u/SmokeTheFinals

Ok this is hopefully my last post for a few days but there’s more fun where that came from if you’re interested! - Enjoy!

I have nothing against having 4,5,6, or 7 steals but don’t change the time frame up on me in the final round of a tourney without at least saying something.

We’re guided into this sense of time from previous rounds and to change it without saying it anywhere at all is kinda crazy, especially when there’s a “rule change” message.

Examples here

TLDR: plug in hardline, dedicate practice to your personal style, stop trying to be the best, and bonus: stay alive.

Okay since I’m gonna try to go in a more educational direction I figure I drop some knowledge that I think will make a huge difference in everyone’s playstyle. These are the things that I think made the biggest difference in my gameplay and I’m starting with the easiest to solve: LAN vs WiFi (hardline internet connection)

LAN:
A while ago I had my internet provider send someone out to have my speeds checked and what he mentioned to me is that on PS5, hardline connection is significantly better than WiFi. He said it’s consistent on his visits and that I needed to test it for myself. Let me tell you, the difference is both invisible and huge.

I’m not sure if it’s micro lags or what the technical term is for it but the consistency of my ideas being successful vs not changes dramatically when I’m connected. If I’m on WiFi, I’ll be doing okay but my ideas don’t land as smooth as I want. I think with such quick movement and so many things happening at the same time, even though you don’t see it, the lag gets in your way. Again I don’t know how to explain this in a technical way but I do know that if I’m playing badly I check my connection and usually I’m connected to WiFi. Once I switch to LAN, problems are gone.

Dedication:
This one’s quite huge. So let’s talk the hypocrisy of META. Many players think that the next best weapon is the best way to win. You’re constantly chasing around a new better way to be effective and stay level with other players or streamers. This is *extremely* bad for your skill growth because you’re following what’s popular and you’re never really becoming a professional with anything at all.

Think of it this way: you leave one gadget for another, you have to relearn not just that gadget but also how every other gadget works with it. Not only this but you also have to know that if everyone is using the same meta, it’s a speedrun class for people like me who are learning to counter it. Remember the over abundance of invis players? I got insane as catching invis because everyone was doing it. Every failure is a chance to learn how to succeed so every battle I had was another master class. Lots of battles mean I get good quickly. KS23, invis, shockwave, these things mean nothing to me because you all used them so much that I got good at defending against them. If no plays like you then there’s no easy way to counter you.

You NEED to develop your own style. My style shouldn’t be the one you develop unless it absolutely vibes with your imagination. Once you dedicate your focus onto getting really good at what you’re already naturally good at, you’ll be able to adapt to any other changes quicker than anyone else and you’ll not have to reset your experience level every time you change your set up. Pick a style, stick to it and ONLY change it up to enhance that style or because it’s strictly not working for you.

Ive been using dual blades basically since they came out and never went back (to sledge). I dealt with a ton of harassment from mates, watched too many videos with them at the bottom of tier lists, had endless debates with other players on why it works for me.. now I’m at a place where I can hold my own and I look forward to facing ruby stacks because I enjoy the challenge. Meanwhile I’m seeing others post “why am I facing ruby when I’m platinum!?” Like here’s a weirdly accurate comparison: are you trying to play Tony Hawk or Skate?

Perspective:
Eventually I decided that I wanted to lean into the lore of the game. We’re contestants on a game show entertaining fans and sponsors. I thought that in this format, the most popular contestants aren’t necessarily the best contestants but the most entertaining. So I changed my character to have a theme, leaned deeper into my persona, and focused on trying to do things that I thought would be cool to do/watch. This lead me into outsmarting the opposition so much more than before. Why? Because I was tackling my puzzles with creativity, not force. Now that my fights are made to look good and since the main thing about looking good is staying alive…. You get where this is going. I hide, eliminate, escape and hide, eliminate, rinse and repeat. It’s the great circle of success. Focus on making your plays smooth and looking good and you’ll keep yourself alive and thus get more eliminations.

Example: let’s say that the team is barricaded in a room with the cash out. One way you could outsmart them is by causing a distraction on one side of the room but then approach them from behind while they’re trying to engage with you at the other end. For me, that means priming an oil barrel at the far end against the wall or on the floor above. I wait for the barrel to explode and they’ll think “he’s over there!” By then I’ll have smoke deployed on their end and THEN demat the wall behind them, take their healing ball away and get to blending. Sometimes I’ll demat one of them down and lock him away to deal with the others. All fun, imaginative, and not what they were expecting. This is if I’m alone, the opportunities are endless when you have two other mates who think the same way.

Bonus: Staying Alive

This kind of fits into perspective but it’s long enough to be its own section. Everyone who plays shooters are so focused on aiming and eliminating but this game isn’t about that. It’s stylish, creative, and dynamic. Eliminations don’t win a round, scoring and defending does. You know what gets consistent eliminations? Staying alive. The whole idea behind defib and healing beam is an absolute crutch for everyone except for the person using it. You see defib as a way to get back in quickly, I see it as an opportunity for an easy kill. Healing beam keeps you alive? Well now you have one less person shooting and extremely vulnerable. Both of these crutches are actually counterintuitive to survival. Real survival is knowing how to anticipate others, move yourself in and out of situations, and knowing when to avoid or stall battles you that don’t need to fight. If every team mate is synced up with this understanding, you’ll all die less and you’ll be positioned to do full revives more often because you’re not in a stupid position trying to fight a battle you can’t win.

If you have any questions, I’m always responsive! Also I have a YouTube channel where I post a bunch and I’ll be focusing on more pro tips over time! https://youtube.com/@cashoutcuts

Invis exterminator highlights coming next!
;)

There’s a gas canister off to the side to push them toward me that pops just after this video starts

I normally post videos of me having creative/cinematic/fun moments but the reality is, this is a different side of the game that I’m playing. Some rounds I do great. Other rounds, I can’t grasp this situation as well.

If you haven’t seen my previous post, basically lunge is forced upon us even when we try to avoid it in anyway. In order to not use lunge, we have to not have stamina. When we do use lunge, it often sends us off course. Other weapons/classes don’t have this issue.

Hope this helps get embark to see the issue and find a way to fix it 🤞

Having lunge be forced on us when we have stamina is a nerf, not a buff. I can no longer do a heavy attack in place and I can’t choose when to use stamina.

Aside from heavy attack lunges activating when i don’t want it to (walking backward, crouched, just blocking someone up close) we also shouldn’t be stamina lunging with normal swings. I’ll often times be cutting someone up with normal swings and when the stamina meter fills, it forces a lunge on me and sends me off target.

I honestly would rather have no lunge at all and at least know what to expect vs have something send me 5(?) meters off course as a “specialty” move when I don’t want it to. It is never useful. I’ve been playing with these things since they’ve been released and never have I thought that I’d want to be sent forward dramatically

Lunge attack can be 🤌 when it listens. Rework complaints aside - when it works, it works real fun.

Like, those team wipe kills he got were going to be so sick but also thank him they were perfect and awesome but also I wanted them. Thanks sniper m8!

Edit: 6* sweet kills

Fun fact: we scored all the cashouts in this round!

Bucket list ✅

I dunno, still proud of the idea I guess lol

While you’re here, you should see my previous post!

https://www.reddit.com/r/thefinals/s/XKjtjEcLsc