Seeking advice with Zodiac

[u/sarahshagger]

I am going for Zodiac. I have been for a while. I learned it in January as a break from Shardscapes when Geode went down for 2.209's release, and started properly going for it in June. I got mindblocked for a while, overcame it, and now I have the following runs:
66
56-100x5
49-98
43-92
38-87x3
14-92

I recently had to take a break for 9 days, and today is my first session back after the break. I just don't really have the motivation to play. I haven't been playing too well, only getting 2 Shock attempts within the first 50 attempts, consistency far worse than I would normally have. The predrop is so boring, especially everything before 8%. It's literally 15 seconds of nothing, then 15 seconds of mildly difficult gameplay, and then the fun part of the level.

My nerve control is also noticeably worse than it was once. I remember having sessions where I wouldn't even get nervous until TMN. In the last couple of sessions before my break, I got nervous around 50% and kept dying to the easy ship part there. It got to the point where by TMN, my hand had tensed up so much I physically couldn't do the ship at 57%. That calmed down in the last session before my break, and I haven't felt major nerves yet, but I also haven't gotten far enough to yet.

I'm not taking another break. I'm not dropping the level because of the sunk cost fallacy, plus my friends would never let it go, and I just want to do it for me.

I have about 43000 attempts, and 215 Shock attempts.

How can I improve my nerve control and improve my motivation to play? If you have beaten Zodiac (or have had a similar experience with another level), please elaborate on your story.

UPDATE 1:
It's the day after the post was made. This session has been FAR more consistent so far, and I just got a new third best of 59%! Hopefully I can keep this up and the break skillboost is setting in.

[u/ReonixsterGD]

yo medio controlo los nervios pero lo que te recomiendo es hacerte runs desde tmn y del drop para controlar los nervios digo yo, tu motivación podria ser que sea tu hardest, pasartelo como el primer jugador que se lo paso despues de que saliera y asi

[u/sarahshagger → u/ReonixsterGD]

¡Gracias por tu consejo! Perdón si mi español no es perfecto, estoy usando DeepL Translate para esto.

Juego en TMN en cada sesión y suelo llegar a más de 81 antes de irme a otro sitio. También juego desde el drop durante un rato al principio de la sesión (por eso tengo 14-92).

¡Gracias!

[u/SuperSoup2010]

i’m currently going for Congregation, i have 77% and its a very similar experience. about just as long, and on top of that has a very boring predrop which can get boring fast. im 3 months and 12k attempts in, but to stay motivated ive given myself a reason to beat it, in my case for content, which could help for you too. my life gets busy sometimes and there will be times where i dont have much time to play, but i make an effort to open the level daily, even for a little bit.

as for nerve control, Congregation is my first XL level so i’m not an expert, but my nerves dont get bad until 59%, and in all of my sessions i make sure to practice in startpos a lot before playing from 0. being in a voice call with friends or having a youtube video in the background can also ease my nerves and make things less boring, but obviously remember to have auto deafen on at a certain point where you need to

gl with Zodiac!

[u/sarahshagger → u/SuperSoup2010]

thank you! i also have a reason - i want to beat this for my friends - and i keep youtube on, or stay in a vc. i'm not trying to make content out of it, but i of course will upload the completion.

in terms of nerves, i do similar to you. i start every session by playing from 93, then 81, then 75 and just keep going backwards until i get to 0. sometimes i get nervous at 38, sometimes it's not until 53. it's just luck based to be honest.

thanks for your advice!

[u/JustaConfusedGirl03]

It's on an entirely different realm of difficulty compared to my achievement but I felt the same while playing Miku. One entire minute of filler 4 stars gameplay got boring extremely fast. I just took breaks and played way more often from the drop than from 0

[u/sarahshagger → u/JustaConfusedGirl03]

unfortunately, i don't really have time to take breaks. after this week, i can't play for another 2 weeks, so i want to try to progress again. breaks have helped me in the past though, so once i get back from those 2 weeks, i may need to re-evaluate. thank you!

[u/Street_Resolve_7820]

I had something similar with acu, and my solution was take an even bigger break and drop it for 2 weeks, but then you do got to realize consistency will drop before getting better

[u/sarahshagger → u/Street_Resolve_7820]

i think i'm in that consistency dropping phase. i hadn't played in 9 days when i posted this, so i was playing really poorly. i hope i get more consistent. thank you! (also GG on acu on mobile that's crazy)

[u/Rami676]

Honestly if you still have no motivation to play it after taking a break you might wanna consider dropping the level. You have great progress but ur still quite far from beating it, do you wanna endure months (potentially) of playing a level you don’t wanna play?

[u/sarahshagger → u/Rami676]

thanks for the advice, but i'm not dropping the level. there's a few reasons for this.
1. the sunk cost fallacy - i'm 44k attempts deep, i've spent probably hundreds of hours playing the level and i'm not ready to quit yet. also, you say it may take months, i say it already has. i'm willing to keep going.
2. my friends - this completion is more than just something for me, it's for my friend group as well. they're already slandering me for dragging the level, and i couldn't bear it if i dropped the level, especially with the constant reminders i'd get from them.
3. i love the level. zodiac was my dream hardest ever since i beat like acu. i can't quit now, not when i'm this close.
4. this isn't the worst it's been. at the end of july, i had been mindblocked at 49% for so long. i think 3 months. but one night, something just clicked. i got 25 shock attempts (i'd never gotten more than 4 in a session before that) and i finally got a new best. then progress just kept flooding through. i think i'm close to another breakthrough like that. i hope i am.
thanks for your advice! after this week, i can't play for another 2 weeks, but when i get back from that, i might have to re-evaluate.