I've become terribad at gaming?

[Deleted]

Hey all, just wondering if this happened to anyone else...

Not saying I'm a god at gaming but I'd class myself as pretty damn good...that sounds stuck up as well, oh well..

But recently in the past 2 months I've have become really really shit lol...

On WoW, Diablo 3, BF3, CoD...

Just like my reaction times have gone down loads, tunnel vision hard on the centre off the screen and get pissed off much more easily haha...

I'm not saying being bad is a bad thing Just don't like losing much :P...

anyway has this happened to anyone else in their gaming career?

[Valdorian]

It happens to all of us at some point. Just take a long break from a game and you'll return fresh and ready to go.

[vizzle]

How old? Curious.

[Larynx]

How old? Curious.

This is definitely a valid question.

In general, the older you get the worse you become due to less finger dexterity, slower reaction times, and so on. Which is why I believe that PvP games are primarily dominated by younger people. I haven't really done anything with that hypothesis though, but my anecdotal evidence agrees with it.

[Uwibami]

I can tell that as I age(I'm still fairly young, don't hate!), I've gained skills(Read: Knowledge/Knowhow) about games.
My actual skill itself hasn't improved, however, in most cases I'd say it's declining.

I do not know why, I understand how the games work, but I just don't see to be improving!

[Deleted]

I'm 18 lol

Raided hardcore with high end guilds etc, topping charts on cod and BF.. now its just... bad at everything..

I thought at 18/early 20's your meant to be at your peak hahaa, fast reactions and a more developed brain :P

But yes I think a long break for the summer will work ....been hardcore gaming since about 15 now so, haven't let it overlap my social life/real life much but haven't exactly had a break.

[Jailbuild]

Hey all, just wondering if this happened to anyone else...

Not saying I'm a god at gaming but I'd class myself as pretty damn good...that sounds stuck up as well, oh well..

But recently in the past 2 months I've have become really really shit lol...

On WoW, Diablo 3, BF3, CoD...

Just like my reaction times have gone down loads, tunnel vision hard on the centre off the screen and get pissed off much more easily haha...

I'm not saying being bad is a bad thing Just don't like losing much :P...

anyway has this happened to anyone else in their gaming career?

Yeah I found myself with this situation a while back with wow, after my guild disbanded and I had to find a new one, I started questioning my own ability's, figured I was just getting older and slower. it seemed every guild I joined had overly high expectations, which translated to they thought they were better than they actually were. these were guilds that a few years ago I wouldn't even touch with a 10 foot pole, players that hand not done half the things I had done pre nerfs etc. but think they are hot shit because a lot of the more competitive guilds had disbanded. I now know it was a case of, I was just tired of wow, and more so the lame attitudes and lack of comradery that has really creeped in the last few years.

[Luko]

I noticed the same thing a few months back and even when D3 first launched. Honestly once I sat down and really did some pondering, I came to the conclusion that it was due to the stresses in my life at that time. New stresses. Without even realizing it, your subconscious brain will have trouble focusing on things that it used to do through second nature (such as reaction time and eyehand coordination) when you're extremely stressed.

They're still effecting me a little, but I noticed once I got it all out in the open with a good buddy, I was able to enjoy games closer to the way I'm used to. (Beating my head against inferno D3 atm for example, haha.)

[Deleted]

Yeah I found myself with this situation a while back with wow, after my guild disbanded and I had to find a new one, I started questioning my own ability's, figured I was just getting older and slower. it seemed every guild I joined had overly high expectations, which translated to they thought they were better than they actually were. these were guilds that a few years ago I wouldn't even touch with a 10 foot pole, players that hand not done half the things I had done pre nerfs etc. but think they are hot shit because a lot of the more competitive guilds had disbanded. I now know it was a case of, I was just tired of wow, and more so the lame attitudes and lack of comradery that has really creeped in the last few years.

Had the same thing a few months ago. Realm changed to a high population realm and applied for one of the best guilds on the realm. My healing was keeping up with them in less gear (ilvl 395 and they was 402+) on a pally and druid and shaman (only heal when raiding). But my reactions were also slow.. getting hit by shit... tunnel visioning hard and losing focus... no matter what I did I couldn't get good again x) quit wow now though.. will pick it up again in MoP haha

[Hraklea]

There are a few skills that you "lose" as you grow up, don't worry, it is normal.

As you grow up, you lose both the ability to keep patterns in memory, and the speed that you brain access those patterns in your memory.

There's also the natural skill "cycle", where you practice because you're bad, then you become good, then you stop practicing because you're good, then you become bad, then...
I'm way better now rather than when I used to play them more often a few years ago (like DotA), but there are some games, like Street Fighter 4, that I'm doing terrible currently.

Don't blame your age for everything, stand up, practice, and go pwn some n00bs.

