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![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/OWS8iYV.jpg)
"SC2 ladder offers an experience and rush unmatched by any other competitive multiplayer experience."
Blizzard Entertainment released their beta for Legacy of the Void! Besides sparking reinvigorated interest from many former community members and players, LotV has also begun generating interest from completely new players.
It is important to note at this point that by "new players," we mean players who up to now have had literally zero experience with either SC2 Wings of Liberty or SC2 Heart of the Swarm, the two previous iterations in the SC2 trilogy. Of these new players there are three categories: Campaign, Arcade, and Competitive.
In the first group, which we will be calling the Campaign group, we have the players that will simply play the campaign and never touch the game again. This group constitutes the vast majority of players who will purchase LotV.
In the second, the Arcade group, there are the players who will play the campaign, but are tentatively interested in pursuing multiplayer with friends afterwards. Most of these players are primarily interested in the new Archon mode (two players controlling a single army, think of a tandem bike), the Arcade, and team games such as 2v2 or 3v3.
In the third and final group, the competitors, we have players who are primarily interested in jumping into competitive 1v1 multiplayer immediately. These players are attracted to the highly-competitive nature of SC2 1v1, and are almost certainly veterans of other competitive multiplayer games such as Counter Strike Global Offensive, Brood War, DotA 2, and League of Legends to name a few.
If you are in the Campaign group, we wholeheartedly recommend you purchase the game. Blizzard Entertainment, whatever else its faults, has produced a very fun to play and complete campaign in both of their previous entries in the SC2 series. You will not regret the purchase: the high production value campaign will almost certainly have a decent amount of replay-ability because of its diverging tech trees, achievements, and moral choices. It is also guaranteed to be essentially bug and glitch free. You can always try Archon Mode (basically multiplayer co-op), the Arcade, and team games at your leisure.
If you are in the Arcade group, we would also recommend that you purchase the game. Not only will you enjoy the phenomenal campaign, but you have an expanded roster of multiplayer options to share with your friends: the new Archon Mode, team games, and user-made Arcade games. Arcade games are similar to "Use Map Settings" games from the old Battlenet days of Warcraft 3 and Starcraft Brood War. Ranging from tower defense, tug-of-war, horror, or even zombie survival or FPS games. SC2's arcade is guaranteed to entertain you and your friends for some time.
To the third and final group, the competitors, it is important to have realistic expectations of what you're getting yourself into.
SC2 1v1 (colloquially referred to as "ladder") is not a game you can play to relax after work or school; it is not something you can do at full capacity when you are tired. It is not a game to play when you are frustrated and need to let off some steam. It is not a game you can play sporadically and expect to achieve even average results.
Playing a game of competitive 1v1 SC2 requires full concentration and absolute mental clarity, and as such should almost be treated more like a workout than a normal video game. Some people describe it as having the mind of a chess player combined with the dexterity of a concert pianist and the mental toughness of a boxer. Long term consistent practice is necessary to advance in the ranks of competitive matchmaking, and it's important to ensure you fulfill several conditions before making the choice to begin playing competitive 1v1 SC2 . Not fulfilling these conditions may give you unrealistic expectations, unneeded frustration, and lots of wasted time.
The three things you must ask yourself before committing to the game are as follows:
1) Do you have the dedication to put in hours of your time to improve and enjoy this game?
With a game like League of Legends, you can easily scrounge together a few friends and relax after work or school. With a game like SC2, you will probably need to spend time alone, studying VoDs and professional replays. You will also need to practice build orders repeatedly -- a very repetitive yet crucial exercise. And finally, every game will require every inch of your concentration and mental strength, meaning that there will be some days you simply cannot play SC2 effectively. Even being off by a few seconds can cost you a game.
2) Do you like to learn and improve in tangible ways?
Most things in life revolve around intangible improvement, as in it's very hard for you to track progress clearly and celebrate your achievements. SC2 has no such issue; because you are the sole controlling variable of each of your games (there are no teammates to rely on or blame), it's very easy to see yourself tangibly improve at SC2 with the replay system, your league ranking, and your own level of comfort within each matchup. Intensively practicing for several months, then watching one of your old replays and comparing it to the new, is a very satisfying experience to many people. Some people may not find tangible improvement appealing, and that's fine; it just means that ladder is probably not for you.
3) You are willing to accept 100% responsibility for both your wins and your losses.
There may be no teammates to let you down, but there definitely won't be anyone to carry you either. When you win, it's all you. Reciprocating this concept, when you lose, it's all you. Losing is intensely personal in SC2, and many people can't handle the idea that they're 100% to blame for their losses. As such they get disheartened or quit after a particularly nasty loss streak. However, there are positive spins to this. Your losses are personalized cheat sheets for what you can improve. Especially with guidance from a more experienced player, issues are quite simple to spot and work on.
SC2 1v1 is at times very difficult, very unforgiving, and very lonely.
