Have you ever "played to lose"?
- Thread starter AdeptaSororitas
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I've certainly placed restrictions on myself before which usually led to me becoming a better player.
In TFC I became really good at sniping from a distance and started getting bored so I stopped using the zoom. Eventually I had become better than I was before because I was still getting headshots, but now I had a much better field of vision. In fact, I'd regularly take out other snipers in little sniper duels without zooming which was kind of funny. When that got old I started attacking as a sniper instead, which also worked quite well since I didn't need to zoom. When TF2 came out I actually couldn't adjust to playing sniper because I was so used to playing without zooming and running into the thick of battle. Not surprisingly, when the Huntsman was released I took to it quite quickly.
And in most other multiplayer FPS I tend to play like I have a death wish because I get bored easily. I rarely stop moving and often charge straight at enemy players. It's lead to developing some pretty impressive shooting skills over time, as well as developing a strong ability to read the way the battle is going and change direction quickly so I can get around opponents or mess with their ability to aim at me (one of the interesting things about playing sniper a lot in TFC and TF2 is that you get really good at predicting other peoples movements making it easier to survive things you shouldn't simply by moving unpredictably. I've actually dodged sniper and other bullets quite successfully in a lot of games by changing direction at the last possible second).
There's also Turok 2. Back in the day I was quite a bit better than everyone I played against so I gradually restricted myself on weapons. First I only used the assault rifle and crossbow, then later just the crossbow. It was interesting because I had to go for headshots to kill someone since they were using rockets, cerebral bores, etc. Unfortunately this backfired because I got very good at headshotting anyone with the crossbow as soon as they entered the screen, and I can't remember ever missing twice in a row. Not long after that people stopped playing with me.
In other games I may often just dick around, but not usually as seriously as those times. Like in CS, I'll often use a scout and try not zooming quite a bit. It's actually not as bad as it sounds once you get a feel for it.
In TFC I became really good at sniping from a distance and started getting bored so I stopped using the zoom. Eventually I had become better than I was before because I was still getting headshots, but now I had a much better field of vision. In fact, I'd regularly take out other snipers in little sniper duels without zooming which was kind of funny. When that got old I started attacking as a sniper instead, which also worked quite well since I didn't need to zoom. When TF2 came out I actually couldn't adjust to playing sniper because I was so used to playing without zooming and running into the thick of battle. Not surprisingly, when the Huntsman was released I took to it quite quickly.
And in most other multiplayer FPS I tend to play like I have a death wish because I get bored easily. I rarely stop moving and often charge straight at enemy players. It's lead to developing some pretty impressive shooting skills over time, as well as developing a strong ability to read the way the battle is going and change direction quickly so I can get around opponents or mess with their ability to aim at me (one of the interesting things about playing sniper a lot in TFC and TF2 is that you get really good at predicting other peoples movements making it easier to survive things you shouldn't simply by moving unpredictably. I've actually dodged sniper and other bullets quite successfully in a lot of games by changing direction at the last possible second).
There's also Turok 2. Back in the day I was quite a bit better than everyone I played against so I gradually restricted myself on weapons. First I only used the assault rifle and crossbow, then later just the crossbow. It was interesting because I had to go for headshots to kill someone since they were using rockets, cerebral bores, etc. Unfortunately this backfired because I got very good at headshotting anyone with the crossbow as soon as they entered the screen, and I can't remember ever missing twice in a row. Not long after that people stopped playing with me.
In other games I may often just dick around, but not usually as seriously as those times. Like in CS, I'll often use a scout and try not zooming quite a bit. It's actually not as bad as it sounds once you get a feel for it.
In GTA IV and Red Dead Redemption it was sometimes fun to purposefully fail a mission in different ways to hear the dialogue. It was specific to how you failed the mission (unless you died of course). Also, then on replaying the mission, you'd hear new dialogue on the ride over to the start.
Playing to lose? Absolutely! Some of the best times I've had in a game were when I played to lose!
-Playing Halo 3 splitscreen with a buddy and going online. In our heads, we were always on our own 2-man team, even when the game said we were enemies.
-Dark Souls, currently doing a playthrough where I'm not allowed to block ever. The parrying dagger and bandit knife are my babies.
-Far Cry 2, for a while I was only allowed to use a machete. That led to some of my favorite moments in that game, and there's nothing quite like clearing out an entire encampment and having them shit themselves in fear because of some looney hiding in the foliage with a machete.
-Playing through Cave Story in a minimalist run, meaning I only get my starting 3 HP and the weapons that I absolutely HAVE to collect to proceed with the game.
-Dungeons of Dredmor, rolled a character that was only allowed to carry shields in either hand. Ironically he turned out to be one of my best characters.
-Super Smash Bros, any iteration, at least one person absolutely HAD to use Jigglypuff and everyone has one life. Whoever loses to Jigglypuff has to be Jigglypuff until they beat someone else.
-Playing Kirby's Adventure, picking a power, and only being able to use that power for the whole game.
