Addiction and League of Legends

[@joshtraun7828]

Hey, KindAzir here!! It´s kinda unreal to see how far this has spread. And to be honest, my league client was open and i was ready to go. Thanks again for the reminder. It´s just hard watching all your work decaying. That´s the point with unhealthy games where you are forced to play. 11 Days left to declimb. Gonna be rough watching to drop all the way back, not beeing on top of the ladder. But, well. Who cares? In my case, im a commercial agent for a company with a really big sponsor (Shell), i´ve studied fitnesseconomics, im playing two instruments and writing fantasy novels. When you ask yourself what of those things you´ve did for the last time...man, thats the thing that got me rolling. Im appreciating it really a lot that you spread that message with a large audience that are mostly in the state of their early 20´s. Career´s are still created and yes, to be good in league (just taking this example) needs a lot of time. And it´s not healthy. Sitting, staring in a monitor for 8+ hours, 5+ days a week. We´ve all been there at one point as you mentioned. Wasting opportunities to meet the right people, starting the right career and for what in the end? Thank you for that! If you want to talk about a specific topic hit me up on League Euw. I wont play for sure now but will come on to check some messages.

[@AcencialAMV]

Hey man, just wanna show some love cause I've sent through something like that in high school, I got top 500 euw and realized it is literally taking over my life and decided to only play normals with friends for fun and focus on other things. It was super painful to let go of the grind, but in the long run it was a really positive thing. Things I learned in league like introspection to climb (also mid laner like you) and all the other things that made me successful in league translated to real life too, so it definitely isn't a waste of time and letting go isn't a bad thing, it's just moving on. Good luck in life brother

[@joshtraun7828]

@@AcencialAMV Hey man! Hope you are doing good. Yes, since you have to come to a certain state of "perfect play" to reach that point of the ladder it certainly jumps over to some other aspects of your life IF league isnt the only thing. My perfectionism translated from my guitar to league, then back to the piano, so im grateful that i was able to play there, and man, it was fun! You know how it feels playing up there, seeing every detail, 10 people knowing exactly what to do and when but........it´s a game in the end. I´ll switch to Elden ring, maybe some aram with friends after my account decayed. Thank you for your comment!

[@NEACE]

respect

[@programmer6428]

i had a very similar realization when i had missed a buddy of mine's wedding reception due to.. you guessed it.. league.... it was a horrible feeling to come to the understanding that i was wasting so much time playing this stupid fucking game and not looking at my self or my goals for REAL life. i used to be really bad playing hours and hours on end (12+ daily average) just trying to grind my way up on that ladder to diamond. and when i finally reach diamond it didn't feel special, as if not being diamond was more fun than actually being diamond. the higher you go on the rank, the more it turns into a stress filled shit show for yourself, very glad that i managed to get out too.. keep sane and move on brother. stay strong!

[@tristan6773]

@@joshtraun7828 nice to see we have similar hobbies. I play guitar, make digital music and I recently got into piano. I play abt 1 ranked game a day (it’s my first season on league. I played shooters and rpgs before) my question to you is about guitar and piano. what makes you a perfectionist? (I wanna apply your tips do I can learn in a better way rn i’m just learning songs and freestyling and I think i’m just building bad habits)

[@Nuvizzle]

You know, at least KindAzir can say he was addicted to being one of the best at something. Plenty of people are addicted to League and still hard stuck silver for 10 years.

[@YuYuYuna_]

I think you're missing the point. At the end of the day it makes no difference. Whether you are hard stuck silver for 10 years or consistently masters it literally makes no difference outside of the gamer ego of feeling good you got to a high rank. Sure being the best at a video game may feel good and stroke your ego but it doesn't generate you any income and if you are spending 12+ hours a day like this KindAzir guy you #1 dont have a job and #2 are causing yourself health issues by sleep deprivation. It's the age old phrase "Yeah you accomplished your goal, but what did it cost you?" Getting to high elo in a video game literally means jack sh*t if you can't monetize it from streaming/youtube content and build a following from your skill or become a pro player where you can make a salary from your skill.

[@DoctorNerf]

You’re underestimating how different “feeling good” is. If the silver player feels good then fine. But I wouldn’t be proud of it. I’m proud of being global elite in CSGO, always will be. If I were mg1 I wouldn’t be proud. Isn’t that what life is about? Being happy?

[@-VEVE]

@@DoctorNerf weird flex but okey :)

[@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena]

I played with the highest Mastery points on Kai'sa for NA before yes they were Bronze with over a million Mastery points on Kai'sa

[@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena]

My bad i played against it and i got fed as i was playing old Pantheon my main at the time

[@Spygon]

Coming from an ex semi-pro (not for league) i came to a very important point in my gaming career. Where i could of gone pro but then i realised that i wasnt enjoying playing my favourite games anymore and that i couldnt do what i wanted because i had to constantly keep up with the rising curb of pro players. I started to actually hate gaming. I then looked in the mirror and realised that my favourite hobby was turning in a toxic job. I then left my team and stepped away from the pro scene. Everybody at the time thought i was mad but looking back it was the best decision i made because it meant i didnt lose my favourite hobby.

[@ItsMe-zs3iy]

Every thing is fun until it becomes your job

[@cupidok2768]

Wow coach curtis.... how can he

[@Amaling]

@@ItsMe-zs3iy I like my job :)

[@badleagueplayer7172]

I get it dude I played hearthstone in high Elo since I was 12 and quit at 16 and I remember I hated getting on just to get a rank and not play after because it wasn't fun Idk how someone fixes that tbh.

[@Epicsavant2]

What game/games?

[@lainnislame]

i respect you so much for this, as someone who quit league but still watches some content out of boredom, your channel has been the most interesting and thought provoking source of league content ive ever watched. keep it up !

[@Mindhumble]

I was the same (quit for over 3 years) and got back into it recently (have the video on my channel from january). Based on my experience i hope you manage to stay out of the game, it really isnt worth putting yourself through the stress! Good luck!

[@STARLIGHT_KSA]

@@Mindhumblethen what games to play

[@Mindhumble]

@@STARLIGHT_KSA Games where you dont rely on team mates and therefore you limit the possibility of toxicity and stress, as you are self you only have yourself to reckon with, so single player games or 1v1 games. I play a lot of chess and hearthstone personally, and i actually have a channel with a lot of content to do with hearthstone if you want to get into it, but i wouldnt recommend it too much as it takes a while to build up your card collection unless you want to spend cash, eventhough new players get a free deck i believe! Otherwise i recommend not wasting too much time on games and focus on being a better person to those around you, harder work but more fulfilling in the long run.

[@elmoss5780]

I'm only plat and been fighting this thought of "do i want to put that much time into a game or could I have more fun elsewhere?" hearing Neace talk about what I'll label as the TIME=CLIMB principle really helped me out.

[@micahcreator7014]

I have been improving over the last couple months and finally reached gold. Granted that isn't much of an accomplishment, but after putting some hours in, I finally realized I could have so much more personal enjoyment by playing other games with friends. I used to always ask my main group to play league, and the realization of the amount of time I was wasting is kind of surreal.

[@chrisbarlos2538]

If your goal is fun, "have more fun elsewhere", than it's really not an issue. However, this game will steal your productivity, like any other game. There are many worldviews that have no issue wasting their entire life playing games as long as the person is "happy".

