https://i.imgur.com/4iSpMkN.jpg

Solo/duo queue 95% of the time. Some lessons I learned:

• some games you just have to accept that you will lose and just start worrying about your own performance. Those 4v5s, toxic teammate games are not worth stressing over, just mute all and focus on fragging.
• People will instalock dualists and not entry frag. Sometimes in order to win you will have to play support characters and also lead the charge. It’s just the way it is.
• Gold/Silver players overrotate like crazy and it’s very easy to exploit this if you have decent game sense. It’s super easy to lurk mid in these ranks because you can gain so much map control.
• DM is worse than spike rush when it comes to warming up or practicing. People play like rats and it’s not realistic practice.
• Add good teammates.
• Take breaks.
• Drink water.

Edit: this blew up overnight, I want to add a few more.

• The first point I made above, I don’t mean mute everyone and bait the moment someone says something mean. I’ve had games where me and someone else were toxic at one another, smoothed things out as the team won some rounds, and eventually it was fine. But what I’ve found is that the lower the rank, the less your teammates have to lose by making your experience miserable. Don’t let them win.
• Regarding point 3 - I don’t mean lurk away from your teammates every round. More often than not, a well coordinated push onto a site is the best opportunity to win a round. But if you’re playing a slow “default” and you get a pick A, you have to realize the enemy comms will be “they’re A!!” and in 20 seconds, if they’re silver/gold, they will all have rotated simply due to one teammate dying at A. If you can exploit that, force them to rotate A, and take mid control alone while your team is rotating B, you are in a very strong position to win the round.
• Watch people better than you. This applies to everything from sports to cooking to starting a new job, but with a game like this with so many abilities it’s super helpful to take the time and watch utility lineup tutorials, for example. My most used agent was Cypher, and Peak’s videos helped me use that agent to its potential.
• It starts from the agent select screen. Say hello, ask how everyone is doing, wait until your team decides on their agent before choosing yours - therefore I do recommend practicing important but seldom instalocked agents such as Brim/Omen and Sage/KJ/Cypher.

Thanks for everyone’s feedback on the post, positive or negative. Good luck in the next Act!