-Playing D&D and rolling a wizard with high STR, CON, and DEX and virtually nothing in WIS, INT, or CHA. Also in D&D, rolling a kobold barbarian (who turned out to be surprisingly effective).
-Crackdown 2 multiplayer. We were only allowed to use throwable objects and melee combat to kill anything. That was pretty special.
-Trying to do a Batman: Arkham Asylum playthrough on Hard difficulty without upgrading anything was fun as all hell, I'll probably get around to doing that with Arkham City as well.
-Playing Halo 3 splitscreen with a buddy and going online. In our heads, we were always on our own 2-man team, even when the game said we were enemies.
-Dark Souls, currently doing a playthrough where I'm not allowed to block ever. The parrying dagger and bandit knife are my babies.
-Far Cry 2, for a while I was only allowed to use a machete. That led to some of my favorite moments in that game, and there's nothing quite like clearing out an entire encampment and having them shit themselves in fear because of some looney hiding in the foliage with a machete.
-Playing through Cave Story in a minimalist run, meaning I only get my starting 3 HP and the weapons that I absolutely HAVE to collect to proceed with the game.
-Dungeons of Dredmor, rolled a character that was only allowed to carry shields in either hand. Ironically he turned out to be one of my best characters.
-Super Smash Bros, any iteration, at least one person absolutely HAD to use Jigglypuff and everyone has one life. Whoever loses to Jigglypuff has to be Jigglypuff until they beat someone else.
-Playing Kirby's Adventure, picking a power, and only being able to use that power for the whole game.
-Playing D&D and rolling a wizard with high STR, CON, and DEX and virtually nothing in WIS, INT, or CHA. Also in D&D, rolling a kobold barbarian (who turned out to be surprisingly effective).
-Crackdown 2 multiplayer. We were only allowed to use throwable objects and melee combat to kill anything. That was pretty special.
-Trying to do a Batman: Arkham Asylum playthrough on Hard difficulty without upgrading anything was fun as all hell, I'll probably get around to doing that with Arkham City as well.
Metal Gear Solid 4 no kills, tranqs, alerts, continues, restoration items. Thank god I found a box. Otacon won't ever pack me one before a mission.
Yeah, I've done that. I had a go at Gran Turismo when my brother bought it, I found the racing boring, so I kept on crashing on purpose to see how much I could destroy my car. I remember once I had to get back to the pit without any tires. Fun times. I also remember the time I let my brother play Kindom Hearts 2. He got to the Pridelands and spent a half hour jumping off Pride Rock.
All archer armies?Smeatza said:
OT - I don't really play to lose as such but I do often set myself limits. In several Total War games I'll limit myself to a certain area or number of provinces. For example as the Romans only hold and secure Italy. If I do capture any cities off the 'boot' I gift it to my allies.
I've also tried to migrate a nation to a different start point. Ancient Britons in Egypt anyone?
I've done that recently in CoD Black Ops by only using the Ballistic Knife to kill people, whether from stabs or firing it. Oddly enough, I had a stretch of 5 or 6 games where I actually killed more and died less than usual...
I also love using Scavenger with the Decoy equipment and tossing them every time I resupply so the battle is full of random gunfire. I'm pretty sure I annoy a lot of people...
When my friends and I play Super Smash Brawl, we almost always play one match where everyone is Bowser, since he is the slowest character. So many suicide kills off cliffs (thanks to one of Bowser's grab/slam moves).
I also love using Scavenger with the Decoy equipment and tossing them every time I resupply so the battle is full of random gunfire. I'm pretty sure I annoy a lot of people...
When my friends and I play Super Smash Brawl, we almost always play one match where everyone is Bowser, since he is the slowest character. So many suicide kills off cliffs (thanks to one of Bowser's grab/slam moves).
I mainly did this when I played Halo 2 all the time.
My two favorite things to do were 1)to use only stickies and melee on midship with no shots fired (I was actually really good at this and would usually be the top player with 0 shots fired)
and 2) Diplomacy. I would try to become friends with the enemy team and just hang out and chat it up. This worked a lot better than you would expect and was surprisingly fun, especially when i could convince enemy teams to protect me from their teammates that would try to kill me
My two favorite things to do were 1)to use only stickies and melee on midship with no shots fired (I was actually really good at this and would usually be the top player with 0 shots fired)
and 2) Diplomacy. I would try to become friends with the enemy team and just hang out and chat it up. This worked a lot better than you would expect and was surprisingly fun, especially when i could convince enemy teams to protect me from their teammates that would try to kill me
I only do it on a game i really enjoy. Usually once I've run out of difficulty settings. Spent a long time on ratchet and Clank 3 trying to win without any armour upgrades (dodging like a boss). Playing sport games such as fifa with your feet or split screen against yourself left vs right can also be fun. I also recommend taking the casing off a spare controller for a console so you have to play while holding the boards and buttons together, that can be fun.
I won't specifically aim to lose though unless it's MP and someone is annoying me with a mic.
I won't specifically aim to lose though unless it's MP and someone is annoying me with a mic.
