Today I want to talk about time spent playing vs time spent getting better. I understand practice makes perfect, but there are ways to be more efficient at improving than simply playing 10 hours a day. [b]Starcraft? - This is mostly foreshadowing (skip if short on time)[/b] So I use to play Starcraft 2 and got up to platinum , I played League of legends up to Diamond, and I was quite competitive in both up until destiny came out. I have always been an..."elite" gamer as cocky or annoying as that sounds. Games just seem to click with me, I love to theory craft, and trying to improve has always been a big deal for me. However, I learned the most from watching other people play. Not montages... not 1/1000000 snipes, just some regular "better than me" play. Listening to their decisions / reasons behind it. Listening to the shout casters gave me insight into a world of pro gaming I couldn't hope to accomplish, from players that would always be better than me. And it was during this time I learned a very valuable lesson. Pro players don't play ridiculous amounts of games to improve. (I'll discuss what they do in the next area) That is right! One of the biggest "conspiracy theories" was that pro star craft players were telling their followers to play stupid amounts of the game in a row in order to improve, when this actually hurts more than helps. While yes, playing 10 hours = you are definitely improving in one way or another... but this is 99% mechanical improvements, and in most games there is actually a limit to how good that can get. The biggest component to being in the 1% isn't just shooting a gun properly, it is knowing the ins and the outs of every class, gun, grenade, throw distance, escape routes etc etc. I might be able to smash my keyboard at 300 actions per minute in star craft, but if I have no clue what to build I will be a bad player. [b]How it is done[/b] Let's completely step away from the star craft theories and look into destiny. Look at the game we love and how we can best improve. 1) Game Play review - This is #1 for a reason. Watching yourself play is THE BIGGEST resource you can have. With modern consoles, it is easy to save games... and if you aren't, you are hurting your chances of improvement. Take the video I added to this as an example: That is a 28 - 0 skirmish game from last night. For most that is a "perfect" nearly unreachable gameplay. But in the video I still say, "I shouldn't have done that push". Despite going unbroken, there were still things I could have improved on in this game. Noticing these things is what makes us better. 2) Watching "Pro's" - Because there is no true MLG scene, it is hard to really gauge who the best players are in this game. What I would recommend doing when picking who to learn from is make sure they A) Are able to teach you / have good personalities b) The stats to back them up Don't watch streamers / youtubers just because they are big. Flashy plays with no context or learning opportunities are just flashy plays :) 3) Take breaks... "ok dad" Seriously - the longer you play the more minor mechanical mistakes you make. My formula if I want to compete is: 1. 2-3 warm up games 2. Play my "set" of sweaties or what ever it may be 3. Stop and review the footage If I have time afterwards to play, then wicked. But for the most part After my games are done it is time to review / edit and get back to other things. When people look at my stats I've been called a nerd / no life quite a few times... But I have a 5 year old son, a girl friend, work full time during the summer, university in the fall , trying to be a youtuber etc etc. I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BE A NO LIFER. And even if you do, you shouldn't ( not only health reasons hehe, we will talk about that too at another date) Don't sit down for 8 hours ripping heads... because at that point you aren't "in the zone", instead, your brain is on -blam!-ing fire from all the info you have been shoving at it playing video games, and your eyes are strained from keeping them open so long. Rest yourself and let your games played sink in. If you are losing sleep because you need " one more game" then you are hurting yourself... your brain needs time to process all the skill building stuff you've done. GET SOME DAMN SLEEP! [b]Optimize[/b] Theory crafting / Min-Maxing - These are all things that apply to MMO's and other competitive games. In FPS games, there isn't a lot because normally there are very limited things that can alter your results much other than obvious gun choice etc. In destiny however, it mixes in MMO elements to the FPS: Weapon / armour choices REALLY matter... if you want to have the best scores / KD, you need to put the time in to get the stats you need. Eg. If you are a Sun Singer, you NEED to max your discipline or your super is a -blam!-ing colossal waste. This is a game changing mechanic that if you aren't gearing properly YOUR sun singer will be worse than everyone else's.... how can you compete if you are handicapping yourself? Thorn / TLW are annoying as balls, but if you are PLAYING TO WIN you will use them: ( I know I know, this is tough to read but I'm talking in a very blunt way here. I hate these weapons like anyone else but if stats are all you care about, then you need to conform to the norm) Build perks around your load out , grind some PVE if it means you can improve your PVP character ( like raid boots giving you 4 rockets instead of 2). Hold onto Blue gear with solid rolls... Sure you might lose out on 15 strength, but having two strong perks to improve your load out is much more important. Overall, just build around your weapon set up / play style. If you love to use arc bolt grenades but have maxed strength you only hurting yourself for being lazy and not committing to your build. [b]End[/b] Recap: Watch your gameplays. Watch other peoples gameplays / commentary. Take breaks. Optimize your shit. WIN How did you like this guide? It is a bit of a different topic, but I think it is important to discuss. For more videos / info on the game check out my Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/MTashed/videos And for live game play: http://www.twitch.tv/mtashed Thanks friends! I really appreciate your support! Mike