There is alot of talk about how iCCup is a hard environment for new players. What with all the cheese, BM, and the general frustration that comes with starting your starcraft 'career'. Now I'm no duckling, I'm soon going to hit my 1500th game, (a few of those are insta-rmks when people leave right away mind you, but at least 95% are real games). And this is since June this year.
And I have improved ALOT in the past months, but mostly because I was able to practice with my friends, together we touched on C- until school took its toll and we went back down to D+. Now school is pretty much over and I'm trying to get back in the groove. Now people have gotten better, I'll give them that, but what really grinds my gears, are the smurfs.
Now there has been alot of controversy regarding the anti-smurfing actions set in by blizzard. I'hve mostly had a neutral stance to this, I used to be very good at Company of Heroes, and it has a sort of anti-smurfing system, the downside is that if you try offraceing (or in CoHs case, offfactioning) you'll end up getting stomped a few times, since you meet opponents the same level as your main race.
But lately the smurfing has been rampant, out of the last 15 games I played, I faced 11 smurfs, and 2 "maybe's". And I really need to vent about this, especially bad was a recent game with a guy who was really B rank, but kept talking about reaching D+, as to really sell himself as a D player. This really burns my cannoli, and I'd like to say that its about newer players getting royally shat on when trying out starcraft on iCCup for the first times, but really it's about me being incredibly frustrated, I dont want to spend my time playing B level players, because frankly, I dont get much out of it, and I don't really see what a B player could get out of it.
UNLESS he's some sort of washed up B player, who recently hit B, or has been away for a short time, and is too scared to risk his precious rank, so instead he turns to screwing around with D players. I can even get a warmup game or two, but tricking people through in game chat (during my old stint at D- a few months back, I even met a C+ player who had deliberatley tanked a few games to get himself to 800 so he could play D- players.
These guys are the fucking scum of iccup, they are worse than the permacheesers, you know the guys who cant play regular games, so they cheese every game, and when the cheese fails, they leave because they dont know how to capitalize on an advantage. They are worse than the stallers, who after doing some form of successfull harass to bring you down to just one base or something still has to macro up to 200/200 3/3 and take every expand on the map before you finish the game.
These guys, are in one word, pathetic. And I wish them all a broken tooth, a twisted ankle, herpes, tinnitus or maybe some sort of urinary tract infection.
You get a lot from getting crushed, its not that its bullshit and a waste of time. If you can even hang on a minute longer against a B player, you can probably hold on 10 minutes longer against a C player. so... -_- It might be frustrating, but not useless.
Lol watch the replays and see the reasons why you lost, you will probably see a lot of mechanical errors that you make that they capitalize on, timing windows, etc. Use that to fix your play and thus improve your play. Push yourself to play people better than you so that you are under constant pressure to perform at your 100% best (maximizing speed and efficiency). Don't take the hardship as a reason to give up, take it as a reason to rise above. In other words, stop bleeding and start pushing yourself to play harder, refusing to make the same mistake twice. Perfect your timings, strategies, scouting. Work hard on your micro/macro. Isn't that what laddering is about? Since when is this supposed to be some sort of ride on the rainbow to the clouds of joy type of scenario. This is an international ladder, people play well, and taking breaks to smurf from upper-end gaming is a predictable practice. In a game where you can reset your rank whenever you want, when each loss does not carry over to the next game (unlike many other video games where you lose something and it does permanent damage), this shit is to be expected. ESPECIALLY on a competitive ladder. Go play some East if you want to play like you are prancing down a field sprinkling daisies on smiling wildlife.
Seriously, there is no reason why you cannot win every game you play. Every game, you start out with the potential to win it, and your mistakes are what makes you lose it. Better players simply know how to make less mistakes, and capitalize on your mistakes. But that does not mean they are unbeatable.
It's strange that people can complain so much about smurfs. Every time I make a new account (like for TSL) I meet 95% real D rank players. Except at the start of the season.
Wow that 25th hour vid got me in a real mood to say fuck you to people.
No, seriously, when I say confirmed smufs, I really mean confirmed smurfs, like checking previous season stats etc.
And like I said, I understand people just beginning, but the point was mostly the people who go out of their way to trick gullible fucks like me into thinking I'm playing someone I can stand a chance against. I'm having trouble macroing etc as it is against opponents my own level, I wont be getting that much better at it having... say Stork reaverharass me to oblivion (not that any of these have had stork level control, dont take stuff out of context.)
Real smurfes are easy to spot. I bet most of the guys you have played are just your standart C/C- reseter. They are annoying but you can beat them even if you are only D+.
On December 12 2009 05:26 Hot_Bid wrote: complaining about smurfs is a way to say "i lost but it wasn't my fault"
face it, you lost to a lot of Ds
Actually, I always take full responsibility when I lose, I know that I can beat pretty much anyone, except for Flash (since i play T, lol).
The thing that actually gets me ticking is the fact that it's such a huge waste of time for the both of us, I'm not getting better by getting stomped, and the only thing he's getting out of it is that he gets to take out his aggressions over some "mean professor at college that didnt let me answer when I raised my hand" or some shit like that.
At least when I play against the cheesers, I get to practice fending off cheese, so it's not a COMPLETE waste of time.
Imagine taking up boxing, now I'm not saying that I had to go up against Tyson, but sparring against someone who spent a few years is only going to leave me with bruises on my face, and him with bruises on his fists.
There aren't many smurfs that are obvious reseters.
.: QED most of the people were starting anew, if they were in fact B level players. Like others have said, most of your losses are probably from people who aren't far from your skill level.
On December 12 2009 05:26 Hot_Bid wrote: complaining about smurfs is a way to say "i lost but it wasn't my fault"
face it, you lost to a lot of Ds
Actually, I always take full responsibility when I lose, I know that I can beat pretty much anyone, except for Flash (since i play T, lol).
The thing that actually gets me ticking is the fact that it's such a huge waste of time for the both of us, I'm not getting better by getting stomped, and the only thing he's getting out of it is that he gets to take out his aggressions over some "mean professor at college that didnt let me answer when I raised my hand" or some shit like that.
At least when I play against the cheesers, I get to practice fending off cheese, so it's not a COMPLETE waste of time.
Imagine taking up boxing, now I'm not saying that I had to go up against Tyson, but sparring against someone who spent a few years is only going to leave me with bruises on my face, and him with bruises on his fists.
On December 12 2009 05:05 Catch]22 wrote: They are worse than the stallers, who after doing some form of successfull harass to bring you down to just one base or something still has to macro up to 200/200 3/3 and take every expand on the map before you finish the game.
This I dont understand, I have 6 expansions and my opponent has 1 expansion max. Still not leaving game. I personally leave games if I am behind right away not stall.