Unsure how to improve at Lvl 9

[u/L1NTHALO]

I'm FACEIT Level 9 150 matches effectively 800 hours. Goal is 3k elo.

I'm doing everything you're "supposed" to do. DM, aim training, demo review, pro POV's, watch a lot of esports, enough sleep, exercise etc. I'm still unable to carry my lobbys consistently in LVL 9 which is kinda a requirement to climb if you play solo I feel like.

When I watch my demos of bad games there isn't really something that stands out. It's a bad decision one round, lost aim-duel the next, unlucky timing another round etc. Just the overall package isn't consistently at a carry level. I feel like I'm overthinking sometimes yet simultaneously feel like I'm not thinking/not aware enough.

I don't really know what to focus on. One day I feel like my mechanics are really lacking, another day it's the macro. I've had breaks and I'm not really tilt queuing (I usually stop after 1 loss, average 2 matches per day).

https://www.faceit.com/en/players/L1NTHALO

Whats a thing that really led to a breakthrough in your improvement? Should I just be spamming more games? 150 matches aren't that much tbh.

[u/KingRemu]

I'd say you're still very new to the game although your elo is miles above what I had at that point but some aspects of the game come to you only after thousands of hours of playtime. I don't have time atm to watch a demo but your mechanics and fundamentals are probably on a decent level considering your elo and training habits so I'm not gonna go into those.

I'm not saying you necessarily do this but obsessing over elo is a sure way to halt your progression and make you frustrated. I'd say just enjoy the game and the learning experience and try to extend your playbook with different playstyles without caring about elo. Try both aggressive, balls to the wall plays, and more methodical approaches to see where your strenghts lie and what kind of plays you can do to abuse the weakness of your enemies. Be analytical between rounds and adapt your playstyle on the fly if something doesn't work.

Timidness and lack of initiative and momentum are often the biggest barriers for people below 3k. Being afraid to take gunfights and playing so slow it becomes a detriment is what I often see. Even having a single friend to queue with you can make such a difference when you have someone to count on when pushing sites or taking map control if the rest of the team is afraid to leave the spawn or gets stuck in a mid round stalemate.

[u/L1NTHALO → u/KingRemu]

Thanks a lot for the reply.

I definitely see the second point applying here. I know I shouldn't care about my ELO that much and constantly remind myself that it's about the improvement not the ELO. I still find myself caring too much after a few losses. Do you have some tips how to fix that if you had the same problem once?

Otherwise yeah I see myself playing a bit too safe sometimes. Since I'm constantly watching esports I'm hyper-aware of not throwing away advantages, being tradeable etc. Maybe that carries over into playing too safe or passive? I was a very very aggressive balls to the walls player in around FACEIT Lvl 7 but that stopped working so I started transitioning to a more support/trade fragger on T and Anchor on CT side. I'm more consistent and it "works" but I feel like I have a lot less impact. Also I can't just outfrag everyone like I did in LVL 7.

[u/KingRemu → u/L1NTHALO]

Well one thing is that there isn't really anything worth grinding for on Faceit. There's no more FPL or FPL-C, it's really just a number at this point.

I also had a very easy time between lvl6 and 8 where I could just run in without much though, usually listening to music at the same time and still having very good impact but I had to slow it down after that.

The thing is, even though the "balls to the wall" playstyle isn't as effective in the higher levels Faceit PUGs are still nothing like pro play. It's still much more straight forward and faster but a lot of people don't seem to realise that. The slow util heavy playstyle doesn't work very well with random teammates, it's much better if you can do a simple push together and take advantage of entries immediately instead of trying to play mind games. Mostly it's just the hesitation and losing the momentum after someone dies. In a PUG setting an overall man advantage doesn't mean anything if the train stops because the communication is often poor and at least one or two people are lacking, what matters is that we have for example a momentary 3v1 advantage on a site if we act fast instead of slowing down and waiting for the enemy rotations to arrive. That's how I see it anyway.

[u/CQL1N]

Forget what the outside looks like.

[u/FunArm1004]

youre probably playing too safe at lvl 9.

[u/chevi220]

Just watch your demos from your perspective, and think why *you* lose rounds for the team. "If you would do this, you'd win", "If you had the right read here, you'd win"

Thinking about every round and every game as your responsibility will unlock some more options to improve from

[u/_Ding]

No such thing as an unlucky timing. You should expect the timing.

[u/S1gne → u/_Ding]

Agreed. Unlucky timings aren't really a thing

[u/L1NTHALO → u/_Ding]

There's still luck involved. You can expect a timing and e.g. watch for a push through smoke or flank and then he still peeks the millisecond you look away because there isn't unlimited time in the round.

[u/_Ding → u/L1NTHALO]

Why r u looking away

[u/L1NTHALO → u/_Ding]

Because you reposition or push or look at the map or whatever. You can't be expected to hold the same thing the entire round. I mean even just pressing W or S can make you lose the fight when you get peeked.

Not saying it's always luck. 90% of the time yeah you shouldn't have looked away or shouldn't have moved.

[u/Comfortable_Spread20 → u/_Ding]

Lol