• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 19:13
CEST 01:13
KST 08:13
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview4[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview2herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2026)5Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO4 & Finals Preview5
Community News
Weekly Cups (May 18-25): MaxPax wins doubles0Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League4Weekly Cups (May 11-17): Classic wins double0Code S Season 1 (2026) - RO8 Results2Weekly Cups (May 4-10): Clem, MaxPax, herO win1
StarCraft 2
General
Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview Weekly Cups (May 18-25): MaxPax wins doubles herO wins GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO12 Preview Weekly Cups (May 11-17): Classic wins double
Tourneys
GSL Code S Season 2 (2026) Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League GSL Code S Season 1 (2026) Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Maestros of The Game 2 announcement and schedule !
Strategy
Custom Maps
[D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3 [A] Nemrods 1/4 players
External Content
Mutation # 527 Hell Train The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 526 Rubber and Glue Mutation # 525 Wheel of Misfortune
Brood War
General
Pros React To: ASL S21 Finals Pros React to: TvT Masterclass in FlaSh vs Light vespene.gg — BW replays in browser (Spoiler) ASL21 Winner's Interview RepMastered™: replay sharing and analyzer site
Tourneys
[ASL21] Grand Finals [Megathread] Daily Proleagues Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 Small VOD Thread 2.0
Strategy
Any training maps people recommend? Muta micro map competition [G] Hydra ZvZ: An Introduction Fighting Spirit mining rates
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Path of Exile Nintendo Switch Thread Dawn of War IV ZeroSpace Megathread
Dota 2
Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug Heroes of StarCraft mini-set
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread Trading/Investing Thread Dating: How's your luck? European Politico-economics QA Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece Anime Discussion Thread [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
streaming software Strange computer issues (software)
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Customization Drives Loyalty…
TrAiDoS
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
ramps on octagon
StaticNine
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 2162 users

Is SC skill natural or trained? - Page 18

Forum Index > SC2 General
Post a Reply
Prev 1 16 17 18 19 20 30 Next All
Zerksys
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States569 Posts
October 07 2011 15:46 GMT
#341
I guess the question is for sc2, but if we were talking about brood war... no chance. In sc2 IMO if you work hard enough at it and train the right way, you can be a top player through some perseverance and dedication.

If you asked me this about brood war though I will say that absolutely there's a talent portion that is involved in it. If you asked me to replicate jaedong mutalisk micro even after years of training I would still say that you're crazy and that I'll never be able to do that.
What's that probe doing there? It's a scout. You mean one of those flying planes? No....
Eppa!
Profile Joined November 2010
Sweden4641 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-07 15:47:52
October 07 2011 15:47 GMT
#342
On October 08 2011 00:38 ishboh wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 21 2011 22:18 JeLLe04 wrote:
What do you guys think? If you're high Diamond or Masters, do you think you've worked enough to deserve it, or do you think you were just "born that way"?

I am high diamond, and I have not played THAT much sc2. granted, my skill is still completely terrible compared to professionals, but i think that there is definitely an innate ability to play video games. if you took me and put me in front of a completely new video game and I had to play my dad...i would win hands down (unless maybe the game was a surgery game or something as he is a doctor).

when it comes to sc2, i believe my brother plays more of it than me, i think that I just have more natural talent than him and can still beat him on a regular basis

My brother used to have more talent than me in games then I started practicing really hard. I now beat him in all games we play (new and old) except chess.
"Can't wait till Monday" Cixah+Waveofshadow. "Needs to be monday. Weekend please go by quickly." Gahlo
BlazeFury01
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States1460 Posts
October 07 2011 15:49 GMT
#343
Here's a straight forward answer.

StarCraft skill is trained. Nobody can naturally have perfect builds without spending time to perfect them.

Nobody can have perfect timing attacks without knowing when to do it.

Some can learn the game fast but that's only after others have already figured it out. You can do this by watching replays and learning different styles. But, this too takes "time" and is not natural.