[Ratatosk]

Heh, I felt the same back in late 2006/early 2007. To talk about WoW, I had migrated to a high pop realm and joined a completely new guild, no friends or anything. I felt I played like shit the whole time I was there. Never mind the fact that I sucked at every game I tried, I just couldn't handle not being good (hilarious, I know) at WoW, as that was what I loved.

Took a little break from gaming, went back, all's good! Haven't played anything in 3 months now though, oh the mockery coming my way when I start D3.

[Xeones]

When I was 16 I considered myself one of the best pvpers in Classic wow.

Now at 24 I can barely 1v1 anyone.

My skill has declined.

[Deleted]

Might depend on the time you spend gaming, either its to much wich just burns you out or you play to little so you simply don't improve and just become worse
Or you're just in a slump, happens to everyone

[Friendlychap]

When I was 16 I considered myself one of the best pvpers in Classic wow.

Now at 24 I can barely 1v1 anyone.

My skill has declined.

Im the same, but it's not just in WoW. It's in all multi-player games overall. I was always with the "elites" at 16-20'ish years of ages but at near 25 now I feel so slow/bad at games. I think it's because I just don't care anywhere near the amount I use to care. I always cared about being n.1, doing this & that. I'm just happy to get a game going these days....my expectations are a lot lower. It's most likely a combination of me not caring...and overall peoples skills increasing more and more as years have gone by...where as mine were already at their peak years ago & people are just now reaching their peak.

[Uennie]

Unfortunately I've also noticed a steep decline in my playing skills lately. It's really just focusing on other things, and everything else. When I do nothing but play WoW for a bit my skill goes up loads, but I just don't have the time for it anymore. It happens.

[bals]

Im the same, but it's not just in WoW. It's in all multi-player games overall. I was always with the "elites" at 16-20'ish years of ages but at near 25 now I feel so slow/bad at games. I think it's because I just don't care anywhere near the amount I use to care. I always cared about being n.1, doing this & that. I'm just happy to get a game going these days....my expectations are a lot lower. It's most likely a combination of me not caring...and overall peoples skills increasing more and more as years have gone by...where as mine were already at their peak years ago & people are just now reaching their peak.

I agree with this guy. I'm pretty much the same, even the ages are the same! (well i was never really elite though)

@OP Take some time off from gaming, do other things you enjoy. You're probably just extremely apathetic about games at the moment. Exercising your body helps as well, don't just concentrate on playing video games all the time.
after you come back set goals for yourself when you're playing and try to achieve + surpass those goals. Be #1

[Deleted]

Focus on one for a while and see if it helps.
I know if I play too many things at once it really affects me :\

[Jokerfiend]

I have got to say yeah, it happens. When I first started gaming online at 12-13 or so, I was so dominate. I didn't realize it at the time, but in the early to mid 90's, I was in the REAL minority. I was generally playing men, around 30ish or so. Just due to how computers were back then, the cost, the understanding, most children didn't know shit about computers. Though I was a HARDCORE nerd.

Needless to say, I learned the ropes far more quickly then the old guys did. I was faster, had more patience, and A LOT more time. I was then playing Diablo 1 and hacked the shit out of BNet to the High hells. Then shortly after, I moved to Ultima Online, which then took most of my time.

PvPing was godly fun in that game. I was so much ahead of the curve that I dominated PvP. I was the nerd that camped houses or people, robbed, pillaged, and had literal mobs of players out to get me. If I was spotted, on the Shard Catskills, I was a KOS target and had a 200k gold bounty on my in game head. 200k could buy you anything you wanted it, was like insta gold cap in WoW.

Made people rage quit and the GM's actually banned me for 3 weeks for excessive abuse of power, I had made around 15 people unsubscribe their accounts. I know personally, that there was an actual bounty out for my personal information. So someone could come to my house and kick the shit out of me.

It wasn't until late in the T2A and the Rise of Trammel, I stopped playing. It just wasn't fun anymore, not only that, people just chicken shitted out and just hung in Trammel the WHOLE TIME. Had a cable modem, I moved so much faster then most people on the server, that walking on foot was generally faster than most on horses. Forget it, if I was mounted you were dead. It got pathetic, it just wasn't sport anymore.

After that, I didn't play any MMO's until WoW came out. By then I was in my 20's, still fast but I just started notice, I wasn't AS fast. Now I'm almost 30, and just isn't the same. I can't compete with you kids anymore.

I had my glory days, and now I past my torch to you youngins. Make me proud and grief the shit out of us old nerds. We need the reminder that we caused this issue. Make me rage quit, I need to start getting a different hobby anyways.

[Grable]

Depends on time spent gaming more than age, if you ask me.

[PizzaSHARK]

This is definitely a valid question.

In general, the older you get the worse you become due to less finger dexterity, slower reaction times, and so on. Which is why I believe that PvP games are primarily dominated by younger people. I haven't really done anything with that hypothesis though, but my anecdotal evidence agrees with it.

My buddies and I are all in our late twenties and we have no issues stomping mudholes in people in CS, UT, Quake, etc. We don't play CoD because we don't play garbage shooters.