Can certain drugs enhance your competitive gaming?

[che]

I know a lot of gamers stereotypically smoke weed, which may calm your nerves and in some cases give you more focus on what you're doing. You're able to block out more of what's going on around you and specifically focus on what you're doing.

Alcohol can make you amped (until you drink too much), so for a short while you are able to make quick decisions promptly (whether they are the right ones or not).

I think it's also true these two drugs can give someone the illusion that they are doing much better than they normally are simply because they feel better.

Do you think these two drugs, or any others (caffeine is considered) can make someone a better gamer (other than if you always play drunk and one day play sober you're going to suck because you're in a different mindset)?

Moving onto e-sports, which are becoming increasingly popular, should they drug test the gamers?

[loaf]

I've played a lot of Halo 3 while being drunk and high off my herb...and I will say I have played better some times, then some games I just suck cause I'm to messed up.

Honestly, it's just in the mind, you think you are doing better but you are probably playing your normal skill. I can't be 100% true on it all though. I do know some games I had to be sober in order to play good, had to much thinking and planning in the original Call of Duty and it's expansion.

No need for drug testing honestly...I can't think of anything that would help them be better as something to go inside your body like a drug.

[Unknown Entity]

Honestly, there's probably no improvement. I've not smoked weed before, so I can't speak on that behalf, but I've consumed alcohol when playing games quite a few times.

Alcohol just chills me out and that combined with games is pretty fun. Games chill me out, so a drink with it is a bonus. I probably think it makes me better at gaming when I've had a drink or two, but I think half of that is down to me not caring if I'm better or worse. Alcohol can put pretty silly ideas in your head.

I guess it just depends on the day. If you're playing online in say... Red Dead, with a few bottles of Budweiser, and you're coming first in every single FFA match, you could just be playing with shitty players. If you weren't drinking, you'd probably have the same outcome.

[GypsyElder]

Aderall. Do eetttttt.I know a lot of people who have ADD.

[Block]

A lot of performance in most things has to do with the psychological state of the person who is performing. If you do most of your practicing drunk then your body will better remember what to do when it's in that similar state. Same to be said for smoking pot. Adderall, however, is a drug that I think directly influences your ability to focus and perform in a game.

[nix]

meh

I used to do alot of weed smoking, and i gamed alot when high and it can work against you as much as it can for you.

A story i have where it worked against me that stood out, i was at a big lan even in the UK (The I-Series) and my team and I were taking part in the Counter strike source event. We played our group games and were told we didn't have anymore matches for the day.

I thought, great time to tuck into the big bag of weed my friend brought me, so im outside smoking a big fatty all to myself on newbury race course and im just coming up to the end of the doob and i hear my friends voice shouting "nixy" from the car park nearby, he runs up to me and tells me they ****ed up, we had another game to play, against the only other good team in our group stages.

At this point im baked and im thinking to myself "oh ****" so we run to our systems and login, they had been waiting awhile for us apparently and i played the worst game of my life and they destroyed us, i played crap as i had just smoked the doob and couldn't focus.

We ended up playing them the next day again and we destroyed them back, i wasn't high for that one

But then again i have played alot of good teams online when high and i go into a tunnel vision trance and just cant be stopped, heck one time that stood out for working with me, i was playing a mix against some "pro" players and there was one guy in particular i just kept dominating, popping head shots through doors, no scoping through flash bangs and the likes with awp, he screamed cheat and rage quit. That player went on to play for London mint in the cgs

At the end of the day, i don't think it enhances your play, its all down to the player and if they are in the on form mood. Just like being sober, you can have good days and off days when playing.

Same goes for alcohol, if your merry you can pull off what you can sober, if your shit faced your gonna be crap.

Its all dependent on how much you intake and your mood, i wouldn't call either an enhancement drug.

[Tifa]

Tiffy + gaming + alcohol = boss. Unfortunately the last two have been out of the equation for months so shitsux now :\ Even with a lot though I do fairly well.

Drug testing for online gaming sounds hilarious. But something like that would probably only be viable in Korea where they take Starcraft serious as shit.

[Rocky]

Drug testing for online gaming sounds hilarious. But something like that would probably only be viable in Korea where they take Starcraft serious as shit.

Drugs that alleviate ADD symptoms like Adderall are all banned in Korea, so if they are to be caught with stuff like that then its not just the esports league that will be coming down on them lol.

