I Finally Reached My Peak in Free Fire After Playing Since 2018. Here's Everything the Game Taught Me.
Okay, now before anybody comes me telling that you took this much time to attain peak, the ultimate noob and all sorts of things, hear this out:
There are two versions of me.
The first spends weekdays attending meetings, fixing bugs, discussing AI models, and staring at a laptop for hours. The second one lands in Bermuda, Purgatory or Kalahari the moment work ends.
I've been playing Garena Free Fire consistently since December 2018. Through college, lockdowns, friendships, job switches, promotions, stressful weeks, and peaceful weekends, one thing remained constant.
Free Fire. This is the only thing that carried me out through my bad phase. Although I had veterans like Counter Strike : Global Offensive and GTA 5 at my arsenal, I cannot spend my whole day at PC right?
It was just not because I wanted to become an esports athlete, or not because I wanted YouTube fame (although I gave it a shot), the real reason was that it simply became my way of switching off from reality for a while.
The peak
One thing nostalgic free fire players miss is the old peak in Bermuda map. But I am not talking about the "peak". I am talking about hitting the sudden prime at the last season in Battle Royale Mode.
Looking back at my account honestly surprised me. Here are the stats (currently at the time of writing this blog)
Sure, it looks amazing in montages. But ranked isn't a montage. It's about surviving long enough to win. I've never considered myself an aggressive player. I prefer thinking, the one who provides the support, careful rotations, positionings etc.
Last season was amazing, I have observed a few points that made my squad, even though it consisted of random teammates every single time, unbeatable in most of the scenarios.
Playing with friends is easy, you know about their style, preferences of weapons and skillsets, the hardest thing is playing with random opponents every single match, you don't know any of them, the adjustments has to be done while playing the round.
Here are my notes:
"Your gunshots also serve as your information"
Many a times when you fire, even if you misfire, they reveal your location. A seasoned player quickly deduces your position and that might not help if you are in the open ground or running away from the closing circle.
You're outside the safe zone. No enemies nearby. Then someone starts firing at a random player 250 meters away.
Congratulations.
Now every squad knows exactly where you are.
Sometimes the smartest shot......is the one you never fire.
Every bullet broadcasts your location. If the fight isn't necessary, don't start it. Just let it go sometimes. Not every fight is meant to be completed if the topic is survival.
"Always loot quickly, like a thief, in a hurry"
Some players spend five minutes searching every room. Meanwhile...
The safe zone closes. Other squads rotate. Airdrops disappear. Opportunities vanish. Develop a habit of recognizing useful loot immediately.
Take what matters. Leave what doesn't. Move. Fast looters survive longer.
"Timing is everything"
This is a game of teamwork and survival, especially in the squad mode. In that season, even if my whole squad perished in some fight, someone would retreat back, revive whole group, land on the same spot and take the cold and calculated revenge.
Don't Become the Fourth Knock. This lesson alone has probably won my team dozens of matches. Three teammates get eliminated.
The natural instinct is:
"I'll save them!"
Then you rush into four enemies...
...and now everyone's watching the lobby together.
Sometimes the best teammate isn't the one who dies trying. It's the one who escapes. Rotate. Hide. Collect enough coins. Use revival points. Bring everyone back and strike back ferociously...
A lost fight doesn't always mean a lost match. We are here to survive and win to take the Booyah. So if the situation doesn't fit you, keep your ego aside and escape.
"Never underestimate the safe zone; its your enemy too"
Players fear enemy squads. I fear bad positioning. The circle kills more careless players than opponents do. Always think one zone ahead. Don't wait until the countdown reaches zero.
Move early. Take high ground. Occupy compounds before someone else does. Late rotations usually become desperate rotations. So always stay in circles early on. You may wipe the players while you rotate together.
"Character combinations change the whole outcome"
Everyone wants to use flashy characters. But good teams think about combinations. Try balancing your squad instead of running identical setups. The game has given you the option to customize the loadouts while in lobby.
For example:
- One player focused on healing or support.
- One player with mobility, this could be rusher
- One player built for information gathering, a sniper
- One player optimized for combat, could be rusher 2
A balanced composition gives your squad answers for different situations rather than hoping raw aim solves everything.
"Don't Chase Kills"
This one completely changed how I play. You don't gain rank because you had the most kills. You gain rank because you survived longer while playing intelligently.
Sometimes finishing with three eliminations and a Booyah is worth much more than dying early with ten kills.
Rank rewards patience.
"Communication is important"
Back when I used to play with my friends, we used to sit together, communicating while playing and that made the difference. Most of the games we played only as 3 player squad, yet we came out victorious multiple times.
I have also observed many Thai and Malay Free Fire Esports teams sitting together in one room during the recent Asian showdown on YouTube, and they ended up dominating the lobby.
You don't need professional callouts. Simple information helps, like
"Two behind the rock."
"One flanking left."
"Vehicle coming."
"Don't revive yet. run away, not safe here"
Good communication often defeats mechanically stronger players.
"Learn when to fight and when to walk away"
Not every battle deserves your attention. Third parties are everywhere.
If another squad arrives...
Leave. There's no shame in surviving.
The objective is winning the match, not proving something to strangers you'll never meet again.
"Respect your opponent, study him and take lessons so you won't make same mistakes again"
One thing thousands of matches have taught me:
Never underestimate a squad because their movement looks average.
Sometimes the quietest teams rotate perfectly, hold better positions, and wipe aggressive squads without firing many bullets beforehand.
Confidence is good. But Overconfidence sends you back to the lobby.
Oddly enough these seem like life lessons ain't it? And they have the audacity to say eSports doesn't teach any life lessons.
This game has mirrored real life more than I expected. You don't always need to be the loudest person in the room. Patience beats panic. Preparation beats improvisation. Sometimes retreating isn't losing, it's setting yourself up for a better opportunity.
And perhaps the biggest lesson:
Consistency compounds.
I didn't reach my best season because I suddenly became mechanically gifted. I reached it because thousands of matches slowly taught me what not to do.
Final Thoughts
No this blog does not serve as my retirement from the game. After nearly eight years, Free Fire is still my favorite way to unwind after work. I don't know how many more seasons I'll play. Maybe ten. Maybe fifty. But as long as I will play past my prime, I will enjoy the after work hours.
Every season teaches something new. New mechanics, new updates, new characters etc., you need to constantly adapt to the changes the game offers. Being stubborn and not changing has dastardly effects. The ones who adapt to the changes in battlefield, always come up on the top for Booyah.
You don't need streamer-level reflexes to climb. You need patience. Awareness. Good teammates. And smart decisions.
The Booyah screen doesn't remember who rushed the hardest. It remembers who survived.
That's all for this blog. Now I have to jump back in Bermuda for a game. Be sure to battle in style!!
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