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[D] Difference between Masters and GM?

Forum Index > StarCraft 2 Strategy
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1 2 3 4 Next All
dasfewfawdx
Profile Joined November 2012
17 Posts
December 12 2012 05:46 GMT
#1
I (finally) made it to Masters league recently (yay :D) after I worked out a few kinks in my mechanics. Now, for the most part, I have fairly good macro with enough game sense to know when things are coming.

Now the question is: What differentiates a mid-high level Masters player with presumably good macro with a Grandmasters player? Mainly, what can a Masters player improve on to significantly improve his or her level of play?

Admittedly, Grandmaster players, primarily pro-gamers, have a large range of build orders/styles to play from, but for single 1v1 matches, having one solid build for each MU wouldn't be too much worse than having a variety of builds.

I'm stumped; is the their (GM's) slightly-more consistent macro really that big of a difference to separate GM players from M? Is having perfect micro for early game battles really that game-changing as opposed to having good micro? Is there some different strategic mindset that truly separates GM players as the best of the best?

Any thoughts are welcome.
THE TIME FOR CHILLING IS PAST - Destiny
arcane1129
Profile Joined January 2011
United States271 Posts
December 12 2012 05:50 GMT
#2
Everything a gm player does (or knows) is, on average, slightly better than a masters player. There's no secret. It's the same thing for any other 2 leagues, such as plat and diamond.
JDub
Profile Joined December 2010
United States976 Posts
December 12 2012 06:07 GMT
#3
GM players are (generally speaking) better at every phase of the game. Better macro, better army movements, better minimap awareness, better micro, better multi-tasking, better scouting, etc. When someone is a little bit better at everything, it makes it so a GM v. Master game can quickly get out of hand for the master player, unless it's a 1-base all-in or something.
riser
Profile Joined September 2010
21 Posts
December 12 2012 06:08 GMT
#4
A lot of it is micro. GM level players micro extremely well in maxed engagements and know how to engage opponents at favorable positions to maximize their army's effectiveness. Someone did a statistical analysis and also found that GM level players have, on average, better macro than master level players as well. A combination of both macro and micro differentials separates them... similar to how it is with any other two leagues.
K3Nyy
Profile Joined February 2010
United States1961 Posts
December 12 2012 06:11 GMT
#5
Surprised no wonder mentioned game sense. A GM knows what to do better than the average Master player and what to build, when to move out, how far ahead they are, etc.
TheEmulator
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
28094 Posts
December 12 2012 06:14 GMT
#6
It can be different for each person as well. I was high masters based purely off macro/micro mechanics, but had horrible knowledge of builds, and general game sense. But some high masters might have great game sense and lack mechanics,etc.
Administrator
iEchoic
Profile Blog Joined May 2010
United States1776 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-12-12 06:19:48
December 12 2012 06:19 GMT
#7
Starcraft is 95% mechanics - you can figure it out from that.

The game is too well-understood now to strategically overcome your opponent despite mechanical deficiencies. Improving on this game is as simple as following the metagame and improving your mechanical skill via massing games using solid builds.
vileEchoic -- clanvile.com
rd
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States2586 Posts
December 12 2012 06:26 GMT
#8
Timing & execution, control, decision making. Macro is a fairly broad term that isn't quite correct to describe the differences in inefficiencies between masters players and grandmasters players imo.

On December 12 2012 15:08 riser wrote:
A lot of it is micro. GM level players micro extremely well in maxed engagements and know how to engage opponents at favorable positions to maximize their army's effectiveness. Someone did a statistical analysis and also found that GM level players have, on average, better macro than master level players as well. A combination of both macro and micro differentials separates them... similar to how it is with any other two leagues.


I'm curious: did the statistical analysis cover ranges of ratings in masters and GM, or did they merely clump GM and masters each into one big group, respectively? In my own observations, the top end of masters' macro is generally indistinguishable from the lower half of GM, with various exceptions between each. That, and the skill disparity between low masters and high masters when put against GM is fairly huge.
TheEmulator
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
28094 Posts
December 12 2012 06:32 GMT
#9
On December 12 2012 15:26 rd wrote:
Timing & execution, control, decision making. Macro is a fairly broad term that isn't quite correct to describe the differences in inefficiencies between masters players and grandmasters players imo.

Show nested quote +
On December 12 2012 15:08 riser wrote:
A lot of it is micro. GM level players micro extremely well in maxed engagements and know how to engage opponents at favorable positions to maximize their army's effectiveness. Someone did a statistical analysis and also found that GM level players have, on average, better macro than master level players as well. A combination of both macro and micro differentials separates them... similar to how it is with any other two leagues.


I'm curious: did the statistical analysis cover ranges of ratings in masters and GM, or did they merely clump GM and masters each into one big group, respectively? In my own observations, the top end of masters' macro is generally indistinguishable from the lower half of GM, with various exceptions between each. That, and the skill disparity between low masters and high masters when put against GM is fairly huge.

