• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 15:36
CEST 21:36
KST 04:36
  • 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
[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt2: News Flash10[ASL21] Ro24 Preview Pt1: New Chaos0Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy18ByuL: The Forgotten Master of ZvT30Behind the Blue - Team Liquid History Book20
Community News
Weekly Cups (March 23-29): herO takes triple6Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research8Weekly Cups (March 16-22): herO doubles, Cure surprises3Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool51Weekly Cups (March 9-15): herO, Clem, ByuN win4
StarCraft 2
General
Rongyi Cup S3 - Preview & Info Team Liquid Map Contest #22 - Presented by Monster Energy Blizzard Classic Cup @ BlizzCon 2026 - $100k prize pool What mix of new & old maps do you want in the next ladder pool? (SC2) Aligulac acquired by REPLAYMAN.com/Stego Research
Tourneys
RSL Season 4 announced for March-April Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament StarCraft Evolution League (SC Evo Biweekly) WardiTV Mondays World University TeamLeague (500$+) | Signups Open
Strategy
Custom Maps
[M] (2) Frigid Storage Publishing has been re-enabled! [Feb 24th 2026]
External Content
The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 520 Moving Fees Mutation # 519 Inner Power Mutation # 518 Radiation Zone
Brood War
General
so ive been playing broodwar for a week straight. ASL21 General Discussion Gypsy to Korea Pros React To: JaeDong vs Queen BSL 22 Map Contest — Submissions OPEN to March 10
Tourneys
[ASL21] Ro24 Group F Escore Tournament StarCraft Season 2 [Megathread] Daily Proleagues [ASL21] Ro24 Group E
Strategy
What's the deal with APM & what's its true value Fighting Spirit mining rates Simple Questions, Simple Answers
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Starcraft Tabletop Miniature Game Nintendo Switch Thread General RTS Discussion Thread Darkest Dungeon
Dota 2
The Story of Wings Gaming Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
G2 just beat GenG in First stand
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
Mafia Game Mode Feedback/Ideas TL Mafia Community Thread Five o'clock TL Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread The Chess Thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread NASA and the Private Sector Things Aren’t Peaceful in Palestine
Fan Clubs
The IdrA Fan Club
Media & Entertainment
[Manga] One Piece [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books Movie Discussion!
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT] Tokyo Olympics 2021 Thread General nutrition recommendations
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
[G] How to Block Livestream Ads
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
Broowar part 2
qwaykee
China Uses Video Games to Sh…
TrAiDoS
Funny Nicknames
LUCKY_NOOB
Iranian anarchists: organize…
XenOsky
FS++
Kraekkling
ASL S21 English Commentary…
namkraft
Electronics
mantequilla
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 1607 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
Canada17412 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
Canada17412 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 13h 24m
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
ProTech128
JuggernautJason118
NeuroSwarm 99
StarCraft: Brood War
Calm 4120
actioN 353
Mind 246
Dewaltoss 127
ggaemo 98
Sexy 25
yabsab 19
GoRush 18
NaDa 11
Dota 2
Gorgc6892
420jenkins440
canceldota90
Counter-Strike
apEX4277
pashabiceps2556
shoxiejesuss2475
zeus357
edward107
Heroes of the Storm
Liquid`Hasu330
Khaldor183
MindelVK11
Other Games
Grubby3644
FrodaN1934
summit1g1665
C9.Mang0123
ArmadaUGS113
Livibee88
Trikslyr68
ZombieGrub38
Organizations
StarCraft 2
angryscii 33
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
sctven
[ Show 18 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• kabyraGe 222
• Hupsaiya 43
• Adnapsc2 24
• Reevou 7
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• sooper7s
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• Migwel
• IndyKCrew
StarCraft: Brood War
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
• BSLYoutube
Dota 2
• lizZardDota276
League of Legends
• Jankos1682
Other Games
• imaqtpie846
• Shiphtur187
Upcoming Events
CranKy Ducklings
13h 24m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
14h 24m
PiGosaur Cup
1d 4h
Replay Cast
1d 13h
Kung Fu Cup
1d 16h
Replay Cast
2 days
The PondCast
2 days
CranKy Ducklings
3 days
WardiTV Team League
3 days
Replay Cast
4 days
[ Show More ]
CranKy Ducklings
4 days
WardiTV Team League
4 days
uThermal 2v2 Circuit
4 days
BSL
4 days
Sparkling Tuna Cup
5 days
WardiTV Team League
5 days
BSL
5 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Replay Cast
6 days
Wardi Open
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Escore Tournament S2: W1
RSL Revival: Season 4
NationLESS Cup

Ongoing

BSL Season 22
CSL Elite League 2026
ASL Season 21
CSL Season 20: Qualifier 2
CSL 2026 SPRING (S20)
StarCraft2 Community Team League 2026 Spring
Nations Cup 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 1
BLAST Open Spring 2026
ESL Pro League S23 Finals
ESL Pro League S23 Stage 1&2
PGL Cluj-Napoca 2026
IEM Kraków 2026
BLAST Bounty Winter 2026

Upcoming

Escore Tournament S2: W2
IPSL Spring 2026
Escore Tournament S2: W3
Acropolis #4
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSLAN 4
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
HSC XXIX
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
uThermal 2v2 Last Chance Qualifiers 2026
RSL Revival: Season 5
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
CCT Season 3 Global Finals
IEM Rio 2026
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.