This is a legitimate question. Climbing can be such a hassle. There’s nothing worse than being 1 win away from a rank floor only to go on a long losing streak. Just happened to me for the 3rd time in the last couple days. Even more frustrating is when you lose matchups you should win, and not because you played bad, but because your opponent just draws like a god and you get the shaft. It leaves such a bitter taste because there’s just nothing you can do, nothing you can learn from it. I’ve been pushing to try and regain my lost bonus stars after I went on a rather long hiatus but this keeps happening and every time it does I just put the game away for a few days so while I should be much higher than I am, I just can’t bring myself to sit there and bash my head against the wall of god drawing face hunters and elemental shamans that I should be beating. I just feel like progress is being stolen rather than actually lost.
Everybody knows that, that's part of the game. If you feel you're on a losing streak, quit for the day and come back the next day. There's nothing you can do about bad luck.
Yeah been doing that all month and hasn’t done me any good. It’s like I’m just not allowed to have win streaks sometimes. I had to stop watching streamers because they’ll get like 5-6 opponents in a row that draw or play like ass and I’m like, where are those people at my rank? Everyone draws like a god. It’s been like a week since I saw an opponent with a bad opening meanwhile I’m busting my ass for every win. Doesn’t matter if I play a top tier deck or an off meta deck, feels like every game is stacked against me…I’m sitting here just trying to get to platinum 5 and the game keeps slapping me down a couple ranks every time I get close. Was 1 win away yesterday and got slapped down to 8. Got within 2 wins today then slapped back down to 8. I hate when people talk about how easy it is to climb, or if you’re stuck at a rank it’s because you need to get better. Yeah that’s BS. I’m at the mercy of matchmaking and the draw engine right now. My game play has zero bearing on my rank and it’s frustrating.
Dude you're totally biased. You should question your play style and skills. The game isn't all about draw and luck(yeah it may be a lot but not all). Otherwise everyone's winrate would be like %50. No need to be salty, if you're losing a lot and if you want to climb higher, you need to be improve yourself. I don't always play hearthstone, but when I play I can climb to legend in 3-4 days.
Everyone has bad days and unlucky times including me. When I lose a lot I quit the game and turn back another day with a fresh mind, to continue climbing. Also you shouldn't be obsessed with game, just play for fun. If you're losing, it doesn't mean you're an idiot or something. Be relaxed.
I found one way to reduce losing streaks: When I loose constantly, the first thing I do is watch (HSreplay/twitch) the videos available on the specific deck I am using. Most of the time this reveals to me the mistakes I make at key turns of the game. Watch as many videos as you can and specially watch the way they mulligan that really helps. Then watch the 5 turn five decisions and study the win conditions and combos they use. I watch as many videos as I can before playing the deck. Give a special attention to matches against decks that are giving you a hard time. Once you think you are ready start, play like 20 games and don't be afraid to make changes to adapt to the meta you are in and fit your style of play. If the deck does not fit your game play change it cause you'll be frustrated...having fun even when losing is important. As you go, you will improve your game play. In the beginning, I found out that it's the way I played the game that was the problem. One example: Keeping synergy/battlecry cards to use them later instead of using them because the situation needed me to play a body on the board. Another example: I was constantly losing against the tickatus deck...watching the videos taught me that tempo was one of the keys to beat it..forcing the warlock to respond to threats all the time (when possible) instead of drawing cards was giving more chances to win.
I don't know about you, but I've always found that advice hollow because I can't afford to take that time. Like most working people, I have little time to play each day and I can't afford to give up and waste it when I'm losing.
My anxiety doesn't go away from winning though. Reaching a ranked floor helps slightly, but really the only solution for me is to play something I find fun. If I succeed, great! If not, oh well.
You claim to know when a game is lost due to reasons beyond your control, so that is when you should take a break. Even if for just a few minutes. That being said, I find it hard to believe that every one of those losses has nothing to teach you.
I like to watch streamers and these people play more games in a month then I might in a year, so they clearly know a lot more about the game. Despite their vastly superior skill and experience, they still question their own decisions and take time to consider the options. Even something as simple as which cards to mulligan in a matchup they have played hundreds of times by now. Why? Because they are likely taking a lot more into consideration than I would think to.
My point is that there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Yes, some games are 100% beyond your control and will be lost despite making zero mistakes. That doesn't mean there is nothing to take away from these losses.
Some of the answers here have pinpointed the solutions, i.e. playing optimally and lose the steam when you're on a losing streak. I know it's not as easy as it sounds, especially when you feel the odds are against you. But based on my experience in climbing the ladder (esp on Diamond 5 to Legend), optimal play is the way to lose the anxiety and most importantly, enjoying the game experience.
