Games are often designed to help you relax after a stressful day. You hop on your favorite competitive game and hope to have a good time. However, it’s not always like that. Some days can be brutal, and you leave more stressed out after the session than you were before.

Tilt is something we have all experienced. Sometimes things just don’t go your way. You keep missing shots, making mistakes you normally wouldn't, and play like a complete beginner. The more you try to fix it, the worse it gets.

However, tilt isn’t an unbeatable boss; there are a lot of things to do to avoid tilting in competitive games, and this article is all about that.

What Causes You to Tilt

You don’t just start tilting randomly; there are causes that lead you to that mental state. There could be many reasons, but the most common reasons for getting frustrated and raging at the game are as follows.

• A bad day outside of gaming
• Consecutive bad games, losses, or losing duels.
• Bad or toxic teammates.
• Mental exhaustion from other things outside of gaming.
• A sweaty game or a critical rank-up match
• Just a bad day at the game, not feeling your aim or reflexes.

These things are quite common, and if you notice this, you can be aware that it’s taking a toll on your mental strength. Of course, it’s hard to avoid these things cause they are random. The teammates you get aren’t in your control; you could have a bad day at work, or maybe you are just tired.

But if you are aware that these things can affect your gaming session, it can help you understand the reason for your frustration and, as a result, control it.

Why Tilting Can Be a Problem

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When you are tilting, you start making rash decisions just to get back to your peak performance. This means playing aggressively when you don’t need to get on top of the leaderboard, not communicating properly with your teammates, and even taking out the anger on your teammates who are not at fault. This brings down the morale of the entire team and makes you lose the match, feeding into the tilt.

Tilt can also completely ruin your gaming experience. You will be at the bottom of the leaderboard for most of your matches, and the harder you try to avoid it, the worse it gets. Tilt is a monster that keeps eating away at your mental health.

If you don’t recognize that you are tilting, it can lead down a spiral of bad matches and, overall, a bad gaming session. You will leave your desk feeling frustrated, defeated, and not relaxed, which was the main reason you started gaming.

Tilt and raging aren’t small problems; there is a reason why athletes and esports pros have dedicated mental coaches to help them out. It’s not just a problem for casual gamers; even the best of the best suffer from it.

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How to Deal With and Manage Tilt

If you are an avid gamer, you will tilt at some point. There are ways to avoid it, which we will discuss later, but at some point, you will inevitably have a bad day while gaming.

But it’s not the end of the world; there are many ways to deal with tilt, and you can have a good gaming session. The first step is to recognize that you are tilting and getting frustrated because if you don’t, it just gets worse.

If you find yourself getting angry at yourself or your teammates, playing poorly, and just not performing well, you could be tilting or about to tilt. You can start to avoid it if you recognize that you are getting frustrated. But what about if you are already tilting? Well, here are some tips to help with that.

Take a Break

Sometimes, a good break can reset you. If you notice that frustration and emotions are building up, just take a break. Get away from your desk for 10-15 minutes, drink some water, and just distract your mind away from the gaming. A lot of players like to exercise, lie down, or take a walk during their breaks. It’s all up to you what you want to do but take a break if you notice that you are getting frustrated.

Focus on the Future Matches

If you want to break out of the tilt and raging loop, you need to forget about the past few matches. Sure, you performed terribly, your teammates were bad, and you lost the matches. The next few matches don’t need to be like that, so focus on playing better in the next matches.

Don’t let your past matches affect the next matches you queue for. Pretend that the last few matches didn’t happen or were out of your control. Focus on bringing out your best and playing your best in the next games.

Understand That It’s Just a Game

You could also rage because you are too attached to the game, where losing feels like the end of the world. The truth is, it’s not. After all, it’s just a game. Sure, you were almost about to rank up and reach your goal rank, but at the end of the day, losing a couple of matches doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to win again.

After all, gaming is meant to be fun, and even if you are not having the best day, try to enjoy it. Don’t let the numbers on the leaderboard affect you.

Move to Casual Modes

This is a follow-up from the last tip. If ranked is not going well for you, whether it’s a string of bad teammates or you are not performing your best, just stop playing ranked. Move to the casual modes the game offers. Put on some music and just enjoy playing without thinking too much about the rank or kills. When you are calmed down and relaxed, then give ranked a try again.

Focus on Other Aspects of Your Gameplay

One of the reasons for tilting is poor performance on your end. Your aim just doesn’t feel right that day; you are missing shots that you don’t normally miss or losing in situations you normally dominate. It can happen to all of us. After all, nobody performs at 100% every day.

In this situation, try to help out your team in other ways. If you don’t feel confident in your aim, try playing a support role, or adapt a playstyle that is not focused on aiming. For example, if you play a fragger type role in your game, switch to a more passive role. Like switching from Duelist to Sentinel in VALORANT or a support in Marvel Rivals.

Let the other aspect of your gameplay, like game sense, cover up your bad aim that day.

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Conclusion

Tilt can be annoying to deal with. It can ruin your entire evening. However, it’s not unbeatable; you can learn to manage tilt. It’s as simple as being aware of your emotions and learning to manage them. Learning to control tilt is also a skill, and you will get better at it as time passes. But, for now, these tips will help you recognize and deal with rage in the game. But, at the end of the remember that it’s just a game and no matter how competitive it is, the goal is to enjoy and have fun.