Published on September 21st, 2018 | by Sunit Nandi

Competitive Mobile gaming: Top 5 Tips to Help You Become a Better Player

It’s very likely that you grew up around technology that would have seemed completely alien to people a mere 20 years ago. It’s easy to forget that smartphones are incredibly powerful machines. They fit in your pocket and come with more memory and processing power than some computers I’ve owned.

Smartphone gaming, naturally, is one of the fastest-growing markets in the world today. It’s reached a point where even complex games like Arena of Valor and Fortnite are easily playable wherever you want, whenever you feel like it.

Since games like the ones mentioned above are competitive and skill-based by nature, there’s always room for improvement. Here are a handful of tips to help you have more satisfying mobile gaming experiences.

Breaks Are Actually Important

What you’ve probably already heard about resting your eyes and taking a break every half an hour or so, while using a screen, is great advice even for mobile gaming. Take a short walk, hydrate, stretch your legs, and then come back to your game with renewed energy.

You’re not doing yourself or your team any favors by playing worse because your head hurts because you haven’t been drinking water, or because you’ve been staring at the screen for too long.

Besides, you’ve almost definitely had days where you just couldn’t win no matter how hard you tried. In situations like this, a break might be exactly what you need for everything to click into place again.

Fix Your Network Issues

Your internet connection has a huge impact on your in-game performance. Reaction times are pretty important in competitive online games, and playing with a slight lag or delay isn’t doing you any favors.

Luckily, good internet isn’t as expensive as it used to be, but this might vary wildly depending on where you live. Either get yourself a good wifi connection, or a good mobile data plan, or have your mobile gaming sessions at a place with better internet.

Eliminate Distractions

Having to respond to messages or calls, or having to get up and go do something else while playing a mobile game can (and probably will) impact your performance. This isn’t really in issue that needs addressing if it only happens once in a while, but it definitely will hold back your progression if it’s an everyday thing.

So mute notifications from your messaging apps, schedule your phone calls for some other time, and ask to generally not be disturbed while you’re gaming.

It’s also recommended that you don’t play when you’re stressed or have other things to do. If your mind is not really in the game, you’re not really going to enjoy yourself.

Sound Is More Important Than You Might Think

If you’re used to playing with little to no sound, you might actually be missing out on more than just immersion.

Many games use sound cues that are immensely helpful to the actual gameplay itself. In a first person shooter, this might be the sound of enemy footsteps that will alert you to their approach even before you see them, and in MOBAs it could be sound cues that tell you when an ability is ready or when a status effect has ended.

If you’re in a situation where playing with sound would bother other people, invest in a decent pair of earphones and get access to all that extra information you’re missing out on.

Never Lose Your Cool

Competitive online games can be stressful, which might cause some people to lash out against their teammates. While this might feel great in the moment, it’s very likely to put you at a disadvantage and lose you the game.

If you feel like someone is not playing well to begin with, you should realise that they’re going to play even worse if they’re insulted or harassed.

Besides being nice, if you can reach out to your teammates to congratulate and motivate them at the appropriate times, you’ll give your team a huge boost.

At the end of the day, though, remember that a competitive online game is still just that, a game. So a couple of losses here and there, and even a long losing streak, all come with the territory. Take it in your stride, and you’ll be just fine.

Tags: better player, competitive, gaming, help, mobile, tips, top 5

About the Author

Sunit Nandi I'm the leader of Techno FAQ. Also an engineering college student with immense interest in science and technology. Other interests include literature, coin collecting, gardening and photography. Always wish to live life like there's no tomorrow.