No one expects you to jump into a game with a veteran’s mindset and understanding, but you can prepare yourself better. Identifying the common beginner mistakes, and coming up with ways to avoid them, is a great way to give yourself a step up when you’re learning a new game or working on improving. Let’s take a look at some of the most common mistakes, with some suggestions on what you can do instead.

The Importance of Strategy

When you start a game, how much thought do you put into your strategy? Many beginners follow the crowd, not considering their unique approach. For instance, when landing in Fortnite, you should have an idea of which chest you want to hit, what barrels you want to break, and exactly which part of the POI you want to land on. Knowing your location well can give you an edge, allowing you to strategize and not just survive the early game.

Improving Your Aim

Another common mistake is focusing on the crosshair instead of the opponent when firing a weapon. Keeping your eye on the opponent at all times will make it easier for you to track them and land your shots. Warming up, either with an aim trainer such as Aimlabs or an aim training map in Fortnite Creative such as Raider’s Aim Training could be a good way to prepare before your first drop of the day.

Playing Too Passively

Playing passively might seem like a safe strategy, but it can prevent you from learning how to make quick decisions and slow your reflexes. It’s crucial to take enough fights to improve your skills. It’s also important to realize that playing aggressively and making explosive moves could be the exact solution needed for a specific engagement. Don’t count it out.

Healing Items

A common mistake is not using healing items when your health is not at maximum. It’s safer to use one of your healing items to get to 100 when you’re not being attacked rather than waiting until you’re in the middle of a fight. Top yourself off, and get back into the fight so you can control the tempo and put the edge in your favor.

The Limitations of Creative Mode

While Creative Mode is a great place to learn mechanics and do warm-ups, it has its limitations. The only true way to get better at Battle Royale is to play Battle Royale. This mode teaches you about landing, looting, rotations, third parties, and much more that can’t be learned by fighting with the same loot and infinite maps.

Challenging Yourself

Sticking to what you’re good at and never challenging yourself beyond your capabilities can hinder your growth. Try different game modes, practice maps, and swap out your sparring partners once in a while. Losing might make you salty, but use that as motivation to improve.

Building Efficiently

Overbuilding has never been a worse habit to have now that the material cap has been lowered. You need to pay more attention to whether or not your builds are actually important or if you’re trying too hard to flex.

The Impact of Weapon Types

The type of weapon you use can determine the meta. For instance, during the spray meta, nothing could stop players from spraying walls and punching through. However, getting stuck with the mentality that the SMG is enough to win can make you more predictable and easier to overcome.

The Importance of Good Settings

Good settings can enhance your gameplay, but you need to stop constantly changing your settings every time you feel it isn’t working for you. Settings only get good if you practice with them consistently.

Confidence While Gaming

A lack of confidence can lead to mistakes and missed opportunities. Don’t focus on what other players might think; focus on how you can close the gap between your skills. The more you play, the more you should believe in yourself, your abilities, and your game IQ. If you don’t sell yourself short, you will be surprised how it all comes together.

The Importance of Rest

If you have a habit of staying up late to grind Fortnite, then you’re going to need to start getting your full night’s sleep. Not taking breaks can lead to burnout or worse, falling asleep during your next tournament. It may sound like a lot of fun to keep playing through the night and get up early to pick it back up the next day, but you are sending yourself into the game at a disadvantage.