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Buffs Breakdown: The 10-Minute Pre-Game Routine to Run Before Every Ranked Session

21 October 2026//Esports, Free Guide, Gaming

Buffs Breakdown: The 10-Minute Pre-Game Routine to Run Before Every Ranked Session

You get home, drop into the chair and queue ranked straight away. Two games later your neck's stiff, your water bottle's empty and you're tilted off a loss you didn't need to take. Sound familiar? It used to be me most nights.

So I built a routine. It takes 10 minutes, it costs nothing, and I run it before every stream and every ranked block. Six steps. Here's the lot, with the research for each step linked at the bottom.

Why Bother With a Pre-Game Routine?

Every pro team warms up before a match. Footballers don't walk out of the change rooms cold either. Most of us treat our first game of the night as the warm-up, then wonder why we're throwing early rounds.

There's a second reason I love it. Do the same steps in the same order every time and your brain starts to clock on. By step six I'm already in game mode before the queue even pops.

Step 1: Drink a Glass of Water (2 Minutes)

First thing, before the PC's even booted. A full glass, then fill a bottle and put it next to your mouse hand.

The science here is decent. In a study of 101 adults, the more dehydrated people had worse memory and attention, and they'd lost under 1% of their body weight in fluid. Other research found attention, coordination and decision making all took a hit at around 2%. A few smaller studies didn't find much, so treat it as the cheapest stat check you'll ever do and move on.

Think about the late-round clutch where your crosshair drifts and you take the fight you should've waited out. I'd rather not find out if thirst was the reason. And if you've just come from the gym or it's a hot Sydney arvo, drink more.

Step 2: Set Up Your Space (2 Minutes)

Eye strain is the number one complaint among competitive gamers, according to New York Tech's Center for eSports Medicine. Optometrists say cut the glare and keep the monitor a bit below eye level. Easy fixes, so here's my quick once-over:

  • A lamp or bias light on, so the screen isn't the only light in a dark room
  • Wipe the screen and check the top sits at or just under eye level
  • Feet flat, back against the chair, elbows roughly at 90 degrees
  • Phone face down, out of reach

If your shoulders are up around your ears by the third Warzone match, it's probably your chair, not the lobby.

Step 3: Warm Up Your Body and Your Aim (3 Minutes)

Researchers in Finland put 16 Counter-Strike 2 and Valorant players through aim tests, sometimes after a physical warm-up and sometimes with none. The no warm-up runs landed the fewest top results. Which warm-up worked best changed from player to player, so don't stress about finding the perfect one. Just do something.

Mine's a minute of shoulder rolls and wrist circles, then a couple of minutes on the range or in deathmatch. I stop while I'm still feeling sharp. Turning up to ranked already tired from a 20-minute aim session defeats the purpose.

It's the difference between whiffing your first duel on Ascent and holding that angle like you've been on for an hour.

Step 4: Pick One Thing to Focus On (1 Minute)

One goal for the session, and it has to be something you control. Rank and wins don't count, because one thrower on your team takes those off you. Here's what a decent target looks like:

  • "Check the minimap every time I reload"
  • "No peeking the same angle twice"
  • "Two losses in a row and I take a break"

I write mine on a sticky note and slap it on the monitor. At the end of the night I judge the session on that note, not the scoreboard. Three losses deep in Overwatch is a lot easier to swallow when you've still nailed what you set out to do.

Step 5: Plan Your Breaks Before You Start (1 Minute)

Decide when you're getting up before you sit down. Once you're on a win streak, you won't.

A randomised trial had 21 competitive players game for two hours with either a 6-minute walk, a 6-minute rest or no break at all. The walk group had quicker processing speed afterwards, and over 70% of players reckoned it helped their game. Their in-game scores didn't actually change, though, so take that bit for what it is.

For your eyes, optometrists use the 20-20-20 rule. Every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet away for 20 seconds. Loading screens and respawn timers are perfect for it. I set a timer for a walk around the hour mark and refill my water while I'm up.

Step 6: Do the Same Last Thing Every Time (1 Minute)

Your last step is your trigger. Headset on, Discord on do not disturb, a song you always play. Doesn't matter what it is, as long as it's the same every time.

Mine's mixing my shaker of Buffs. If you're new here, Buffs is the Australian-made gaming supplement I built. It's a powder you scoop into water before you play, and every ingredient and every dose is printed on the label. I made it because I wanted something I could actually read, and one drink that's part of the session.

Shaker on the desk, warm-up done, sticky note on the monitor, queue pops. Time to dominate the lobby.

Bonus: Sort Out the Night Before

None of this beats sleep. Big sleep loss slows your reaction time and causes more lapses, which researchers studying esports players call out as a real performance problem. One rough night won't wreck you. But if you've got a tournament or a big ranked grind coming up, treat the night before as part of the session.

The Quick Version

  1. Glass of water, bottle on the desk (2 min)
  2. Light, screen height, chair, phone away (2 min)
  3. Move, then aim (3 min)
  4. One target you control, on a sticky note (1 min)
  5. Break timer set, 20-20-20 on loading screens (1 min)
  6. Your trigger, same every time (1 min)

Ten minutes, then queue up.

The Loadout

Want the full guide? I put it all in a free PDF with a printable checklist for next to your monitor. Chuck your email in and it lands straight in your inbox.

Grab the Pre-Session Ritual guide

Buffs v2 is being made right now with an Australian manufacturer. New formula, new look, every dose still on the label. Vote on the v2 flavours and you lock in today's price for 12 months once it launches.

What's the last thing you do before you queue? Let me know in the comments.

Reference Loadout