To date, it is still the only game where the majority of the viewers do not play the game. For those who do play however, there is a mutual understanding that SC2 ladder offers an experience and rush unmatched by any other competitive multiplayer experience.
To quickly sum up the important points of above:
Only want the campaign? 100% buy all three iterations in the SC2 trilogy: Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void. Blizzard always makes excellent campaigns and it will be money well spent.
Only want the campaign and casual multiplayer that you can relax with? Have your friends download the free starter version available here: [link]. When LotV releases, if your friends still have interest in SC2, purchase it and enjoy the new Archon mode. If you enjoy the LotV campaign enough, consider also purchasing the previous entries of the SC2 trilogy, but keep in mind that purchasing the previous games will only unlock new campaigns for you.
And finally, if you're only really interested in the competitive multiplayer 1v1 aspect of the game, consider downloading the free starter version of Heart of the Swarm and playing a few games before making the decision; most people can very quickly decide whether or not it's something they want to commit months or years of their lives to. If you still maintain interest when LotV releases, purchase only LotV as it is a standalone expansion that includes full multiplayer functionality.
Thanks for reading, and gl hf ♥ !
Written by Stark and Shalashaka
Produced by the All-In Academy
  
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the title is quite misleading, starcraft 2 is not about laddering for most people
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On April 27 2015 23:18 bypLy wrote:
the title is quite misleading, starcraft 2 is not about laddering for most people
He addressed that in his post. Did you read anything after the title?
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Tang I don't think that its true about the "tangible improvement's " , first of all you cannot touch your level of improvement, second of all laddering is not the only way a player can improve. I guess this is cool to try and re hype SC2, but it needs to be approached at a level that isn't just about ladder.
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You should probably say things that are unique to SC2. Everyone knows what SC2 is, or can find out from reading the description on the product. Most of what you've written here is non-information. Like you are trying to describe what a 1v1 competitive game is. Okay you mention the phenomenal campaign, but make no effort to explain specifically why it's good (especially in the context of other games). Same with arcade. That's all on the back of the box.
The article just kind of comes off as a shill.
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you have to have a very specific mindset to find enjoyment in sc2. as you have to put so much effort into every game, every loss feels very discouraging, even if you try to approach the game by focusing on improving your overall skills.
the most important aspect of improving in sc2 is finding a way to analyze own mistakes without being / getting mad at things you can't influence.
I've got a friend who loves playing rts games but can't get beyond his ladder anxiety. He likes thinking of new strategies, but he lacks the motivation to practice in a dedicated way. he's also getting frustrated kind of quickly, even if we're playing custom games together. To get good in sc2, you need to WANT to improve, which comes with tons of fun but also with tons of terrible moments.
Of course, there are tons of other ways to enjoy the game, like the campaign or arcade maps. But the core experience of sc2 will always be the ruthless, frustrating, yet amazing brain wrestling that is 1v1. Imho, there's no cookie cutter approach to that. You either are interested in competitive games or you're not.
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On April 28 2015 01:23 GGzerG wrote:
Tang I don't think that its true about the "tangible improvement's " , first of all you cannot touch your level of improvement, second of all laddering is not the only way a player can improve. I guess this is cool to try and re hype SC2, but it needs to be approached at a level that isn't just about ladder.
I see what you mean about tangible improvements, ladder level definitely isn't the only sole indication of skill.
Can you give offer some more tips on how to approach this article / how to achieve the goals of both re-hyping SC2 and informing new players of their options and what they're in for if they want to approach playing competitively?
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On April 28 2015 01:24 Chef wrote:
You should probably say things that are unique to SC2. Everyone knows what SC2 is, or can find out from reading the description on the product. Most of what you've written here is non-information. Like you are trying to describe what a 1v1 competitive game is. Okay you mention the phenomenal campaign, but make no effort to explain specifically why it's good (especially in the context of other games). Same with arcade. That's all on the back of the box.
The article just kind of comes off as a shill.
Well I don't mind if the article comes off as a bit self-promotiony, because part of the motivation to write such an article is to get our name out there.
But we want the article to have enough content to stand alone, and be of value to readers. Can you suggest some more specific ways to improve the content?
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On April 27 2015 23:18 bypLy wrote:
the title is quite misleading, starcraft 2 is not about laddering for most people
What do you think SC2 is about for most people?
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Based on your article, as a new player, I think I would not be very encouraged to play 1v1 ever. The text would make me think it is an absolute pain to play ladder. Which in my opinion is just not the case. Of course it can be really frustrating for newer players to get destroyed on ladder the first couple of games. But for me personally the really discouraging losses come after you have played a decent amount of games. Because newer players can't differeniate between an ordinary push that kills them or an all-in. It´s just something they did not understand and could not stop. Discouragement comes further down the road, when you really get mad at the third time getting owned by proxy dark templars.
