The "I know i'm better than this guy but I just can't beat him" feeling

[Hawke753]

Greetings everyone! i'm new to the forums :D

I main btw
Today while i was playing For Glory on Smash 3DS and I happened to stumble on a player, i don't quite remember his name though but he was just camping on the edge spamming projectiles and grabbing me when i got close, it was a really simple and dumb strategy yet i always fell for it like a complete jackass

we played like 10 times yet i could only beat him once if him not mistaken, but i just KNEW i was better than him (he SD a couple of times in a very stupid fashion) so losing repeatedly to the same BS like a complete idiot was incredibly frustating to me, i got so mad i had to stop playing and well, here i am xD

have you guys been on a similar situation? if so, please share your experience as i would love to read stories similar to mine :D i really hope i'm not the only one that has felt this way lol

who knows, maybe i just suck xD

 

[elitex12]

I've had those times when I shouldn't lose, but I do anyway... I always lose to the most stupid of strategies when it happens.

 

[Ffamran]

This reminds me Chris who always played as Link in his Skyward Sword alt, spammed and camped with Hero's Bow, abused Dash Attacks, and the lag. Oh the ********* lag.

 

[PSIBoy]

I know the feeling, especially vs Little Mac. You know you're better than the guy you're playing against, yet you can't get around the spam for whatever reason. Jabs, F-tilts, smashes, KO Punches, you name it, and you can't land a friggin' grab to throw him offstage to save your life! I experience this 'I know I'm better but I can't beat him' complex more with Little Mac than anybody else in the cast I think. Even if I can win vs Little Mac but not vs Samus, at least Samus doesn't constantly spam the same moves that you can't stop (except missiles) unlike Little Mac.

I've noticed there seems to be less significance of a skill gap this time around, so don't feel bad. Not sure about competitive Brawl since I was never competitive in any Smash (I didn't even play Brawl Online), but I guess I can kind of see why people prefer Melee to Smash 4 with wavedashing and L-Canceling and all that stuff, even if I never played Melee in depth.

Sorry for the rant, I tried to make this as polite and reasonable as possible. Just venting some frustration I suppose.

Edit: Despite my rant, I truly believe that all these losses are 100% my own fault (except for a few which had ridiculous lag) since I think I should be able to beat these strategies. This results in my frustration which causes me to perform worse than usual.

 

[Ryik]

Nintendo 3DS Circle Pad op.

 

[MagiusNecros]

I get this feeling when I can wreck everything that isn't a good Jigglypuff in pure melee combat but then a Projectile spammer comes along and I have to actually work for my KO's and I can lose the battle rather easily.

 

[The Shadow Emperor]

is the bane of my existence. And frankly, winning takes so much effort that I rarely even try anymore.

 

[Deleted member]

I had that feeling just the other day.

I fought a Fox who did nothing but spam his Blaster and Smash attacks in For Glory. For some ungodly reason, he got me on my first stock by Footstool Jumping me and I blame my eventual loss on that.
I feel ashamed mentioning that I lost to this guy because he was probably the worst Fox that I ever played. I lost to the worst Fox... and I know that I am better than him. I had a really off day or I was extremely overconfident.

 

[Gameboi834]

This is me 50% of the time in For Glory, the other half being legitimate gaps in skill.

 

[Snow Black]

I feel like this often when I play. Zoning based characters end up destroying me since I end up not knowing what to do against them. Rosalina and Luma especially just ends up getting frustrating to the point of me just putting down the game to do something else. I can never win against the simple spam Luma and roll away strategy.

 

[CrimsonYoshi]

Little Mac, definitely. It's harder winning against him even when he spams things like side-B because I'm always JUST too far away or slow to punish and he's back at it. Realizing they're being cheap makes me feel better, though...

 

[Khao]

Happens pretty much every time I play against someone who uses an extremely predictable strategy, but the lag is bad.

They do stuff that should be stupidly easy to avoid (single-move spam) but it becomes impossible to react to because of the input lag.

There was this Sheik player that literally only did Fsmash and needle throwing, as well as Dair if he got in the air for whatever reason.

The only reason I managed to win the last stock was because I got him offstage, and realized he always recovered in the exact same way; grab the ledge, jump from it, then Dair. Pretty much a free effortless shield grab that requires no timing, which meant I could throw him back out and do it again. But the first stock was ****ing hard to do because I couldn't react to his actions and it was incredibly frustrating.

 

[Semopo]

I'm always better, but for SOME reason people beat me now and then. I don't even

 

[Piano]

This happens to me mostly with the infamous Little Mac and some Links, the first being really hard to punish and the latter just spamming projectiles and doing smashes or grabs when approaching. Ugh.

