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VOD Review & Self-Coaching

Learn from every game you play

Why VOD Review Matters

Watching your own gameplay is the fastest way to improve. In the moment, you miss mistakes. On review, they become obvious.

Benefits of VOD Review

  • See mistakes clearly: Slow-mo reveals errors you missed live
  • Identify patterns: Same mistakes across multiple games
  • Learn matchups: Study what enemy did to beat you
  • Track improvement: Compare current play to months ago
  • Prepare strategies: Study your wins to replicate them

📊 The Improvement Math

Playing 10 games = ~10 rating points of improvement

Playing 10 games + reviewing them = ~30 rating points of improvement

VOD review triples your improvement rate.

Recording Setup

You need to record your games. Here's how:

🎥 Recording Software

OBS Studio (Free)

Best free option. Record to file or stream.

  • Settings: 1080p, 30fps, x264 encoder
  • Record audio: Include voice comms!
  • Performance: 5-10% CPU impact
NVIDIA ShadowPlay

For NVIDIA GPUs. Minimal performance impact.

  • Use "Instant Replay" to save last X minutes
  • Very low CPU usage
AMD ReLive

For AMD GPUs. Similar to ShadowPlay.

📁 Organization

  • Create folder: "Arena VODs/[Date]"
  • Name files: "Rating_EnemyComp_Result.mp4"
  • Example: "2100_RMP_Loss.mp4"
  • Delete wins after reviewing (save storage)
  • Keep losses longer for pattern analysis

The Review Process

Structured review > random watching. Here's a framework:

📋 Step-by-Step Review

1
Watch Without Pausing

First, watch the whole game at normal speed. Get the overall flow.

2
Identify Key Moments

Note timestamps where something important happened:

  • Deaths (yours or enemy)
  • Major cooldown usage
  • CC chains (good or bad)
  • Positioning mistakes
3
Deep Dive Key Moments

Go back to each timestamp. Watch in slow-mo. Ask:

  • What happened?
  • What should have happened?
  • What would I do differently?
4
Write Down Lessons

Document 2-3 specific takeaways. Example:

  • "Trinketed fear too early, died to next CC chain"
  • "Didn't track Rogue Vanish, got re-opened"

What to Look For

Focus your review on these high-impact areas:

🎯 Positioning

  • Was I in range to do my job?
  • Did I have pillar access?
  • Did I LoS the right abilities?
  • Was I too far from my healer?

⏱️ Cooldown Usage

  • Did I use my trinket at the right time?
  • Did I hold defensive CDs too long?
  • Did I waste offensive CDs on immune targets?
  • Did I trade CDs efficiently?

⛓️ CC & DR

  • Did we overlap CC categories?
  • Did we chain CC properly?
  • Did I CC the right target?
  • Did I break my teammate's CC accidentally?

🎯 Target Selection

  • Did we train the right target?
  • Did we swap at the right times?
  • Did we tunnel too hard?

📢 Communication

  • Did we call out important info?
  • Did comms get cluttered?
  • Did we coordinate CC?

Common Mistakes to Spot

These mistakes show up constantly in VOD reviews:

🔴 Critical Mistakes (Game-Losing)

  • Trinketing the first CC in a chain (more CC coming)
  • Using Ice Block/Bubble when you weren't the kill target
  • Positioning away from healer's range
  • Tunnel visioning while being opened on
  • Not using ANY defensive CD before dying

🟡 Medium Mistakes (Lose Advantage)

  • Overlapping CC categories
  • Breaking teammate's CC with DoTs
  • Using burst CDs without healer CC
  • Not tracking enemy trinket
  • Letting enemy drink for free

🟢 Minor Mistakes (Inefficiency)

  • Suboptimal spell choices
  • Slightly poor positioning
  • Missed interrupt opportunities
  • Slow reaction to swaps

Tracking Your Progress

Track your improvement over time to stay motivated and identify patterns.

📊 The Arena Spreadsheet

Create a spreadsheet with columns:

Date Rating Enemy Comp Result My Mistakes Lesson Learned
1/15 2050 RMP Loss Trinketed sap Save trinket for blind
1/15 2038 WLD Win Late peel Watch for fear setup

📈 Weekly Review

Every week, look at your spreadsheet:

  • What mistakes appear most often?
  • Which comps do you struggle against?
  • What did you improve on this week?
  • What should you focus on next week?

🎯 Monthly Goals

Set process goals (not rating goals):

  • "Reduce trinket mistakes by 50%"
  • "Track enemy trinkets in every game"
  • "Improve my win rate vs RMP"