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Comment by Rainymood | Hacker News Reader

Interesting piece on Overwatch. Never expected to see a danluu and Overwatch crossover. I am an ex-top 500 player in Overwatch. When I think back on it to become really really good (top 500 good) you need to just grind it out and win more than 50% of your games. Then, in the long run (I played thousands of games) you will become the best. You just have to improve and keep grinding. Every game should learn you a new lesson which you should apply to your next one. That's how I became top 500 :)

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Which (to me) raises the question: did you get a top 500 spot for being that good, or for being that persistent?

I mean I've casually played some CoD Mobile, it's crappy but I enjoy it well enough. Did some ranked games, and within just ten or so matches the blurb came up saying I "beat" 70% of the players. I'm fairly sure that just means there's a very long tail of players who haven't played as much. I'm sure I could get top 10 or even 1% if I just play more often, moreso than if I get good at the game (because I like to think I'm very middle of the road, and / or that other players are bad because they're 8 years old).

Not parent, but I used to be in that top for counter strike, once you reach it you’re surrounded with extremely talented player and it’s not just about grinding anymore. There’s something about pure skill that makes people much much better than anyone else. You don’t just grind but you watch videos, you practice aiming, you train with your team, you invent new strategies, you make sure you have good chemistry and you don’t bring everyone down if your team starts losing, etc.

I don't think it's as easy as "just grind" to become the best. You also need to approach it with deliberation (see deliberate practice).

The hint is your words "have to improve". Simply grinding doesn't mean you'll automatically improve, or improve fast enough to ever reach the top. You need something more.

I think as long as you have the desire to win, you will naturally focus on improving. You might have plateaus and have to refocus sometimes, but in general I think more hours > more deliberation.

When you are playing games at very high volumes then you also tend to improve rapidly, since even in the 95th-99th percentiles there are usually dumb mistakes that cost you the game.

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