The demand for competitive online games has skyrocketed over the past few years. Plus, with esports becoming a titan of the entertainment industry, the number of people taking their multiplayer gaming seriously has also increased.
Whether you dream of going pro someday or just live for the competition at home, you’ll need the proper equipment to work your way up the leaderboards. If you’re ready to “git gud,” here’s a list of the gear you’ll need to take your competitive gaming skills to the next level.
Pro Controller/Mouse
It doesn’t matter if your preferred input is a mouse and keyboard or controller; if you want to start gaming out of your mind, you need a pro-level device. For controllers, there are a solid number of options, but the features they need include additional programmable buttons, variable stick heights, and locking trigger buttons.
While these all help you in different ways, their main goal is to help you move your fingers around less. In competitive gaming, every millisecond counts. The same goes for pro mice. Programmable buttons and precise control over your dots per inch (DPI) are essential to beating the competition.
Strong Wired Connection
When it comes to online gaming, your internet connection will be one of the most crucial aspects of your setup. While people will argue all day about which internet speeds are the best, one thing is sure: never use Wi-Fi. No matter how strong your connection is, Wi-Fi is not nearly as consistent as a wired connection.
However, you might have a deeper issue on your hands if you still experience lag regularly and constantly get kicked from games even with a wired connection. Often, your signal is dying before it even makes it to your home. If you live in a rural area or a giant apartment complex, you might need an Ethernet extender. While not every gigabit Ethernet extender will be created equally, many of them will be able to help you achieve the speeds you need to outmatch the other team.
High Refresh Rate TV/Monitor
Once you’ve taken care of your internet situation, it’s time to upgrade your screen. Whether you use a TV or a monitor, you need to ensure it can output the full power of your gaming system. Obviously, you want your screen to display graphics at their intended fidelity, but the spec you need to pay attention to is the frame rate.
As previously stated, every millisecond counts in gaming. That means you’re not seeing enough info if your screen only outputs 30 frames per second. Your device needs at least a 60Hz resolution, but if you can, you should shoot for 144Hz or more.
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
The final piece of gear you’ll need to get more serious about competitive gaming is a pair of noise-canceling headphones. In multiplayer games, what you can hear is almost as vital as what you can see. However, your gameplay will suffer if you can’t hear enemy footsteps due to all the noise around you. That’s why you should always opt for noise-canceling headphones. The only thing you need to hear is the game itself.
