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So after a long break from starcraft (okay, maybe not a long break, but I was merely playing like 1 game a day just for fun or to relieve boredom), I'm giving myself one last chance to get into Masters while I still have the time - I will be starting university in 2 months time. I will analyse every game that I play and focus on the quality rather than quantity of games played.
A little background info about me - I've played about 2.5k+ SC2 games since december 2010 but I'm stuck in diamond - pretty unimpressive by anyone's standards. I've previously ranted about how I suck so bad in SC2. I used to be zerg but switched to terran midway in Season 3.
Here are the replays of 5 most recent games that I could find, regardless of how well I played and whether I won or lost. (My ID is YtwoJ)
http://drop.sc/129738
http://drop.sc/129737
http://drop.sc/129736
http://drop.sc/129735
http://drop.sc/129734
So here goes nothing 
If I don't get to masters by the end of May I will probably quit SC2 permanently and add it to the long list of stuff that I have tried my hand at but failed miserably
Any comments on my games/skills/strengths/weaknesses are welcome, thanks 
 
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Italy12247 Posts
Dude you shouldn't give up like that.
First off, Master's is just a name. People in Master realize they have a long way to improve and a lot of flaws in their own play, just like anyone else. Getting into it doesn't mean you are some starcraft god, just that your flaws aren't as glaring and obvious as they might be in other leagues.
Second, starcraft can be played in different ways. If you are tired of the super competitive aspect of it, you can do fun stuff like batshit insane builds and things that don't make sense, offracing, cheesing every game to see how high you will get on ladder...my personal favourite when i don't want to focus on games, is to try builds from bw. Seriously, 2stargate phoenix escorting a speed warp prism in pvz is freakin hilarious.
Also if you are on EU, add me (teoita.255). More practice partners are always welcome
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take up fencing when you get to uni 
i accidentally went 6 months without playing sc2 after i took up fencing and got really into it.
on a serious note though, GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN! you can do it if you try, although i know how you feel, i used to be diamond pushing for masters (was matched against masters players from time to time) but now i'm at the top of my division in plat and it won't even let me play against diamond players 
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SC2 is all about self improvement... Gheed said it best when he summarized this game is frustration mixed with self doubt. This is what makes it beautiful, IMO. It'd be a crime against yourself if you didn't stick with it and make your goal!
I don't know if you just expect to be Master material by default, but it doesn't work that way. For all the bad rap about how easy this game is, there is still considerable amount of knowledge that one would never glean from watching tournaments or taking generic advice from others. I have a friend who feels entitled to being Masters simply because he held the top positions on ladder in WC3, and almost refuses to learn.
edit: I should add that there seems to be a misconception of skill and how easy it is to get into Masters. Most of these guys that have been Masters since season 1 have some degree of preexisting experience in RTS games, and their brains conform to the system of SC2 much easier than those who are 'coming in from the cold.' Anybody who claims to get Masters in less than 250 games played with no previous RTS experience is full of shit, as far as I'm concerned.
Stay with it!
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On March 12 2012 01:38 Bobo_XIII wrote:
SC2 is all about self improvement... Gheed said it best when he summarized this game is frustration mixed with self doubt. This is what makes it beautiful, IMO. It'd be a crime against yourself if you didn't stick with it and make your goal!
I don't know if you just expect to be Master material by default, but it doesn't work that way. For all the bad rap about how easy this game is, there is still considerable amount of knowledge that one would never glean from watching tournaments or taking generic advice from others. I have a friend who feels entitled to being Masters simply because he held the top positions on ladder in WC3, and almost refuses to learn.
edit: I should add that there seems to be a misconception of skill and how easy it is to get into Masters. Most of these guys that have been Masters since season 1 have some degree of preexisting experience in RTS games, and their brains conform to the system of SC2 much easier than those who are 'coming in from the cold.' Anybody who claims to get Masters in less than 250 games played with no previous RTS experience is full of shit, as far as I'm concerned.
Stay with it!
I did it within 250 games played without previous RTS experience, but I had a friend who taught me how to practice deliberately. From Master to High Master? 1000+ games. Anyway, you should really improve your macro. To improve something in this game it means you should focus hard on the thing you want to improve, until it becomes second nature and you don't have to think about it anymore and your brain can do other tasks, that's all I can tell you. I could look at your replays and be like, at min 12.01 you missed a macro cycle! But that won't help shit.
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Game 5: Your mistakes should be fairly clear here. You needed marauders and a bunker way earlier. You should assume the worst from the get-go(roaches). Marauders are also nice because they can soak ling damage while hellions get free shots. Marauders are also helpful if you rush them, as they can take down a lone spine fairly quickly. Otherwise, you played fine.
Game 4: Your drop was decent, but you lost all your marines when you could have saved them. You then did a pretty good attack and hurt his expansion. The problem was that you let your minerals hit 1500. You really want to keep your minerals below 500, and as close to 0 as possible(the lower the better). Don't overstim your marines when you just have 1 medivac to heal. You won this game though, so gj.
