This is a relevant article because I recently hit a pretty hard wall. After being Master Guardian II in the summer and my friend subsequently deranking me to Gold Nova III, I struggled to regain form throughout the entire semester, hovering around Gold Nova for the longest period of time. However, I have recently begun to come out of the slump due to a number of factors and I think that explaining how I was able to snap out of this slump would be a helpful article. A lot of these things seem like "Yeah, duh", but often times, it's not til one person points out something that it becomes fairly obvious.





Have a More Consistent Practice Schedule

One thing that really held me back during the semester and stunted my growth was my lack of a consistent practice schedule. Despite my love for the game, I just couldn't find time to squeeze in CSGO in between classes and extracurricular activities. However, after becoming frustrated at my inability to do well in-game and even dropping a couple of goose eggs (5-20, 4-17), I looked at my schedule and decided that I could cut down on some of my goofing off in order to fit at least an hour, if not more, of practicing CSGO into my schedule. Also, notice how I'm using practice instead of playing. Practicing indicates that you are actively trying to improve your CSGO skills. With the newfound consistent practice schedule, I've prevented any drop in level when I do have to take a break and have simultaneously improved my overall level.





Change Settings/Gear

This is a cautionary tale, as people who change out their settings/gear too often are probably not doing this right. Just like teamwork and camaraderie takes time to develop in professional CSGO teams, so does adjusting to a new mouse/mousepad/computer and a new sensitivity/graphic quality/resolutions. When you do adjust any of these, be prepared for a slight drop in level as you take time to acclimate to the change. I personally changed both my crosshair to be skinnier and have less of a gap while changing my resolution from 1920x1080 to 1600x900 in order to get better FPS. This dramatically affected my gameplay as aiming became easier without a quite as large crosshair combined with a overall smoother game. The quote I think most embraces the philosophy of this advice is Guardian's hilarious quote when asked about if he ever gets mad at his performance in-game.

Guardian's Quote

Be in a More Positive Mood

Honestly, playing frustrated or tilted never helps you improve at a rate that you want to improve. Whenever you go into a match, try to stay positive and upbeat. Being more supportive towards both yourself and your teammates goes a long way into helping you. Odds are, you'll probably play better and you'll probably be in a better mindset to play the next game. If you make a conscious effort to have fun while still taking the game seriously, you'll naturally play with more relaxation and confidence. Give it a try!





Learn New Mechanics

Learn new mechanics and practice them. I guarantee there are mechanics that you still have not learned or encountered. For example, you can actually offset your head's hitbox by ducking and spinning, which is why you see people do that while defusing the bomb. Spam spots, different angles, different guns, spraying, movement, how to throw flashes, and all these other types of mechanics can lead to you improving or picking up easier kills. An interesting way that I learned some new mechanics was by watching the pro matches and hearing the commentators remark about some sort of mechanic that I had never noticed before. Read up about these mechanics and do your own research. Make some notes and start practicing them in game.





Practice Without Playing the Game

If you're sick and tired of playing the game, but still want to improve without playing it, learn the nuances of the game. When I say nuances, I'm talking spam spots, economy, what sprays look like, reading various articles about different CSGO mechanics, the different callouts to each map, the map and its angles, crosshair placement, demoes, etc. All these are different examples of how you can improve outside the game just by becoming mentally smarter about the game. IGLs and coaches spend tons of time outside playing the game learning about these various concepts. CSGO is a thinking man's game. Aim doesn't singlehandedly win you the game. Knowing how to play in certain situations, when and what to buy, and the various angles you should play will make the game so much easier.



Figure 2: Watch a demo or two

Taking a Break

This is the last point and a fairly important point. If at some point you find yourself not enjoying the game and just forcing yourself to play just for the sake of getting better or winning, it might be time to take a break. There are plenty of other activities to do outside of CSGO and it is healthy to do these things. For me, that consists of running, playing tennis, and playing basketball. It doesn't have to mean those things; it can mean Fortnite, doing school work, or just enjoying quality time with your friends. What's important is the fact that these kind of breaks will allow you to be in a more positive mental state, which as mentioned before, can help your gameplay out.





Conclusion:

I hope that this advice helps you. Whenver you're hitting a wall or feeling frustrated, take a deep breath and mentally go over some of these things I wrote down in the article. Hopefully, after a short time, you'll be able to keep improving and continue along your CSGO path!.

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