Playing optimally means: 1) Keep your head cool, 2) Think before you play a card (expect what your opponent will counter and see if you can do a mind game to your opponent), 3) Squelch early to avoid frustration trigger.
If you're aware that you played under that circumstance, you're less likely to get frustrated or anxious with your matches.
Eh when the game is no longer fun put it down. I try for legend every season but I always use tier 1 or tier 2 decks because otherwise the experience is too frustrating. Casual isn't much better, all legend level players using meta decks. There should be a non meta mode
It would take approximately 2 hours before a handful of decks become the meta of the nonmeta mode
Just stop playing games that make you anxious lmao. Hearthstone is very like rock paper scissors. 80% of your games are basically decided from the start.
Winning doesn't feel rewarding most of the time. Not to mention losing when you're just getting countered and you can't do shit. I've stopped playing 2 years ago after I've had realized it. BG is a much more affordable and enjoyable mode. Yes, you lose badly from time to time but compared to ranked it's nothing.
All in all, If you're starting to feel anxiety it's prolly time to put the source of it aside. It goes like this for every addiction. Once you realize this you'll see that life gets less stressful and you'll be able to enjoy more things.
- keep playing as long as you feel you play relative well and overall you will get positive win rate, - If you feel you play below your average level - take a break, watch a streamer or switch to other game mode.
- In order to "progress" you have to play, so need to find ways to overcome bad games and keep improving. I also play in wild, more casually, sometime i climb to legend if i have free time.
If you think ladder anxiety is tough in HS, try playing competative Starcraft 1 or 2. Every second of every minute you know you have to play that keyboard like a master pianist and the smallest of errors might cost you the game instantly.
I stopped playing standard ( I even reroll my win 5 games weekly) not necessarily because of the anxiety but because it’s simply not fun.
All because of matchmaking.
rock papers scissors and the meta driven deck building strategy give the algorithm the upper hand. It knows before the game who has more chances of winning if it matches rock with paper. Is that fun to play? Definitely not, so I gave up even though I have an almost full standard collection.
Like some of the others here, I only seriously try to climb when I'm drunk. I'm not trying to be trite, it's the only way I can enjoy playing ranked. Especially the dreaded D5 to D1.
Just stop playing games that make you anxious lmao. Hearthstone is very like rock paper scissors. 80% of your games are basically decided from the start.
Winning doesn't feel rewarding most of the time. Not to mention losing when you're just getting countered and you can't do shit. I've stopped playing 2 years ago after I've had realized it. BG is a much more affordable and enjoyable mode. Yes, you lose badly from time to time but compared to ranked it's nothing.
All in all, If you're starting to feel anxiety it's prolly time to put the source of it aside. It goes like this for every addiction. Once you realize this you'll see that life gets less stressful and you'll be able to enjoy more things.
Once you stop caring about the ranking the anxiety disappears I believe. And in the early days of HS, winning really felt rewarding.
Just stop playing games that make you anxious lmao. Hearthstone is very like rock paper scissors. 80% of your games are basically decided from the start.
Winning doesn't feel rewarding most of the time. Not to mention losing when you're just getting countered and you can't do shit. I've stopped playing 2 years ago after I've had realized it. BG is a much more affordable and enjoyable mode. Yes, you lose badly from time to time but compared to ranked it's nothing.
All in all, If you're starting to feel anxiety it's prolly time to put the source of it aside. It goes like this for every addiction. Once you realize this you'll see that life gets less stressful and you'll be able to enjoy more things.
Once you stop caring about the ranking the anxiety disappears I believe. And in the early days of HS, winning really felt rewarding.
The thing is, you should not allow yourself to let your hobby have such a negative impact on you. I'm not telling it cannot be frustrating from time to time. Everything can make you angry. It doesn't mean it's bad and you should leave it. But if the first thing that comes to your mind when starting a game is "omg please be gentle to me today" then it should be a clear signal for you to leave it.
What I normally do is just strive to reach the checkpoint ranks and play meme, garbage decks for a while once I'm there. It does get rid of my winstreak normally, but, well... better than ending up unable to play at all due to anxiety, I guess?
Sometimes I even play the meme decks mid climb when I feel I got stuck from tilt...
Statistically, it's extremely unlikely for a long losing streak to be simple bad luck. It is far more likely that you are either: A) using a weak deck, or B) not playing as well as you think you are.