 

[Deleted member]

----------

 

[MoonSheep]

I have off days too, some people just get stupidly lucky. I main falcon also, whats help me vs spammy links is short hopping over them and hitting a bair right before i hit the ground and doing a pivot grab.

- If they shield they get grabbed
- If they don't shield they get hit
- If they roll you can follow up with a dash attack

Lag is ridiculous though, it's also important to remember that there are people which have really bad connections and all they play with is lag so they are in their own environment.

edit: don't forget the knee mixups, it really messes with people

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

A revolutionary thought:

Mayhaps if you just can't beat someone

You are not, in fact, 'better' than them at all.

Gasp.

 

[DanceLouisDance]

A revolutionary thought:

Mayhaps if you just can't beat someone

You are not, in fact, 'better' than them at all.

Gasp.

is all just about the characters you use. i main ness and ohhh myygooodd i get over priotized by so many people ha i have to change how i play it works but then theres still that little disadvantage that makes me loose most of the time. I was playing against a decent bowser and i couldnt use my down smash because everytime i would get close he would use down b or A idk which one but yeah...

 

[DanceLouisDance]

But thats what i get for playing as Ness i guess haha x)

 

[ndayday]

A revolutionary thought:

Mayhaps if you just can't beat someone

You are not, in fact, 'better' than them at all.

Gasp.

There's a difference between losing because you don't know any better and losing from stuff you know how to beat but you keep falling into. Some might call it an off day, or being tired, or not being in the right mindset.

le gasp

 

[Morin0]

A revolutionary thought:

Mayhaps if you just can't beat someone

You are not, in fact, 'better' than them at all.

Gasp.

Pretty much.

Just look at the johns:

but he was just camping on the edge spamming projectiles and grabbing me when i got close, it was a really simple and dumb strategy yet i always fell for it like a complete *******

I fought a Fox who did nothing but spam his Blaster and Smash attacks in For Glory.

etc. Tone down the ego and get better.

 

[Kikaioh]

There are actually times when I feel like I know I'm better than my opponent, but that said, I don't try to write it off as my opponent playing cheaply (they can play however they like in my opinion). I blame it on myself. The thing is, sometimes I'm just not in the zone. Particularly after eating a big meal, or if I haven't gotten a lot of sleep, sometimes I just push myself to play when I know my fingers aren't fast enough to react in the way I'd normally play.

Now if I encounter someone who can beat me when I'm in the zone, hands down they're better than me. And even when I'm not in the zone, I can usually tell when someone is better than me, just from how sharp their play is. So I don't always blame my physical state for my shortcomings.

 

[MarioFireRed]

I take any loss as a sign to get better. Purely outplayed/out-teched? Extreme latency? A simple strategy I can't get around? A fortunate shot from them?

I'd rather take whatever makes me lose and better adapt to it than use something else to cover it up.

 

[Deleted member 269706]

As an Ike main, trust me, I know your pain. Ninty needs to do something to either nerf projectile spammers or buff close quarters players...I'm getting real sick of all these Peaches doing nothing but pulling turnips out of the ground, or the villagers spamming their Fairs, or Zelda and her damn fireblast/teleport combo.

 

[sonicgx101]

This reminds me Chris who always played as Link in his Skyward Sword alt, spammed and camped with Hero's Bow, abused Dash Attacks, and the lag. Oh the ********* lag.

I met a Link who used a similar strategy

When I playing Little Mac, he spammed boomerangs and arrows however during another match, he still used the same strategy (I wasn't even using Little Mac in that one...)

 

[Thane of Blue Flames]

johns

Hah.

 

[Hellzsaint]

Yeah I had that today with a Yoshi >.< . The guy kept spamming his Up-B, but whenever I got close to him he would roll spam. I ended up comboing him up to 120% and I had 20%. But he somehow ate me and pooped me out off stage while falling so I died a salty death. Then he winquited.

 

[BlazedMike95]

I'm normally able to hold my own against Yoshi, especially in ditto matches, but if I come across one that's extremely aggressive, I'll lose everytime. I know Yoshi's weaknesses because I main him, but I can never exploit them against an overly aggressive Yoshi.

 

[Ffamran]

Yeah I had that today with a Yoshi >.< . The guy kept spamming his Up-B, but whenever I got close to him he would roll spam. I ended up comboing him up to 120% and I had 20%. But he somehow ate me and pooped me out off stage while falling so I died a salty death. Then he winquited.

Instead of a salty death, I think you died a crappy death! *silence* ... I'll be in my sad corner.

I remember fighting a Yoshi who spam combo'd his dash attack, Egg Roll, Dair, and I believe, Bair. There was nothing I could do, but watch myself get locked in while this green ******* flew left and right on the stage.

