Hello my Hearthstone peeps, my name is HalfBroke Chris and welcome to my little corner of this site. Today, I want to cover something that seems to affect us all when we are playing the game. Especially for those that are starting out and are trying to build things up from the bottom, it is the thing that seems to come and take control of us all….
TILT!!!!
Yes, it is that four letter word that has gotten a hold of us all at one point or another when playing this game that we all love. With that being said, I have found some really good ways that help me keep a level head while playing and in the end helps me from breaking my mouse across my screen when playing on the ladder.
Also, I am going to give you some things to help keep the players you play against from being tilted too. In my opinion, the Hearthstone community is a better one than many of the other esport competitive communities in the world. We as a whole seem to be a little less toxic and always seem to want to help each other get better. The better we all become at this game, the more it will grow and that is something that will be great for us all. With all of that being said, I do try to avoid things, I will mention, because I want us all to help get rid of this thing we call tilt, or in the very least not be a contributing factor to what is causing it. The cards will always draw funky and luck will sometimes just not work in your favor.That doesn’t mean that we have to try and spread the disease we call tilt to other players.
Okay, so enough with the chit chat, let’s get right into it.
3 Tips to Help Avoid Tilt
Let me bring up a scenario that we have all been in at one time or another. You play a game on ladder and things just seem to go poorly, but you think to yourself that it’s not a big deal. Hey, bad draws are just part of the game, right? You jump into another game and it happens again and you can just start to feel your blood pressure go up a few notches. Then it happens again and again and….you get the point.
You are sitting there with your blood boiling and now whenever you play the game your decisions have gotten questionable because tilt has wrapped its lovely arms all around you.
So the first tip to help avoid tilt is keep some music playing in the background. And when I say listen to music, don’t go playing music that is going to feed into the tilt monster either. Five Finger Death Punch might be a great band, but their music is going to make the feeling of tilt even worse. That music playing could end up making you delete your Battle.net account, smash everything around your room and scream obscenities loud enough that anyone within a five mile radius could hear you.
Play music that is calming and fun. For instance, something like Macklemore\Ryan Lewis would be great music to have playing in the background because it has a more positive vibe. I listen to The Beatles a lot while I am playing, because it keeps me happy and centered. Try to search for a style of music that can help bring you find your own happy place while playing.
Secondly, this is a very simple thing, just walk away from the game for a bit. Go grab a sandwich or watch a funny video on YouTube. I know some people that will go and watch a Hearthstone streamer because it gives them a little perspective of others playing the game. It also shows them that they are not alone in bad draws and other misfortunes. Essentially, just turn off the game and go do something else for a little while.
I know that we are all on a timetable within the season trying to climb as high as we can. We try to play as many games as possible, but if you are tilting then your decision making will inevitably become less stable. Just stop playing, take a deep breath and find something to take your mind off things for a little while. Then you can come back fresh and ultimately make better decisions.
Lastly, and this will lead into the next section of the article, be nice to the people you are playing against. My thought process behind this is simple and not entirely game based. If you smile at people walking by, for no reason whatsoever, it just seems to make them happier seeing someone smiling at them. In the end, it seems to make the environment you are in a little more happy and a lot more positive. Alternately, you could walk by people and give them dirty looks while flipping them the bird as they drive by. But how far will that get you in life? So, if you are courteous to your fellow players and vice versa, it will help you stay positive about your game play. It can also help you keep your mind in a better place when the draws do not seem to be going your way.
Specific Tips to Help Other Players Avoid Tilt
The first thing is, and you see it every day, don’t ride the emotes. We have all been on the other side of the table and had a player that just kept pushing emotes along with damage to the face. I understand that it is a tactic to try and get into the other player’s head, but if you truly need to be “that guy” to get an advantage, then maybe you are more about the problem than the solution. Send a player a “greeting” and if they have done well, and if they have done well send them a “Well Played”. It will make the other player feel good about the game and, as I said above, make you stay a little more positive.
The second thing is, and it is a small thing, if you have lethal damage on the board then go ahead and take it to the face. Don’t play other cards just to rub their face into the loss. Just smack the player and get your win. I understand that sometimes you may be in the middle of a quest. That may lead you to want to do this, but the other player doesn’t realize this and thinks you’re just being a smart ass. Just take the win and move on. There is no reason to run up the score on someone just because you can.
Lastly, and most importantly, don’t be the guy that adds someone after a game just to say something rotten to the other player. I have gotten many of these messages and some people can be downright mean. DO NOT be “that guy”. We are a more mature crowd than that and we should all rise above being juvenile. Those kinds of actions do nothing but make you and the community as a whole look bad.
When it comes to this game it is my firm belief that we should treat others like we want to be treated. These examples above are just a few things we can all do to help each other avoid the dreaded tilt we all seem to encounter. I understand that we will still get a little bit salty sometimes,but we can all as a whole, help each other get better at this game we love. In the end, isn’t that what we are all aiming for anyway?
Thanks so much for reading and make sure to go follow me on Twitter and on Twitch. Also, make sure to go and sign up for Tuesday Night Hype. It is the greatest weekly open Hearthstone tournament. Even if you aren’t the best, tournament experience will help get you get to a better place as a player and this tournament especially can help you with that.
So until next time……
