Multiplayer Anxiety

[Blue Horn]

So here is the gist of what I'm going through, my Boss is a HUGE fan of Battlefield, and talked me into pre-ordering BF3 and going with him to the midnight release with him.
But since I've gotten the game I haven't even finished a single online match because even before the match starts I just get overwhelmed with nervousness and fear of letting my teammates down. I literally just start a game, then 10 seconds later I bail out of it because I don't want to be the guy who drags the team down.
Has anyone else gone through this and gotten over it that can give me some advice? Many thanks.

 

[SirDeadly]

Everyone new to a game starts off a little nervous, they are most likely lying if they say they're not. The only way to get over it is to play and practice. One way of not feeling guilty is to play with a friend who is really good at the game. That way you balance it out and all the time you will be improving.

 

[WaffleCopters]

The way i do it usually is to think about how many people like you there must be on the other team, that way you can realise that if you happen to not do so good, ther'll be someone on their team doing the same thing, and probably even worse too. and during the time youre realising this, you probably will get warmed up, and may even prove those feelings wrong, and in fact help your team. because after all, it IS possible to help your team without a single kill. go around dropping ammo or health on teammates if you have to. every little bit helps.

 

[Owen Robertson]

I'm not read-up on my Battlefield so I don't know if it has Free For All, but this is what FFA is for. Polish your lone-wolf skills so you can proficiently handle a gun and not be the hyperactive 9 year old spaz who loses games for the team.
I like Merc TDM in CoD because it's a breeding ground for decency. Your grouped together with random people who change between matches, so there's no party of 5 9-year-olds bringing you down, and everyone tries. You've got to make it work with the guy who was headhunting you two games ago, or risk a loss.
Nobody ever rages or acts a fool in Merc. So try FFA or Merc TDM if your worried.

 

[RicoGrey]

I used to have a problem like this. One solution I used, was to create an alt account, until I felt comfortable with the game. In fact I still do this, I use the name NoobyMcNoob.

Since McNoob exists to suck, I don't feel stressed out if I don't do well in the beginning. When my skills are up to par, I just take off the mask of McNoob and go back to being regular Rico GreyMcNoob.

Of course, the problem with that is games are starting to go the route of one account one name. This was why I could never get into Starcraft 2. I just could not get beyond that initial anxiety, and ended up playing a total of 9 1v1 matches, before I finally walked away.

 

[psychic psycho]

It's not that big a deal if you're not good at a multiplayer game. Especially, a Battlefield game since there's a lot of people on each team. People aren't going to notice if someone is playing badly. There's always going to be bad players in every game, no need to worry about being called out. There's also the fact that even though Battlefield is more team oriented than say, COD, plenty of people (probably a majority) play like Rambos.

So long as you don't ask questions that you can look up in the manual, people aren't going to yell at you. Even then, the worse you'll probably get are sarcastic answers.

The only multiplayer game I can think of that you need to be worried about being yelled at is Left 4 Dead. It's only four people on each team so a weak-link is very noticeable; not to mention the generally awful l4d community. Dota-styled games are also pretty bad.

 

[latenightapplepie]

Maybe play some FFA for a little while til you get good?

Does Battlefield 3 even have FFA modes?

My only other advice would be to just relax, and remember that it's just a game, not a professional tournament with money on the line.

 

[LorisBoi]

Battlefield 3 seems to have been tailored to accommodate newcomers or those of a lower skill level so you're in luck having gotten it. Unlike alot of other shooters on the market at the moment, BF3 doesn't just reward those who get the most kills. You can settle into support roles that aren't expected to rack up a body count such as a medic or support gunner.
Just a suggestion: If you're going into games worried that you're going to let the team down by not earning a fair share of kills, equip a light machine gun and stick close to your comrades. When you start to engage the enemy team just spray like hell in their general direction to lay down some much needed covering fire so you pin the enemy team down and give your team mates a chance to outflank them. It's a really good choice for a beginner because it takes very little skill or experience to pick up, and is a great way for you to build up your confidence.
You'll be an invaluable asset to any team and will earn points for suppressing fire.

Trust me a good support gunner is more valuable than any killstreaker.

 

[Ruwrak]

So here is the gist of what I'm going through, my Boss is a HUGE fan of Battlefield, and talked me into pre-ordering BF3 and going with him to the midnight release with him.
But since I've gotten the game I haven't even finished a single online match because even before the match starts I just get overwhelmed with nervousness and fear of letting my teammates down. I literally just start a game, then 10 seconds later I bail out of it because I don't want to be the guy who drags the team down.
Has anyone else gone through this and gotten over it that can give me some advice? Many thanks.

Oh my kill / death ratio is about 1: 23. Don't worry, noone is going to yell at you and if they do... Just snicker, laugh and call them a pons. It's a game and should not be taken to serious. You're new to this I presume? Well you need some time to get experience and used to the whole multiplayer shooting in a team thing. As long as you can laugh and have fun with your friends (assuming you have such a good relationship with your boss) it's gonna be allright.

Hell, we (me and 2 buddies) make it a sport to get the most weirdest kills. Believe me, I've seen some jacked up kills (unintended but hilarious none the less. Sticking semtex to a teammate who then ruins suicide bomber style into the enemy giving me a triple kill x3) and some very, very, very, very odd ones (I regularly have the "I think I need to drop a grenade there... Oh yay double kill." type of kill.)

Bottom note is, just have fun

 

[Shoggoth2588]

You do realize that leaving the match like that is the worst thing you could possibly do to the team you were a part of? Second only to team-killing, by leaving matches like that you rob your team of any potential K's that could have been earned for your team. If you're that intimidated by Battlefield 3 and, online FPS-ing then maybe you should look into a different genre of gaming.

 

[skywolfblue]

I have a huge problem with that in SC2, For kinda the inverse reasons.

1vs1 games makes me extremely nervous to play. 4vs4 doesn't present such a problem for me. I feel more comfortable adjusting to a group, any minor mistakes of mine might be compensated by my allies, but alone you have to pay for every single minor error.

 

[spartxn]

So here is the gist of what I'm going through, my Boss is a HUGE fan of Battlefield, and talked me into pre-ordering BF3 and going with him to the midnight release with him.
But since I've gotten the game I haven't even finished a single online match because even before the match starts I just get overwhelmed with nervousness and fear of letting my teammates down. I literally just start a game, then 10 seconds later I bail out of it because I don't want to be the guy who drags the team down.
Has anyone else gone through this and gotten over it that can give me some advice? Many thanks.

Don't worry about those other Pricks, just do the best u can dude. Its just a game. The fact that its online doesn't make it any different then playing one that isn't.

In all honesty u might actually be hurting ur team more by quitting then staying.

 

[])rStrangelove]

The only thing you can do wrong is not staying with your team. Just run around with them and do what they do, you'll be fine.