Why Competitive Games Become So Hard to Quit

TL;DR

Competitive games can remain compelling even when playing them damages work, relationships, and enjoyment, because visible improvement provides a powerful reason to continue. Ludwig describes League of Legends as a punishing grind driven by rank goals, while playing bot lane with Connor shows how constant exposure to a partner’s mistakes can turn cooperation into frustration and genuine conflict.

Transcript

There's a famous post that maybe was on Tumblr and it was like, "Guys, if you astral project, whatever you do, do not fight a law. He is too powerful." There were like self-described witches trying to fight a law in like astral projection. And she was like, "I was badly damaged, but I managed to survive. Don't go alone." What What if her boys rock ... Read More

Key Insights

• Ludwig’s relationship with League of Legends is driven more by the desire to improve than by straightforward enjoyment. He openly says the game harms his career, work, and relationship, but the feeling of progressing from complete beginner toward competence keeps him engaged.
• Type two fun is an experience that feels unpleasant while it is happening but becomes enjoyable in retrospect. Ludwig uses this idea to characterize League Week, which contained significant emotional lows despite eventually becoming an experience the participants could look back on positively.
• Platinum is presented as roughly the top 20 percent of League of Legends players and the minimum rank that earns a measure of respect. Ludwig reached it in jungle after about 500 games, even though viewers often perceive his play as unusually poor for that rank.
• Ludwig’s long-term League goal is to reach platinum in every role. He frames the ambition as becoming “Tyler 2,” a smaller-scale version of Tyler1’s accomplishment of reaching challenger across all five roles, with platinum replacing challenger as Ludwig’s target.
• Bot lane makes a partner’s errors unusually visible because the damage dealer and support must operate together constantly. Connor found this proximity exhausting because he could directly observe Ludwig missing minions and making repeated mistakes instead of hearing a distant teammate offer an explanation.
• Competitive frustration can make winning feel emotionally hollow. The hosts describe games where toxic teammates or infuriating decisions produce resentment so strong that a player may prefer losing simply because defeat would also make the disliked teammate’s experience worse.
• Modern competitive games can feel intimidating because strategies and advanced techniques spread almost immediately. The hosts contrast this environment with childhood gaming, when many players received games around the same time and shared a more equal period of experimentation and inexperience.
• Visible skill gaps shape which games feel restorative or punishing. Joey says Mario Kart helps his depression because he considers himself good at it, while League burned him out and pushed him away from competitive games, leading him to call League the devil.

Questions & Answers

Q: Why does Ludwig keep playing League of Legends?

Ludwig keeps playing because becoming better feels rewarding, even though he does not describe his relationship with the game as simple love. He compares his development to progressing from crawling to waddling and wanting to run someday. He also wants platinum in every role and says understanding League helps him follow the League team he owns.

Q: What does type two fun mean in competitive gaming?

Type two fun is an experience that is not enjoyable in the moment but becomes fun to remember afterward. Ludwig applies the phrase to League Week because the event included many lows, arguments, and difficult stretches. The retrospective satisfaction comes from having endured the challenge, rather than from every game feeling pleasant while it was being played.

Q: What rank did Ludwig reach in League of Legends?

Ludwig reached platinum while playing jungle, which the discussion describes as roughly the top 20 percent and the floor of respectability among players. He says reaching platinum took him about 500 games. The achievement is notable because his visible mistakes make some viewers believe that a player who looks that weak should not hold that rank.

Q: What is Ludwig’s long-term goal in League of Legends?

Ludwig wants to reach platinum in every League role and calls this goal becoming “Tyler 2.” The idea comes from Tyler1, who challenged him to reach platinum within a set period and had reached challenger in all five roles himself. Ludwig’s version keeps the all-role structure but uses platinum as the target rank.

Q: Why did Ludwig and Connor argue while playing bot lane?

Ludwig and Connor argued because bot lane required them to work together continuously, making every error immediately visible. Connor, playing support, watched Ludwig miss minions and make repeated mistakes as the damage dealer. Ludwig felt constantly scolded, while Connor became increasingly frustrated that the same problems continued until their irritation developed into a genuine confrontation.

Q: How did Ludwig and Connor handle their League argument?

After yelling at each other, Ludwig and Connor played an entire game without speaking. Ludwig describes it as a game of chicken in which neither person wanted to break the silence. They nevertheless won the match, and both suggest that the victory mattered. A loss might have caused them to walk away or abandon the following day.

Q: Why can winning a competitive game still feel bad?

Winning can feel bad when conflict with teammates becomes stronger than satisfaction with the result. The hosts describe toxic behavior and aggravating in-game actions that make players resent their own team. That resentment can become so intense that someone imagines preferring defeat, not because losing is desirable, but because it would also worsen the disliked teammate’s experience.

Q: Why do modern competitive games feel harder for newcomers?

Modern competitive games feel harder because information, optimization, and advanced techniques spread quickly. The hosts say a new release can leave an ordinary player feeling outdated within 48 hours, while skilled players already demonstrate extreme shortcuts and movement. They contrast this with childhood gaming, when groups of inexperienced players often started together and learned on a more level field.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Ludwig says playing League of Legends is bad for his work, relationship, and career, yet he continues because improvement feels rewarding. He compares his progress to moving from crawling to waddling and hopes to run eventually, showing that mastery, rather than immediate enjoyment, sustains his commitment to the game.

• A challenge from Tyler1 motivated Ludwig to reach platinum, which he describes as roughly the top 20 percent and the floor at which players receive some respect. After taking about 500 jungle games to reach that rank, his longer-term ambition is to earn platinum in every role and become “Tyler 2.”

• Playing bot lane forced Ludwig and Connor to coordinate constantly, unlike their earlier experience in separate roles. Connor could watch every missed minion and mistake, while Ludwig felt repeatedly criticized. Their frustration culminated in an argument and a full game of silence, although winning that match helped them continue the event.