[@mattreef3379]

yea bro i just hit plat recently, imagine if you spent the amount of time in league learning a new language. I for one could definitely be fluent in like 2 languages over the last 6 years

[@szarvasszilard5061]

It's not just time tho. You need to be dedicated and focused.

[@mathisblair2798]

@@micahcreator7014 Veterans always hit this point. Enough time with the game shows you what it is.

[@1mindset1]

Neace, massive respect, keep being that voice in League that is different, positive, transparent. I completely understand your internal struggle/dialogue about gaming, but you are doing something positive for the community, 100%. You are basically teaching people not to BS themselves and others. Many people are tied to this game in some way or another, and wether you will push them to play more responsibly or leave the game, it's honorable, and bigger than just "video game coaching".

[@NEACE]

Much love, brother.

[@xenofobiadelaluna]

0

[@monavanderwaal4723]

this one hit hard for me. i’m a nursing student and graduating in 10 days and still somehow found the time to play 1500-+ games already. i’ve always been a silver / gold player and i haven’t been playing much over the years, i came back during winter break and got plat in pre season which was very exciting for me even though it was pre season. this season i’m at diamond 1 and it’s the highest i ever been and i’m still not satisfied. i play all day every day and put off plans with friends because i’m the back of my head i want to play league. i know i’m addictrd to it and i keep wanting to get to a higher rank because of how far i’ve gotten. it’s so hard for me to set a schedule or only play a few games, i always play for hours at a time every day. i really needed to hear this and cut this down bc i know it’s not good for me. i think i got addicted at the fact that i was able to climb when i put my mind to it but it’s been very unhealthy for my mental

[@goldenrevolve5366]

I used to be just like this. Im having a lot more fun playing only 2-3 ranked games a day steadily. And I don’t play every day either. It’s really hard to shake the addiction. Even if you don’t think you can quit, try limiting yourself to just a few games a day. I know you said you already tried this, but really force yourself to do it. And if you have the choice between league or friends, always choose your friends.

[@PastorMattMoto]

Dude I played back in Beta...its been alot of years. If you hit Diamond, like Neace says, you already beat the game! If you aren't planning on monetizing your skills in league, there is no reason to go higher than plat or diamond in my opinion. Good luck and stay healthy man :)

[@ophnex6311]

I resonate with this a lot. I am also a silver/Gold player but I am trying to quit for mutliple reasons: 1. the community is very toxic and very unwelcoming 2. the amount of smurfs you get in games is almost inevitable 3. its a team game, no matter how you perform, some games you cant just carry on your own. 4. last but not least, it gives you the feeling of being accomplished, something that we should seek from real life like having a hobby/passion/work to do. Not to mention that in essence it is a game to stroke your ego and make you feel good when you beat up others. I always loved esports as a kid who was bullied and it was my escapism from life, but no more. I have had enough of it and I think its time for a better shift :)

[@shaunakkulkarni4679]

@@goldenrevolve5366 honestly don’t even bother with ranked. Grab a some friends and play norms or ranked flex where nobody really cares about elo.

[@kaiser2141]

"I got addicted at the fact that i was able to climb when i put my mind to it" Hahahhahaha pls dude...

[@houlen8826]

I really needed to hear this from other people . Ive been trying to quit league after finding out that i played 1500 hours of League in 3 years . It is a constant fight inside myself and i think i got the answer i needed from this video and from the comments . Thx boys

[@hornedlobster]

Dont come back. Run far and dont come back. Be happy brother.

[@ΔΞΟΝ]

part timer

[@NumberOneBlitz]

Yeah 1500 is nothing compared to some players lol

[@nicktauro1839]

uninstall and don't look back.

[@Qvik_]

1500 hours in 3 years, and you think you are god damn addicted lmao. Not saying you are wrong about quitting if you hate it, but man, 1.5k in 3 years is... not that much at all.

[@TheArmyDr1]

I shared this video with my 3 sons who play League (Sophomores in High School). I wish I had heard this advice 15+ years ago! Thanks for your rambling, salient thoughts on this subject!

[@thhughes12]

Really loved the video. I left for over a year because I was mindlessly playing in an unhealthy way. Came back with a single goal to have fun. If I’m not having fun I stop playing. I’m still competitive and trying to climb, but it’s not about the rank. It’s about enjoying my time.

[@NickBrunnerYT]

Big Respect for you choosing to talk about this. It's something I struggle with right now and lying to myself can be too easy sometimes with no one holding me accountable for what I do with my time. This gave me motivation to keep fighting against my addictions (yes, not just league).

[@adamgrant6433]

Thank you for making this video. I think more than anything it's just nice to see someone try to speak so authentically. I'm a new player so I feel like I don't have too much authority to comment on this, but being pretty addicted to KZbin and trying to make positive change in my life in general, it's really helpful for these issues to be brought up as I think about what I really want out of the game. I appreciate you encouraging this kind of conversation.

[@NEACE]

I’m glad people are responding to these videos well and we can have an actual discussion with this community

[@edgartonian-yy7oj]

@@NEACE its what makes you the best out there, not just a PLAY THIS OP CHAMP AND CARRY!!! there is actually a reason to come here and read the comments, excellent for the community. keep it up

[@Epicsavant2]

Actually kinda crazy. Honestly every time I've been depressed I was driven to be really good at video games. In high-school I was like top 100 reaper (overwatch) main in NA, a little after high school I grinded out mortal kombat and got elder God a few times, in league I wanted to be the best amumu main. I got married and stopped caring about video games as much. I have someone who makes me beyond happy. I always joke and tell my wife that she made me bad at video games but the only reason I was good was because I felt like I had nothing else going for me and I loved to win. Now having her I am the biggest winner and I actually enjoy video games instead of playing it to fill a void. Everyone should step outside and realize that sitting in your room grinding out league and being toxic for 6 hours a day isn't the move. Now I go airsofting and I am starting a KZbin for that instead of streaming. (Moral of the story is you should enjoy video GAMES. And remember that it's suppose to bring joy).

[@r4lfxd]

yo share your channel ;)

[@epicairsoft2196]

@@r4lfxd lots of channels called epic airsoft apparently lmao. Though I'd just comment 🤣

[@ethanztz7194]

this tells you alot about yourself, it was nice to hear you say these things, shows you really care about the people playing league. much love, play to improve play to have fun everyone

[@chrisfaulkner9355]

The path to pro for any game is ridiculous y’all. I was scrimming for a contender’s team in Overwatch when I was approached by an agent that offered me a position to be on a scrimming team for their main team with opportunity to be a back up. At the time I was playing 16 hours a day and wasn’t monetizing any of it (I tried streaming but that was tilting beyond belief and the amount of work that I was putting in to better myself at the game prevented me from being able to even edit videos). The conditions for accepting the offer meant that I had to move to California with no assistance (and no guarantee of income) and that I would have to participate in a few scrims to show my merit. I went to California and participated in a few scrims (4 to be exact), and was offered a position. My salary was less than what it costed to rent a studio apartment and I would’ve had to sign a waiver that basically 50% of any proceeds from streaming or KZbin would go to them because they were “promoting me” (yet they didn’t offer any forms of promoting outside of listing me on an obscure roster that nobody knows about). Ultimately, I couldn’t accept the position. I was already hopelessly addicted to the game playing 16 hours a day, and when I declined an even more ridiculous offer, I broke down. I quit playing video games for 4 years. I just started again. But now I understand that in order to do anything with this or any other game, the stress will kill you. I weighed 97 pounds at the time and was 6’1”. Now I’m 160, have a step son, and am back in college because I dropped out to pursue gaming. If you’re not that type of person, you aren’t going to make it in video games. If you can’t already handle the stress of climbing the ranks in your current job, you’re not going to make it in the video game industry. To put it in perspective, it’s like starting your own business but you’re offering worse products than your competitors at a worse price and cost. And you seriously have to live like that until you offer something to someone that outweighs what they can get from someone that’s already doing it. Good luck there.

