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Finally I managed to get the courage, will and time to play my placements matches for 1on1 ladder and o-boy what a ride that was. How much you can learn from a 5 placement matches? Well, more than you can ever imagine. If I could take back time I would play those placement matches way earlier. This way I only managed to create the worst enemy for myself - ME!
So, I decided today was going to be the day I start my journey on 1on1 ladder. I have been saving those 5 placement matches so I could learn more stuff. So I wouldn't be such a noob. The competetive side in me made me to learn more stuff and study all kinds of things. I wanted too much too soon. I was practicing so I could be better at practicing. Sounds weird, doesn't it? By all this studying and learning I was only doing harm to myself. I know that now. I was stacking up my expectations and build up an illusion that I have learned so much and I might be even placed in silver or what the heck, why not even gold? Seriously, I somehow managed to turn things inside my head that way. I thought that if I do know all of these things and have practiced with my friends and AI, I could really be better than bronze. How wrong was I ...
Thank god the reality hit me right in the face. First of all. I was so nervous and stressed out when I was about to start playing. In fact I was panicking. My stomach turned upside down. My palms was all sweating and my hear pounded so fast. I do like the thrill and enjoy that feeling when competing but now, I really should have been calm and just to have fun. Well, it didn't work out this time. First two matches was really really horrible. I forgot almost everything what I should be doing and in what order. My brains didn't work and I was just tilting in adrenaline rush. Grown up man stressing out for a game and acting like a little kid once again. I'm laughing when thinking this through, how silly!
I lost all the 5 placement match. So, what's left after I hit the floor and all my SC2 bits and pieces of information and tips are shattered all around the concrete? I'm still barely alive, shaking a bit, frustrated to myself but thankful for this very important lesson I have just learned. Now I'm placed at Bronze league with a rank of 98. Almost as low as it get but not quite. It's time for me to start working my way up in ladder and really learn some things. There is no easy way up! This is the beginning of my journey and I have so much to do and learn. Now the real practicing starts! For all of those who are hesitating to start laddering and want to learn more - please dont. Just go ahead and play. You'll just make things much more harder for yourself when you try to study things without playing. In this case - Ignorance is bliss!!
You can read more of my feelings and thoughts from my blog post: http://sc2.nautti.fi/?p=124
PS. Do you remember your placement matches? How did you feel back then? Where were you placed and where are you now?
Cheers,
nautti
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When I did my five placement matches, I lost all of them and got placed in Bronze League at 49th place. I hated myself SO much. However, I decided to work hard on my macro and micro and I broke out of Bronze in no time.
Also, check out this post.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=208343
Just keep on practicing and read from the Strategy Forum, and you'll be great! :D
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LOL wow... This made me nostalgic~~~
I actually kept my replays of when I first started playing so I could see the improvement :p and just watched the placements a few days ago XD
I went in with very minimal RTS knowledge, I played no keyboard style (what are hotkeys?) AoE with cheats back when AoE II first came out so really... no real RTS experience. I didn't have TL or husky or day 9 or anythings So I went i just practiced 10 games vs med ai
then 2 games vs my bronze friend and was ready!
First game was 1 gate robo (remember... I knew 0 builds) which I won, due to the other person just having 10 scv's and 1 rax and moving into my army (not attack moving just regular moving)
I WAS PUMPED!!
the next 4 I get roflstomped by a variety of things including cannon rushes and 6 pool on steppes (ahhh the good oldays <3) but obv placed into bronze
ANYWAY I kept at it till I was 1-16 then I quit... LOL took me a long time to get back into sc2 and when I did I was forever bronze until season 2.
ATM I'm in plat but play so irregularly It's sad 
BUT keep it up! don't worry bout wins, just have fun its just a game ;p
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When I first got into beta, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
Then when SC2 went retail, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
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On August 31 2011 07:49 Dance. wrote:
When I first got into beta, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
Then when SC2 went retail, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
I won't believe that unless you are an ex-BW player.
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That terran in your second game was a huge ass, my advice would be to ignore people like that as you encounter them (and you always will). more gg more skill!!
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dont give up and keep trying bro.
You just need passion to get better!
I think the most important part is to have fun. After all, it's not life-threatening or costly, so try to have fun when u ladder 
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On August 31 2011 07:51 edc wrote:Show nested quote +On August 31 2011 07:49 Dance. wrote:
When I first got into beta, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
Then when SC2 went retail, I won every placement match and got into diamond. I won't believe that unless you are an ex-BW player.
Yea I played BW....I was D-
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I won two placements and went silver. Watching streams really helped because I got really into the starcraft scene before I actually bought the game. So I knew what i "should" be doing. Just didn't have any mechanics going into it so I got crushed most of the time.
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I went 3-2 in my placement matches and was like
OMG IM SILVER, I'm so good.
After watching husky/hd casts and mimic what pros do, I broke out of silver in 2 weeks and reached diamond in 2 months.
I am currently high masters and can still remember all the stuff I did back then :')
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My first ever placement matches, I played as Zerg, won all five of them and placed in platinum. Felt pretty smug afterwards hahaha.
I played one game in platinum, lost and switched to protoss. NO idea why I did that, I sometimes wonder what race I'd play now if I'd stuck with zerg a little longer
I still remember my playstyle in those placements. Defend, get mutas and deny expansions. I remember one game on steppes, where I killed the CC floating to the "island" with mutas, then he gg'd.
I think my very first game was on Blistering Sands. Unfortunately I don't remember what happened in it.
Depressingly enough, I'm still in platinum. But one of my friends reached diamond the other day, so now I'm heavily motivated to catch up to him. =)
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On August 31 2011 07:49 Dance. wrote:
When I first got into beta, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
Then when SC2 went retail, I won every placement match and got into diamond.
Was impossible to get placed into diamond. Highest you could get was plat.
Fail brag.
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Man i started in bronze league when the game came out, i was TERRIBLE. But i worked my way up, and up, and now im a masters terran, it just takes time bra. In fact, starting in the lower leagues helped me out a lot. You cant learn anything from beating some scrubs in placement matches, and getting placed into diamond or something. I really feel like going from bronze, to w/e, will make you a much much better player. So be thankful your in a lower league, and practice practice practice! it will get you to where you want to go! GL
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I find that the biggest difference playing real people for the 1st time vs AI is that scouting is really a lot more important. Assuming that you can macro at a reasonable level, scouting and then making a good counter army works out pretty good for me most of the time. Also try and chill out so you can think more clearly.
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Nice blog and website! I'll be watching you!
gl hf gg
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EPT