I know quite a bit of people in the competitive community for Halo 3 and a lot of them have admitted to using drugs for the benefit of their play at some point or another. One guy I used to have on my friends list played Halo 2 for like 20+ hours straight (this was like right before a national tournament was going on that had tens of thousands of dollars on the line), like I played a few games with him from like 8-10pm, went to bed about 1:30a while still seeing him on, get back home from school at like 4p and still see him online, then played more games with him until he signed out for the first time at like 12:45am. He never told me what he was on but for some reason he seemed very stuffy and nasally that day Another friend of mine ended up being hospitalized during a tournament, had to be rushed to the ER and everything. Long story short, he's a pro gamer, flew from his hometown of Seattle to Orlando to play, has trouble sleeping (medicated for that), uses Adderall for playing videogames competitively, ends up taking a lot of both sleeping pills and adderall, gets really tired and passes out during one of his series he was playing. He still came back and placed the next day, but that would be pretty scary if something like that happened lol.

With all that being said, one of my teammates is medicated on Addy for his ADHD, and if at times we find ourselves down in a series, we will take a quick bathroom break, pop some pills and away we come back with the win. I try not to do it all the time, but everytime I take it, I don't miss a single shot it's rediculous.

[Alpha]

If you take drugs so you can feed an addiction (gaming), you need help.

[che]

If you take drugs so you can feed an addiction (gaming), you need help.

Right, but what if they're just there for enhancement?

[Alpha]

If you need enhancement for gaming, then you care too much. If you need drugs for enhancement, ye have yeself a problem.

EDIT: I don't mean caffeine, or a few beers. But if you're popping Ritalin or something... that ain't healthy. Physically, it's dangerous. Psychologically, you spend too much time/effort gaming, IMO.

[che]

If you need enhancement for gaming, then you care too much. If you need drugs for enhancement, ye have yeself a problem.

EDIT: I don't mean caffeine, or a few beers. But if you're popping Ritalin or something... that ain't healthy. Physically, it's dangerous. Psychologically, you spend too much time/effort gaming, IMO.

What if you're employed to win tournaments? Is it a problem at that point? Talking generally, not about specific drugs that you know are physically harming to your body.

Maybe marijuana? Is it sad when you feel most comfortable playing high on marijuana because you have always played using marijuana?

[Alpha]

If you're employed to play games, then they shouldn't be allowed to test you. Or is that another thread?

If you consider it a sport, however, then performance enhancements should be screened for and banned. To avoid advantages and so on. Unsportsperson-like behaviour.

I don't think marijuana would be an enhancement, but it depends on how you react to it. I go quiet and relaxed, generally. But if you rely on any substance, then that is a problem. And I think the definition of a drug, in this context, is that long-term use is unhealthy, and should be avoided.

[Rocky]

EDIT: I don't mean caffeine, or a few beers. But if you're popping Ritalin or something... that ain't healthy. Physically, it's dangerous. Psychologically, you spend too much time/effort gaming, IMO.

So in that case, is popping ritalin to write papers bad because psychologically I'm spending too much time/effort on doing a paper? Or is this a different case?

If you need enhancement for gaming, then you care too much.

There are several instances of people that make a living off of being a professional competitive esports gamer. If other people are using drug enhancements to play better and potentially threaten their income, then they care too much if they are to do the same thing? Sounds like you are expressing to me a payoff matrix where as long as no one uses the enchancements then everyone is okay, but unfortunately this is not a realistic way of how the world works.

As far as I know, there really isn't a cost effective way to screen thousands of players at each tournament for use of drugs, so as long as that is true, there won't be drug tests and there will be people to use such enhancements.

and on a sidenote...

Maybe marijuana? Is it sad when you feel most comfortable playing high on marijuana because you have always played using marijuana?

imo, yeah that's pretty sad. Back in high school when I was in band, my teacher always stressed about "perform just how you would practice", in which take practice seriously and in the right conditions, then at a performance you will always go back to how you practiced and you will do fine because of that comfort zone you built up. It's the same like that in any sport or esport. That's why many professional gamers choose to schedule in LANs whenever they can, because its the best and most realistic form of practice that will be similar to the event. I wouldn't want to practice while high, because being high all the time is not only expensive lol but it's not very feasible in a tournament environment.

[Alpha]

Time to do some Sasquatching.

So in that case, is popping ritalin to write papers bad because psychologically I'm spending too much time/effort on doing a paper? Or is this a different case?

If you need to take drugs to keep you focussed on anything, beyond what is normal/natural/healthy, then yes, you probably are spending too much time/effort on something.

There are several instances of people that make a living off of being a professional competitive esports gamer. If other people are using drug enhancements to play better and potentially threaten their income, then they care too much if they are to do the same thing?

No, they have principals? Is it alright for a professional athlete to take steroids 'because everyone else is doing it'?

