Guidance about streaming concentrates on equipment, which is the least important variable. The things that determine whether anyone watches are different.
What matters most
Consistency. A schedule people can rely on, kept for months. Nearly every channel that grew did so through showing up repeatedly, and nearly every one that failed stopped after a few weeks of low numbers.
Talking. Streaming to nobody feels strange and is the job. A silent stream gives a viewer no reason to stay, and viewers arrive during the silence unless there is none.
Game choice. Streaming the most popular game means competing with thousands. A smaller game with an audience and fewer streamers is a much better position, even though the potential audience is smaller.
What matters moderately
Audio quality, which is the one technical thing viewers notice. Bad audio loses people faster than bad video. A decent microphone is worth more than everything else combined.
Stable connection and settings that do not drop frames.
What matters least
Camera quality, lighting, overlays, alerts. These are the things new streamers spend money on first and they do not affect whether anyone stays.
The realistic expectation
Very few channels become an income. Most that grow took years. Treating it as something you enjoy doing regardless is the only sustainable approach, because the alternative is measuring against numbers that will be discouraging for a long time.
The thing that helps most
Being part of a community rather than broadcasting at one. Watching and participating in other streams builds the connections that bring people to yours.