[@shaunakkulkarni4679]

So basically it’s not worth unless you are destined to be the next faker.

[@chrisfaulkner9355]

@@shaunakkulkarni4679 of course if you’re going down this path, your goal is to make it to the top.

[@bozhidarmanev3813]

8:04 BRAVO! That is very admirable Neace. I have to say I have never before seen a content creator, who makes serious profit out of a game, feel the toxic and near destructive relationship, the same game can have on people who are just addicted and not profiting, AND speak out loud about it. Everybody seems to have this "everyone is responsible for themselves" type of mindset, but i think that is just a way to lie to yourself that you are not to blame for someone falling victim to a destructive habit.

[@bradleymoore2797]

Is this a Mcdonalds made me fat argument? I need to blame those dang fast food restaurants because the fault lies with them?

[@kingz7151]

I've been relatively high ranked in a few games, mainly CS, Valorant, osu!, etcetera - after you get to a certain level and continue playing, I can relate with this Azir due to how much time it takes to maintain your skills and keep improving them. Compared to the other games I mentioned though, I think League tends to have a lot more addicted players than any of those games above.

[@dylanblomme4679]

I’m a psych student in grad school that’s played most of the games you talked about. I think what makes league different is how much control you actually have vs how much you think you do. League is different from most games in that you need 5 people to be on the same page for so many different things. In a search and destroy game of a fps game, the goal is pretty clear. In league, getting 5 solo-queued players to play around dragon, to rotate at the right times, to understand what it means when your teams’ jungler is on a certain part of the map and adjust accordingly, etc. is nearly impossible in the average game of solo queue. You don’t have as much control as you wish you had, which makes the reward mechanism amplified when you have success.

[@Digger-Nick]

@@dylanblomme4679 Combined with the fact that league has no voice comms and incentivizes people to play with everyone muted every game.

[@shaunakkulkarni4679]

@@dylanblomme4679 League relies on players being good enough to maintain a 60 percent win rate to climb. A good portion of games in low elo are won/lost due to one player getting ridiculously fed and face rolling.

[@SkeletonCrew96]

Man. My wife gave me a hard look and told me flat out that I was addicted. Of course I argued, but I did take a break. I actually found that my demeanor changed. The abuse and disappointment I felt when I lost a game was affecting my day to day. I now limit to just that once or twice and my play improved. I was having fun in life and now the game too.

[@IndefatigableYT]

I've paid for league coaching, and i've played for golf coaching: I kind of hope that league is the new golf. I approach coaching differently, I just want to learn, how to learn. Learning to learn is basically all I do in my life, in work and everywhere else. I hope everyone can find a healthy balance in gaming/life! Cheers!

[@pattie1411]

Dr K (on healthygamer) has a great talk on the game loop and how it effects us which is a great companion to this. (I think the video is called “High game ranking is killing your life” or something like that). He talks about how devs get you to play more, basically. For the record, Neace, I think what separates you from “monetizing a drug” is you ask people what their goal at the game is. I think that gets people to realize why they bought coaching in the first place. You could even be selective with your clients, if you wanted to. Like “if you’re this rank or higher, I’ll only coach if you have the goal to monetize “ or something. It’s interesting because so many people give you crap for coaching low Elo players, but the reality is is that you are trying to help people who just don’t have the time to invest in the game get better more quickly. It’s helpful to people like me who play 2-5 hours a week, predominately norms. To me it’s fun to learn about things and league is like a puzzle to figure out. It’s a nice break from puzzling through school, even though I do try to play as “competitively” as I can. It’s fun to try to be competent and good at something, even if it is just a hobby :3.

[@saulmendez2276]

dr k is just as harmfull or even more he is a big cause of rektfulls suicide

[@nicksmith516]

Definitely not a fan of NEACE or what he became in the end times, but this video is so helpful and couldn't thank him enough for this. I've been trying to quit for a while now, but I'm hella addicted and this video is a nice reminder. "set your goal, make your goal, then go do something else or make something of it." I reached Diamond last split for the first time in 6 years and it was literally all I cared about. I wanted to prove I could actually achieve something difficult if I work towards it without giving up when it starts looking tough. I did it. I made it happen, and I'm so fucking happy I managed to do it. However, the habitual action of queuing up and only caring about my progress in league still sits with me months afterwards. I've taken breaks, but I keep coming back. It's so hard watching all your work in-game and mentally go to nothing. But I have to move on. I got worse at everything else irl for this stupid video game, and although I am satisfied with the confidence the game built in me, I now have so much work to do to reverse the damage its done to my actual life. Advice to anyone who has ever been hardstuck for years: Your ranked goal is not worth it. You may think it is, but honestly the confidence and skillset of learning how to improve at something can be learned in many other ways. The habits and routine of grinding league games day after day for years poisons your brain, and will hurt way more than help.

[@loowisa]

Thank you for bringing this into the light, it really is a problem that mostly goes unnoticed until you go through it yourself Edit: I thought it was normal to go through those periods where you play to the point you skip meals and school / work just to play as my friends that introduced me to the game (20 different people) all had those stages throughout the time we were playing. I have since then built friendships with the more "healthy" mindset players and don't contact the ones addicted to the game as much as their periods of addiction can cause my addiction to return. Currently trying to relearn the game in a healthy way with a different perspective on everything, usually a few matches of aram when I feel like it with some relaxed friends does it for me

[@jjfghjpnwf5119]

I mean it is normal, everybody went through that. Especially when i was a kid, teen. As a teen you are literally bored and you dont have any real resposibilities so you experience period where you just play too much. I still play sometimes, but i dont have much time anymore...

[@Boots43096]

I used to be addicted to competitive starcraft too, it can be very mentally straining worrying about improving and not being good enough to climb 24/7, never played any other type of game either. What helped me is just remembering that ultimately the point of video games is to be fun, so if you get to the point where you keep playing but you don't feel like you're enjoying yourself you should probably just stop and move on to something else.

[@Kjraider2009]

This. I quit league and most competitive game(or game modes) due to this. It's supposed to be fun and I think players sucked into the grind of climbing lose sight of what a video game is supposed to be, fun.

[@YuYuYuna_]

@@Kjraider2009 The thing is for 99% of competitive games the fun in them IS the climb. It IS the experience of improving and getting better and seeing that reflected in your rank. The issue is competition addiction is real and people are more than willing to sacrifice opportunities IRL/meeting new people and improving their social life and mental health to play a 5+ more hours of League. It's a balancing act really and it's very hard or near impossible for a lot of people to balance their desire to improve and climb with doing other things that make them happy and enjoying life in the bigger picture.

