What is ladder anxiety?

Anxiety stems from our fears and worries about a future event. For example, I had anxiety writing this because I'm worried I made some terrible error that I'll discover in the comments. In the case of ladder anxiety in Dota 2, we are apprehensive about a few things:

Losing

Being flamed for any reason, even if unjustified

Not playing well (don't meet your expectations)

Poor teammates

Drop in MMR

Anxiety is normal to being human, but it can be excessive when it prevents us from our activities. Many of the above beliefs in Dota will actually stop us from playing. We're worried that we'll lose or drop in MMR, so we don't play at all. What happened to the fun in just playing a game?

Why do we feel ladder anxiety?

By Natalie Dee

We dislike failure. Valve is aware of this as well, as shown in the lack of a loss score in your profile. At Dotabuff, we've also removed the "longest losing streak" from our records page. Although failure can have its benefits as a motivational factor, its constant presence in our minds can have worse negative effects. Our thoughts about losing can compel us to avoid the situation altogether. You can't lose if you don't play. [Correction: Dotabuff does still have longest losing streak.]

We have unrealistic expectations. We all want to be better and to reach that benchmark MMR, whether it's at 3K or 5K. And we want that goal now. Every loss pushes it further away. However, improvement in Dota is a slow, gradual process. Our goals can be longterm, and they can be numerous. Maybe shoot for improving your mid game rotations, last hitting mechanics, or study on drafting strategy.

Our worries are misplaced. Everyone loses, a lot. And though many players are quick to flame, it's an impulse that often has no basis. Losing is part of the game, and if you ask any professional, they would not be the player they are today if they didn't learn how to improve from their losses.

How can we overcome ladder anxiety?

Change your thinking

Our perception and thoughts affect how we feel. We see losing as failure and a negative outcome, and in turn we feel apprehension about playing Dota. And when we lose, we are completely focused on our own failures (though some may scapegoat to others). We fail to realize that losing happens all the time, and it's no different in our situation. Even professionals lose. In patch 6.80, Na`Vi has lost 41.5% of their games. You can't win every game.

Losing isn't always negative. It can be motivational. Our impulse may say to move on and forget about that horrible feeding fest, but instead we can learn from our mistakes. Pros will thoroughly review their own games to discover their weaknesses and see how they can improve.

As pub players, our losses also mean that our future games may be matched with weaker players. Any points lost will be easier to win back.

Relaxation training

It may seem silly, but relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and thinking pleasant thoughts are proven methods of coping with anxiety in behavioral therapy. For example, Annie Duke, one of the most successful poker players, practices yoga to prepare for the physical and psychological stresses of playing the game.

What relaxes you? It could be music, comfortable clothing, a cup of tea, or just doing some stretches at your desk before the game loads.

Desensitization

Desensitization is done systematically. Find the situation that you're most comfortable with, and work your way up to ranked matches. Dota has the benefit of being a team game, whereas a one-on-one game like Starcraft can be a very tense situation. Do you have fun playing casual matches with friends? Start there. And keep in mind you don't have to win! Have other goals that you want to practice, such as unusual warding spots, or getting used to quick-buying items. You can work at it step by step. Here's one example:

Watch a ranked game Play a game vs bots Play a casual, unranked game with friends Play a solo unranked game Play a ranked game

Stay Organized

One last tip is to keep a schedule. Forget playing whenever you feel like, and feverishly playing to get one win when you're in a losing streak. If you have time for three games a night, and maybe a few more on the weekends, then stick to that, whether you win or lose.

Now go play

I've thought about why I enjoy Dota 2 and why I've logged in an embarrassing number of hours into it over the past two years. I've been addicted to other types of games, such as MMOs, mobile games (Candy Crush is evil), and every Batman game by Rocksteady. Dota 2 is unique. Our heroes don't level up from game to game, we don't gain points to unlock features, and we don't progress through a story. Every game of Dota is the same as the one before it. The only thing that changes is us. After each game, we see ourselves grow. That's something to look forward to.

Have you faced ladder anxiety yourself? Feel free to add any tips you may have for others in the comments!