The only time I could see a skill "being natural" is if your playing a different game and you learned all your fundamentals from a previous game. Such as, SC1 players switching to SC2.
ovnell
Profile Joined December 2010
Sweden61 Posts
October 07 2011 15:52 GMT
#344
I don't think there is any "natural" skill. But the more games you've played before sc2 (not only RTS imo) the faster you will improve at it, because you're so used to playing. When i started playing sc2 in the beta i got placed in copper league and lost like 10 games in a row. I've played quite a bit since then and now I'm masters.

On the other hand, I don't really think it matters. If you wanna get better at the game the only thing you can do to improve is to play more.
Cel.erity
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States4890 Posts
October 07 2011 15:55 GMT
#345
On October 08 2011 00:12 OutlaW- wrote:
''talent'' is in my opinion just a myth thats caused by some people learning faster than others, which has to do with intelligence
if u work harder and use your time more effectively you'll eventually surpass anyone


This is pretty much spot on. Talent and intelligence are just words we use to describe how quickly somebody learns. When you have a natural "talent" or a trained "talent" from playing other games, that talent transfers into SC2 in the form of allowing you to learn more in a shorter amount of time, and possibly retain more information in your long-term memory. Keep in mind, even something like high APM or high accuracy is a learned skill, but some people learn much faster than others.
We found Dove in a soapless place.
wishbones
Profile Blog Joined April 2009
Canada2600 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-07 16:03:11
October 07 2011 15:57 GMT
#346
all skills are trained in life, your not born with any. how come so many pages for this T_T

ill edit this and add a bit more info:
those epic artists on youtube, had they drew only a few pictures, would not be good anymore. hence they trained.
musicians had they play for only 1 year, would not be good anymore. its the way all things work. HUMANS ARE FANTASTIC CREATURES. with hands not paws. and a brain that can communicate multiple languages and omg i cant even fathom it. its too complex.

but were all trained not born with it.

edit2: wait now i know why there are so many pages, scratch everything i said. Some parts of each individuals brains can process certain types of info so much more than the guy sitting next to him. While it works both ways for both sides, I think some skills we are born with, but will never know until we touch that certain thing, but yeah i guess for sc its trained.Then again though, it requires specific sectors of the brain also, so im sure people with stronger brain power on those areas that starcraft lights up have faster and more further progress in an sc career. but NO FACTS NO PROOF! <3
joined TL.net in 2006 (aka GMer) - http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=41944#2
s4life
Profile Joined March 2007
Peru1519 Posts
October 07 2011 16:09 GMT
#347
Sure, you can learn all skills, but some skills require a depth of knowledge that can only be acquired through time, no shortcuts.. and that becomes a practical problem as people have different learning curves according to their natural aptitude. I would never try to become a pro chess player for example, as it would probably take me years to process the information 12 y.o kids take only months... life is short
unit
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
United States2621 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-07 16:36:58
October 07 2011 16:33 GMT
#348
to me, talent is a illusion created by hard work behind the scenes and proper practice

in high school i decided to take up the saxophone my sophmore year (had played guitar, piano, bass, in the past but never a wind instrument) within a month i was able to play pieces on a similar level to the best in the school...why was this? natural talent? no i worked my ass off to get good, i spent all of my free time that month figuring out how everything worked and just repeating fundamentals like a madman til my fingers started going numb (something i'll need to do again when i get my hands on a new sax, dont have one atm T_T)

in sc:bw when i learned about it from my friends, i found the game so compellingly fun that i started practicing and thinking through what i wanted to do and how to do it (i.e. builds) and i managed to quickly become the favored player in any game between us...ofc thats before i found iccup/tl.net and really played competetively (though i never went as far as i could've, only barely peaked at C and that was when i was putting around 3hrs/day in for genuine practice) was this talent? no it was simply me thinking through the game more than my friends (also i played zerg when i started so no P "imba" 1a2a3a at low level for me :3)

in sc2 im mid/high masters (im around 1k atm with somewhere around 2-300 bp) despite putting rather little time into the game ever, is this talent? no its just bw skills carrying over xD

