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Hey Teamliquid, this is my first blog post so I think a little intro is needed. My name is Tyler and I'm a 18 year old male living in Indiana. I'm majoring in physics and mathematics in college.
I've known about Starcraft for about ten years; my first experience with it was playing Starcraft 64. I played off and on through the years (the computer version now, thank god) never really getting better, until I discovered the pro scene in 2008. Ever since then I became more focused on becoming better at the game; I looked up to people with high ranks on ICCup and watched as much proleague as I could.
So, there must be some point to this blog, right? Well, I have a predicament that I don't really know how to deal with and it really bugs the crap out of me. Starting in 2008, I wanted to become (to at least some extent) competitive in Starcraft. Now it's halfway through 2010. Guess what: I'm not. If I decided to hop on ICCup today and game for awhile, my rank would quickly plummet to D-.
The problem isn't that I'm completely stupid or devoid of RTS ability; in fact, I understand the game fairly well from the hundreds of pro matches I've watched. I simply can't get myself to do the mass gaming required to increase my skill. I have a strong fear of losing and failure that stems from some events in my life, and when that's coupled with a glaring lack of game sense, scouting ability, deep understanding of build orders, micro proficiency, and economic knowledge, I just can't bring myself to play games anymore and find myself simply watching boatloads of Starcraft. I always know that something will go wrong and that deters me from trying to improve.
What I really want to know is how to overcome this stuff. How should I work on practicing these things so I know I'm working on my skill when I play? I find myself doing the same thing every game when I actually do bring myself to get a game in, and I don't feel like anything got better. I do what I think is good at the time, and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.
I'm a Zerg player on both Broodwar and SC2, and all I really have as resources right now are ICCup and the SC2 ladder because none of my real life friends play either game. I'm interested in improving them both. So, I guess my main question is, how do I change my mentality such that I know my time isn't being wasted and what are ways that I can improve my core game mechanics? Hopefully I'll be able to post more in the future with my progress...
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Playing a lot of sc1 and sc2 with the same race is hard. It is for me anyway. I play terran in sc1 and zerg in sc2 but I tried zerg in sc1 a few days ago for a little while. Overlords never got build (different hotkey), my hydra den never made it down (it an advanced structure in sc2) and a whole host of problems.
Just something to keep in mind.
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On June 01 2010 07:43 Bibbit wrote:
Playing a lot of sc1 and sc2 with the same race is hard. It is for me anyway. I play terran in sc1 and zerg in sc2 but I tried zerg in sc1 a few days ago for a little while. Overlords never got build (different hotkey), my hydra den never made it down (it an advanced structure in sc2) and a whole host of problems.
Just something to keep in mind.
I agree. I played Zerg in SC1, and I have LOADS of trouble playing Zerg in SC2... I'm a terran player, everything seems to flow easier for me. There is no magic pill or secret strategy, it's just the amount of time you put in. Focus on your mechanics, and go from there.
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First of all I'd recommend listening to day[9]'s podcast on improving mechanics, found here. It's seriously good. I don't know how you'll over come your fear of failure, I used to care about my rank a load until I realised it wasn't helping me get better, and in the end it was completely meaningless. There's no point working towards a number, there's only a point in improving your play. It seems paradoxical at first, but once you stop focusing on results and instead focusing on improving play, your results will improve due to being able to play without the fear of losing affecting you negatively. Once you realise that every game, win or lose, you will learn something, then losing becomes easier to accept.
After every single game you lose, look at the replay and find out why you lost. Make a strong mental note or even write down on a piece of paper next to you what you need to improve on based on your replays. If you really have no idea how you lost, then go to the Strat forum with a replay and some of your own analysis and they will help you out. Broodwar is such a hard game that it can be so disheartening to not see improvements in your gameplay even after massing games. You have to set realistic goals for yourself so you aren't disheartened easily. Your time won't be wasted if you analyse and review your play at every step. You can learn something from EVERY single loss.