[@Speedb0at]

When I was masters in starcraft I never felt strained. That game is so beautiful and amazing and so much fun. Every game win or lose is fun. League is torture on the loses

[@gabrielv.3807]

Neace, woah man, this whole talk was much more profound than most people realize. I am a casual gamer I started League in 2015 Fall. I was playing D2-D1 soccer at the time, I have had gaps of time where I didn't play league for months or a year. This game got me pretty good and I believe this video is what I needed to uninstall. Since I do have an addictive personality and always want to be super good at what I do, I think this game is getting in the way of other things I want to do with my life. Thank you for being honest and sincere. I do have a super good job that pays well, and I have never had trouble with girls, but recently I felt like this game has been a block in my road and I have had a hard time quitting it. Once again thanks for the video and honesty. Wish you the best of luck.

[@quickfingers5979]

Mad respect for not taking advantage of your mentally fragile audience and instead pushing for people looking after themselves. Thank you.

[@brandoncubell7362]

True

[@leogaussbell1622]

You are talking about you, right?

[@HK-gm8pe]

I dont know....I am in very low elo, I dont even play ranked anymore but I can say that I am having a lot of fun with this game... yes I am bit addicted but its not like this game take anything away from my life...if anything it adds to my life, I dont blow off my friends or family or career because of this game, I play when I have time cause its fun , league actually helped me out from my drug addiction...as crazy as it is, I havend used for 7 years and Lol has a big part in why I dont use anymore , I guess it really depends on a person, some people get soo upset over this game and I personally have never understood this

[@shuyhqei9867]

all of this can be summarised as climbing the ladder being the same as getting ahead of the curve since everyone is technically learning the game all the time too. and getting ahead of the curve will always carry a cost that sometimes isn't worth. league isn't addictive but ranked is - enjoying normal games and playing ranked a few times a week is absolutely the healthiest way to approach the game but requires having low ego to not feel like grinding the ranked games is a necessity

[@Redshock8]

That or just dont take Rank seriously. I know its really hard to not take Rank seriously, but if you change your perspective of improving and having quality time it will be much more relaxed and enjoyable. Funny thing is, I took ranked pretty seriously for years and played a lot of normals to get not stressed by playing League. But even normals tilted me, since no one really cared about the outcome, held me hostage in lost games and it tilted me since im a quite natural competitive person, always have been and in a certain degree probably will always be. What changed my perspectiv was reaching Diamond solo in another Game, Apex Legends. It was my goal to reach Diamond and I did it solo in under 150 games which I guess is decent. I was happy and I am still kinda proud of it. You get a badge for your weapon and a flighttrack, which shows you reached Diamond, Master or Predator (blue, violett, red). Back to league I realized no one knows I reached Diamond in another very competitive game and no one cares about it at all. I realized I just wanted the confirmation of being able to learn and apply certain knowledge and skill to reach the top 5% of a competitive environment. I got my confirmation and it showed me I am able to do that. I am using this pattern now in other fields of life for e.g. Investing. It got part of my personality to want to gain knowledge and a skillset and appling it succesfully. Applying these patterns in your education, work, business, relationship, personality, health is much more meaningful then in a video game. Thats why I dont take ranked in League seriously any more, but also enjoying the competitive environment and me developing in it. I hope this helps you and some others as well :)

[@shaunakkulkarni4679]

@@Redshock8 getting diamond in a game like league is an absolute shitshow.

[@ryanferguson4205]

This topic was definitely a tough pill for me to swallow personally. I grew up playing sports a lot. Ive always been super competitive in everything i do. I always try to work hard at what i enjoy doing, ill pretty much always look up guides or training methods to make the most out of my time. While i was in school, i was in that boat where i would play 6-8 hours a day. As i got into my career as a paramedic i found myself with less time play, yet i held myself to the same standard of performance. The few hours i did have in the day i would spend practicing mechanics yet i was still not where i wanted to be. Just like mr azir, i realized the time i needed to spend was something i could not afford anymore and that i cant be mad at myself for not spending enough time on a game that wont get me anywhere. Its been about 6 months since ive played league or fortnite and it is bittersweet. I miss the hyper competitiveness, but i dont miss being mad at myself every time i miss a canon minion. I will probably play league again but for now i will enjoy my break and hopefully come back to the game with a better mental.

[@ryanferguson4205]

@Guy Whose opinions will offend you so its been about 10 months since ive played at this point, and getting into other games i can confidently say its not league of legends, its more just video games. Feels like a waste of time to play. The amount you have to invest to get what you want out is not worth it.

[@Es-qh8kz]

Damn this really shows his honesty and integrity. Gotta respect that. Thank you for talking about this, I think a LOT of people needed to hear this.

[@NEACE]

Absolutely.

[@user-pp9yk3tu4z]

I massively struggled quitting this game. 2 years now and not interested in going near it again. I kept going back and forth and playing through the night and this game destroyed relationships and my motivation in life. Some people can play in moderation but for some like me it took over me. Anyone trying to quit, it’s hard and you relapse, but my best advice is fill your life with other things so that you have no free time. Boredom is how you creep back into it. And always remind yourself of how you actually feel after a 10 hour session, 10 hours of your life wasted.

[@ssjwick]

the smurf queue and losers queue is a huge time sink. the fact they try and act like its not real blows my mind.

[@Adam0193Official]

I can relate to this video all too well. I've been hardstuck silver for the past 9 seasons but I know just how addictive this game can be, even though each game lasts over 30 minutes. It's so gosh damn easy to keep chasing wins, to lock in your favorite champ next game and limit test, to try and get a penta, to try and make some crazy outplay, to flame your teammates if that's your thing...I know. And if you lose, it's even easier to queue for another game because nobody likes to end on a loss. If you're tilted, you want to jump into the next game to win to make up for what happened last game. I've seen the struggles of addiction when it comes to league; the damage numbers, objectives, health bars going down, the sound of gold clinking when you kill something..it's very real. There have been times where I've foregone sleep and almost didn't go to work some days simply for the excuse of "one more game". This game is designed to be addictive on purpose and will take over your life if you let it, just like WoW did back in the day.

[@mattlong5746]

honestly this is a good lesson about looking in the mirror and asking yourself if its worth wasting time on a game that wont love you back. I feel like the only reason i am trying to climb is not to be better at the game but to feel like i can reach a goal after setting it and that i can accomplish anything. I can hit personal goals in life but this game is one of those things i have yet to get to a level where i feel like i have done enough and move on from it. I Appreciate these honest videos they are a real gem among the other stellar content that this channel provides.

[@DerKaiser71]

A good friend of mine in university was one of the top 10 players in EU in Dota2 a year ago. He can relate to this video because he actually grinded this game every day from waking up to early morning hours. He told me he sometimes got tilted out of his mind, but he couldn´t stop playing this game because he would lose his top 10 spot. So its basicaly what KindAzir said and its not only league related

[@Greedman456]

Very nice video. I definitely agree. It's very honest and nice of you to go out of your way to care about people addicted in games that give you income. As a man I have a lot of respect once said, you don't hear about not smoking from a non smoker, you hear about it about a smoker that has went through what a disaster it is for you or your life after sixty (and I don't mean you shouldn't hear about it from the first guy, but what makes you change your views most of the times is hearing from an addict or ((vendor)) in person)

[@davidferreira1536]

About the monetization topic, I think that it has nothing wrong with monetizing a game that for some people might create an addiction, because first of all you are not monetizing the addiction and neither is League, the game is good and is fun, what is fun creates dopamine and the dopamine creates the addiction and is up to each and everyone of us to deal with this addiction just as KindAzir. Even hitting the gym might be addictive and it is something that is good for our health but when you get addicted to it you might get injuries and a lot of other problems so just like anything in the world that is fun or good to do, people need to find the balance in their lifes, this kind of video shows how much you worry about the community and notice this things but what "we" (at least for myself and my friends) like about your videos is the entertaiment we get from it. Thank you for your content NEACE, amazing video!!