in chess back in middle school (pre-starcraft) i've won numerous local amatuer tournaments (no prize, just trophy/badge) this isn't the result of natural talent, it was just the result of playing a Bo5 of chess against my dad every day since i was 5 (really want to start that up again T_T; i miss playing with a win/loss ratio of 1:1000...for reference to his skill, he doesnt really play a lot anymore so he doesnt have an elo but he like chessmaster and crushes the grandmaster setting in it quite easily)

anyway, almost forgot the point of this lol

talent is only an illusion, caused by hard work, sometimes previous work from years ago, but hard work nonetheless...nothing in life can be achieved without hard work, whether you believe in talent or not, for the talented to be successful even they need to work for it...current sc2 example, Liquid'Tyler he has such an affinity for the game (caused by previous experience w/bw and his thought processes regarding how to improve) yet when he doesn't play for whatever reason he can't win TT
JimmyJRaynor
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada17543 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-07 17:17:50
October 07 2011 17:16 GMT
#349
On October 08 2011 01:33 unit wrote:
to me, talent is a illusion created by hard work behind the scenes and proper practice

do you know how many hard core alcoholics and substance abusers have the natural ability to hit a 99 mile an hour fastball with no practise at all ?

I'll give you 1 very well documented example: former Yankee, Blue Jay, Astro, Cub, Indian CLIFF JOHNSON.

every hitter has an "upper limit" in the speed of pitch they can hit. once u go beyond that speed the player is guessing...
i was one of the best players on my baseball team ( keep in mind i'm in canada where baseball is not taken seriously)
and i simply can not hit a ball that goes over 90 MPH...
for many of my friends who were extremely competitive and practised hitting a lot their maximum speed was much lower... like 86 MPH .. or 82 MPH... and i watched my friends drop out of baseball 1 by 1 as pitchers threw harder and harder and their ability to make contact diminished regardless of how much they practised.

and of course by the time i was 18 ... any pitcher able to crank it up over 90 MPH was simply unhittable for me.

MLB is filled with lazy guys who happen to be the 1 out of 10,000 that can hit a 99 MPH fast ball.

Go to a batting cage and try for urself.
Ray Kassar To David Crane : "you're no more important to Atari than the factory workers assembling the cartridges"
oxxo
Profile Joined February 2010
988 Posts
October 07 2011 17:24 GMT
#350
It's both. Just like anything in life.
Doodsmack
Profile Blog Joined August 2010
United States7224 Posts
October 07 2011 17:30 GMT
#351
Anyone who denies that some people are born with better dexterity and hand-eye coordination than others is most likely someone who wants to become a sc2 pro because they love playing video games all day, but doesn't have the incredible dexterity and hand-eye coordination that every single sc2 pro started out with. If you asked them whether everyone is born with the same level of intelligence, they would probably say no. Hmm...
VPCursed
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
1044 Posts
October 07 2011 17:30 GMT
#352
On March 23 2011 06:31 darthdiddy wrote:
When you do something for long enough, the physical structure of your brain changes. It's called neuroplasticity. With enough time, and dedication, your brain can be trained to do just about anything. Some people are capable of learning more complex things more quickly. Thats just about the only thing that can be chalked up to the nature side of the argument. Nurture beats nature any day in my opinion.

thanks for being the only person in this thread with some actual knowledge and not mindlessly saying TALENT DERP.
JimmyJRaynor
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada17543 Posts
October 07 2011 17:38 GMT
#353
On October 08 2011 02:30 VPCursed wrote:
Show nested quote +
On March 23 2011 06:31 darthdiddy wrote:
When you do something for long enough, the physical structure of your brain changes. It's called neuroplasticity. With enough time, and dedication, your brain can be trained to do just about anything. Some people are capable of learning more complex things more quickly. Thats just about the only thing that can be chalked up to the nature side of the argument. Nurture beats nature any day in my opinion.

thanks for being the only person in this thread with some actual knowledge and not mindlessly saying TALENT DERP.

