Mindfulness

One of the hardest skills to master for any person is mindfulness; the ability to be aware of everything going on around you at any given moment. In life, this is used on the path to spiritual enlightenment. In video games, this is used to win.

When you're playing a video game, no matter how advanced your skills, it is the things that you don't know about that will hurt you. I've said it before, but it deserves a second mention: the greatest enemy for a master is surprise.

There is an old saying which posits that the greatest swordsman in the world need only fear the worst. Because there's no telling what that idiot will do.

This applies well to video games as well. Knowing what you are doing is just as important as knowing what your opponent is doing. You need to be constantly aware of your surroundings. This could mean memorizing enemy locations before focusing on something else, or maybe being prepared to change your strategy mid-action if you spot something dangerous.

In a single-player game like Bayonetta, this is an easy feat to accomplish. Having a large breadth of combos at your disposal, it's easy to adapt to your surroundings and change your moves on the fly. Simply being aware of your enemies and having a sense of things like 'how many', 'what type', and 'where' will take you very far.

In a multiplayer game like Starcraft 2, this becomes more difficult. Instead of relying on the fixed behavior of the computer, you need to match against the incredibly unpredictable behavior of human beings. Just knowing who and what isn't enough for this; you need to be aware of all the things he could possibly be doing, and prepare accordingly.

With mindfulness, your strategy's effectiveness will increase exponentially. If you can see what's coming, and then react correctly, you'll be able to overcome all but the greatest challenges.