Video Games are a good form of entertainment and a considerable diversion from reality. But, gaming these days have become more significant and the importance of eSports has taken a boom in a profound way considering the last decade. It takes years of practice and hard work to become a pro gamer. So, to beat the odds out in this competitive environment and stand tall against other online pro gamers, we have come up with some basic and useful tips and tricks that will greatly enhance your online multiplayer gaming experience.

Check your Internet connection

Be it while playing using mobile data or Wi-Fi, having a good and stable internet connection is as important as having a high-performance mobile device for gaming. Some Gamers prefer Wi-Fi for playing online games and some tend to be more comfortable with mobile data. Well, they have their own valid reasons for going with wi-fi or mobile data. Let’s discuss some of the common issues while gaming with wi-fi and mobile data.

1. Latency

Typical Latency while using a 3G network is around 100ms and the 4G network is around 50ms. Whereas typical Latency on a Wi-fi network would be 2-4ms or even lower. This greatly changes the response time of the inputs we give during an online gaming session. While playing with Wi-Fi everywhere we go is practically impossible, you can prefer playing online games on a 4G LTE network connection which does have higher data speed and lower latency considering other network modes.

2. Speed

“With great power comes great responsibility”. Don’t you agree? If you do, then you need to agree on this too – “With great wi-fi speed, comes a great number of devices”. That’s because almost all the devices these days are “smart” and require an active internet connection.

Smart TVs, smartwatches, Alexa, smart kitchen, smart homes, desktop, laptop, gaming consoles, and every mobile device at your place might be connected to your wi-fi. No matter how good is your internet connection, even probably more than 100Mbps, but there will be at least 5-7 devices connected to it which consumes data all the time.

In order to keep a check on the number of devices connected to your wifi, use can use the Fing app which is a free and top-rated tool available in Play Store. You can also set alerts when a new device is connected or disconnected from the network. This will help you to keep track of the devices which consume a lot of data by streaming videos or downloading.

On the other hand, internet speed greatly differs while using mobile data due to network strength. And network strength depends on the distance between your device and the nearest cell phone tower.

3. Signal strength

Step 1: Open Settings.

Step 2: Go to About Phone and tap on it.

Step 3: Tap on Status.

Step 4: Tap on the respective SIM you use for the mobile data.

Signal strength closest to 0 dBm is considered strong and vice versa. The signal strength of -75 dBm is considered stronger than -88 dBm. Based on the testing done on multiple devices with a 4G network(varying signal strengths), we can clearly tell you that, between -30 dBm and -60 dBm single strength is needed for online multiplayer gaming and less than -80 dBm for online single-player gaming. If the network strength inside your home/office is greater than -80 dBm, you should probably prefer playing single-player missions/offline story/strategy-based games.

4. Data

Finding an ISP with unlimited data is often a difficult task. In fact, it is either impossible or it will be too expensive to afford. And when it comes to online gaming, data plays an important role because every game consumes a lot of data consistently.

A PUBG game consumes anywhere between 15-50 MB of data. An hour of gameplay with voice chat on would consume around 50mb data or 30MB, if the voice chat option is off. COD mobile consumes a similar amount of data, that’s approx 25-40MB an hour with voice chat on. Whereas the most popular MOBA game on Android, Mobile Legends, consumes 80-100MB and racing game Asphalt 9 consume 50-70MB of data an hour.

Apart from the normal data consumption promotional ads, videos, watching online streams, and updates may consume anywhere between 25 MB to 1.5GB. So, having a good data plan is as important as having a speedy internet connection. If you think about a wi-fi connection, having at least 100GB of data per month will be considered good because it will be shared by others at your home as well. For mobile data plans, 30-45GB per month should be sufficient for playing 2-3 games for 2 – 3hrs a day.

Know Your Game

By knowing the game you play from top to bottom, you get an extra notch against casual gamers and that’s the beginning of how a pro gamer would think. If you pick a game from well-established titles like PUBG, Real Racing, COD Mobile, COC, 8 ball pool, Injustice 2, etc., there are plenty of videos and tutorials available on the internet.