Game 3: You played fairly well. Once again though, during battles you let your minerals creep up to around 1500. Also, your base layout wasn't very good so you made barracks towards the middle of the map. It's not the end of the world, but a better base layout could save you some time without forcing you to take the risk of putting your production out in the open. Around the 19:00 minute mark you attacked with a small force that included ghosts. You didn't use all the EMP's at your disposal, which would have changed that battle quite a bit(you wanna drop all your EMP's instantly if shields are still there). You won this game as well, so GJ.
Game 2 and 1: I didn't watch the TvT's
Final conclusions:
You are pretty solid. Your biggest mistake by far is your poor macro during battles. Focusing on this will probably propel you into Masters. I also prefer getting 2 ebays at the same time I drop a factory(assuming I went for a quick CC). Upgrades are great, as I'm sure you know.
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Alright, I took a look at two of the games (I play Zerg, so I can only really offer any sort of criticism on those) instead of just idly dispensing advice. Here are the notes I took:
First game on Antiga (the roach bust, http://drop.sc/129734): Biggest criticism is you need to actively scout more. Midgame all-ins revolving around roaches is the flavor of the month. You should be scouting earlier and more actively to at least see the path he takes in tech (not necessarily the roach warren... the drone count and geysers taken indicate what he has in mind). If you knew what was coming, you'd have stopped it easily IMO
Second game on Antiga (http://drop.sc/129735): GJ with the timing, but felt you got a bit lucky. If the zerg realized how tech-heavy you were going that early, he could have capitalized with a surge of units and smashed you. That's really no major knock on your play, though... taking risks and making them count is a big part of Starcraft. It paid off in this case, as you really fucked his stuff up.
The follow up with the marine/tank push immediately after was nice too. The zerg was already almost down for the count and you smashed him right on his figurative chin.
Overall your playstyle was pretty good. Your SCV count was a bit low, but that was ok for the marine/tank MVPsC style you put up against him. If you worked on your micro and positioning a bit, you'd be playing at masters level (on NA) without question.
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The road to masters is that much more agonizing when it's the only thing you focus on. Don't measure your progress by league. Measure it by how you felt you played in each win. Theres always something to be improving and you'll never have fun otherwise.
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On March 12 2012 04:12 Recognizable wrote:Show nested quote +On March 12 2012 01:38 Bobo_XIII wrote:
SC2 is all about self improvement... Gheed said it best when he summarized this game is frustration mixed with self doubt. This is what makes it beautiful, IMO. It'd be a crime against yourself if you didn't stick with it and make your goal!
I don't know if you just expect to be Master material by default, but it doesn't work that way. For all the bad rap about how easy this game is, there is still considerable amount of knowledge that one would never glean from watching tournaments or taking generic advice from others. I have a friend who feels entitled to being Masters simply because he held the top positions on ladder in WC3, and almost refuses to learn.
edit: I should add that there seems to be a misconception of skill and how easy it is to get into Masters. Most of these guys that have been Masters since season 1 have some degree of preexisting experience in RTS games, and their brains conform to the system of SC2 much easier than those who are 'coming in from the cold.' Anybody who claims to get Masters in less than 250 games played with no previous RTS experience is full of shit, as far as I'm concerned.
Stay with it! I did it within 250 games played without previous RTS experience, but I had a friend who taught me how to practice deliberately. From Master to High Master? 1000+ games. Anyway, you should really improve your macro. To improve something in this game it means you should focus hard on the thing you want to improve, until it becomes second nature and you don't have to think about it anymore and your brain can do other tasks, that's all I can tell you. I could look at your replays and be like, at min 12.01 you missed a macro cycle! But that won't help shit.
Not exactly 250, but 400 without any previous RTS experience and noone but 1 hour of coaching and i was masters. It has not THAT much to do with the amount of games you play, but WAY more with the amount you learn per game. from Bronze to diamond was the fastest, i did that in the first season by sticking to 1 BO per matchup, and just learning EVERY in and out from that BO. Then i went on to two BO's per matchup, and it took me a little while to get into masters.
ATM getting matched against mostly 600+ points players and still going strong in improving ( altho not as "fast" as before, simply because it's a different learning curve)
Don't make your goal to hit masters, make your goal to learn 1 thing for every game that you play, so watch every replay from every ladder game that you play, and identify 1 thing that you think is most important to work on. Once you have at least 50 games with 1 thing noted down, pick from the 50 games the thing that you wrote down the most and work on it for a full day, it might be boring, but that's what you have to do to improve alot.
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On March 12 2012 00:07 Clazziquai10 wrote:
but I'm stuck in diamond - pretty unimpressive by anyone's standards.
I don't know, it's pretty impressive by the standards of me and every real-life friend I have who plays SC2! Don't get down on yourself because you're not in the top few percent.
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On March 12 2012 00:53 kerpal wrote:take up fencing when you get to uni i accidentally went 6 months without playing sc2 after i took up fencing and got really into it. on a serious note though, GOOD LUCK HAVE FUN! you can do it if you try, although i know how you feel, i used to be diamond pushing for masters (was matched against masters players from time to time) but now i'm at the top of my division in plat and it won't even let me play against diamond players
wut? =D
get masters! do it!
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EPT