I would say decision making is one of the biggest differences between M and GM players. When to attack,where, and how. What units to produce,etc.
Administrator
uberism
Profile Joined January 2011
Canada271 Posts
December 12 2012 06:37 GMT
#10
My question is what is the difference between top GM and GSL champions
sCCrooked
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Korea (South)1306 Posts
December 12 2012 06:45 GMT
#11
On December 12 2012 15:37 uberism wrote:
My question is what is the difference between top GM and GSL champions


Same differences as with every league but just a much greater degree of refinement.
Enlightened in an age of anti-intellectualism and quotidian repetitiveness of asinine assumptive thinking. Best lycan guide evar --> "Fixing solo queue all pick one game at a time." ~KwarK-
Fliparoni
Profile Joined February 2012
205 Posts
December 12 2012 06:47 GMT
#12
What is the difference between your average GM ranked 100-200 to the top 25 GM guys (who are usually all pro gamers)?
rd
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States2586 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-12-12 07:00:02
December 12 2012 06:59 GMT
#13
On December 12 2012 15:45 sCCrooked wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 12 2012 15:37 uberism wrote:
My question is what is the difference between top GM and GSL champions


Same differences as with every league but just a much greater degree of refinement.


Theres also entirely different skillsets programers (and GSL champions) use in high level tournament settings that aren't really applicable when competing on ladder. It's difficult in that regard to directly compare one player based on their ladder success and put it up against another player by evaluating their tournament success -- both top level players, of course.
Rickyvalle21
Profile Joined July 2012
United States320 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-12-12 07:06:34
December 12 2012 07:03 GMT
#14
The difference between a low master and a high master is about just as big as bronze to diamond. A low master literally has no chance vs a high master. With that being said if it took you 1 year to get from bronze to master then it will probably take you another year to get from master to gm.
people say practice is perfect but if nothing is perfect whats the point in practicing?
FabledIntegral
Profile Blog Joined November 2008
United States9232 Posts
December 12 2012 07:09 GMT
#15
Masters is an entire skillset in itself.

I can go pure reaper and beat pretty much any low masters in TvZ, TvT, or TvP.

I can do similar ridiculous strategies ZvX and PvX. Vs a low masters, I can completely dick around and throw units around at whim.

I'm not a GM either, just high masters.
zheng
Profile Joined September 2010
United States23 Posts
December 12 2012 07:49 GMT
#16
most of this is prabably said already, but the difference is pretty big, the higher the ceiling the harder it is to improve, and gm basicly does everything slightly better than a master player. control, execution, timings.
trying to get better
oOOoOphidian
Profile Joined January 2011
United States1402 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-12-12 08:19:05
December 12 2012 08:18 GMT
#17
It's not really a slight difference in mechanics, if you're talking the difference between a newly promoted masters player and even the lowest GM player, it's a huge difference. They aren't perfect, but I guess it's hard to know just how bad your mechanics are without comparing it to someone like them.
Creator of sc2unmasked.com
Defenestrator
Profile Joined October 2011
400 Posts
December 12 2012 08:27 GMT
#18
On December 12 2012 16:03 Rickyvalle21 wrote:
The difference between a low master and a high master is about just as big as bronze to diamond. A low master literally has no chance vs a high master. With that being said if it took you 1 year to get from bronze to master then it will probably take you another year to get from master to gm.

I don't think this is true at all. A diamond player can beat a bronze or even silver (possibly gold) player only using their mouse. I seriously doubt any non-pro could beat a low masters like that, and even then it would be very challenging.

I think there's a difference in all areas, but the main difference is in unit control and multitask.
Ultras and banelings go together like peas and carrots
Turbogangsta
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
Australia319 Posts
December 12 2012 09:50 GMT
#19
On December 12 2012 14:46 dasfewfawdx wrote:
I (finally) made it to Masters league recently (yay :D) after I worked out a few kinks in my mechanics. Now, for the most part, I have fairly good macro with enough game sense to know when things are coming.

Now the question is: What differentiates a mid-high level Masters player with presumably good macro with a Grandmasters player? Mainly, what can a Masters player improve on to significantly improve his or her level of play?

Admittedly, Grandmaster players, primarily pro-gamers, have a large range of build orders/styles to play from, but for single 1v1 matches, having one solid build for each MU wouldn't be too much worse than having a variety of builds.

I'm stumped; is the their (GM's) slightly-more consistent macro really that big of a difference to separate GM players from M? Is having perfect micro for early game battles really that game-changing as opposed to having good micro? Is there some different strategic mindset that truly separates GM players as the best of the best?

Any thoughts are welcome.



I grantee that your macro is no where near GM macro. There are so many small things that you may gloss over but will have a huge impact on your ability to get things out.

For example even if you don't get supply blocked that doesn't mean you aren't building supply at the optimal time (optimal being as late as possible).

Infrastructure is another example and should not have resources invested into it unless it is getting maximum use.

Stepping away from macro, GM multitasking and crisis management is phenomenal as well as their ability to make in game decisions. All of these things are not even needed to achieve masters and no doubt any masters players skills in these areas are very underdeveloped compared to a GM.


Esports is killing Esports.
Putty
Profile Joined September 2012
210 Posts
Last Edited: 2012-12-12 10:08:46
December 12 2012 10:08 GMT
#20
1)GM Macro and mechanics are A LOT better then an average mid-master.

2) Timings. Just an example : parting doing the immortal/sentry allinn leaves his base at 8.40, an average gm maybe at 9.00, a mid-master 9.30 (based on my experience). Thats a huge difference.

3)Engagements : most of the master players just a-move and spam storm/emp/fungal. GMs takes very refined engagements.

4)Litttle details that makes the difference.
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