 

[Adieu]

Hello! Im new here too!

Yes!! That feeling is horrible XC

It's just so frustrating

 

[Lemon Girl]

Take in mind that this complains are only legitimate if you have a massive amount of input lag, because you can't shield/dodge/punish by reaction. If you don't then you aren't really better, yes they may be using scrubby tactics, but in competitive games the one who wins isn't the one with most flashy play style, is the one that get things done.

 

[link2702]

had a few today <_<...

each time it was cuz I went a random character I don't normally use opposed to some of my normal ones. that and one match making a $#%^ up and suiciding my first stock :<.

more than half the matches the opponent leaves after one win, the few who didn't were destroyed by my falcon and/or link(and THEN they proceeded to leave) the match after.

 

[ndayday]

im being silly

yeah I know :^)

 

[YamiKitsune]

I know the feeling, especially vs Little Mac. You know you're better than the guy you're playing against, yet you can't get around the spam for whatever reason. Jabs, F-tilts, smashes, KO Punches, you name it, and you can't land a friggin' grab to throw him offstage to save your life! I experience this 'I know I'm better but I can't beat him' complex more with Little Mac than anybody else in the cast I think. Even if I can win vs Little Mac but not vs Samus, at least Samus doesn't constantly spam the same moves that you can't stop (except missiles) unlike Little Mac.

I've noticed there seems to be less significance of a skill gap this time around, so don't feel bad. Not sure about competitive Brawl since I was never competitive in any Smash (I didn't even play Brawl Online), but I guess I can kind of see why people prefer Melee to Smash 4 with wavedashing and L-Canceling and all that stuff, even if I never played Melee in depth.

Sorry for the rant, I tried to make this as polite and reasonable as possible. Just venting some frustration I suppose.

Little Mac players are so cheap, they literally do the same. Exact. Thing. Over and over. How is that enjoyable?

 

[ChikoLad]

I definitely had this feeling yesterday, due to a combination of input lag messing up my dodges (specifically air dodges), and the Circle Pad having difficulty registering the difference between Side Smash, Side Tilt, and Dash Attack.

 

[Steam]

Little Mac players are so cheap, they literally do the same. Exact. Thing. Over and over. How is that enjoyable?

those are just bad little mac players. little mac is really fun to play as.

 

[Lichi]

I experienced this while playing last week. I just got absolutely demolished by a Mario, and it was always like this:
1. Normal fighting, I tend to outrange him and rack up some damage
2. He manages to grab me
3. Down-Throw-U-Tilt Combo for 50-60% damage
4. Being knocked off the edge and my poor Lucina recovery mocked with his water gun thingy.

I lost 20 matches in no time, and I was shouting and ranting in my head, knowing that I am better than falling for the same **** over and over again. Though this made me so furious, I performed worse and worse in every single game.
Kudos to that Mario, I was not better than you, but getting lectured the hard way hurts.

 

[Red5_snt]

Take in mind that this complains are only legitimate if you have a massive amount of input lag, because you can't shield/dodge/punish by reaction. If you don't then you aren't really better, yes they may be using scrubby tactics, but in competitive games the one who wins isn't the one with most flashy play style, is the one that get things done.

Look at all this truth being dropped. Anyone ever consider that the person is actually better, but just playing around with other characters? I'm not the best Mac player in the world, and I do stupid stuff and make bad choices sometimes... but my mental game is still there. So I can still take you apart in between doing random hay-makers off the side. Like really... none of you are half as good as you think you are. Get over yourself. Get better. John less.

 

[cot(θ)]

Happens to me sometimes too. In my opinion, it's a combination of lag, character counters, and luck. Or, I'm actually not better.

I've also had the opposite feeling, where I somehow just keep edging out an opponent who's obviously way better than me.

 

[Jaedrik]

There's a difference between losing because you don't know any better and losing from stuff you know how to beat but you keep falling into. Some might call it an off day, or being tired, or not being in the right mindset.

le gasp

This is a near useless distinction.
Becoming emotional hampers consistency, and consistency is the hallmark of a player's skill.
If one is consistently inconsistent, one cannot view the broad sweep of their gameplay as their skill, since more relevant is each given situation wherein their skill is apparent, that is, how they are performing at a time.

http://www.sirlin.net/ptw-book/introducingthe-scrub

Dear OP. Emotion is the worst thing to inject, since it interferes with objective, analytic gameplay and consistent execution.
Pride is one of the strongest sentiments that creates emotion, since one views himself as better than the other they think they should not lose, thus become upset, or when they win they feel assured in their pride, thus happy, though morbidly so. Humility is the greatest virtue to stop all emotion, therein lies joy and peace and detachment from winning or losing, allowing one to will the best of their ability.