• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 23:14
CEST 05:14
KST 12:14
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt2: All Star1Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists14[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt1: Fresh Flow9[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash10[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0
Community News
2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers11Maestros of the Game 2 announced32026 GSL Tour plans announced13Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail1MaNa leaves Team Liquid22
StarCraft 2
General
Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool 2026 GSL Tour plans announced MaNa leaves Team Liquid Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - The Finalists Weekly Cups (April 6-12): herO doubles, "Villains" prevail
Tourneys
Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament GSL CK: More events planned pending crowdfunding 2026 GSL Season 1 Qualifiers Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) SEL Doubles (SC Evo Bimonthly)
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players [M] (2) Frigid Storage
External Content
Mutation # 522 Flip My Base The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 521 Memorable Boss Mutation # 520 Moving Fees
Brood War
General
[ASL21] Ro16 Preview Pt2: All Star Data needed RepMastered™: replay sharing and analyzer site Gypsy to Korea ASL21 General Discussion
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro16 Group C [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [ASL21] Ro16 Group A
Strategy
Simple Questions, Simple Answers What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Any training maps people recommend? Fighting Spirit mining rates
Other Games
General Games
Nintendo Switch Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Battle Aces/David Kim RTS Megathread Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread YouTube Thread Canadian Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT]
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Reappraising The Situation T…
TrAiDoS
lurker extra damage testi…
StaticNine
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1344 users

StarCraft 2 n00b - I Don't Suck Anymore

Blogs > KingOctavious
Post a Reply
KingOctavious
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States324 Posts
July 08 2011 12:38 GMT
#1
So, I'm in Platinum now. I know Platinum is no big deal, but it does tell me this: I don’t suck too bad anymore. Now, I have plenty of trouble competing in Plat (lately I’ve been winning less than half my games against other platinum players, but I do beat 100% of gold players, and I recently beat a diamond as well), so I’ve got a long way to go before I can say I’m “good,” but for me this is a step up. This is especially surprising when you go back and look at some of my matches like the one in StarCraft 2 n00b episode 3, where I have 17 supply and 450 minerals at the 5:30 mark in a ZvZ, skip both roaches and banelings, and try to go speedling/hydra against all speedlings.

So what’s my point? First of all, it’s that anyone can stop sucking at this game if they try hard enough. Second, now that I’m okay at SC2, I might start using this space to try to show specific builds, etc., that I use in various situations, along with the usual loss analyses, since my play actually comes with some degree of competence now. At some point, I also hope to revisit earlier SC2 n00b episodes and see if my assessments of certain losses were accurate. Hopefully this blog will evolve in some way along with my evolving play.

Sorry that it’s been a little while between episodes. I actually recorded one yesterday, then watched it only to learn that my mic apparently felt like muffling my voice, boosting the bass, and adding an echo. So I won’t be uploading that one, but hopefully I’ll have it worked out soon.

In the meantime, I’ll be fighting the good (and surely lengthy) fight for Diamond. Wish me gl!

*
Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D
Battleaxe
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States843 Posts
July 08 2011 12:55 GMT
#2
GL, I'll be shooting for diamond myself next season, hopefully both of us can make the goal! Although I haven't really been playing enough lately. Don't know if you practice with anyone or work on specific things but if you need a Protoss drop me a line if you see me online: Battleaxe.283
Without a community, we're all just a bunch of geeks.
edc
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
United States666 Posts
July 08 2011 13:02 GMT
#3
I hope this motivates players who are struggling. GL on your road to Diamond!
“There are two kinds of people in this world, those with loaded guns, and those who dig. You dig.” - Clint Eastwood
KingOctavious
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States324 Posts
July 08 2011 13:35 GMT
#4
Thanks Battle and edc! Luckily I hit platinum the day before the ladder freeze. I felt like I was close, as I was being pitted mostly against platinum and winning roughly half (or maybe a little more) of those matches. When I saw that the ladder freeze was coming, I tried kicking my play into overdrive to avoid having to wait two weeks before I could advance. Luckily, it worked out!

Battle, I'll def add you to my friends list, and we'll play whenever I see you on. I do spend more non-ladder practice time than I used to, as it doesn't really work out trying new stuff against other players in ladder games in Platinum league (this worked well enough in silver ... not anymore).
Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D
Dittert
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
United States97 Posts
July 08 2011 13:54 GMT
#5
Gratz, KO. I finished Season 2 in the Gold League, but I thought I might get to Plat. Just out of curiosity, what do you actually do during you non-ladder practice time. My friends and I all suspect we need to spend less time laddering (and more time practicing) but I'm not 100% sure what to do instead of laddering.
sexy_Pretor
Profile Joined October 2004
Peru11 Posts
July 08 2011 14:18 GMT
#6
nice dude...


Im starting to play sc2... so whish me luck!!
Old Terran trying to be happy
Servius_Fulvius
Profile Joined August 2009
United States947 Posts
July 08 2011 14:36 GMT
#7
On July 08 2011 21:38 KingOctavious wrote:
First of all, it’s that anyone can stop sucking at this game if they try hard enough.


A long time ago someone told me "No one is born a winner in life. A winner is just a loser that got pissed off and tried harder". I think I'm going to start linking that sentence to all the complaint threads about cheese, the time needed to improve, and people who suck deluding themselves into thinking they're good.

