EPTAs my prior experience with RTS' was limited (Age of Empires and Age of Mythology), I was battered, bruised, cheesed, bent over (crude but a perfect description) and torn apart by people i've never met or seen, while i learned how to play this game. Any other game, I would have backed off and let die, but I knew there was something special about this game. So obviously, I google some hints and tips to help me figure this game out. And then I see it. Maybe the 5th or 6th google post.
The Day[9] Daily.
Here I found a man in his bedroom (usually with visible pit stains) breaking down gameplay from what I thought were just good players. From here, I learned how to use hotkeys, and micro/macro, decision making tactics and knowledge of all three races (My own being protoss). Because of this sweaty man, I found myself winning games, climbing the ladder, thanks to my 3000 bonus pool. I followed day9 and it took weeks before I learned of this thing called "E-sports". :/
My oh my, did my social life take a beat down. The first ever event I watched was MLG DC, the first game I see being the infamous Select vs HuK. When I heard that crowd scream as he "produced"the mothership. His one decision made the crowd erupt. And you know what? My heart was even racing when i saw it. An image in a game put me on edge, and I wasn't even playing! I knew I had stumbled upon something spectacular.
Thanks to the never-ending plugs for the site by the casters, I then found teamliquid.net. Though silents until recent times, did that site EVER change the way I think about people, not just gamers, but regular people. Never before had I seen such a tight-knit community that shared everything, be it starcraft related or not. I was intimidated to even post. I felt like I was that adopted kid that should keep quiet while the real siblings talked. But see the warm words that have been shared and the encourage that just glows from this site, from small stories about how a player got from bronze to silver and people congratulating him, to sad stories about the passing of a poster, and the pages and pages of eulogy posts for him. This site has and will continue to be one of my home pages, because of the influence it has had, along with you posters, on me. This beautiful community, well, it honestly warms my heart to see such a tight knit group of people, sharing something they love.
As I used this site and the daily, along with watching the esports events, I found myself in top 8 bronze by the end of season 1. This was a big deal for me. I was demolishing bronze players without even trying. I felt like, "OK, I still suck but this is a start. I want to get better". And at the time, the ultimate goal was Diamond! Diamond seemed like the elite. There was no master league or GM, just diamond and what a tease it was. I know its about the players now, but diamond, every guy and girl who started playing SC2 saw diamond and said,"I want that
". But that was a long way off.So at the start of season 2, I get placed in silver, where I climb to top 8. I struggle as I play harder opponents. I then reach my finals in secondary school, so i gotta quit the game. But when I want to chill out from studying, I climb online and read the posts on TL, thoerycrafting for my return to the game and of course, The Day[9] Daily
So the exams end around the end of June. I learn of the upcoming start of season 3 so decide I need to play a good bit. Being rusty, I go from being, around 40th to 60th silver >_> Frustrated, I work my mechanics and strats and push at it. By the end of season 2 I'm top 8 again, only silver. Delighted beyond anything, I do my placement and get placed gold! Wow, from bronze to gold in about 6 months, I gotta say I'm proud. Not about my skill, but the fact that I drove myself to improve, not caring about the losses or wins, but only the knowledge I gained.
So season 3 goes on and on, I play and play and decide I want to see some new things. As I'm about to start computer science in college in Dublin, I realize I should try something new. SO, I go out and buy a US account. A whole new ladder experience.
With that there, I decide to hold off placements until I feel like I can get placed somewhere I can get a challenge. SO season 4 roles around and I finish 3 around top 25 Gold. A couple of weeks in now, I'm moving between 17th->6th place in my league, playing harder opponents and losing to mainly top 8 platinum fellows. However, pushing on, I figure out faults in my play, like not using location hotkeys, and just using maybe 3 control groups and that I need to focus my mechanics. I learned how many gates I could support per base, taking into account robo and star tech. I knew the difference scouting on 9 to scouting to 13 makes to your economy. I learned how best to counter units and builds and I rarely fell to cheese anymore. I knew my timings and my opponents. I could predict my opponent and hide my moves from them.
With this, I started taking down high plat players and even a couple of diamonds, but losing my fairshare. Still in gold, but i didn't even care because my opponents were of a higher caliber.
So with this, I decide to ladder on the US. I log in to do my placements.