But the problem with all these tutorials is that they will give you some basic idea of what to do during gameplay. It’s true that you will go ahead with the small number of ideas learned from the video tutorials, follow the same and have some winning moments. This is where you call yourself a ‘Casual Gamer’ and stand one step ahead of gamers who play for fun.

You might be one step ahead of gamers who play for fun, but you are already two steps down from being a professional gamer. Yes, trust me, you are two down and that’s the gap we need to fill now.  Let’s discuss how. You must have noticed in the online tutorials/videos that people use the same character but different builds/items.

For example, in PUBG, some might use AKM with extended mag, compensator and red dot sight while others may use AKM with quickdraw mag, suppressor and holographic sight. In Mobile Legends, some might use Masha with Tank build for team play and some use Masha with attacking build for pushing lanes.

These difference in the build/items doesn’t matter when you are playing against gamers who play for fun. But to improve yourself and to move one step ahead to call yourself as a hardcore gamer, you need to know what and when to use different items available in the game.

And to do that, you need to go through the game documents, read articles regarding all the items and features available in the game and what differences that make during gameplay. Not just reading that helps, you need to try different combinations of the items to suit your style. Either you like to play the game fast or you like to play slow and steady, the build/items you choose for your character makes a lot of difference at the top level.

Practice to climb up the Ladder

Knowing the game in detail and not practicing is like purchasing an Apple product even after knowing Android is better. After investing time to know the game, you need to practice hard, try out different strategies and combinations of items/features that suit the best of your gameplay style.

You might be good at using closed ranged weapons but end up not getting a single kill because of using snipers. You might be very good at maneuvering but failed to destroy the F16 because of the heavy loadout you chose or probably smart at crowd-control but never survived a team fight because of playing support. All these result in a lack of practice.

Bruce Lee said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” This is a perfect example of how to practice. Mastering a skill requires practice. To get started, break the things down. You need to practice walking before running, practice defending before attacking, practice shooting an AI before playing online and keep practicing till your muscles start aching.

Most of the eSports organizations consider the hours spent by the player on that particular game. Professional gamers even stick with 5000, 7500 and 10000 hrs of gaming rule. To become a professional gamer you need to practice the game every day for at least an hour. You need to train not only your brain but also your muscles.

Developing muscle memory is the key to master some of the world’s popular multiplayer games like PUBG, Mobile Legends, COD Mobile, COC, etc. All these can be done by keeping yourself motivated and practicing every day like a pro.

Gear up with additional accessories

Using the right gear with your Android device improves your online gameplay immensely. A good quality headphone/earphone with mic is a necessity for any average gamer. The in-game audio and sound effects alert you and keep you informed about the whereabouts of your opponents. Also, voice chat during online multiplayer games greatly improves the coordination between you and your teammates.

It’s always good to have a power bank and a 180-degree charging cable to avoid losing to your naive opponents during the most interesting part of the game due to low battery. Also, for playing while the mobile is in charge, the 180-degree charging cable will help you to reduce the gap between your hands and the device while holding it.

If you would like to play games using a controller (old-school), prefer purchasing a decent wireless controller with triggers. Games these days support controllers which gives you an advantage over other players because of its ease of use.

Get noticed among eSports organizations

You gained good knowledge about the game, practiced hard and reached a level where casual gamers would never. But getting good at your favorite game is just half the battle. The other half involves, making connections, stepping into competitive lobbies, leveraging your position as a quality opponent and building relationships with better players.

This is how you place yourself in a competitive environment and get start getting invited to private boot camps, training sessions and 1 on 1 against pro players/streamers where better players tend to get noticed by the eSports organizations. And make sure not to push yourself to an extreme level where you fall sick or get tired of playing and lose hope. Pro gamers need to maintain a healthy living standard which allows them to be motivated for a long time eventually ending up getting noticed by other pro organizations.

Find the right Motivation

Motivation is what keeps the players engaged in the long run and it is always important to play eSports for the right reasons. Playing for the love of competition, the satisfaction of mastering the game you like and the sense of being a team player, all are valid reasons. Players who are motivated for quick success, cash and fame tend to fall apart most likely before getting as a pro player.

Loving the game you play and practicing daily to gradually acquire the skills required to become a pro makes the world of difference.

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