No Man's Land: Chilled or Hyped-up?

[Superhands]

Hey guys, so someone asked me this question the other day and it really interested me as to what the other No Man's Land beasts on the forums think.

Would you say you're a better No Man's Land player when you're chillaxing, or when you're on some hype ting?

There's a definite answer for me. If I play during the day, I feel really energetic. I feel like I could kite in a shoe box, but sometimes just make wrong moves through pure aggression. If things go wrong, I rage like banshee and could almost put my foot up my cat's arse when it comes in asking me for food (it meows, it doesn't literally ask me).

On the flip side, when I play relaxed I play a hell of a lot better. Best time is after my dinner in the evening.

I've just sat down, had a nice meal with the family. I'm contented, my stomach is full, I'm completely at ease. Then I get on No Man's Land. I'm not tense or aggressive, my mind is completely clear and I think everything through very quickly. I'm not running around all over the place like I'm on 'roids. I'm just strolling around the place, hopping here there and everywhere and my trains just fall into place (mostly). Then when it comes to shooting, I don't just charge in and fire like I would playing aggressively. I pick the perfect moment to shoot, and do maximum damage as a result.

ALL of my 350+ games have been done in the evenings after dinner. I never noticed this pattern until recently, but it's definitely significant. I do genuinely think a relaxed approach will see you playing more consistently and getting higher scores.

What are your thoughts on this?

[Ehjookayted]

Definitely going to go with you on this, man; I totally think that being in a state of mind where you aren't really hyped or feeling the rush of adrenaline works best for something that requires such instinct. When we aren't hyped up or on the natural drug we call adrenaline, we act without the influence of anything. We are using solely instincts and conditioned habits to succeed. That's where we can all shine in No Man's Land: when we stop trying to overthink things and just play the game, we are much better players. Of course, this requires tons of practice in No Man's Land, but it's crazy how you think that you need to go wild when you're actually in game. It's quite the opposite really; your practice becomes your game, you are the vessel with which your hours of game time manifest themselves. And in that relaxed state, you are truly at your best.

Why do you think he's called TheRelaxingEnd? ;)

[Chopper]

Stoned and then hyped are essential for my most epic starts.

I can then rush too much due to this, but if I calm myself a little it goes well.

[Mr. Jay]

I struggle no matter before dinner or after dinner, before bed or in the morning.

I do however, get dizzy if I don't have a good sleep.

On a side note, don't worry about me teasing officer hightower. It's more of an on going joke/tease/jab from one buddy to another. There are two types of criticism, from people who know you well and able to distinguish facts from fictions; and from people who do not know you and make false assessments. People who do not know you A) should not make judgement but do so anyhow, therefore should not be taken seriously. And you should not care.

[Superhands]

Bit of both then Chopper

Yeah no worries Jay, I'm a pretty big 'banterer' myself, but I wasn't too sure what to make of it and I was generally paranoid that people here might be thinking I'm less fun as watching paint dry But you're just playfully ripping into my overly dramatic (lol) ways of saying thanks, that's all good :D

[Chopper]

My last response was on my iphone, want to write it properly now

So both my 330 games were played when I was chilled.

My starts are definitely better though when I'm hyped the hell up. I always find that I become progressively more aggressive as I play, and I'm sure people who have watched me stream any NML would agree.

Just before I hit the wall, the things I do in NML surprise me still. The gaps become smaller, cutbacks tighter, my hoarding is clean as anything.

I do hit a wall at some point though, and literally feel the adrenaline start to leave, and then it all goes downhill. My timing becomes way off, which is generally when I decide to stop.

I think the smoking helps me a massive amount. I can be all hyped up, but that is always there keeping me at least a bit chilled, so I'm completely agreeing with what Super said!

[Tom852]

Pressure - say hyping - was the main reason I couldn't get the 300+ earlier

I was always very nervous about NML, I thought "I must reach 300 NOW AT THIS RUN!!!!". But I couldn't get it. Once finally done, it didn't take more than 20 min for the next 300 run.

It's definitely a psychological thing. I would not divide into stress and relaxing. I'd say pressure and no pressure - however it's very close to relaxed and stressed.

Definitely, if you just chill at NML, you kick ass. It's imho not only at NML, it's also in general in the game. The less you don't think about 'uh I shouldn't die, I must prove how awesome I am', the better you play.

[perfectlemonade]

I'm not the best player at NML. I'm good, I'm very good, in fact, but I'm not the best. However, my best moments always come when my heart is racing and I'm bouncing off the walls. Just me, though. I can't pack a punch when I'm calm.