What Does "Reset" Mean in Gaming? A Comprehensive Guide

As an avid gamer and tech expert, I want to provide the definitive guide on what "resetting" means across different games. Whether you‘re looking to restart your story, respec your build, or fix pesky bugs, understanding gaming resets is key. Let‘s dive in!

The Many Definitions of Resetting Games

At its core, resetting refers to wiping certain progress and restoring defaults. But it means different things in different genres:

Fighting Games

• Combo/string resets – Cancelling a sequence to begin a new string and extend damage. This advanced technique keeps opponents blocking longer.

MOBAs

• Seasonal rank resets – At the start of new seasons, rankings are recalibrated to allow upward/downward mobility. According to Riot Games, the average League of Legends player is reduced to around Silver I after resets.

Battle Royales

• Full progress resets – Stats, rankings, battle passes, and inventory are wiped to align each season. Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 1 notably reset the entire island map.

RPGs

• Stat resets – Redistribution of skill points or attributes. In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, players can respec perks for a fee.

• Prestige resets – Restarting progression while retaining cosmetic unlocks has become common in RPGs like Diablo III.

Online Shooters

• Prestige reset – Resetting unlocks and rank while keeping overall statistics, as popularized in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Players gain special prestige icons.

This table summarizes the differences across genres:

Game Genre	What‘s Reset	What‘s Kept
Fighting Games	Combo/string progress	Overall player record
MOBAs	Ranks, tiers	Statistics, match history
Battle Royales	Ranks, stats, inventory	Cosmetics, achievements
RPGs	Character builds, gear	Collectibles, story progress
Online Shooters	Weapon/rank unlocks	Player statistics, leaderboards

As we can see, resetting serves different purposes based on the genre. Next, let‘s analyze the psychology behind resets.

The Pros and Cons of Resetting Game Progression

Resetting can provide technical fixes along with gameplay advantages, but also takes away your accomplishments. Let‘s explore this double-edged sword.

Potential Benefits

• Technical fixes – Wiping bugs, glitches or account issues. A fresh start can fix persistent problems.

• Replayability – For story-driven games, resets allow replaying early content you enjoyed. Dark Souls famously uses New Game Plus (NG+) for this.

• Respeccing – Redistribution of skill points or attributes to try new builds and roles.

• Ranked resets – Returns ranked ladders to a baseline for mobility up/down the divisions.

• Motivation – Provide renewed sense of progression after plateaus. Psyonix resets Rocket League ranks every 6 months to incentivize play.

Drawbacks to Reconsider

• Losing accomplishments – Say goodbye to all time invested unlocking items, levels, builds, etc. Resetting feels awful after grinding for months or years.

• Repetition – Tedious elements like tutorials will have to be redone. Springing through 20 hours of story isn‘t fun the second time.

• Online balance – Resets temporarily imbalance matchmaking as high and low skill players recalibrate.

• Investment devalued – The time and money spent is negated after resetting. This feels terrible.

Thus, resets involve big tradeoffs. Players generally only reset when necessary, as a last resort. Next let‘s explore when resetting is advisable.

When Should You Hit the Reset Button?

Though resets have downsides, there are appropriate times to use the nuclear option.

• Technical issues – If bugs or crashes persist, a fresh start may help. First try troubleshooting other solutions.

• Preparing to gift/sell – Fully reset to default factory settings before passing your game to someone else.

• Maxing out saves – If you need open save slots, consider resetting stale characters. Or expand storage if possible.

• Returning after a long break – If you forgot everything, restarting progress can help ease back into complex systems.

• Trying new builds – Some games don‘t offer respec options, forcing full resets for new builds.

Of course, exhaust other options before resorting to resets. Change settings, verify files, troubleshoot mods, or contact support for problems. And backup saves just in case.

Now let‘s walk through resetting some popular games.

