EPTI haven't written for a couple months -- I've had a valentines blog that I've had shelved for a little bit and I'm waiting patiently to bust it out. However, as of late, something has come to my attention: I've been a terrible Zerg. I don't just mean that as a player (plat league thank you very much) but as a human being representing the Zerg race in general. And the reason for it: I have had a deep-seated hatred for Terran. I'll explain . . .
Fledgling
I've loved Zerg from the beginning. I didn't play too much BW when it was at it's peak (I was young), but whenever I would get on with my friends, playing the NR 15's, I was at the whim of the Overmind. So it was no surprise, when the SC2 Beta came out, where my allegiances leaned. I was there to see the forefathers of Zerg rise quickly to dominance -- Fruitdealer claiming the first ever GSL championship and Nestea's first ever triple crowning. I watched, first hand, while IdrA took down Mvp on the Korean ladder when Mvp was first considered the absolute best. But I've also seen the worst of Zerg. I've felt the frustration of my base being left open to scouting while I'm left in the dark. I've been bunker rushed, proxy raxxed, tank pushed. Bio-balled, manner-muled, but the most embarrassing . . . drowned by nothing but marines. Anything you've seen in the Zerg help-me-thread, I have had tested on me. But, despite all of that, I did my best to become better -- to rise above the ease of cheese -- and I've found moderate success. It's not perfect. Far from perfect, but I'm progressing. What will eat away at me, however, is the seeming inequality in reward to effort. I work hard to defend my base from any kind of early pressure, to macro a decent army, and go to battle with a decent position. But it seems like it all comes crashing down with any wisp of a mistake . . . . "My lings attacked a little too soon" . . . "My mutas weren't boxed" . . . "My infestors were decimated by tanks before I could get my fungals off" . . . . So I lose too many units and that's game. Terran throws away his army and still wins. Where is the justice I ask?! Terrans have it so easy . . .
. . . at least . . . that's what I thought.
Enlightenment
Fast-forward a month or so to present day. I don't play as much as I did in the first year of the game. Mostly because of school and the ever increasing responsibilities of an adult, but partly because of rage. I'm competitive by nature, but when I feel like I'm not performing at a level that I'm capable of then I can get extremely frustrated, so I need to limit myself. As part of my attempt to limit myself, I have reevaluated the game as not something to conquer, but something to enjoy. Games are meant to be fun! A truly groundbreaking idea. And it was at this point in time where I met a very wise man. Some call him Sean, many call him Day, but to me he is . . . Sage[9]. This is a man who has just a ton of experience with life and gaming combined and the knowledge that he drops in his Dailies is truly enlightened. But for anyone looking to reshape their game so that it is more fun, Sage[9] offers his Funday Mondays. For me, this is what I find undeniably inspirational. It takes any performance anxiety you may have and let's you just experience parts of the game that you may have never let yourself experience. But it's one Funday Monday, in fact the current one, that has really opened my eyes.
For those of you who don't know: the current Funday Monday is one where you have to lift off your Command Centre, place it somewhere else, and start from there. This means, though, that you have to play Terran. But I'm up for it. Terrans have it easy, after all. What I find as I play game after game (on ladder by the way) is that it wasn't as easy as I thought. Sure you fall slightly behind from lifting off, but if forces you to find ways to catch up. That's not the problem I have. No, the problem I have is that I actually suck at Terran and find is rather difficult.
Mules are great. Stimmed marines are great. Lifting off buildings is great. But macroing is completely different from Zerg. You have to manage you buildings -- make sure they are producing. The more bases you take, the more buildings you need; thus, the more buildings you have to manage. Then there's the micro. When you're in a battle, like the other races, you have to watch your army, but I find with Terran that your stockpile of resources will skyrocket (especially with mules) if your attention drifts from it for too long. Probably the biggest difficulty I find playing Terran, though, is the feeling that people really want you dead. It may have just been me, but I've never faced more all-ins than I have with Terran. Your opponents are willing to go to hell and back if it means that they get to kill you.
Final
It's really, really easy to hate Terran. I mean, when you fend off some guy's proxy barracks and proceed to wipe him out just to see him lift his buildings you just want to punch your fist through the internet into his face. But what I've learned is that it's really easy to let your hate lead to gross misconceptions. Terran is just a race, like Zerg, and Protoss -- it takes practice, skill, and knowledge to use in its own way. As Zergs (or possibly Protoss) we complain about this thing and that, but don't dwell on that. Instead remember that Terrans have their own problems to deal with as well -- it's just part of the game.
Dear Terran,
I get it. I'm sorry.
Sincerely,
RBKeys