I'm gold league now, but I have the same Diamond dream as you! Hopefully the next season is nice that way (though, I'm pushing for mid-late August to reach the goal!). Good luck!
KingOctavious
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States324 Posts
July 08 2011 14:40 GMT
#8
On July 08 2011 22:54 JDittert wrote:
Gratz, KO. I finished Season 2 in the Gold League, but I thought I might get to Plat. Just out of curiosity, what do you actually do during you non-ladder practice time. My friends and I all suspect we need to spend less time laddering (and more time practicing) but I'm not 100% sure what to do instead of laddering.


I do a few things. Mostly what I'll do is play a warmup match (or two) before I hit the ladder. I'm often glad I did, as my macro can occasionally be horrible before I've gotten warmed up. I think this has helped me keep more losses off of my ladder play.

Aside from that, I'll practice matchups that I'm having trouble with, and I'll practice builds that I haven't tried out yet (whether they're a common build that I haven't tried out yet, or something I came up with on my own). For instance, I recently started using a single banshee (sometimes cloaked, sometimes not) opening in TvT. I practiced this first off the ladder, and I was very glad I did. While it's not very difficult to pull off, I wasn't used to the specific multitasking involved in keeping that one banshee alive while harassing and keeping up with basic macro (supply depots, production facilities, worker production, etc.). So, I failed horribly on my first try, but I picked it up fairly quickly after that. It was another loss I kept off of my record.

So, short answer is to try to play your first match of the day off the ladder, and then go off-ladder if there's something specific you want to practice or want to try out for the first time.
Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D
KingOctavious
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States324 Posts
July 08 2011 14:40 GMT
#9
On July 08 2011 23:18 sexy_Pretor wrote:
nice dude...


Im starting to play sc2... so whish me luck!!


GLHF!
Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D
KingOctavious
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States324 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-07-08 14:46:19
July 08 2011 14:45 GMT
#10
On July 08 2011 23:36 Servius_Fulvius wrote:

A long time ago someone told me "No one is born a winner in life. A winner is just a loser that got pissed off and tried harder". I think I'm going to start linking that sentence to all the complaint threads about cheese, the time needed to improve, and people who suck deluding themselves into thinking they're good.



That actually sounds a lot like me. I get so pissed when I lose, not because I'm angry at my opponent for using a particular strategy but simply because I know that every time I lose, that means there's something I could have done differently to give me the win. Maybe that has helped me, actually, because whenever this happens, I can't stop thinking about the game until I figure out what I should have done differently. Then I use that going in to subsequent matches. Obviously it still takes time for me to refine my play, but my approach is to correct my play after every match. Until now, I never really consciously thought of that.
Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D
Jimbooo
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
203 Posts
July 08 2011 15:51 GMT
#11
nice dude. I remember I was placed in bronze in like September and I hit diamond in april. I yelled and got really giddy when i got diamond , but then i shut up when i realized it was 3AM lol.
KingOctavious
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
United States324 Posts
July 08 2011 15:58 GMT
#12
On July 09 2011 00:51 Jimbooo wrote:
nice dude. I remember I was placed in bronze in like September and I hit diamond in april. I yelled and got really giddy when i got diamond , but then i shut up when i realized it was 3AM lol.


Haha, nice. I will probably do the same thing. I started playing late December, so my progress has been a little slower than yours. Maybe that means I'll yell louder
Check out my book, The Year in StarCraft II: 2011, http://yearinsc2.com/ :D:D
SwitchAUS
Profile Joined June 2011
Australia106 Posts
July 13 2011 08:20 GMT
#13
Im silver and since the season lock ive been laddering alot, and my zerg play finally 'clicked' the other day. Im now getting matched against (and sometimes beating) diamonds! I totally completely sucked less than 2 weeks ago, and now I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere!
I'm awesome, and I f--k dolphins.
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Replay Cast
00:00
Code For Giants Cup #29
Liquipedia
BSL
19:00
RO32 Group D
StRyKeR vs rasowy
Artosis vs Aether
JDConan vs OyAji
Hawk vs izu
LiquipediaDiscussion
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
RuFF_SC2 215
ProTech137
Nina 82
SpeCial 69
UpATreeSC 37
StarCraft: Brood War
GuemChi 6116
Mind 284
Sharp 237
ggaemo 69
Shine 28
Bale 16
Dota 2
monkeys_forever706
NeuroSwarm128
League of Legends
JimRising 1151
Super Smash Bros
hungrybox946
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor132
Other Games
summit1g15916
C9.Mang0442
WinterStarcraft325
ViBE168
Maynarde138
Mew2King30
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick637
BasetradeTV387
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• Hupsaiya 94
• Mapu8
• practicex 6
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
League of Legends
• Lourlo232
Other Games
• Scarra1005
Upcoming Events
Replay Cast
5h 46m
Wardi Open
6h 46m
Afreeca Starleague
6h 46m
Bisu vs Ample
Jaedong vs Flash
Monday Night Weeklies
12h 46m
RSL Revival
22h 46m
GSL
1d 4h
Afreeca Starleague
1d 6h
Barracks vs Leta
Royal vs Light
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
1d 7h
RSL Revival
2 days
Replay Cast
2 days
[ Show More ]
The PondCast
3 days
KCM Race Survival
3 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
3 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
Escore
4 days
RSL Revival
4 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
5 days
Universe Titan Cup
5 days
Rogue vs Percival
Ladder Legends
5 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
5 days
BSL
5 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
WardiTV Map Contest Tou…
6 days
Ladder Legends
6 days
BSL
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S2: W3
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
ASL Season 21
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
WardiTV TLMC #16
Nations Cup 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W4
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
2026 GSL S2
RSL Revival: Season 5
2026 GSL S1
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.