Sounds like you are expressing to me a payoff matrix where as long as no one uses the enchancements then everyone is okay, but unfortunately this is not a realistic way of how the world works.

Expressing my payoff matrix...

Ok. Maybe so. But since when was I a realist? But cf. my earlier point. I'm just splitting your post in illogical places to look like I'm putting more thought into my response. Cough.

As far as I know, there really isn't a cost effective way to screen thousands of players at each tournament for use of drugs, so as long as that is true, there won't be drug tests and there will be people to use such enhancements.

They don't do that with most events. Take the Tour de France. They screen randomly. That's cost-effective.

If you use it to your normal tolerant level. Meaning, you are high but still in control, then yes it's fine and not a problem. If you are using it and showing up obviously out of control high, then you should not be allowed to play. No drug testing.

But Alpha, who says people using drugs for gaming are relying on it. I never relied on weed or lortabs to make my work day more fun and relaxing or any gaming I wanted to win badly in. I just used it because I felt like it.

I didn't mean to imply that. I'm envisioning more a 'I need to take drugs to play at my optimum', kind of attitude. That is reliance.

[loaf]

Had this talk last night.


If you use it to your normal tolerant level. Meaning, you are high but still in control, then yes it's fine and not a problem. If you are using it and showing up obviously out of control high, then you should not be allowed to play. No drug testing.

But Alpha, who says people using drugs for gaming are relying on it. I never relied on weed or lortabs to make my work day more fun and relaxing or any gaming I wanted to win badly in. I just used it because I felt like it.

[Block]

I started reading the Sasquatch post, but about half way through it I decided to get super high and play Starcraft 2 instead. I feel I have made the correct choice having now come back and reading from where i left off. No offense the posts are well articulated and the debate is of a top notch, but I thought we were supposed to be talking about whether or not drugs did give people an edge not if people were addicted and at what level of consumption we consider an addiction.

[Rocky]

I started reading the Sasquatch post, but about half way through it I decided to get super high and play Starcraft 2 instead. I feel I have made the correct choice having now come back and reading from where i left off. No offense the posts are well articulated and the debate is of a top notch, but I thought we were supposed to be talking about whether or not drugs did give people an edge not if people were addicted and at what level of consumption we consider an addiction.

whats the fun in branching the convo out a little bit? jk, lol.

Yes, I think certain drugs like adderall and ritalin gives players an edge, which I know of from personal experience. I think cocaine would also probably do the same thing but I've never tested that one out so idk.

[GeLeHa]

Haven't really payed attention to my ability to play games while under the influence. I do remember kicking ass in Dead Or Alive 4 on the 360 while buzzed with some friends, though.

[Bleachfangirl]

Caffeine is my gaming drug. I like having a Monster or Starbucks Frappe with me when I sit and play for a long time. Probably doesn't really do anything but make me more excitable. But an excited gamer is usually a more competitive/alert gamer, so maybe that does help. I don't really care. Games don't matter that much, so how well I do against the CPU or other players doesn't matter enough to me to make me want to find ways of enhancing my gaming ability.

[Pete]

I prefer to keep it to competitive drinking. The more I drink, the better I get... until I get sloppy drunk, pee out of a window and then wake up with a monster hangover.

I guess drugs can help you to be a better player, but I feel like if you're competitive gaming, then you should just go based on natural ability. I feel the same way about pro sports... like real sports... as well. If you really want to be the best in the world at something, you're really not the best if you're going and taking all of these performance enhancers to affect your mood or mental state. And I mean if you're really the best, couldn't you theoretically just beat people who are on different things while you're clean?

If I'm going to do anything competitively, I'd like to think I have enough pride to give it my best efforts while clean.

You can thank Major League Baseball for this post.

[Selcopa]

In the poker community there are some people who swear by smoking a small amount of weed, some shrooms, or about 1/16th of a hit of LSD. That it enhances concentration and helps them think about deeper levels of poker.

While they dont reccomend doing it consistently(once every 3 months or so), you could say that they need the drugs to play their best poker, doesnt mean they're reliant on it. It just means that these drugs taken in controlled amounts can be beneficial.

I could easily see a pro gamer using drugs to enhance performance, and if it becomes an issue, i'd expect gaming boards to take care of the issue.

But lets not pretend pro athletes arent doing the exact same thing, hockey players will drink bottles of cold medicine before games to open up their sinuses to breath better. So much that its hazardous to their long term health.

We see actresses who smoke for the sole purpose of of weigh loss/maintain is that any worse? Just because its legal does it justify inflicting long term damage to benefit in the short term?