It's hard to enjoy the game when there are only 5-6 duels going on, and no players around will provide a suitable challenge. For when there are only very new players around and the rest are too hard to be worth playing, I opt to play the new players, but restrict myself to shards and 5 health bubbles.

During these games, I find myself mostly focusing on where my opponent is, and because of that, where I can and should go. By removing the concern for item control, I have given myself extra time and energy to make better positioning decisions.

I also exercise greater discrimination when initiating fights, and try to find opportunities to deal damage without reciprocation. There is greater emphasis on making shots count, because the opponent has to respect my damage output. If he knows that I am constantly low and he knows that I cannot deal enough damage to defend myself, he'll have no motivation to question his impulse to attack.

Paying attention to the opponent's health is much easier. It can be assumed that when he escapes a confrontation, he will have access to resources with which to replenish his vital stats. This means that when I choose to fight, I must be sure that I can deal enough damage to frag him or anticipate his escape route to attack him before obtaining health.

Because I am focusing on creating distance until I'm ready to attack, there are less random encounters, meaning that the health I obtain is not wasted on chance encounters where reflex and aim are the major factors dictating outcomes. I can spend time positioning myself around key items and dealing damage when they're approached, and will always have a good general idea of what to expect in the game, because my decisions are ultimately directing his.

These games are also good for the newer players, because the players aren't discouraged by missing items and constant bombardment. When you avoid rushing with a huge stack all the time, the opponent can never be sure what choke point your next attack will come from. Rather than feeling constantly prepared to fight by expecting a fight at any time, the opponent must remain cautious and wonder whether or not moving into a particular position will result in taking damage without being to deal any in return. New players are then engaged in the game, rather than disconnecting themselves from obvious failure. Both players are working on very specific aspects of the game, rather than attempting to practice every aspect of duel, which is more productive and consistent than shifting your attention from one element to another to another for the duration of the match, ultimately forgetting more than you learn, and really never learning much at all.

I have also been playing games on European servers. In the high ping games, taking items is the biggest concern. Restricting resources is the only way to make damage meaningful. With 200-300 ping comes the inability to deal consistent damage. Dealing 50 damage is pointless when an opponent can replenish his health without the threat of efficient followup.

It's also necessary to avoid being confronted by hitscan weapons, so the game tends to turn to caution and item control, but the opponent can remain reckless due to the less predictable and manageable nature of high ping weaponry. This added layer of potential rape that comes a fifth of a second before it's really experienced results in rewards for enemy positional awareness and positioning yourself efficiently for escape and unrequited damage dealing.

Here is a demo of the second game I tried to play without grabbing powerups. I think I accidentally picked up two 25hp bubbles when dodging around RA tele.

http://www.esreality.com/?a=post&id=2181102