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After hours of studying VODs, reading posts like Ahzz's awesome zerg guide and analyzing my own replays, i finally achieved what initially seemed an impossible task: joining the millions that have achieved D+ before me.
Let me give a simple background. I played the game since 1998. Only single player however, because i do not have broadband at that time. Somewhere around 2004, i tried playing on bnet but that didn't last long because of my general suckiness and because korean like to kick me out of their game for no reason. It was not enjoyable. Still, out of interest, I keep a tab on the scene news and watch VOD from time to time, the most memorable one being Shinhan OSL 3 grand finals where Savior wins with so much style despite doing the same build every game.
Fast forward to June 2008. Got bored of DOTA and was lurking around TL.net when i found out about ICCUP. Can't really remember the reason why, but i decided to give BW a try again. The first few games, as you may have guessed, involved me being trashed for reason unbeknown to me. My first win, IIRC, comes when a protoss tried proxy gate against me. However he lost the micro war without doing any damage. I proceed to sack his gates and he promptly GG'ed. I can clearly remember the feeling during the last few minutes of the game, when i know i was winning and getting so excited about it that my hands trembled. I struggled to click because my mouse becomes so inaccurate. My heart's beating so fast i thought it was gonna prop out. I learnt that day of the thrill of winning and decided to keep playing BW.
I set a goal to reach D+ before SC2 comes out. I figure that since I had put in so much time in the game, I should aim to achieve something, or anything, before the community switch to SC2. Being in military service, i could only touch the game during weekends. Sadly, often had little to do during weekends, thus I use much of the time to play BW as it was something i really enjoy. Despite that, the opportunities for me to practice and improved are severely limited and the fesibility of my goal is always in doubt. I figure most of my opponents are like 15 yrs old Korean nerds with so much time of their hand. How can I compete? My experience confirms this: 35% win rate after 80+ games. I realised I was going nowhere. Until I read this. Then, I started to pay more attention to my losses, understand why I lose and how I could do better.
Miraclously, my winrates slowly approach 50% in a few days. Not that I improved a lot, for my play is still very weak. But my decision making skills improved and I learnt to avoid certain decision that could possibly put me in a dire position. This, coupled with few games which the opponent really sucks, allow me to reach D+ today. Nothing spectular. ICCUP didn't even congulate me or anything for earning a new rank. And my play is still incredibly weak.
I didn't really felt much satisfaction as i would expect upon earning the rank. I still have not decided whether i want to climb up to C-. Heck, i might not even maintain my 2000+ rating. Perhaps its time to find something else to do.
So, whats my advice for aspiring but struggling D players?
1. Play against stronger opponent, for that exposes your weakness so that you can remedy it.
2. Dun care about APM. Ahzz plays with like 140 apm at B level.
Took a long time writing this. Hope you enjoy reading this as much as i do writing. Good Day.
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D players? at D level you dont really need mechanic, you can win with just strategy and superior tactic/build order.
although I guess pure mechanic wins too
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that just took me back 10 years when I was setting bnet ladder goals for myself to achieve a 1000 rating
(went down to 850, restarting is for losers)
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At D imo just focus on your mechanics, tahts all you need....if you ever want to become a good player it all starts at mechanics, dont waste time analyzing ALL your replays WHY I LOSE WHY I LOSE? The fact is that most people know how to play the game because they watch it over and over on VODs and what not, and know the basic BO's and know generally what you're supposed to do, but just dont have the mechanics to pull it off, so just work on that imo
Anyway congrats man =D
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I just hit D+ last night too
pretty disappointed it took me that long, but even though my tvz improved a lot, my tvp now went to horrible 
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I can't get out of D+ T___T (To C-) when I'm actually a C player.... WTF is wrong with me??? Iccup suddently just became some noob bashing pit.
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On November 06 2008 02:35 EsX_Raptor wrote:
I can't get out of D+ T___T (To C-) when I'm actually a C player.... WTF is wrong with me??? Iccup suddently just became some noob bashing pit.
Uh.. maybe you're not a C player then?
Unless iCCup has reset recently then there should be no problem getting out of D ranks at this point in the season. If you are truly a C player it's like a walk in the park.
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I just hit D+ too! Lets all have a D+ lovefest! 
Seriously though, my realization also came that success on the D level is ALL ABOUT MECHANICS. If you have all your workers mining, enough production facilities always going, and proper detection, you will win 90% of your games.
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I actually play at 1 am as it is the only time I get to do so >.> so I guess it's because I go up against the awaken koreans...
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On November 06 2008 02:35 EsX_Raptor wrote:
I can't get out of D+ T___T (To C-) when I'm actually a C player.... WTF is wrong with me??? Iccup suddently just became some noob bashing pit.
It gets harder for every rank
D to D+ is nothing compared to D+ to C-... or B to B+ etc.... huga
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Yeah the difference between ranks is enormous. I've hit C+ at one point but I can't even contemplate hitting B-
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On an unrelated note, is opening DT in PvT "cheese"?