There are plenty of threads and guides here that will be able to help you out with specific problems if you search, and Liquipedia is an amazing resource for all your strategical needs.
Good to see people still interested in BW, and good luck!
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On June 01 2010 07:49 Jugan wrote:+ Show Spoiler +On June 01 2010 07:43 Bibbit wrote:
Playing a lot of sc1 and sc2 with the same race is hard. It is for me anyway. I play terran in sc1 and zerg in sc2 but I tried zerg in sc1 a few days ago for a little while. Overlords never got build (different hotkey), my hydra den never made it down (it an advanced structure in sc2) and a whole host of problems.
Just something to keep in mind. I agree. I played Zerg in SC1, and I have LOADS of trouble playing Zerg in SC2... I'm a terran player, everything seems to flow easier for me. There is no magic pill or secret strategy, it's just the amount of time you put in. Focus on your mechanics, and go from there.
I hate how skill in sc2 for a race seems to cannabalize your skill in broodwar. I don't think its just the hotkeys and UI. I play protoss, and the "e" key for pylon and probe are just brutal.
For improving on SC, the most important thing is knowing why you lost. There is absolutely nothing wrong in losing, in fact, its the most straightforward way (I've had lots of experience haha) to improve. If you can figure why you lost, then find out what you need to do to overcome "that". The worst feeling you can have is when you mass tons of games, and you don't feel yourself improving. That just feels like shit.
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if your really serious about getting GOOD at the game you have to be willing to put the hours in and mass game. This whole "I dont play alot because I fear losing blah blah" mentality won't get you anywhere.
Losing a random game of starcraft is no big deal, it doesn't mean your a failure at life it doesn't mean your a hopeless person, it simply means things didn't progress in the game that allowed you to win. build from this, ask yourself how you can make it so the odds of the game progressing to points where you DO have a chance to win, and you'll find success will come.
Gotta be willing to make the time commitment to play though.
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You know what they say, if you don't use it, you lose it
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You say you have a strong fear of losing and have a hard time motivating yourself to play because you think you will lose, and you dont know how to stop losing.
So to prevent this from happening, you need to address the causes of the problems at hand and either solve them or go around them.
-you fear losing. is it because you fear being judged as a bad player? because you dont want to lose confidence in yourself? because you think the time is wasted if you dont win? Try using smurf accounts if you dont want to be judged. Confidence should come with greater game knowledge and positive experience behind you (winning). Time is not wasted if you realize your mistakes and learn from them, giving you more confidence for the next games instead of detracting from it.
-you dont have motivation to play. You obviously think that playing will result in losing, which to you is a bad thing. To give yourself motivation, you need to change both of those views. Playing will not result in losing if you know what you are doing and can execute it. If you do lose, no matter the cause it is not a waste of time. You gain experience from each loss, more so than a win. (you gain more confidence from a win though lol)
-you dont know how to stop losing. You need to gain some solid fundamentals of how bw strategy works, and be able to apply them. Forums and shit work for odd questions, strategy guides may enlighten you if well written, but the best way to learn is from someone whos game knowledge is much greater than yours and can explain things in detail. I can help with this. /F add me on iccup when the new season starts and i can help you out when im online. (I dont play sc2 though so youre on your own there)
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a good way to train is get into a group of friends or a clan/team and mass games with them, they should be either better or around your skill lvl though!
they can also critique your game play and watch reps with you
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It's not that I feel like I fail at life if I lose, it's just that the possibility of losing is so large that it deters me from playing the game in the first place, and I need to focus on results that aren't related to winning to improve... I just don't know where to start exactly.
@ fyre_dragon: It's probably that I feel like the time is wasted when I don't win, although that is definitely not the case. I need to be put in the losing situations in order to be prepared for them next time, and I just need to gain the will to take the losses in the first place... Friending me on ICCup would be awesome, it would be great to have some help.
@ Adrenaline: Yeah that definitely would be, but I just don't know where a bunch of D-/D players hang out all the time that aren't out to cheese me at every corner (general D- ladder). My cheese defense needs work too, along with all of my skills, but getting cheesed every game isn't helping me improve my mid or late game... Any suggestions?
