Last act, I peaked Plat 3. Within the first few days of this act, I made the push over to Diamond. Of course, I was happy about this and proud of myself for making it in. I’m finally here, the top 10%, not one of the best, but undeniably better than average.

But then I started playing in Ascendant lobbies. Some of them were whatever, about the same as me but with slightly more consistent aim, sure. But a large majority of these guys were absolute monsters. Swinging and decapitating me before I could even process what happened, having such godlike game sense that they could sniff out exactly where I was lurking and when, the list goes on. These are not exaggerations, like my reaction speed could NOT keep up if my life depended on it. And on multiple occasions I’ve been tempted to cry hacker, but my rational side tells me otherwise. They’re just that much better than me. Sure, I can consistently top frag in a high Plat low Diamond lobby. But once the game decides to give me a chance to push my limits and play in a higher lobby, I’m reminded again that I’m still a nobody among these self-proven beasts.

If you’re like me and just made the push to Diamond this Act, don’t fall for the same excitement trap that I did. We’re still scrubs, average joes, the middle of the pack. The elo inflation due to the addition of Ascendant is most certainly real. Keep grinding, but don’t let that shiny purple badge trick you into being proud. We still got a LOT to learn.

Cheers.