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On November 06 2008 02:38 Straylight wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 02:35 EsX_Raptor wrote:
I can't get out of D+ T___T (To C-) when I'm actually a C player.... WTF is wrong with me??? Iccup suddently just became some noob bashing pit. Uh.. maybe you're not a C player then? Unless iCCup has reset recently then there should be no problem getting out of D ranks at this point in the season. If you are truly a C player it's like a walk in the park.
nah plenty of C people from last season have issues hitting it now (like they're stuck at C- whereas last season C was ezwalk).
Although sounds like it's time for you to train korean style! Doing one BO over and over is damn nice, helping my PvZ out so much O.O (especially if you play only infrequently like I do.)
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United States17042 Posts
On November 06 2008 02:53 GeneralStan wrote:
On an unrelated note, is opening DT in PvT "cheese"?
I don't think it's really considered cheese anymore. T's current build (1 fact siege expand into ebay) means that if they suspect tech, they'll probably be able to fend it off without you doing any damage.
congrats on making it to the D+ ranking. Starcraft is a game that rewards practice, as you've clearly found out xD
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On November 06 2008 02:53 GeneralStan wrote:
On an unrelated note, is opening DT in PvT "cheese"?
I'd say only the 1-base 1-gate tech variety
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Cheese is just a term given by noobs to a strategy that they can't deal with and lose everytime to it because they fail to adapt or figure out some way to nullify such tactic.
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On November 06 2008 03:14 EsX_Raptor wrote:
Cheese is just a term given by noobs to a strategy that they can't deal with and lose everytime to it because they fail to adapt or figure out some way to nullify such tactic.
2 gate proxy - definitely cheese
BBS proxy - definitely cheese
5 pool - definitely cheese
the definition gets hazier from there
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On November 06 2008 02:53 GeneralStan wrote:
On an unrelated note, is opening DT in PvT "cheese"?
if you centergate hardcore rush yes
if it comes out at a reasonable time, its the terrans fault for either not scouting, or playing the percentages and getting burned
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Its just annoying when you see D+ 2800 rank protosses go for a hardcore dt rush and if the terran defends it they fucking collapse and die cause thats all they ever fucking do and they win with it and terran doesnt have a cloaked unit that does 40 fucking damage WHAT THE FUCK
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On November 06 2008 03:51 fusionsdf wrote:
Its just annoying when you see D+ 2800 rank protosses go for a hardcore dt rush and if the terran defends it they fucking collapse and die cause thats all they ever fucking do and they win with it and terran doesnt have a cloaked unit that does 40 fucking damage WHAT THE FUCK
wut?
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On November 06 2008 02:58 EtherealDeath wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 02:38 Straylight wrote:On November 06 2008 02:35 EsX_Raptor wrote:
I can't get out of D+ T___T (To C-) when I'm actually a C player.... WTF is wrong with me??? Iccup suddently just became some noob bashing pit. Uh.. maybe you're not a C player then? Unless iCCup has reset recently then there should be no problem getting out of D ranks at this point in the season. If you are truly a C player it's like a walk in the park. nah plenty of C people from last season have issues hitting it now (like they're stuck at C- whereas last season C was ezwalk). Although sounds like it's time for you to train korean style! Doing one BO over and over is damn nice, helping my PvZ out so much O.O (especially if you play only infrequently like I do.)
Dude this late in the season is ridiculously easy for C players to get through D ranks. I took a break for like two months, came back and hit C- with ~75% win record while playing my off races more than my main. I still peak out at C but the skill gap between D and C is ginormous.
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u wrote "Until I read this. Then, I started to pay more attention to my losses, understand why I lose and how I could do better"
but didnt say what magic thing u read was?
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On November 06 2008 04:04 Retsukage wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 03:51 fusionsdf wrote:
Its just annoying when you see D+ 2800 rank protosses go for a hardcore dt rush and if the terran defends it they fucking collapse and die cause thats all they ever fucking do and they win with it and terran doesnt have a cloaked unit that does 40 fucking damage WHAT THE FUCK wut?
until you've had it happen to you and spent the entire game lolling you wont understand
oh wait you play protoss
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terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.-
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i hover between 2200 and 1900
i bash d players to d+
then get raped by d+ players back down to d
then back up
etc etc etc
the longer i play the worse my record gets too
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On November 06 2008 06:58 tika wrote:
terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.-
yup cus nuke rushes and dt rushes are on the same page...
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On November 06 2008 07:15 alphafuzard wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 06:58 tika wrote:
terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.- yup cus nuke rushes and dt rushes are on the same page...
mines
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Man I just came back into Starcraft and started playing ICCUP for the first time. It's so amazing, I don't think bnet will ever see me again.
I just hit D+ [now at 2900] yesterday. Going to try to make C-/C with the next week or two.
Msg me for some XvT: angrydrunk
Great OP by the way.