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On June 01 2010 08:53 LuckyFool wrote:
if your really serious about getting GOOD at the game you have to be willing to put the hours in and mass game. This whole "I dont play alot because I fear losing blah blah" mentality won't get you anywhere.
Losing a random game of starcraft is no big deal, it doesn't mean your a failure at life it doesn't mean your a hopeless person, it simply means things didn't progress in the game that allowed you to win. build from this, ask yourself how you can make it so the odds of the game progressing to points where you DO have a chance to win, and you'll find success will come.
Gotta be willing to make the time commitment to play though.
Some good points.
And I gotta agree that to be good (and by good we're talking C+ so not even close to well actually good :S) you in a way gotta work towards a goal rather then just playing the game cause its fun.
And I know that sounds really silly but for me I tend to aim towards improving and find myself enjoying having improved in aspects of the game rather then the actual process of getting there (that involves massing a ton of games and by extension losing a ton of games).
Not exactly gonna but myself as a prime example here =) but if you really wanna succeed in a game as competitive as BW I think you need a competitive mindset that allows you to play to improve in a way that would bore most people to death.
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On June 01 2010 09:08 sYz-Adrenaline wrote:
a good way to train is get into a group of friends or a clan/team and mass games with them, they should be either better or around your skill lvl though!
they can also critique your game play and watch reps with you
Yup, Jeremy and I have been on the same team for a while and he improved steadily with the help of his friends. I never had the heart to ladder for hours on end and train so my max rank is C... After that I couldn't bring myself to play any longer. At that point I was playing for 4-5 hours a day easily. The team definitely helped though, I wouldn't even have played for an hour if I didn't get into this team almost 2 years ago.
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Just keep playing better and faster while massing game, don't care if u lose, you must realize the ultimate opponent for u is urself. Just keep on winning "urself". =)
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I had (and still have) the same problem. The first couple months of playing are the hardest. Losing 5 or 10 games in a row really ruins your day Set a goal, say "I am going to play 5 games today, no matter win/loss/ragequit whatever". If you lose a game, watch the replay and find at least one thing you can improve upon. If you win you should watch the replay also, just to find flaws in your own macro/micro, but few people have the time for that. Write "the things you need to do better" down in a note book or better yet, a post it and post it on the side of your monitor. Find a clan, remember that 99% of the people you play are going to be better then you, and the most important advice i can give is that sc and sc2 are all about macro, ask any good player they will tell you that at the least its 70% macro 30% micro unless your on the "pro" level. Learn a few builds (practice against comps) just trying to remember to build an (ovie at 15 and a spire at 33, just for example). So, try and play 5 to 10 games a day, practice macro, find a clan, celebrate wins and analyze losses. GL and HF XD
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I would start by playing Protoss(no offence)
Get good keyboard and mouse skills. If you have to, learn touch-typing
Since you can't mass game because of fear of losing, losing a lot of games and dropping to D- is very good, since you will get many wins and motivation to play a bit more games. Once on D, learn how to spot smurfs and resets and avoid them.
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On June 01 2010 16:49 50bani wrote:
I would start by playing Protoss(no offence)
none taken -_-
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On June 01 2010 16:49 50bani wrote:
I would start by playing Protoss(no offence)
Get good keyboard and mouse skills. If you have to, learn touch-typing
Since you can't mass game because of fear of losing, losing a lot of games and dropping to D- is very good, since you will get many wins and motivation to play a bit more games. Once on D, learn how to spot smurfs and resets and avoid them.
That is a common misconception, although it is easier to play protoss at lower levels because of the strength of the units once you get to higher ranks there will be a lot more zerg and terran players. At that time it turns into knowing timing pushes because you can't just barrel down on their front door.
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I was a lot like you until I stopped giving a shit and just played to have fun. Experience is more important than theory in StarCraft and a lot of people have to start realizing this.
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EPT