ya... that's why as u get older your ability to hit the 4 seam fastball diminishes.. because its all about practise.
Ray Kassar To David Crane : "you're no more important to Atari than the factory workers assembling the cartridges"
VPCursed
Profile Blog Joined May 2011
1044 Posts
October 07 2011 17:41 GMT
#354
On October 08 2011 02:38 JimmyJRaynor wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 08 2011 02:30 VPCursed wrote:
On March 23 2011 06:31 darthdiddy wrote:
When you do something for long enough, the physical structure of your brain changes. It's called neuroplasticity. With enough time, and dedication, your brain can be trained to do just about anything. Some people are capable of learning more complex things more quickly. Thats just about the only thing that can be chalked up to the nature side of the argument. Nurture beats nature any day in my opinion.

thanks for being the only person in this thread with some actual knowledge and not mindlessly saying TALENT DERP.

ya... that's why as u get older your ability to hit the 4 seam fastball diminishes.. because its all about practise.

just like how nestea got older and stopped winning tounaments.
oh wait.
dont reference SC and baseball.
SoKHo
Profile Joined April 2011
Korea (South)1081 Posts
October 07 2011 17:46 GMT
#355
Like everything else it's both nurture and nature. There are players that improve much faster than others. I'd say I'm a little bit above average. When the game first came out I got to diamond in ~2 weeks. Stopped playing for a year, then got masters in 3 weeks. There are others like Flash that were born to play starcraft.
"If you don't understand my silence, you won't understand my words"|| Big Nal_rA fan boy!! Nal_rA, Bisu, Huk, MC, Hero fighting! SKT1---->
Rachnar
Profile Joined October 2010
France1526 Posts
October 07 2011 17:47 GMT
#356
It's a mix of both if you ask me, though i think talent can be outclassed by hardwork

If you look at player's who have innovated and created new metagames and stuff, they were the best originally thx to their talent, but overshadowed after by others practicing hard and being able to replicate it better

MC was ahead of everyone a few month's ago, Fruitdealer at the first's GSL, now he's completly lost everything he had, etc ///
"What if it's a triple DK ?" "Then we cry" "Prepare your handkerchief then ..."
awu25
Profile Joined April 2010
United States2003 Posts
October 07 2011 17:52 GMT
#357
On October 08 2011 00:57 wishbones wrote:
all skills are trained in life, your not born with any. how come so many pages for this T_T

ill edit this and add a bit more info:
those epic artists on youtube, had they drew only a few pictures, would not be good anymore. hence they trained.
musicians had they play for only 1 year, would not be good anymore. its the way all things work. HUMANS ARE FANTASTIC CREATURES. with hands not paws. and a brain that can communicate multiple languages and omg i cant even fathom it. its too complex.

but were all trained not born with it.

edit2: wait now i know why there are so many pages, scratch everything i said. Some parts of each individuals brains can process certain types of info so much more than the guy sitting next to him. While it works both ways for both sides, I think some skills we are born with, but will never know until we touch that certain thing, but yeah i guess for sc its trained.Then again though, it requires specific sectors of the brain also, so im sure people with stronger brain power on those areas that starcraft lights up have faster and more further progress in an sc career. but NO FACTS NO PROOF! <3

Some people are born with perfect pitch in their ears and therefore are naturally better at instruments
koolaid1990
Profile Joined September 2010
831 Posts
October 07 2011 17:58 GMT
#358
at the starting point, its all training. Anyone can get to masters or even NA grandmasters if they put the work into it. But at the highest level, it becomes natural talent. This is because at the highest level, almost everyone is devoting their life to the game and puts in similar training hours. The only way one can be better than another pro player is just more efficient training(korea) and natural talent(how fast you understand the game, how well you interpret it and can apply that, etc.)
Xercen
Profile Joined September 2010
United Kingdom375 Posts
October 07 2011 18:05 GMT
#359
1) you need to have a good amount of apm which is a physical trait

2) you need to be intelligent and make well informed decisions. There is a reason why a ton of bronze players are still in bronze and a ton of platinum players still in plat after many games for a reason! Not everybody can become a rocket scientist regardless of how much they study.