[@foetieau7379]

Thank you for responding this way Neace! It is very important to watch yourself, especially with games like League. I'm quite prone to addiction in general I have noticed, so that's why it's important for me to just play to have fun. And of course to improve, but within reasonable limits. Still a proud bronzie, and though I am hoping to climb, if this is the level I have without obsessing over it, then I should just have peace with that and not push unhealthily. Thank you for the reminder.

[@liamailiam]

Tyler1 has peaked challenger in every role. Benches 455lbs daily and is 6ft5

[@RoastyToaste]

Neace, This is a great video. Regardless of potentially “harming” your own career, you are pushing people to not waste their time. That’s respectable.

[@jamesfejes1831]

Needed this…. Crazy I’m just now seeing this video around the same time I noticed that league and gaming in general is taking a toll on my life … especially because im not pursuing a career in it …. I could be spending so much time doing other things that benefit me way more instead of trying to escape the real world whenever I can … I’ve definitely dealt with sleep deprivation therefore causing issues with work …. I devote so much time and effort to games and get nothing in return but still do it … wow … what an eye opener. I often wonder if I should try to pursue a career in gaming/streaming because it’s one of the few things I think about, but it’s such a hard industry to break into and a big investment … to anyone reading still I hope you r living a happy healthy lifestyle, I wish the best for all

[@aaronwhite1426]

I just wanna say thanks man. I've watched your videos for a while now and I learned a lot. I've been thinking deep in the back of my mind that league is a waste of time but I've played it for so long and didn't want to lose all the skins/champs or whatever I accumulated. Like KindAzir said, it won't amount to anything. Games should be fun and the toxic/non-toxic ratio of people in this game doesn't make it worth at all. I just uninstalled and will never play again after 9 years of what was clearly an addiction. Thanks again for the content.

[@louiswilliams6478]

I agree with your initial sentiment regarding how/why we should play games, nice vid as always.

[@gigasus77]

FINEEEEEEEEEEEE I'LL QUIT DAMMIT 😭😭😭😭😭

[@nzoththecorruptor3690]

Hey cutie

[@kayd9733]

Hey Pegasus 👋

[@lims-karen3127]

This video is so important to keep resurfacing! I'm a newbie myself, but I feel the constant pull of "play more, do better" tugging at me, when I know it will lead to a bad relationship with the game. League is both amazing and worrisome when it comes to the psychology and the learning principles behind it. Yes, a lot of other fields of expertise also require an unhealthy relationship with what you're doing (e.g. you can't become a pro cyclist and still live a normal life as a youngster a lot of the time), but competitive games have mechanisms built in that reinforce it even more. I don't know, sometimes I wonder if I should get into coaching, not from the game perspective, but more about how to manage yourself and your learning process in a healthy way.

[@HladniSjeverniVjetar]

Gaming was always for testing yourself and breaking limits of understanding. On the topic of playing the league at the top level for normal people with work and life beyond the game there is not point with the amount of grind.

[@sethbehrendt7434]

I gave myself and pushed myself into insomnia which induced epilepsy my senior year of college while trying to manage lacrosse and school. I saw the game as something I had to do at the end of every day and would stay up sometimes till 2-3 AM with practice at 6 the next day. It sucks your mind plays tricks on you and tells you something matters when in reality it doesn't.

[@askingwhyisfree7436]

being godlike in league is like feeding your ego while being useless at the same time. At the back of one's mind, he knows this game is shit and it doesn't matter.

[@yuhengwu6853]

Sorry for this late comment Neace, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate this video. This does not only apply to being good at League, but it applies for being good at anything. I have a personal question: how do you deal with stress?

[@TheLightOI]

Dear Neace, thank you for the very inspirational talk. Being addicted to gaming for 13+ years, I can relate truly what it is like to be addicted. Fortunately, over the past 6 years, I have been creating music, as of right now I am a composer (as a hobby), but soon with my university degree in Economics I will try to advertise and promote my music. Best, -Light (Li Yang Yang)

[@RealGarrettLee]

This needs to be a topic that's brought up at least once a year. I had to actually delete this game because I couldn't stop playing it. If I'm in that boat I know there are many others

[@owenratliff9869]

Also as someone who got into league at age 19 after already moving out because my roommate has been playing since it released, you see people who grew up with League as kids basically were granted all that free time as a kid to just game their ass off which gives them a head start on all those unhealthy hours of grind.

[@Mason-kd2zr]

Tyler1 is absolutely the best well-known example. He said it (screamed it) himself: "Im so sick of this fucking company. THEYRE TRASH! FIX THE GAME! IT SUCKS! PLAYING! THIS SHIT! And Im fucking addicted! SO I CANT QUIT!" He was not memeing or doing it for content there boys. That was from his soul.

[@beasttitan8747]

Much respect to Coach Curtis, his coaching is phenomenal. I have come to the conclusion that LOL is not for me, I play more Apex Legends as the ranking system is better. After you make it to Diamond there is nothing much to do pretty much.

[@ceneira5399]

The apex ranking system is easier. Takes 0 brain to get diamond lol. Also it’s infested with controller aim assist players :)))

[@elrond7887]

apex and lol are so different that the ranking systems shouldnt be similar

[@kokomine578]

@@ceneira5399 While its true getting to diamond is brainded aim assist doesen't do jackshit on console. Hard stuck plat 4 moments 😂

[@astraljoker91]

@@ceneira5399 yeah in fact mk players are much stronger than controller players, imagine without aim assist.

[@astraljoker91]

@@kokomine578 gold player on PC are as strong as plat player on console in fact.

[@Supavizor1]

I really appreciate this content, your touching on an important portion and that is Mental health, 1 in 5 people deal with some sort of mental health, or cognitive issue and we are just entering a time when it is becoming destigmatized to talk about it. I definitely passed through this time myself and have stepped away, I even payed for one of your coaching's but I did have the goal to stream but even when everything was ready it was too late for me and I was dealing with depression with the side effects of the pandemic. Maybe disclaimers are needed to help people be aware of the dangers of addiction and video games, and how our environment can affect how easy we fall into it.

[@bunkbeds3001]

Siege. I used to be addicted to R6 Siege. I put in 1,000+ hours in like 2 years and while some people surely played more, I somehow found the time to play while doing 12 hour overnight SHIFT WORK that left me as a fucking zombie everytime I tried to do anything other than R6. I didn't even play ranked, because I knew I wasn't good enough to get to a level I was proud of, so I stayed in Casual the entire time. I think that "casual" label let me get away with many, many hours that I should have spent sleeping. "It's not even ranked, I can just leave if I get tired or bored." I never left, because in my subconscious I might as well have been playing ranked games. I cared SO much about every little detail that I could'nt even feel pride when I won a 1v3 post-plant because I would tell myself it was luck. One more huge win will prove it was all skill! Hindsight tells me it was about 50/50. I picked up LoL a month ago when a friend said he wanted to try it, and I had never bothered so I said fuck it, let's give it a whirl. It's no exaggeration to say that one game - one SINGLE game - gave me more fulfilment than R6 ever did. I haven't been back to Siege since then, and admittedly I hadn't played for a while before picking up LoL. Now, I find myself categorically obsessed with this video game. I want to understand the nuance that goes on in one's mind when traversing the rift and calculating where/when to push a wave, when is Baron safe to get, and who can I dive on for a quick kill? It's a puzzle, and I've always been fascinated with puzzles. Finding this channel has been incredibly helpful. You had a throw away line in one video where you said "don't go to them, make them come to you." And it changed my entire playstyle. You have an unfathomable amount of knowledge that I am entirely captivated by, and I wind up watching playthroughs of Champs I don't even like because you're so sincerely educational. To close the rant: this video was important for me. I needed to see this. You thrust the realization onto me that at some point, despite my current status of a giant noob, I can and will let this game envelope a substantial portion of my life. I love League, and seeing comments from people who began to hate it after they went all in has given me crucial pause. I'm genuinely thankful for this video, and I'm going to ensure that I keep myself in a healthy state of mind everytime I play so I can guarantee that this continues to be a fun, casual experience. Thank you ❤️

[@slaytrapsn]

I love these Neace videos, super honest and real.

