Making Respawn More Productive

Drawing from physical sports, a respawn timer appears similar to a penalty clock – someone has made a mistake or, in some cases, purposely gotten a ‘penalty’ in the process of doing something to benefit their team and now there’s a power play. In Heroes, your ‘time in the box’ increases as the game progresses. Your time can be productive with some self-awareness about your needs and what’s best for your team.

Respawn clocks allow you a unique opportunity to take care of yourself (e.g. self-assess, communicate with your team, view the map, and refocus on personal or team strategy). If you know the minimum amount of time you get, you’re able to practice an ‘in the penalty box’ check-in to fit into a minimum window. As respawn timers get longer, you get more options and can do with that time what best meets your and your team’s needs (e.g. perform breathing exercises; visualize; remind yourself of your goals for that game; review what you need to do to avoid that situation; watch a lane/objective; get advice from your coach, if they’re with you in training; check your posture and equipment; etc.).

The most crucial component with physical sports or esports is making sure you practice mental skills in training – this means trying them in A.I., quick match, and practice matches before trying them in league or competitive games. I’m open to feedback and would love the opportunity to put out more and more relevant content for gamers. If you’re interested in sport psychology in general or want to find a consultant, look at the Association for Applied Sport Psychology website.