3) you need to have a formidable amount of mental strength. To take an example from tennis. Novak djokovic. He had the skills but now he has the mental strength and this has been shown in the way he has manhandled rafael nadal.

Sighstorm
Profile Joined December 2010
Netherlands116 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-07 18:07:26
October 07 2011 18:06 GMT
#360
On October 08 2011 02:52 awu25 wrote:
Show nested quote +
On October 08 2011 00:57 wishbones wrote:
all skills are trained in life, your not born with any. how come so many pages for this T_T

ill edit this and add a bit more info:
those epic artists on youtube, had they drew only a few pictures, would not be good anymore. hence they trained.
musicians had they play for only 1 year, would not be good anymore. its the way all things work. HUMANS ARE FANTASTIC CREATURES. with hands not paws. and a brain that can communicate multiple languages and omg i cant even fathom it. its too complex.

but were all trained not born with it.

edit2: wait now i know why there are so many pages, scratch everything i said. Some parts of each individuals brains can process certain types of info so much more than the guy sitting next to him. While it works both ways for both sides, I think some skills we are born with, but will never know until we touch that certain thing, but yeah i guess for sc its trained.Then again though, it requires specific sectors of the brain also, so im sure people with stronger brain power on those areas that starcraft lights up have faster and more further progress in an sc career. but NO FACTS NO PROOF! <3

Some people are born with perfect pitch in their ears and therefore are naturally better at instruments

On that note... there is a tv documentary about musician Vanessa-Mae in which she explores this very topic. It might be the best thing i've seen that delves into this nature versus nurture discussion. I think it applies to other stuff like sports and games just as much. Her conclusion was that it's a combination of both (no surprise). It's called "Vanessa-Mae: the Making of Me" by the BBC. I recommend it if your interested in this topic.
Prev 1 16 17 18 19 20 30 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
Next event in 47m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
PiGStarcraft626
JuggernautJason68
Dota 2
monkeys_forever172
NeuroSwarm112
League of Legends
Doublelift4320
JimRising 493
Other Games
summit1g12665
tarik_tv5418
FrodaN937
C9.Mang0335
uThermal243
Mew2King208
UpATreeSC108
ViBE103
Organizations
Other Games
gamesdonequick627
Counter-Strike
PGL242
Other Games
BasetradeTV239
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 15 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• davetesta29
• intothetv
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Dota 2
• masondota21202
Other Games
• imaqtpie1515
• Scarra1205
• WagamamaTV158
Upcoming Events
PiGosaur Cup
47m
PiGStarcraft626
GSL
10h 17m
herO vs Classic
Cure vs Clem
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
15h 47m
Replay Cast
1d
GSL
1d 10h
Maru vs SHIN
Zoun vs Rogue
WardiTV Spring Champion…
1d 12h
SKillous vs Strange
Lambo vs Strange
Ryung vs Strange
Lambo vs Ryung
Ryung vs SKillous
Lambo vs SKillous
OSC
1d 19h
Replay Cast
2 days
Maestros of the Game
2 days
Replay Cast
3 days
[ Show More ]
RSL Revival
3 days
Lambo vs SHIN
Solar vs Rogue
herO vs Clem
Maestros of the Game
3 days
IPSL
3 days
ZZZero vs WorsT
Julia vs eOnzErG
Replay Cast
4 days
RSL Revival
4 days
Maestros of the Game
4 days
IPSL
4 days
Dragon vs Artosis
dxtr13 vs Hawk
BSL
4 days
Wardi Open
5 days
Monday Night Weeklies
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
6 days
WardiTV Spring Champion…
6 days
Maestros of the Game
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

ASL Season 21
2026 GSL S1
Heroes Pulsing #1

Ongoing

2026 KK StarCraft Pro League
BSL Season 22
IPSL Spring 2026
KCM Race Survival 2026 Season 2
KK 2v2 League Season 1
YSL S3
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
SCTL 2026 Spring
WardiTV Spring 2026
2026 GSL S2
RSL Revival: Season 5
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: King of Kings
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Maestros of the Game 2
Bounty Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.