I've seen threads like this go on for pages and pages until we found out the guy only used homebrew decks and thought he should be able to climb ranks as well as an optimized "netdeck." (This is something he should have mentioned from the start because that's an entirely different conversation.)
As for your comment about "I know I'm not playing poorly; it's easy to analyze a game and see misplays." No, it's not. That's what people are trying to tell you here. You don't know what you don't know. It's the hardest Hearthstone lesson to learn, and the most important. If you honestly think your game can't improve, that means you haven't learned the lesson yet, and it's probably why you keep having losing streaks. A good deck can only carry you so high on the ladder. At a certain point, you actually have to start making good decisions.
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"Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick." -- Lady Saba Holland
I've seen a few other people say things to this effect, and I'm really not one to talk considering how much I've used the venting thread.
But if you're not actually enjoying the game, don't play the game. What's the point of video games if not to have fun?
Like gambling the rush of winning is fun but the lows of losing suck. That's why.they design these games to be addictive. Literal psychologists on staff. There's a reason your packs explode and shine when you open them. Dopamine rush
A lot of games are designed like that and a lot of companies hire psychologists. Capitalism is capitalism so companies wanting to do everything in their power to separate customers from their money is nothing new.
I was trying to go for a more introspective approach. For example: I know I enjoy trying to figure out how to make decks that answer whatever t1 decks people are spamming on ladder. I like Hearthstone over other card games for the craziness it allows, but that craziness is usually only possible in slower decks so I've never been a fan of aggro.
But if you're not actually enjoying the game, don't play the game. What's the point of video games if not to have fun?
While I find aggro matchups frustrating, at the end of the day, I do still enjoy the game.
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I've seen a few other people say things to this effect, and I'm really not one to talk considering how much I've used the venting thread.
But if you're not actually enjoying the game, don't play the game.
What's the point of video games if not to have fun?
Dude you're totally biased. You should question your play style and skills. The game isn't all about draw and luck(yeah it may be a lot but not all). Otherwise everyone's winrate would be like %50. No need to be salty, if you're losing a lot and if you want to climb higher, you need to be improve yourself. I don't always play hearthstone, but when I play I can climb to legend in 3-4 days.
Everyone has bad days and unlucky times including me. When I lose a lot I quit the game and turn back another day with a fresh mind, to continue climbing. Also you shouldn't be obsessed with game, just play for fun. If you're losing, it doesn't mean you're an idiot or something. Be relaxed.
I actually find the venting thread extremely helpful. It really calms me down.
As soon as u start to lose get off the game
I found one way to reduce losing streaks: When I loose constantly, the first thing I do is watch (HSreplay/twitch) the videos available on the specific deck I am using. Most of the time this reveals to me the mistakes I make at key turns of the game. Watch as many videos as you can and specially watch the way they mulligan that really helps. Then watch the 5 turn five decisions and study the win conditions and combos they use. I watch as many videos as I can before playing the deck. Give a special attention to matches against decks that are giving you a hard time. Once you think you are ready start, play like 20 games and don't be afraid to make changes to adapt to the meta you are in and fit your style of play. If the deck does not fit your game play change it cause you'll be frustrated...having fun even when losing is important. As you go, you will improve your game play. In the beginning, I found out that it's the way I played the game that was the problem. One example: Keeping synergy/battlecry cards to use them later instead of using them because the situation needed me to play a body on the board. Another example: I was constantly losing against the tickatus deck...watching the videos taught me that tempo was one of the keys to beat it..forcing the warlock to respond to threats all the time (when possible) instead of drawing cards was giving more chances to win.
I don't know about you, but I've always found that advice hollow because I can't afford to take that time. Like most working people, I have little time to play each day and I can't afford to give up and waste it when I'm losing.
My anxiety doesn't go away from winning though. Reaching a ranked floor helps slightly, but really the only solution for me is to play something I find fun. If I succeed, great! If not, oh well.
You claim to know when a game is lost due to reasons beyond your control, so that is when you should take a break. Even if for just a few minutes. That being said, I find it hard to believe that every one of those losses has nothing to teach you.
I like to watch streamers and these people play more games in a month then I might in a year, so they clearly know a lot more about the game. Despite their vastly superior skill and experience, they still question their own decisions and take time to consider the options. Even something as simple as which cards to mulligan in a matchup they have played hundreds of times by now. Why? Because they are likely taking a lot more into consideration than I would think to.
My point is that there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Yes, some games are 100% beyond your control and will be lost despite making zero mistakes. That doesn't mean there is nothing to take away from these losses.
