kong. A single player game with a leaderboard. You think you are good at games, go try and beat that.

[Alydael]

I know you encounter this in every game but my burnout from Overwatch is sourced a bit differently...

It has to do with the fact I almost have 300 hours invested into it(which I find personally insane) but I'm still running across players, readily, that have several times that investment and a whole wardrobe of gold guns to go along with it. It absolutely kills my own self-esteem and deflates any sense of self-worth I might have going into a match.

This is because it's often accompanied by a huge skill differential. While I might obliterate newbies and heavily challenge more average players regularly, they make me look like I've never played a day in my life more often than not. It's almost insultingly frustrating to encounter. Can't imagine how it is for others arguably beneath my skill level.

It's this disparity of investment that is gradually making me lose interest. I always enjoyed games as a pass-time. Something to alleviate my woes and help me to relax. I'm not getting that anymore. Instead I am getting this strange, bizarre sensation that repeatedly creeps up on me in which I could be doing more with my life if I'm going to take it that seriously in the first place rather than attempt to compete with individuals who clearly do not put value on anything but the game itself and their performance.

...and it'll mean nothing beyond that game. That's the critical difference between that kind of investment in a game and life itself.

So I stand at a crossroads:

* One path, I choose to accept the idea that maybe I will be crushed. That there is a sect who simply will invest every waking hour and breadth of their existence into this game and I will not be able to fairly compete. Is what it is. Yeah it might ruin my fun at times(because who finds simply being stomped enjoyable?) but I can try to siphon joy out of the mere sport of the game itself and all the details therein.

* Second path, I choose to forgo my life and join these people. People mind you that I tend to personally loathe as they are self-destructive unto their own being whilst simultaneously making other people miserable because the skill gap is so immense it isn't really "sporting" at all. You have to surrender so much just to be even remotely competent comparatively.

* Third path, I choose to quit. Determine what values I desire in a game and why and also certify that this is possibly something that needs to be extended towards a myriad of multiplayer titles. Particularly ones that get really into the whole "e-sport" mentality of it all in which helps to drive that insatiable desire out of a given group of individuals who will stop at nothing to attain superiority and compound upon it -- even if merely for the sake of.

Anyone else feeling this way or has felt this way? I get that I can't always be "top dog" but Overwatch seems to take things a little too far and the disparity is soul-crushingly bad as a result. It's even better when you actually seem to be putting up a challenge initially(still losing ultimately) only to get the old, "I'm just warming up for the day," taunt. Awesome. Way to shit all over me and my effort. Saying I should simply do emotes and accept inferiority?

I'm probably overthinking this. I tend to do that. Doesn't change how I feel though. Really disappoints me.

There are probably people with well over 1000 hrs. invested in that game. I would say 300 puts you at upper-mid range. I don't know your life, but there are some people that don't work and just play all day. If you have a regular life with responsibilities (job, school, family), it is going to be difficult for you to dedicate the same amount of time to it.

So, don't feel too bad when you get crushed by someone who has played 3x as much as you. They should crush you, think of how much better you would be with all that extra time.

Find some friends or a team to play with it, it will help you out.

- - - Updated - - -

Rule #1 of life in general: There's always someone better than you.
Even when you're grandmaster rank, the game tries to keep you at 50% win rate, i.e those uber players lose around as much as you do.

I have found this to be true as well. No matter the game, they try to keep you at about 50%. If you get too far away from that, the match making system is probably broken somehow.

[Kithelle]

Matchmaking doesn't work that well believe it or not and even then you still have to wonder where these people are coming from that can expend so much time. Enough of it in fact that you begin to wonder if they're even feeding themselves. This is what makes "competitive" games not competitive but the complete opposite. An exercise in what one can instead sacrifice to attain the meaningless. So the question was; join them, ignore them best you can, or quit entirely?

One fact you seem to be hung on that isn't true...you seem to think play time = skill

It doesn't really...you don't need to live a game 24/7 to be good at it...you ever think that maybe these people have played other shooters before...but no OW is the only shooter game ever created and if people are good there it means they're unemployed losers who spend every waking moment playing.

My suggestion to you right now is quit...you obviously can't handle that people are better than you and think better than you = lifeless loser.

[Alydael]

One fact you seem to be hung on that isn't true...you seem to think play time = skill

It doesn't really...you don't need to live a game 24/7 to be good at it...you ever think that maybe these people have played other shooters before...but no OW is the only shooter game ever created and if people are good there it means they're unemployed losers who spend every waking moment playing.

My suggestion to you right now is quit...you obviously can't handle that people are better than you and think better than you = lifeless loser.

I agree that play time does not equal skill. However, with these online games you have some players that are really skilled and they are putting a ton of time into the game.

I really don't think we are focusing on the right side of this problem though. The real problem is the way the rewards are dolled out.

First of all, losses in general are penalized way too highly. So they sting a lot more.

Since most of the rewards are cosmetic in this game anyway, why not just make them play time based or something?

[Tziva]

It seems the question was answered and some suggestions were made so hopefully the OP can find contentment in Comp or quitting. Otherwise there are just a lot of rudeness and snark happening here, so I'm going to go ahead and close this as I don't see any new insight coming to light at this point.