I did them last night. First 2 games are against players who were also getting placed. I 4 gate and wreck them.
Next is a silver, top 25, protoss. I decide to cannon rush because he didn't respond to my "glgl". Call me petty, but I found that rude. (You can imagine the response to the cannons
)Next I get a platinum terran on taldarim. It is then I realize I didnt veto my maps as taldarim PvT and PvP are not my best. So i decide to forge fast expo, planning on using my 2 base blink stalker chargelot timing with obs and +1/+1. It's my pride build, using it again T and Z, having it down to the chronoboost. So just before 11 minutes, I have 14 stalkers and 6 chargelots. I blink up to T's natural and spot what I feared....lots of marauders o.0 As I draw the marauders, blink microing, I send in my zealots with charge. 3 to marauders and 3 to mining bases, 1 to nat and 2 to main. I lose almost all my stalkers and think im done. Then I notice I have vision of bases. My +1/+1 zealots with charge, refuse to die to marauder fire and have killed practically ALL of his probes, leaving about 12 for the 2 bases. I realize I am MILES ahead. I chrono out immortals and push with reinforce chargelots whilst expanding. I wreck him and GG.
For my final match,I learn it was a top 8 platinum after the game. PvP on the new metalopolis. I love the no close spawn positions and have a good 2 base robo stargate push for close by air positions. I see we're close by air and move into scout when something clicks. Nothing to do with him, he's going standard, But I see, the smoke on the metal bases. I remember the times in bronze, hiding a pylon in there. But I know that it would be scouted. Then I think back to a little tip I had forgotten since metal had been removed. A little help from Day9. There was a spot in the smoke that you could hide a probe.
I decide then and there. FUCK IT, I'M GONNA 4 GATE!
So yeah, what the hell. It had been a fun night. I was tired so I'm gonna 4 gate him. I haven't done one since I veto'd taldarim for PvP (a long time ago o.0) I kill his scout, faking a 3 FE and drop the 4th. I look at my probe and my heart stops. I see his probe in the smoke. I pray he doesnt move towards the edge, and he doesn't. He drops a robo JUST outside the smoke. As soon as I'm clear I drop the pylon and push at the 6.25 minute mark with stalkers and sentries. As soon as I'm there, he is FFing the ramp and trying to get shots in with a immortal. I drop 4 zealots in the proxy and kill the robo before he can save it. I climb the ramp. Send the last zealot to the probes and kill the rest of his defense. He says"gg" No bitter remark, just a gg.
Happy and tired, I hit S and wait for my acceptance into platinum, my goal. But then it popped up, and the bronze player that we all have inside of us lit up. I had been placed in diamond. With a smile on my face, I remember how big diamond was to me in December. I won't lie, I looked back on my progress from bronze to diamond and was just so proud that I kept it up. It all came down to you guys on TL, the pro's and my stealing of their builds
and most of all, Day[J]!!!!I know diamond isn't huge. But at 18 years old, I'm gonna gun for masters and do my best. I'm gonna do some online tournies because that moment of pride has shown me how much this game actually means to me. I know it means a lot to a lot of people on this site and you know the feeling I have. By the end of the season, my goal is to be playing at a masters standard. I will continue to push as I always have because I realize I am always learning this game, as we all are.
So, as I sit here, 9 months from when I bought this game, listening to Day[9] start his daily, in his thug cap, at 2am Irish time, I want to say, I love this community, I love the feeling I get from playing, failing and succeeding at this game and I love the new attitude this game has given me. I used to be a bit pf a pessimist. But this game has taught me that things will get better over time when supported by people around you. Perhaps I'm getting to soppy but this game is a big part of my life now.
I'm now living with my best friends of 6 years. Just the other day, I sat and watched blizzcon 2011 with one of my roommates and she fell in love with select :L From there, she has learned how much I love this game. She told me that I should keep at it if I really love it. The fact that I can share my SC2 moments with someone I know and love, is amazing to me. I used to be ashamed of being a nerd, but this game and this community has made me proud to sit at my computer and play/watch this game.
So thank you for reading. I hope that there are those of you who have had amazing experiences with this game and I hope you post a blog about them, because I think that stories like these are amazing to read on this site. I hope you guys and gals are all well and enjoying your lives with starcraft 2/BW
peace out and GLHF
Much Love
BashfulBen (Just Ben
)
