So I have this thing when I play Widow, where if I’m doing well, I’ll suddenly notice and start overthinking what I’m doing, and my composure and reactions just vanish. The only solution is to switch really, which is why I don’t play her as much as I’d like in comp. As if nearly 400 hours total isn’t enough already (it’s not).
I’ve also noticed it with other Widow players, they can be absolutely popping off, but you get them once and they just go to pieces, and it’s pretty much game over for them, they either switch or contribute nothing to the rest of the match.
Probably falling out of flow state? I feel like Widow really requires it, and becoming self-conscious or self-aware breaks it. I don’t have enough confidence on any character in OW to get there, but I’ve had the same experience in other activities.
I just have to refocus myself on the game. I start talking about ult combos coming up, next fight tactics, defending positioning, etc. Getting my mind off what I am doing really helps
Widow is a very mood based hero. If you get into that kind of position I find listening to music is a good way to mentally reset. If you listen to music your awareness will be worse, but you can turn if off once you chill out. Otherwise, try not to rush your shots. Most issues I have is getting overeagar. Make an effort to line your shots up, be patient, it’s ok to get less shots off if you get back into a rythm.
I kinda know that, the problem is that I start to think when I notice I’ve made a good play. It’s like “that was cool… now I need to keep it up.“ And that’s when it goes wrong.
I think the pressure of the moment goes with the team fight won, or I die, and brain creeps in.
Ahh… yea, I get that too sometimes… I suggest trying to keep it going mentally, in the sense of like… “Where’s the next target” Even if you don’t see one, seek one.
Grapple forward, try to go for a jump shot… it’ll come to you.
Game theory (not the YouTuber) is something you would be VERY interested in.
Look up H o m o Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture by Johan Huizinga . He’s attributed with having written most of the academic foundations of “play”.
the censor filter is kicking in… this is upsetting but understandable
I. LOVE. Game theory(at least the stats subject. Sounds like you’re talking more about psych?). An intro class to it totally changed the way I think about so many things.
They tend to once they’re in spawn.
If you can hit them once as they’re beginning the jump, and again before they land, you can even just barely kill them at times before they even land.
You can psych yourself “in” instead of psyching yourself out.
Strings of misses and hits are how EVERYONE operates, it’s both natural and just purely statistics – even professional Poker players come up short even when theoretically everything they’ve done in a hand is sound.
Mathematically, once you’ve overcome a hurdle of physical execution and familiarity, you will frequently come with streaks and failure periods. If you pop off, you should expect a lull in gameplay almost immediately afterwards.
This is why even pro OWL Widows still only have a 50% accuracy and 1/10-ish crit chance, which is barely even an improvement over the standard Plat 1/20 crit chance and same 50% accuracy.
Very related. Statistics can be used to verify the ideas behind the psychology, and people use the psychology to design games in order to chase after specific statistics.
