Issue

I'm Ascendant 1 and currently at my peak. I used to never solo queue, and I would only play if I was 5 stacking or playing with someone. Lately I have been finding 5 stacking with my friends lowers my win rate, while solo queueing increases my win rate. The problem is that 5 stacking seems to make me enjoy the game while solo queue doesn't excite me. Is it egotistical of me to strictly solo queue so I can climb or should I just enjoy the game with my friends? I do want to be a better player, but I also don't want to leave my friends behind if I do get too far ahead.

5 Stack

Although 5 stacking seems to bring the fun to VALORANT, I don't win a lot of games doing it. The rank disparity is not that high, Asc - Plat. Sometimes when I spectate my friends and I see them make a bad play, I would think to myself how another person could have won that. Maybe I need to change this mindset, but winning is usually what I always have in mind. We go into 5 stacks that have good teamwork while we just do whatever we want. It feels good to step over the opponent and having the freedom to run any play we want, but when we're figured out, it usually turns into a beatdown on us. It's frustrating seeing a good team beat us and we're just unable to fight back. I hate hearing the words "Oh, they were better than us", and "Those guys are tryhards" from my friends. I want them to realize they don't have to put themselves down to cope with the loss. I want them to just play better next game. The mindset of losing usually sticks with us for the rest of the night, while the mindset of winning also sticks with us for the rest of the night. So if we lose, we lose for the rest of the night. If we win, we go on a win streak and everybody is happy. It's just rare that we go on a win streak and it's frustrating.

Solo Queue

When I solo queue, I usually play with people who know what their doing. It feels great that I get to see the victory screen every time I do so. The problem with solo queue is that in Ascendant - Immortal elo, people tend to be really focused on the game. Anytime I try to say something funny or do something funny, my teammates just say "Can we just lock in?", or "Chill, just focus up". People in this elo are robots designed to just play the game and have no fun while doing so, so it usually turns into me just focusing for the entire game without a smile on my face because neither the team or me is having fun. The only time I smile is when the game ends and I see how much elo I gained. I get it's competitive for a reason, but sometimes loosening up can make you play better than just hard focusing. Usually when I hard focus, and I'm having a bad game, I usually get frustrated and just keep playing hard focused because I don't want to be seen as the drag of the team. Even when I'm doing good I keep playing hard focused so that I can obviously win the game. Sometimes I just want to play like an ape and just run in and kill everyone, and I get that enjoyment when I 5 stack with my friends.

Conclusion

What do you guys think? Should I keep playing 5 stack and have fun with the game, or should I solo queue and improve as a player and have an end goal like hitting immortal? Please let me know.