[@Liger-Inuzuka]

This may sound silly I know, but Neace's coaching helped me become happier with where I am as a player without ever really climbing (yet!) I work as a designer, and concept artist in the video game industry, for another game although I wish I could for League as well haha. When I got into league I felt great stress to improve, I'd look up information on how to play and try to mimic it with very little understanding of the community back then. It lead to great stress and unhealthy thoughts because I couldn't understand why did I "suck" and I can't get the same results of Challenger players. Sounds silly saying it out loud now, but how was a brand new player supposed to know? It wasn't until last year since I got coaching from Neace did I realize how much time and effort truly you'd have to invest judt to get to Diamond not to mention further than that! I realized, well wait with how much I have going on in my life right now, I can forgive myself for my lack of knowledge and experience in this video game. I have more fun now playing and learning at my own pace with disregard to rank; obviously a video games virtual scoring system shouldn't determine your worth as a human being. For anyone who wants to work from home; I emplore you to set up your own schedule like a job and stick to it for your mental health. If you can "work any time" and also "break any time" there will be a never ending creeping feeling where when you're resting you could think "well I guess I could be working right now" and thus you will never feel true relaxation or free time. Thst would be the same with anything else even league climbing or coaching. Sure you can do it "any time" but make yourself a schedule you like and stick to it. It feels mentally freeing to have a free day and believe it yourself like, "don't have to work to climb today, it's my day off :)"

[@brandoncubell7362]

Ong

[@freeweezybitches]

I like you're idea of setting a strict schedule and sticking to it as far as working from home goes. It's very easy for me to be consumed by it and never allow myself any down time. Never noticed the correlation between that and old league habits lol

[@claudegietz]

I 100% agree with your statement. When I was 16/17 y/o I grinded 10-12hours each day after highschool and reached challenger. However, it had a big toll on my life -> I failed my final year and had to repeat the year... After that I felt the consequences and stopped grinding. Now I am a Diamond player but I am very happy and lol does not affect my life that greatly anymore.

[@kingbeee1263]

Thanks neace. Ive been playing league for a long time. Back when this channel was binge gaming tv or something to n3ac3y i am already playing. I was a GP OTP from the philippines and started to play this champion when i saw you play it in korea. I was addicted playing mindless games and reaching diamond creating a new account and reqching diamond again until i realize if im going to play this game. Might as well reach the top (challenger) and earn something. I decided to stream in facebook and upload videos on youtube. On my first year of having a process, vod reviewing my games, and not playing mindlessly, i finally reached master and peaked 100 lp while creating content. I was not sure if i really want this in my life at first but league was my addiction, i wanted to make something of it, now, it became my competitive outlet and since im introverted, league gave me a lot of friends in high elo since we always bump into each other that is non existent in real life. Now, i dont really see myself making it as a content creator because it takes so much time that i do not have because i need to make somehing out of my life too. But i see myself in the next 20 years if league is still around, playing 3 hours a day being high elo, with the people i know in solo queue, maybe streaming my games to 0 viewers so i can watch it to reflect on my mistakes and have a great time. Thank you so much neace. I really wanted a coaching session with you for a long time but i have other more important financial responsibilities to attend to. Stay chill neace, ill book a coaching after this pandemic.

[@tavion19]

as someone who has dealt with addiction in real life and in this game i can 100 percent see the parallels and i really appreciate you neace for talking about this

[@martinzuniga6605]

But overall. Games are meant to waste time. I mean we all play game and 99% of the players don't get out of it. Only a very few will see a profit. As long as you aren't creating unhealthy habits. Sleep depriving yourself, skipping meals, withdrawal from reality, etc. Those are all signs of addiction(s).

[@uncletrashero]

Paused on that endOfMatch challenges update screen to LOL

[@hawiak]

People play this game for different reasons. Addiction often is a filling for a gap in someone's life. Lack of social contact, lack of perspective etc. More often than not its a sympton and not a cause.

[@Flimmertje]

Trying to get my life in check. My gaming addiction has been terrorising me for too long. Currently working while I have a job coach, trying to get experience. Shit is tough but y'know I am getting there.

[@EduardBrichuk]

A true coach is able to say the truth and doesn't care about monetary reasoning or what other's think. You did exactly what and were humble and honest with your response. Thank you for even showing me that this wasn't an illusion that I was experiencing with League. This is what separates "good coaches" from the "best." May this encourage you because I applaud humility and integrity. Sincerely, Eduard (a Filmmaker and much more) 😎👏❤

[@joke2041]

When I saw the title of the vid I thought I could never agree but upon watching I realized this is a great psa and super important message for ppl to hear

[@arich6395]

When i tell people i love your "military style" coaching I mean exactly what you said in your intro! Everything you do you either practice good habits or lazy habits, even in videos games!

[@NoHeros247]

this defines my toxic trait. When I have such disgusting pride that when I think I am worse than my friends in a game I will grind unhealthily to not just be better than my friends but to be in the top 10% of the game. I will watch guides, buy practice tools, wake up early to practice and play late to measure my performance against friends. I have never let it interfere with work, family or friends but I would be so frustrated when I didn't see progress as fast as I wanted and I know i was generally less happy in those times.

[@thealover]

i just got master euw yesterday.. I messed up my sleep, school and mental health a lot for it, so ur correct in my case

[@bugkake]

I've had this lingering feeling of pointlessness whenever I think of climbing league lately. This season I reached plat on a smurf queue account skipping promos with about 40 games and 75% win rate. I was playing low diamond games and thought "this is it, I'll reach diamond this season". The account was botted so it got banned. I just watched this video and I'm now done with uninstalling every bit of league related stuff in my computer. It's gone. I've been playing since season 7. 5 years of this shit game that have given me nothing but stress and missed opportunities. Thank you Neace, I really mean it. This video was the push I needed. It's over

[@Schwaka]

I started league back in the day and I remember bischu. I stopped watching pro play as everyone I knew got replaced. I tried watching a pro match the other day, and I didn't know who any of the players were.

[@CyKsFuze]

I quit playing multiplayer games with the idea of "winning" a long time ago. While I feel like I have less going on in life, I don't feel tied to play games more and more whether I want to or not. I don't feel obligated to get back on a video game even when I don't want to.

[@terryschmitt8050]

Thank you. I play this game too give me something else to think about. It's so complex that it requires all my mental capacity and that requirement pulls my mind from the daily worries, but I still have to be careful that I don't do it to an addictive level.

