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On June 26 2012 19:44 EneMecH wrote:
"Why do we get ladder anxiety"
That's dumb. Just press find match.
I really hate all the attention that's being given to it. Only very low level players seem to have a problem with laddering bronze-gold, so instead of feeding into it and acting like its a legitimate reason to not be improving, just tell them to man the fuck up and play and nobody is impressed by their current rank anyway. Know how you beat masters players on ladder? By playing ladder. All it does is match you up with opponents that are at a similar level to you based on the games you've had. There is absolutely nothing in the stakes other than your own improvement if you don't play.
Or, hey, don't ladder. Just play custom games. It really doesn't matter. Who cares?
It's not interesting because the entire concept is stupid. Play games, get better. If you can't handle a ranked ladder then gaming probably isn't for you.
Hey man, are you getting a nosebleed from being so high up on that horse?
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On June 26 2012 19:44 EneMecH wrote:
"Why do we get ladder anxiety"
That's dumb. Just press find match.
I really hate all the attention that's being given to it. Only very low level players seem to have a problem with laddering bronze-gold, so instead of feeding into it and acting like its a legitimate reason to not be improving, just tell them to man the fuck up and play and nobody is impressed by their current rank anyway. Know how you beat masters players on ladder? By playing ladder. All it does is match you up with opponents that are at a similar level to you based on the games you've had. There is absolutely nothing in the stakes other than your own improvement if you don't play.
Or, hey, don't ladder. Just play custom games. It really doesn't matter. Who cares?
It's not interesting because the entire concept is stupid. Play games, get better. If you can't handle a ranked ladder then gaming probably isn't for you.
Sorry, "man the fuck up" isn't considered valid advice. You sound like the type of person who tells depressed people to "think happy thoughts" because their life isn't really that bad, the type of person who tells a schizophrenic person that their hallucinations just aren't real,i.e a very uninformed person. Obviously ladder anxiety isn't as serious as the aforementioned, but the line of thinking analogous. If you haven't experienced it, then kindly shut up because you have no idea what you're talking about.
If you've found success in something, but your only advice to others is "man the fuck up", then you're not really introspective enough to know how you found that success.Society is rife with these kinds of people: those who stumble onto success without the same barriers(chance, environmental, or mental) as others, and attribute it all to character. These types are pretty useless as teachers to others.
If life life were as simple as "just do it", there wouldn't be obese people, there wouldn't be smokers, there wouldn't any people with any type of weakness.
Ladder anxiety is something most likely caused by factors outside the game itself, and the thought that the original poster put into it doesn't deserve your troglodytic wisdom.
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In BW, I have slight ladder fears but nothing serious, but in SC2, just pressing that find match button is so easy and relaxing(the only thing i appreciate in bnet2.0). I dont even get nervous, not even for the first time. It's not really that hard, you guys got it easier to get games.
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First time reading it, I really enjoyed your points, great read! : D I also have slight anxiety on ladder : (
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I suffer from anxiety disorder in my day to day life but, interestingly, feel no anxiety whatsoever when laddering (masters since season 1).
It seems that if you struggle to simply press Find Game, SC2 might not be the game for you. I say that not from a point of self-righteousness or arrogance, but rather because losing is such a fundamental, core part of laddering. I think an interesting exercise would be to see if anxious players can learn to embrace losing. Losing is the ultimate tutor. It offers endless lessons and methods to improve. In order to win, you need to learn how to lose, how to glean the difficult lessons of losing, and accept the harsh dose of humility it offers. Once you begin to look at losing as a positive part of your SC2 experience, ladder becomes easier and more fulfilling.
You are going to lose half your games. Always. Reread that sentence over and over, and get losing (and learning).
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I just don't find it fun.
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btw,
is there any information on when exactly the "unranked matchmaking" will be implemented. Is it in the patch 1.5 already, or wont it be released until HotS?
Because i think it might help people with ladder anxiety (at least some of them)
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Very well written, informative, and something I plan to apply. Thanks for this!
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I have the solution to not being "psyched out" in a freakin video game: STOP BEING A PUSSY. GG.
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On June 27 2012 06:24 IFF wrote:
I have the solution to not being "psyched out" in a freakin video game: STOP BEING A PUSSY. GG.
Try to remember how pivotal of a role perspective plays in our behavior and responses. To you, it is obviously just a "freakin video game" and you're able to minimalize its important in your everyday life. To others they value SC2 quite a bit in their day to day ventures, so with this sort of preemptive build-up, anxiety during laddering almost becomes inevitable.