But eventually these newer players will get matched with players of similiar skill and that´s where the real journey begins. I think nobody who actually got good at the game, started with the mindset "I´ll be the very best, I´ll watch every proleague protoss replay since 2014 and become the new bonjwa." The vast majority was more like "Well, this starcraft 2 thing looks kinda fun, let´s give it a shot."
My point is, I think I would never have touched the competitive side of SC2 if I had read this article beforehand. People should just give it a try!
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As mentioned above, I feel the part about laddering may be realistic but discouraging. By phrasing it differently you might get the message across without scaring new players away. Sure, playing ladder takes some resolution. But so does any other competitive game. As long as you play against people with similar skill, it'll be fun. Hell, I love basketball, but I will never be an above-average basketball player. Doesn't bother me at all  Same goes for SC2. I've been Gold forever, doesn't bother me at all! I still play/view SC2 almost every day.
I think SC2 rewards every bit of effort you put into it. That's an awesome feat
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On April 27 2015 22:23 TangSC wrote:
SC2 1v1 (colloquially referred to as "ladder") is not a game you can play to relax after work or school; it is not something you can do at full capacity when you are tired. It is not a game to play when you are frustrated and need to let off some steam. It is not a game you can play sporadically and expect to achieve even average results.
Maybe you can't but that doesn't mean that is is an universal truth. I used to play 1v1 to relax after work/whatever all the time. Now I play mostly 2v2, becuase I find it more attractive and interesting (especially now since for about a year the maps are good enough to play mostly macro with 3 downwotes) and also my wife wants me to play it with her But I just don't get this idea that 1v1 is some strange self-humiliation that you can't do just for fun. Sure, I am not getting "even average results" (I am gold in 1v1, sometimes plat in 2v2 with 4500 games played total) but I do not fucking care as well as I enjoy the play. Thanks to the matchmaking, I am going to win and lose roughly half to half games no matter what my rakning is (apart from being the best of the best), so the icon and number has absolutely zero effect on the joy I get from the game.
I understand that at least on TL there are many people who think like you and consider ladder "stressful" and whatnot, but I don't think that perpetuating this viewpoint does any good to anyone or anything, because I think many people have this opinion just because they have heard it often enough. Sure, young kids are a different story, but I believe that a large fraction of people here are adults. How a grown adult can by terrified or stressed because of a fictional ranking that has absolutely no impact on his life is very far beyond my understanding (that's also why I think that "unranked" and the mere fact that people asked for it is enormously dumb).
Anyway, from all the options that SC2 offers, playing ladder is the absolutely most "relaxing" thing I can think off. I just hit one single button and the matchmaker is going to find me as even match as it can. I go into a game knowing exactly what's gonna happen, the rules are known and always the same. That's incomparably more relaxing to me than playing some custom game against people of unknown skill or even some arcade where I would have to learn some new arcane rules etc...
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On April 28 2015 04:44 TangSC wrote:Show nested quote +On April 27 2015 23:18 bypLy wrote:
the title is quite misleading, starcraft 2 is not about laddering for most people What do you think SC2 is about for most people?
sc is about just playing and having fun.
this sounds so negative: "Do you have the dedication to put in hours of your time to improve"
and its not true unless you are a progamer and earn money. Just play and have fun
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On April 29 2015 15:49 bypLy wrote:Show nested quote +On April 28 2015 04:44 TangSC wrote:On April 27 2015 23:18 bypLy wrote:
the title is quite misleading, starcraft 2 is not about laddering for most people What do you think SC2 is about for most people? sc is about just playing and having fun. this sounds so negative: "Do you have the dedication to put in hours of your time to improve" and its not true unless you are a progamer and earn money. Just play and have fun
Having fun in Starcraft is always connected to the process of improving, no matter how relaxed you approach the game. Let's say, you're a new player and all you want to do is playing some ladder games from time to time. In the beginning you'll lose a lot, at least until your mmr is low enough to face similarly skilled players. There are lots of players in the lower leagues who have thousands of games on their record without ever really surpassing certain thresholds. (mostly on the mechanical side, but there are also players who refuse to think about their strategic approach.)
When I was playing some WoL for fun this winter, I ran into a lot of opponents who had played more than 3000 games and opened up with stuff like 2gate zealot into a 4gate allin (zvp) or 2 defensive spines without ever scouting my base (zvz). Stuff like this goes beyond my comprehension. Some of them even were flaming hard after they lost. (some even flamed me while the game still was going on.) These people are playing the game A LOT, without really thinking about what they're doing. Are they having fun? I guess so, but I have my doubts. These players think their approach is correct and blame the opponent or the game itself for the lack of progress in their ranking.
Imho, it's very important to teach new players that SC2 is a volatile game that needs you to put lots of thinking into it. You also need to be self-aware and able to analyze your own play based on reason. In SC2, you need both knowledge and mechanics to improve your play. If you're fine with 1basing battle cruisers, then there's nothing wrong about that. But in my experience, most players who are doing that are not happy with their progress in the long run.
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EPT
