If you’re a First Person Shooter player looking to improve your skills, then my FPS Self-Improvement Series of articles is exactly what you’re looking for.
I’ve played FPS games competitively for nearly a decade and have decided to share my knowledge of FPS gaming in six thematic articles. Each entry takes a look at a different aspect of FPS gaming and how to improve your performance in that specific field of expertise.
This is the final entry in the series and it provides 10 general tips for improving your play. Take a look at the previous articles in the series for more specific guides and feel free to leave a comment in case there’s anything you’d still like to know, or that you think I might have missed.
Good luck with becoming a better First Person Shooter player!
1. Private matches are better than public play. You’ll generally play alongside (and against) players of a more equal skill level, and with the same group of players. A more consistent environment produces better results.
2. Losing is better than winning. Do not indulge yourself in owning noobs, that’s time wasted learning nothing. Go up in some higher skill server and take on players better than you. There’s a lot to learn just from watching them take you down.
3. Stick to the settings you feel most comfortable with. Other players will try to convince you to change mouse sensitivity or field of view, but these things are not essential for you to become pro. Comfortable gameplay settings are.
4. Keep (or become) physically fit. It is no coincidence that most pro players are in very good shape.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. A lot of skilled players will be more than happy to help with any questions you may have, or provide a few tips to improve your play.
6. Watch demos or live clan matches. It may not be of quite as much use as watching replays in strategy games, but you can still learn a lot from watching pro players at work.
7. Don’t be hasty. You will not become a gaming God overnight. You may notice some early improvements, but it can take quite a few months before you’re at a level worth talking about.
8. Joining a clan is key. It may be a hassle, and yield unwanted obligations, but it does provide incentive to play and become better. Plus you get to chat with fellow (hopefully similarly skilled) players.
9. Participate in competitions, even if you know that you’ll lose. The experience of match pressure with a meaningful victory at stake is something you’ll need if you’re going to go all the way. You may lose scores of competitions, but you’ll become an expert at tuning out the pressure to win… which will yield you a serious advantage if you ever do become that pro gamer.
10. Don’t become an ass. You know the guys who shared tips with you were more helpful than those who called you a stupid noob when you were starting out, so don’t be the hater. There are enough of those as it is…
GameDrone FPS Self-Improvement Series:
- 6 Hardware Tips for FPS Players
- 5 Tips for Improving your Accuracy
- 6 Tips for Weapon Mastery
- 7 Tips for Improving Map Control
- 5 Tips for Better Practice Sessions
- 10 Tips for Becoming a Better FPS Player
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i was about to read this then i saw “2. Losing is better than winning.” if thats the second most important tip to offer… u suck
If you think that’s a bad tip, then I fear you’ll never become even halfway decent at any game. The best way to learn how to play and to improve your skills is to constantly lose to players much better than you and to observe how they’re destroying you. Purely decimating noobs-only servers isn’t going to get you anywhere, ever.
In case you still haven’t given this any thought whatsoever I’ll just spell it out for you:
When you’re constantly playing below your level / winning:
- You’re not being challenged or motivated to improve.
- You’re not playing at your maximum ability.
- You’re not analyzing your games.
- You’re not pointed to flaws in your play.
When you’re constantly losing:
- You’re constantly being motivated to improve.
- You’re constantly playing at your peak skill level.
- You’re analyzing every game to see what went wrong.
- You’re confronted with clear examples of how to play better every single match.
If you think I suck for saying this, then you’re deluded. Ask any StarCraft 2 or Quake Live pro how they got to their skill level and they’ll give you the exact same advice: play against (and with) people better than you. I could go on to list a whole slew of things I’ve won and rankings I’ve attained, both in the FPS genre and in other genres, but that’s besides the point and you can easily look some of those up on this site anyway.
I too was a competitive player for a decade and have won numerous competitions.
Keep playing with noobs and you’ll end up becoming more noob than them cause they will be improving and learning from you constantly owning them.
You will truly be the biggest noob when u found out that the noob you owned last time is now back to F you up.
Some good tips here. I am wondering about tip number 4. I would like to know more about how being physically fit plays a role in how well you play fps games. I’ve been looking for more reasons to get in shape, and I really enjoy fps games so understanding how that they correlate with each other would be motivating. Thanks!
People who are physically fit have been shown in studies to have a better reaction time.