Becoming a WAAC player.

Very interesting topic in my opinion!

Personally I too have found that I take losing a game of Infinity much more serious than, say, 40K. I think it’s because Infinity is so well balanced that it really does come down to player skill when you assume average dice rolls on both sides. So when I lose, it’s because I didn’t play well enough.

It’s also a lot more complex, to the point where at least I would need regular practice to become as good as I’d like to be.

Right now after 60+ games I’m still around a 48% winning percentage. Which annoys me and has pushed me away from the game somewhat. Winning isn’t everything but losing sure sucks!

 

I feel bad when I win because I fail no roll, and my opponent has no success at all (even at 80-20%). I feel terrible when no matter what I do, I fail almost all rolls.

Infinity looks like a balanced game, but in truth the randomness is incredibly high, and that does not allow to truly appreciate the balance.

 

Back at Wotan I had the same issue and it soured my relationship with one of the local players hard. I still think it's my fault for not being a good sport, even though it was more of a lack of communication between the two parties (I did a move he thought was illegal, but instead of calling it out right then so I could change it, he called it after the game ended and then wanted to void it.)

However, people are people, people get pissed and do stupid things. If you can think well enough that you're doing something bad or uncomfortable then you're already on the road to improvement, just take a breather and keep reminding yourself to have fun more than just winning.

 

One thing that helps me from losing my cool is focusing on enjoying the process - interacting with my opponent and all that. If I gain enjoyment from that, then maybe the result is less important. Another is that I acknowledge my opponent's skill and decision making, without qualifying it for anything I've done - luck or decision-based.

If someone kicks my ass because they made all the right decisions, I try to congratulate them for that, rather than get frustrated at myself for... whatever.

The game is definitely tense, but I think that then allows for a release. The other week I was put in a tough spot by a Hsien HMG... "Well, see ya later, Prowler. This is gonna suck." I then crit the HMG in ARO with an ADHL...




To me, you can't have the joy of a turn of events like that if there's no risk of it going the other way.


EDIT: The last is that I try to acknowledge that I can't control my dice. For every time I've rolled four 13s when I needed 12s, I've also had something where my opponent hits on 12s, needing 13s, and I crit on a 1....

 

Not really. I mean, I'm not willing to murder other players, or even slip them laxatives so they spend the match on the toilet and I win by default. I don't even want to bribe judges to rule in my favor. I prefer to keep the game on the table and according to rules. If the opponent happens to be better at listbuilding or tactics, I'll learn all I can from the match so I defeat him next time.

 

My advice would be to learn to enjoy the battle, not the outcome.
(Easy to say as a former* player with a perfect losing streak, seriously I have not won a single game of infinity since I started playing)

But, mostly, as long as it was a decent hard-fought battle with enjoyable moments, I would enjoy the game. However, I'd feel pretty salty walking away from a game where it was a complete curbstomp and it felt as if nothing I did had an impact on the outcome, can simply be from playing against a very experienced, aggressive player, or your dice betraying you completely, or even coming up against a 'hard counter' matchup where you lack the tools to deal with your opponents list (for example, in N2 when I came up against a PanO list that was just remotes, a few token specialists and an Aquila Guard with my bakunin).

I think the important thing to do is to maintain protocol, regardless of how the game made you feel. Doesn't matter how snail-dissolvingly salty you feel after turn 3, you always be polite, shake hands with opponent, say GG, if you feel like it you can debrief and discuss the game. You can vent your frustrations at home/in the car/on your tumblr/in the shower/whatever, it's not worth being known in the FLGS as the dickhead that can't take losing at toy soldiers



* I say former as I wasn't a very frequent player, and haven't played a game in almost over a year now

 

one thing you might want to consider is that you're playing a game meant to be played face to face, but you are doing it online. Is There a chance you are getting way too focused on the game aspect because you're not able to focus on the hobby one? Sometimes I lose but still have fun because my Riot Grrl painted to look like Applejack critted the same Ragik 5 times in a row with her pistol while he critted back, so it was 5 orders where nothing happened.

Now, if it was just an online game, that would have been frustrating. But when I'm on the table, looking at my oponent's face, seeing his reactions, and down there is the model I painted and built myself. Then it becomes hilarious, to the point we were both laughing at it in the end.

 

Playing online (I'm assuming via tabletop simulator or similar) will be a lot different than playing the 'real' tabletop version, because as Da Red One said you are losing the social aspects of the game. If meatspace gaming is a little difficult for whatever reason, maybe look into video chat with opponents if you know them well enough/have the means? Might fill that gap a bit.

I do agree though, if the game is really getting your blood up, it might be worth stepping away for a while, not saying forever, but give yourself some space to chill out and reflect what it is that makes losing at infinity so frustrating and ways you can resolve those things. Do you get similar reactions when playing other games, or video games? There could be a recurring element to the part that gets you frustrated and however you deal with it in other situations could help you with your infinity issues.