[@masked8745]

I like what you are saying Neace, been addicted to video games so much its been ruining my life, cuz i used it as an escape for loneliness and exclusion and playing it less for the dopamine is how you should actually play it. Honestly i have changed, now im actually trying to grow :))) good video

[@julianbarragan738]

Glad to hear that. Keep growing as a person 🙂 Life is all about balance remember that

[@wildgazer3784]

Across my accounts, I've rarely if ever done ranked. When I actually started learning to play the game instead of using it as a time waster, my norms mmr would consistently put me against plat and diamonds. In 10 years of playing norms. Only actually learning for the last 4 years. I've been against 2 challengers, 5 grandmasters, and lost count of masters. But it is consistently plat and diamonds for my norm matches and it sucks because I'm just trying to chill but they ALL sweat hard af and it's just unfun. I don't know what to do anymore.

[@wildgazer3784]

I'm a Corki 1trick, been playing him for a year and 5 months straight. Ran him with the new items and new runes before they were made popular by pros. Corki is such a power creeped champion. Quite literally anytime I play any other champ I can't help but compare them to Corki. Like wow this champ can do this this and this meanwhile Corki just has this to compensate. Like any time I play another champ with a dash, I look to Corki like wow, he has a 20cd dash that's shorter range than flash, isn't fast, cost 100 mana and does the least damage compared to any other dash that does dmg. Meanwhile other champs dash has all these resets, has stacking, much more damage, most likely goes further. Like bro, rework Corki, I can write a book about how shit Corki is. I just want to play without being power creeped by all these champs for the last 5 years.

[@wildgazer3784]

It's not that I can only play Corki. I mained Taric 4 years straight before he was reworked. Played old urgot top and bot and old tristana mid and bot for a while. Then switched between renekton top and anivia mid. At some point went to heimer mid with old skarner and old yorick jg with jayce top. Then it was old graves 1trick jg. For all those years I was always playing Tristana, will always consider her and OLD taric my true mains. I know just about every ability in the game. It takes me 1 match to properly utilize a champ's abilities, 2 matches to know pretty good items to run with 0 guides, 3 matches to figure out the runes. Anymore matches is just fine tuning. Only champ I find difficult is Azir because of positioning. My top 3 champs right now are Trist, Corki, and Sujuani in that order. I can play them in ANY role. Yes I fine tuned Corki jg and carried with it several times in norms and even ranked because I have that much faith in my abilities. I don't know if I should try full-time ranked or not, everytime I try it's just several lanes feeding/going afk. It's not fun doing ranked when the game is lost at champ select.

[@bugs389]

Maybe you shouldn't sweat in norms if you don't wanna play against sweat..? That's what ranked is for

[@williampeterson6201]

I appreciate you talking about this and bringing this problem more into the light, keep up the great work Neace!

[@Someday500w]

It´s not only League. Theres way to much money in gaming for the industry to admit the level of addiction it ganerates and the side effects are long term so it´s hard for people to pin point the damage it does.

[@ClassicChrisGaming]

I spent so much time in League, and I realized eventually that if I wasn't having fun, why bother? So I started playing different builds and experimenting on champs in normal games. I made builds like the Manamune Tankplank, SUPERFAST TEEMO, and other goofy things. Then, one day, I played Ivern and the champ really clicked with me; I had fun playing Ivern, and I eventually started maining him. Eventually, I tried to "get serious" and got a coaching as a midlaner, and got pretty good pretty quickly, solo killing Silver Zeds as Orianna over and over until they stopped coming to lane, and CONSUMING League content like it was my lifeblood to keep me going. I was looking over my games to catch my mistakes, spending the time to "get better". It wasn't as fun as tra la la'ing through the forest as Ivern, but it was cool to see myself learn and getting kinda decent at the game. I quit the game shortly after because it was too big of a time sink that I couldn't justify in my life anymore, and I'm happy to have had the fun I did. I think I've played about 1 or 2 games in the last year, and they were PBE games with a Challenger streamer where I did Ivern things and let them carry. So yeah, if a game is taking your time away, have that conversation with yourself on whether it's actually worth that time sink, and what your goal really is. My goal was having fun, but when I tried to "get serious", I realized how much future I'd have to put into it to get where I wanted to go, and it was better that I just quit instead of trying to sneak in those "fun" games. I don't regret quitting, and life's pretty nice now. Not a lawyer or a doctor or anything, but I am a home care nurse, so that's something lol

[@neonshadow5005]

I feel like I'm wasting my time when I have a solid game and feel I did really well .. then the very next game .. our top laner rage-quits over nothing and turns a second potential win into a definite loss .. and not only does this waste my time on the loss .. but the win before, is also now a waste of time essentially since I now gain zero LP for 2 games.

[@luisortiz3103]

i used to grind 12-14 hours a day, no job, bumming it, it feels good in the moment but in the end it sucked. i had to work very hard to catch up to the average person in life, socially, living situation, relationships. i gained like 60 pounds. In the end its not worth it . I grinded from ages 21 to 24 im now 28 and i play very casually and still get those feelings of wanting to grind but i learned how to overcome it.

[@daaayumsun4028]

The moment I got addicted to this game, i became toxic even irl relationships.. No cap, i yelled at my mom when she tried to talk to me while I was playing... The thing is, i used to play other games and have never in my life yelled to anyone while I was ingame.. Time to quit this shit

[@Christina.N.]

If you want to play you have to learn how to manage frustration, stress, toxicity etc etc etc. Mental fortitude is the name of the game. "Nobodies going to give you credit until you're undeniable". Absolutely. Neace the sage. Lessons in league are just lessons in life.

[@rustygray5058]

I was addicted to DotA pretty bad back in the day. Like, almost ruined my life. And the worst part was, I was pretty good - not good enough to play on a real "pro" team, but good enough to scrim with them and not be embarrassed. Good enough that I could tell myself that all I needed to do was practice a little more, be a bit more devoted to spending every waking moment on it. LoL is my compromise - I can play it casually and get the same type of challenge, then I can let it go - for some reason it never has had the same hold on me.

[@javantezamora4009]

I’m not a league player but appreciate videos like these. I can’t even get addicted due to ranked anxiety and I keep forgetting it’s just a game and it’s for fun

[@eternalblue4660]

I am new to League, came from another competitive game and was equivalent to a Grandmaster when compared to League. I quit that and a friend got me into LoL. I like the game a lot and I love learning and improving. However I am worried because I spent years grinding my last competitive game, doing scrims etc all for me to just not like it anymore, I hope I don't get that way with League as I would love to get better. Even if I make it to Diamond I will be happy.

[@revolutionaryfrog]

I've been addicted to games since age 10. I'm 30 now and the only game left I'm stuck playing is league. It's still so fun and dynamic to try different builds and Champs, but I limit myself to a few hours a day and I only play after 2 hours at the gym and 8 hours at work. You can't let it consume your life or it is not healthy.

[@asves4536]

I’m not sure why Neace specifically targeted Coach Curtis. As someone who has been following Coach Curtis’s podcast, he always preaches working out and getting yourself in shape, and prioritizing school over league. He also believes that League should be a tool to improve yourself and find who you are and use it as a tool to become a better person. Also, the 3 blocks are the most effective way to climb. Unless you are a new player, you should spam games to learn the game. But Coach Curtis’s 3 block process does not take up that much time, it’s not a crazy amount of hours it’s just 3 games a day. I think Neace’s points in this video are all correct but I think he is naive about how Coach Curtis teaches and what his ideologies are.

