A mindset is as important to coercing acceptable outcomes as being physically fit, or having acceptable network or hardware to run the game upon. Possibly more so.
A mindset is how one conducts the self in different situations.
A weaker mindset can convert winning positions into losing ones, and a stronger mindset can convert losing positions into winning ones.
I will cover a number of mindset elements. Not all of these need to be true, but the more that are, the better.
0 – Life first – Game second
This is a strange point to add in, and it is added as a matter of necessity.
This guide will hopefully help you to become a better player a lot faster than otherwise might be the case. However I don’t want to set you upon the path of the hypercompetitive. Take it from me – that path leads to little more than pain, and the pain isn’t worth the silver lining.
Remember that this is a game. If you become good at it then that’s great, but don’t aim for the top as that is a recipe for misery. Especially if there are factors that are outside of your control (and there are).
Play the best game that you can. If others need guidance then suggest avenues for learning – but this is a fuzzy cute animal game with guns. Some people will take it less seriously. It is the nature of things and people. Let go of what lies outside your control – even though it may be hard.
With that being said…
1 – The desire to be better – to succeed
Simply put, the more that you want something, no matter what that thing is, the more effort you will put into acquiring or achieving that something. That could be applied to Super Animal Royale, and that could be applied to just about anything in life. It is the essence of the competitive spirit.
It is probably more healthy to take things on in a more laid back and carefree manner – but if your goal is to get good at the game then actively wanting to be better can serve that outcome, at a price.
A lack of desire will impede your ability to translate everything else you learn from this guide into performance. You will have to find what balance works best for you, and take it from there.
2 – The will to survive
Yes, your SuperAnimal can be seen as just a funny little animated thing in the middle of the screen. A collection of shapes that other collections of shapes can shoot at and destroy. And when your SuperAnimal gets destroyed, you can either start a new match or wait for a timer to respawn.
This relates to the previous point in that the stakes that exist in a game are what you make them to be.
If you want success in Super Animal Royale then the stakes for losing a SuperAnimal need to psychologically be higher than the game might indicate them to be. Again, this is a delicate balance, as over-investing in performance can result in undue stress (keep point 0 in mind).
3 – Be aware and attentive
This is a game where danger could not only lurk around the next corner, but could also be hiding in plain sight. Scan your surroundings for anomalies, watch for subtle movements and changes in the spaces otherwise out of sight. Use your ears as they are just as sure an indicator of things in your SuperAnimal’s proximity as your eyes are.
Awareness also extends to the overarching situation of a match. Being aware that the skunk gas is coming and that your SuperAnimal is a long way from the next circle can make the difference between panicked fleeing and a controlled advance towards the safe zone. Knowing that Twinkle’s health is low and that ‘somebody’ needs to get into position to contest the control crate can make the difference between your team getting the boons, or the enemy doing so.
4 – Consider challenges to be an obstacle to best play
Challenges are grind chores that require from the self a change from one’s normal play style and choices.
On the one hand they encourage one to try things that one normally would not. On the other hand they encourage one to use things that one normally would not – meaning that one places the self at a relative disadvantage as compared to using things one is more familiar with.
Other kinds of challenges exist at odds with both one’s interests and the interests of a given mode. For instance, can you guess how helpful it is in SAW vs. Rebellion to chase and scoff down dozens of mushrooms nowhere near the objectives or where the fighting is happening?
Not at all helpful is the correct answer – but unless that SuperAnimal is you, you don’t have control over that.
5 – Take breaks from streaks
So you lost three matches in a row and cannot end it on a low note?
When you lose a match in a tilting way the odds are that you are going to enter the coming match with a less solid mental than that which you entered the last match with.
This makes you anxious or reckless and you might make mistakes that you otherwise would not.
It’s true that losing ‘a’ match can ‘awaken’ something within you. That rush of adrenaline might improve your reaction time or such. However there is such a thing as too much of it. You find yourself tensing up during play like a winding spring. The tighter you are wound up the tighter some of your plays might be – but you may also find that something else pushes back against you from within, as your physiology tries to remind you that you are human, and that the survival instincts of fight or flight weren’t intended to always be on.
As you hit that third loss in a row, do consider taking a break. Take the streak and throw it in the trash. Next time you play you’ll start from a fresh streak of zero, no matter what.
6 – Develop your coping mechanisms
As you continue gaming, and as you encounter more high risk situations, and the pressure mounts, you may feel that internal spring within yourself winding up and tightening.
When springs are wound and released, the unwinding can be violent, especially when the release of death hits your SuperAnimal and you suddenly find that you no longer have a channel for your energy to flow through.
Since the game does not yet provide you with a productive way to channel your nervous (and perhaps negative) energies in those moments, it is important to develop your own least harmful ways of doing so.
Taking things out on your body or your equipment or other people around you or things like that – those aren’t good ways to go about things, and certainly aren’t sustainable. Congratulations, you smashed the keyboard on your head. That isn’t going to help anything.
One of the better and easier ways to implement a cope is to limit your play time in some way. Whether it be setting a quota of matches or play time on yourself, or maybe it takes the form of a streak limit, or maybe it takes the form of an outburst trigger. Those are all decent candidates for limiting the harm that you cause to yourself when those moments of anger strike.
Well, those are some tips on mindset covered. Let’s move on to ‘next’ taking a closer look at weapons in Super Animal World.