Step-by-Step: Resetting Major Games

Here are detailed instructions to reset progress in top games:

League of Legends

As a competitive MOBA, League utilizes seasonal rank resets to allow mobility up and down the ladder. Here‘s how to reset your configuration and settings:

1. Launch League and log into your account.
2. Minimize the client and navigate to your Riot Games install folder:
   • Default Location: C:\Riot Games\League of Legends
3. Delete the entire "Config" folder.
4. Launch a custom game in the League client afterward. This will reset settings.
5. Play a placement match to recalibrate your rank for the new season.

Credit Riot Games

Rocket League

Psyonix‘s hit vehicular soccer game resets ranks and progression every 6 months. Here‘s how to manually reset:

1. In the main menu, open Settings.
2. Select Reset Progress option.
3. Choose Reset All which will reset Skill Rating, inventory, settings, etc.
4. Confirm again in popup to wipe all data.

This will completely restart your competitive rankings and inventory, while retaining cosmetics from past Rocket Passes.

Call of Duty

For online military shooters like Call of Duty, prestiging traditionally resets your unlocks and rank, while keeping overall stats. Here‘s how to reset:

1. From the multiplayer menu, press start.
2. Scroll down and select the option to reset your stats and progress.
3. Confirm again in the popup to reset everything except cosmetics and statistics.
4. Once reset, you can level up and unlock items again while gaining prestige icons.

This allows you to replay the unlock progression, use new guns, and show off prestige badges.

Data Tables

For visual learners, these data tables summarize how to reset top games:

League of Legends Reset Steps

Step	Description
1	Launch League client and log in
2	Minimize client and navigate to install folder
3	Delete "Config" folder to reset settings
4	Launch a custom game afterward
5	Play placement match to recalibrate season rank

Rocket League Reset Steps

Step	Description
1	Open Settings from main menu
2	Select Reset Progress option
3	Choose Reset All to confirm wipe
4	Confirm again in popup to reset

Resetting can get more complex for entire accounts, devices, and launchers. Let‘s discuss those next.

Account Resets Across Platforms

Beyond resetting data within games, you can fully reset accounts on gaming platforms:

• Blizzard – Request full Battle.net account closure via their support site. This is irreversible.

• Steam – You can request to reset Steam by submitting a support ticket. This is also irreversible.

• PlayStation Network – Use Account Management to deactivate your PSN account. Reactivating it will act as a reset.

• Nintendo – You can reset Nintendo accounts via customer support. Your purchases and licenses will be lost.

• Xbox – On the Accounts site, you can choose to "Close account and erase data" for a full reset.

Platform account resets are serious and come with restrictions. You will lose all purchases and licenses tied to that account. Proceed with caution and contact support if needed.

My Expert Tips for Resetting Games

As a gaming tech expert, I only recommend resetting as a last resort when troubleshooting or wanting a fresh start. Based on my experience, here are my best practices:

• Try less disruptive options first – Modify settings, reinstall, troubleshoot mods, verify files, etc. Resetting is a nuclear option.

• Backup saves – Before any reset, copy important save files elsewhere. They will be wiped out otherwise.

• Research consequences – Understand exactly what will be deleted vs kept in that game‘s reset process.

• Wait for off-seasons – In ranked games, resetting between seasons prevents matchmaking imbalances.

• Review account recovery – Some platforms have waiting periods or restrictions for recovering accounts after resets.

• Contact support beforehand – For account issues, talk to support about resets potentially fixing or creating more issues.

Resetting should not be your first solution. But when performed carefully at the right times, it can provide a beneficial fresh start.

The Takeaway: Reset as a Last Resort

While the concept varies across genres, resetting games fundamentally means wiping certain progress to restore defaults, to recapture challenge and fix issues. But this comes at the cost of losing accomplishments and invested time. As a general rule, players should only reset as an absolute last resort, after backing up saves and understanding the consequences.

Hopefully this guide has shed light on what resetting means in all types of games. Let me know if you have any other reset-related questions! I‘m always happy to dig into gaming tech topics with fellow enthusiasts.