[@spearman4712]

11:48 it sounds like they only disagree on whether they openly tell clients that achievement of top% ranks is likely to involve an unhealthy relationship with the game. I don't watch Coach Curtis but based on what you said and what NEACE says to others about working out and eating well etc, my guess is that they largely agree on the rest.

[@asves4536]

@@spearman4712 Coach Curtis acknowledges that many people have a incredibly unhealthy relationship with the game, but his mindset towards league is that its a tool to improve on yourself. he believes that you dont have to nolife league or cause other aspects of your life to hurt in order to improve in league, he acutally thinks the opposite. that if used correctly, league can be very helpful and a good tool, but if used incorrectly, its very harmful.

[@cihanlifestyle]

Thanks for your honesty. That’s why I quit after dia 1 peak… I knew to get even further I have to play even more and sell my life which I already did to get there…

[@natdaone5075]

This is the reason why my goal isn’t to reach challenger. The amount of games and time to reach that goal is immensely unhealthy. For someone who is at university at the moment, it would mean sleepless nights, a bad diet and that will therefore damage my mental health. For that reason, I only want to reach diamond. Keeping goals realistic and achievable is very important and it must not damage yourself and also people around you. Best of luck everyone :)

[@chez-bubulle]

16:30 "Be undeniable" put that on a freakin' t-shirt

[@AirborneACR]

16:48 just leaving this here to rewatch every now and again

[@EvilShadex101]

I gotta admit. The one season that I climbed my highest (D5) was when I had the most unhealthy relationship with the game.

[@darkblue099]

Neace, I'm sure there's nuance to this conversation and the one you mentioned at the end, talking about your rant against players who complain when the meta shifts. If I can ask you, what do you feel is more important for a low elo player: Sticking to one champion regardless of meta shifts, or adapting to the changes when your OTP becomes too weak to feel viable? For example, I've been a Pyke supp main since 2020, and with the recent changes to his ult and the durability patch, I've seen a drastic reduction in success, and have since largely switched to my secondary picks: Brand/Senna. Would you say that's a sensible choice for someone looking to climb, or do you think it's more beneficial to stick to what you know, regardless of the balance ups and downs?

[@God_Shen]

great question

[@derekserna5975]

I’m only gold, but from what I’ve seen (kindred main for 3 yrs). Unless ur champ is absolutely gutted, it is typically better to stick to a champ that u have immense muscle memory and knowledge on as you will typically perform much better than ur opponents. However, if u do have the time and are willing to put down that champ for a more meta one, then that is okay; but what you can’t do (I’ve done this) is try that champ, be bad, and then keep looking and start playing a bunch of champs, that how u decline. In essence, typically in low-elo since most don’t know what they’re doing, play what u enjoy and are very comfortable on. But once u hit high elo, since people actually know how to play the game, meta is typically better.

[@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena]

Low elo just stick to your champ you can start worrying about the meta when you get Diamond 2

[@JohnnyYeTaecanUktena]

@@derekserna5975 Honestly if you were to ask me anyone could get to Diamond 4 at the least with anything with enough games

[@trevor7234]

After years and years of mulitple hours a day... eventually I realized wins made me mad because "Why did I have to carry my shitty team...?" and losses made me furious because "Why did I have to carry my shitty team!?" I decided there was nothing in this game that made me happy. So I quit. And my life is so much better now. 😊 I've also found chess, and it's like league without the team. I actually love chess.

[@Auturgist]

To be fair, just doing something you enjoy and wanting to be as good as you can be at it is plenty enough for some people. Most people will be forgotten by history.

[@Mr_Mistah]

I mean I'm happy at Plat. I'm chilling

[@edgartonian-yy7oj]

100% agree with everyting you said, you can even tell in b ythe in game chat, me an my friends play for fun. We love league but if we start to lose its no big deal, people in chat go crazy, like abusively raging, an you just know that when they turn the PC off they will sit for hours raging about it. cant be health. When the fun stops, stop

[@Mindhumble]

I quit league for 3 years and restarted recently and there is definitely a addiction aspect to it, as you cant even play the game at a semi competent level without learning so many skills (mechanics, macro, champion knowledge etc.). I restarted about 5 months ago and while alot of the knowledge was still there, it still felt as if i was relearning the game from scratch. I even have my first disastrous game after returning on my small youtube channel. I cant see how this game is for casual gamers at all, unless you are happy to be in iron which is a nightmare of trolls and bots. Only truly addicted people play this game to any decent level in my opinion. I started season 3 so i see the patterns, and will quit again if i dont start enjoying the game as a pasttime as opposed to a chore and grind to climb ladder. Thanks for this video and the perspective it gives coming from someone else who has been playing for a long time!

[@NEACE]

Summoner's rift has that identity problem. ARAM, TFT, and all seasonal game modes are truly casual and everyone agrees. But anything summoner's rift, even blind pick, and you get friction on what the game is really about.

[@Mindhumble]

@@NEACE Great observation there, i guess its (at least partially) because even blind and normal draft usually have the mentality of getting good to go into the competitive ranked, and also your reason as there are so many ways people think about how the game should be played and therefore flame people who play "wrong". Also with aram there isnt a ranked system so by definition it is casual and people will be in that mindset, and tft so are basically solo so the light of reality will hit harder and quicker if you are losing as there is no one else to blame. This also shows brings in gamblers mentality into the equation - people will think in SR that "if only the yasuo didnt feed, or if we didnt get an afk for the first 5 mins, then I would have carried" so this gets a person to tryhard next game to prove to himself that truth, and when it doesnt happen, he will get more frustrated and try even harder and then tilt which feeds into the losses creating a cycle, similar to a gamblers addiction where they think i was unlucky but NEXT time i will make everything back.

[@MissChocoholisme]

Thank you for using your platform to speak up about this subject 🙏 Respect

[@jaradshaw4723]

At the top of a ladder who are you kidding? Players do that down in the metal ranks iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The first step of solving a problem is admitting there is a problem, League of legends is an addictive game. Video games are designed to be addictive, the successful ones anyway. Question is are you mentally strong enough to handle that. I'd argue at the very least 50% of the player base really isn't.

[@Qorantos]

That's why I stream league of legends and only play when I'm streaming. I'm a Blitzcrank otp and low elo, but I treat my climb to the top as a journey and entertainment and emphasize just having fun with it. So I always get solace in the fact that I stream when I see I played 4 games and spent 3 hours just to end up where I started lmao. Good video.

[@crazywildman]

this video hits a lot of spot. Video games was my escape from reality when i was younger. My parents shipped me off to a foreign country for my education. i wasted my younger life hating my parents, rebel against them. I played my waking hours playing video games. literally i flunk out of college playing league. and the sad thing i gain nothing out of it. My best was Plat 2. im 36 now. over 10 years my relationship with my parents got better (wished i didnt stupidly rebel against them). i still game quite a bit, married. yea there are days i wished i didnt waste time but now once im done with my work/chores my wife allows me to game. my cousin wasted his life gamble his family's money. i told my family i totally understood his addiction. mine just different but it is still an addiction. an addiction that i finally could control it.

[@alaamaoula2404]

Your wife allows you to play the game? ALLOWS YOU??? WTF Grow some balls bruh.... You shouldn't take permission from her to play a game... wow...

[@crazywildman]

@@alaamaoula2404 lol sound like u never been married.