Some of the answers here have pinpointed the solutions, i.e. playing optimally and lose the steam when you're on a losing streak. I know it's not as easy as it sounds, especially when you feel the odds are against you. But based on my experience in climbing the ladder (esp on Diamond 5 to Legend), optimal play is the way to lose the anxiety and most importantly, enjoying the game experience.
Playing optimally means: 1) Keep your head cool, 2) Think before you play a card (expect what your opponent will counter and see if you can do a mind game to your opponent), 3) Squelch early to avoid frustration trigger.
If you're aware that you played under that circumstance, you're less likely to get frustrated or anxious with your matches.
It would take approximately 2 hours before a handful of decks become the meta of the nonmeta mode
Just stop playing games that make you anxious lmao. Hearthstone is very like rock paper scissors. 80% of your games are basically decided from the start.
Winning doesn't feel rewarding most of the time. Not to mention losing when you're just getting countered and you can't do shit. I've stopped playing 2 years ago after I've had realized it. BG is a much more affordable and enjoyable mode. Yes, you lose badly from time to time but compared to ranked it's nothing.
All in all, If you're starting to feel anxiety it's prolly time to put the source of it aside. It goes like this for every addiction. Once you realize this you'll see that life gets less stressful and you'll be able to enjoy more things.
- keep playing as long as you feel you play relative well and overall you will get positive win rate,
- If you feel you play below your average level - take a break, watch a streamer or switch to other game mode.
- In order to "progress" you have to play, so need to find ways to overcome bad games and keep improving. I also play in wild, more casually, sometime i climb to legend if i have free time.
If you think ladder anxiety is tough in HS, try playing competative Starcraft 1 or 2. Every second of every minute you know you have to play that keyboard like a master pianist and the smallest of errors might cost you the game instantly.
I stopped playing standard ( I even reroll my win 5 games weekly) not necessarily because of the anxiety but because it’s simply not fun.
All because of matchmaking.
rock papers scissors and the meta driven deck building strategy give the algorithm the upper hand. It knows before the game who has more chances of winning if it matches rock with paper. Is that fun to play? Definitely not, so I gave up even though I have an almost full standard collection.
Like some of the others here, I only seriously try to climb when I'm drunk. I'm not trying to be trite, it's the only way I can enjoy playing ranked. Especially the dreaded D5 to D1.
Once you stop caring about the ranking the anxiety disappears I believe. And in the early days of HS, winning really felt rewarding.
The thing is, you should not allow yourself to let your hobby have such a negative impact on you. I'm not telling it cannot be frustrating from time to time. Everything can make you angry. It doesn't mean it's bad and you should leave it. But if the first thing that comes to your mind when starting a game is "omg please be gentle to me today" then it should be a clear signal for you to leave it.
What I normally do is just strive to reach the checkpoint ranks and play meme, garbage decks for a while once I'm there. It does get rid of my winstreak normally, but, well... better than ending up unable to play at all due to anxiety, I guess?
Sometimes I even play the meme decks mid climb when I feel I got stuck from tilt...
Statistically, it's extremely unlikely for a long losing streak to be simple bad luck. It is far more likely that you are either: A) using a weak deck, or B) not playing as well as you think you are.
I've seen threads like this go on for pages and pages until we found out the guy only used homebrew decks and thought he should be able to climb ranks as well as an optimized "netdeck." (This is something he should have mentioned from the start because that's an entirely different conversation.)
As for your comment about "I know I'm not playing poorly; it's easy to analyze a game and see misplays." No, it's not. That's what people are trying to tell you here. You don't know what you don't know. It's the hardest Hearthstone lesson to learn, and the most important. If you honestly think your game can't improve, that means you haven't learned the lesson yet, and it's probably why you keep having losing streaks. A good deck can only carry you so high on the ladder. At a certain point, you actually have to start making good decisions.
"Why, you never expected justice from a company, did you? They have neither a soul to lose nor a body to kick." -- Lady Saba Holland
Like gambling the rush of winning is fun but the lows of losing suck. That's why.they design these games to be addictive. Literal psychologists on staff. There's a reason your packs explode and shine when you open them. Dopamine rush
A lot of games are designed like that and a lot of companies hire psychologists. Capitalism is capitalism so companies wanting to do everything in their power to separate customers from their money is nothing new.
I was trying to go for a more introspective approach.
For example: I know I enjoy trying to figure out how to make decks that answer whatever t1 decks people are spamming on ladder. I like Hearthstone over other card games for the craziness it allows, but that craziness is usually only possible in slower decks so I've never been a fan of aggro.
While I find aggro matchups frustrating, at the end of the day, I do still enjoy the game.