 

A game where I feel like I have to win?

Pretty sure I've never actually had that feeling. Perhaps getting into gaming when there was more of the "co-operative compact" thing with the other player (You're both here for a "fun" game, not necessarily one you will win. I've had a lot of fun with games that ended in draws and losses.)

My enjoyment of the game isn't tied to the winning and my ego likewise does not depend on always winning.

 

This is a difficult topic, but I'm sure there are many people who feel like you do.

Are you particularly invested in Infinity (financially or otherwise) relative to other games you play?

Do you consider the skillset needed for Infinity to be one of your strengths?

I've had a similar problem in football, where I would become very unfriendly very quickly when things went downhill. When people told me, I eventually got around to the idea that the team effort takes precendence and that the outcome really was secondary.

Since you have already identified the problem, you could try and focus on other aspects of the game, such as creating awseome situations and fights that you will still talk about months later. The online-factor might be the core of the issue here. The face-to-face component is a big contributor to the overall enjoyment of the game, I find.

 

I think part of the problem is the fact that you're playing the game online; however, that doesn't mean it doesn't, or can't, happen playing Face to Face.

For me, however, the game is more than just winning or losing. I always try to come up with a narrative for both our forces to be duking it out, and I noticed that more and more, my fellow players do so as well. Then the game becomes more a "How is it going to end?" than a "I must break you." scenario.

Having a group of regulars, really helps with that. Watching The Mad Kazak send his drunk Ojotnik on a dodging spree, or Nomad Reaper's Sin Eater Bob get blown to bits in turn 1, or my Al Hawwa Hacker (Turret Spider) fail her Hacking attack and die under fire, are things that become expected and funny when they regularly happen.

We do get serious when we play tournaments, but even then, the friendliness of the game is never lost.

I only have one player with whom we sometimes have trouble, and it's precisely because he doesn't like losing and concedes, picks up his stuff and leaves when he's losing or something doesn't go his way. He's is used to be a "Game Breaker"; someone who uses RAW to do things that were not intended that way, but are "legal". Fortunately, Infinity is full of examples in its rules, which makes just a few rules really ambiguous.

My best advice is: Always remember this is a GAME. Even if you win Tournaments, I doubt that is your main source of income, therefore, don't let the game steal your peace of mind.

 

Get another goal than just 'winning'.

Play for the right to buy the first post-battle-beer at the pub afterwards – that way winners get to feel magnanimous, while losers gets a consolation prize. And although the first beer of course comes with bragging rights, it also provides a space to discuss the game; what went good, what went bad and so to learn and become better at the game.

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Also, it is widely known that online socializing, particularly competing/discussing things, brings out the worst in people, as you don't have to face up to people – and even worse your online behaviors have a tendency to rub off on your real life. So if you feel, that online gaming is turning you into an arsehole, it is probably because it does. Luckily the remedy is quite easy, turn off your computer, paint your man-dolls and get out to play for real – and don't forget the post-battle-beer.

 

This is not true. While we do get this feeling because we remember the bad aspects more easily short term, Online socializing has way more positive than negative aspects. While it is true that by playing a game like Infinity online you lose some of the fun, it doesn't mean playing online will turn someone into an a-hole.

It is important to learn not to be an a-hole, online or not, and sometimes we do get incensed, online or not. @Abd Al-Azrad has already said he can't play the game physically, so it's hard for him to follow the more social aspects of the game, like sharing a beer or (in my case, for example) lunch while talking strategies, painting, new minis and the stuff. He can still enjoy the game by, as @Danger Rose said, making it a narrative thing or just playing for new tactics rather than playing to win.

 

True, true. – and with the exception of the "Intent"-threads, this forum proves me wrong :airplane: Although as everything in this world it's relative, and we're not all wired in the same way – but if the OP sees that playing online Infinity is making an arse of himself. He should definitely quit playing – at least until he's sorted out his issues.

 

I suggest reading the books "Reality is Broken" or "Everything that is Bad is Good for you" as they discuss online interactions in depth.

 

Well, the Infinity community seems to be pretty good, about like the old GW Inquisitor-game folks.

But it really helps to be face-to-face with someone, even if it's just Skype or Teamspeak.


And I'm a guy who had to be told one of his armies was no fun to play against. Back in 40k3e/4e, I was running a Crisis Horde with 10 Crisis suits, 2 Broadsides, and 24 Fire Warriors on foot. The local terrain was such that my Crisis suits could move the way GW intended, go from behind cover to shoot, and then duck back into total cover. I usually lost zero models until about Turn 3, and lost in Turn 4. Lemme tell you, that was a shitty conversation to have. But the next tournament, when I was still playing Tau, the look on the Khorne player's face when the entire Fish of Fury army advanced towards him was epic. Then he about crapped himself with all the shooting, but he made enough Invuln Saves to reap a lot of skulls for the skull throne.