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you know what buddy? GOOD FUCKING JOB. it took you long enough. now! c-!
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iccup is getting harder every season
i can barely hit C-
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gratz... hope to join that rank someday as well 
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On November 06 2008 02:27 fusionsdf wrote:I just hit D+ last night too pretty disappointed it took me that long, but even though my tvz improved a lot, my tvp now went to horrible
T is much harder than toss. D+ is more than honourable, don't worry.
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siege expand isnt any harder.
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yeah because the whole reason tvp is difficult is because of fd terran AMIRITE?
openings have shit all to do with how difficult a matchup is
its not like I siege expand and my mid/lategame is suddenly easy and I dont have a care in the world
Go ahead and argue that D/C level protoss is harder or as hard as D/C level terran in TvP
you'll lose
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On November 06 2008 07:17 tika wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 07:15 alphafuzard wrote:On November 06 2008 06:58 tika wrote:
terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.- yup cus nuke rushes and dt rushes are on the same page... mines
boy ITS A GOOD THING MINES ATTACK PROBES
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On November 06 2008 03:51 fusionsdf wrote:
Its just annoying when you see D+ 2800 rank protosses go for a hardcore dt rush and if the terran defends it they fucking collapse and die cause thats all they ever fucking do and they win with it and terran doesnt have a cloaked unit that does 40 fucking damage WHAT THE FUCK
But they do have a unit that does 70 damage with the longest range in the game.
On the other hand, congratulations on reaching D+... I can't play iCCup enough to make D+. I'm like... at 1600.
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On November 06 2008 09:21 fusionsdf wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 07:17 tika wrote:On November 06 2008 07:15 alphafuzard wrote:On November 06 2008 06:58 tika wrote:
terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.- yup cus nuke rushes and dt rushes are on the same page... mines boy ITS A GOOD THING MINES ATTACK PROBES
dont see why not they can do pretty much everything else
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On November 06 2008 09:21 fusionsdf wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 07:17 tika wrote:On November 06 2008 07:15 alphafuzard wrote:On November 06 2008 06:58 tika wrote:
terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.- yup cus nuke rushes and dt rushes are on the same page... mines boy ITS A GOOD THING MINES ATTACK PROBES
Those things that lay mines...shoot what are they called again?
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good job yo! it does feel good to hit a new rank through all the hard work. i'm aiming for B-, but it won't happen likely because my PvT is at 35% win rate. anyway, congrats! now onto something higher!
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yeah there is nothing funnier than fending of 1 gate DT rush or 9/9 gate and then having the protoss just completely suck after that
at D+ anyway lol
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On November 06 2008 11:26 DamageControL wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 09:21 fusionsdf wrote:On November 06 2008 07:17 tika wrote:On November 06 2008 07:15 alphafuzard wrote:On November 06 2008 06:58 tika wrote:
terran have a cloaked unit that does like 200 dmg, splash -.- yup cus nuke rushes and dt rushes are on the same page... mines boy ITS A GOOD THING MINES ATTACK PROBES Those things that lay mines...shoot what are they called again?
yeah I forgot, those are cloaked too!
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On November 06 2008 03:51 fusionsdf wrote:
Its just annoying when you see D+ 2800 rank protosses go for a hardcore dt rush and if the terran defends it they fucking collapse and die cause thats all they ever fucking do and they win with it and terran doesnt have a cloaked unit that does 40 fucking damage WHAT THE FUCK
I feel you
A lot of tosses do not know how to macro.... HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU NOT MACRO WITH TOSS!??
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congratulations dude. i'm 200 points away from D+...i'll win those two games one day. hahaah
playing against better players being helpful is so true, it's so much better than playing with people on iccup who make forge in their base in ZvP ;\
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On November 06 2008 02:27 fusionsdf wrote:
I just hit D+ last night too
On November 06 2008 02:38 GeneralStan wrote:
I just hit D+ too!
On November 06 2008 07:17 HeadBangaa wrote:
I just hit D+ [now at 2900] yesterday.
LOL ME TOO =D
On November 06 2008 02:38 GeneralStan wrote:Lets all have a D+ lovefest!
FUCK YEAH D+ LOVEFEST! When?!!?!?
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Guys stop arguing with fusion... 1. hes right, p is easier at lower levels and 2. hes extremely headstrong about dissing p in every thread.
:D
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On November 06 2008 07:14 alphafuzard wrote:i hover between 2200 and 1900 i bash d players to d+ then get raped by d+ players back down to d then back up etc etc etc the longer i play the worse my record gets too
OMG THATS EXACTLY ME
and i hate it >:[
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On November 06 2008 14:00 Grobyc wrote:Show nested quote +On November 06 2008 07:17 HeadBangaa wrote:
I just hit D+ [now at 2900] yesterday. LOL ME TOO =D FUCK YEAH D+ LOVEFEST! When?!!?!?
LOOOL  D+ KREW
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EPT