I personally dont value SC2 very much in my own grand scheme of things, but I value competition. My competitive nature in sports growing up does not allow me to do anything but play to win...this does add some anxiety and adrenaline when I play, despite acknowledging the value of losing.
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I escape the anxiety by playing only 2v2 games. In 1v1 the stress can get really high and I won't play more than five games max a day.
Also, to the guy saying 'man the fuck up or this game isn't for you' I feel sorry for you that you are born a sociopath.
Great read, also great advise for my students (who get examfear and I have to talk them through it).
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Dear Partysnatcher!
You chose a really difficult subject there, because most of the times in psychological problems, it is uncertain what the solution is. I see the same problem in this case here.
I for example experience ladder anxiety for the reason how the concept of the game is. Starcraft 2 is a Real-Time-Strategy game, where the emphasis is on the words "Real-Time" and not "Strategy"! It is totally possible for a master zerg player to win against a gold terran player, where the master zerg goes mass zerglings and the gold terran goes mass blue flame hellions. Why?? Because the master zerg player has at least twice the APM (useful actions, not spamming) the gold terran player has. This truth is for everybody obvious, who plays this game. Everybody knows at lower levels "I have to be fast, fast, fast, in order to win, just make as many useful actions as you can, not necessarily in the right order, and i will 'outmacro' my opponent!!" ---> This is the truth! Everybody knows that!!
So what's the big pressure, that is weighting on me, when i play the game?? ---> Right, the TIME PRESSURE!! Paired with the time pressure is also something else: The fact, that you have VERY LITTLE CONTROL over the game. Lets say at gold level you are 90 percent of the time in the dark about what your opponent is doing!--> Fact. More control --> much more APM, much better mechanics.
And now comes my conclusion: I am a person, which can't deal too well with a situation, in which you have very less control. I 'need' a certain amount of control. And i think, this could maybe be the reason for other players aswell, why they can't deal with that time pressure and very low amount of control, that you have in this game----> Doing uncertain actions under big time pressure and very low control leads to the 'anxiety phenomenon'.
And if you are also a very ambitious person, it's also much harder.
Edit: But i feel, that some of the reasons you give, like the connection of your identity with a ladder and rank system being very brutal, are also right.
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How do you stop playing when you always feel like playing. That's why I never get my homework done  .
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I have GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) so I frequently have anxiety about tons of stuff throughout the day. I have ladder anxiety, and generally while I'm playing 1v1, (I strive to play some, but I dont play nearly enough) my hands start shaking, I forget stuff, and my play is waaaaaay rougher than normal. I'm starting to calm down however. The way I'm doing this is similar to the what the OP said.
It helps, for me at least, to treat every 1v1 opponent as just playing against a friend. (I'm in bronze, btw) It also seems when you think of a thought that makes you anxious, such as the "Find Match Button" you latch onto the thoughts about your previous losses, and how terrible it was, and how you're going to face super tough players, etc, etc.
The way you combat this (Which is also a technique for stopping GAD, taught to me by a psycologist I met with) is you (using his anology) trap the thought that makes you anxious in a bubble in your head. You do not react to this thought. You take a step back from yourself almost, and think, yes, this is a thought/item that makes me anxious, but right now I am not going to react to it, and poof. 9/10 the thought dissapears. You simply do this every single time you get an anxious thought, and it starts to break the habit of fearing the 1v1 button.
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One of the best ladder anxiety threads on TL  Awesome write up! Ty
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Good stuff, of course as a chemstudent I already know this to some extent,YET STILL after 5 seasons I've only played(~80wins + 120 custom games+campaign on all levels) .
I've been watching for 2h+(often a whole lot of more) SC2 prolevel gameplay each day for my interest, following every major tournament and players on twitter/streams. My knowledge of the game is far greater than the average player of the league im placed in imo(gold), but of course without practice you won't be able to physically utilize your knowledge.
The anxiety tends to make me slow and dumb during 1v1, but when playing against a computer to try a build-order my APM is hillariously increased.
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I used to get ladder anxiety.
But this was mainly because I used to smoke weed. It made me flustered during matches and having epic failure moments.
I'm a natural born competitor so optimizing and using strategy always made me enjoy SC2.
When i stopped smoking I got into masters off talented protoss build orders.
Anxiety for me is more of a problem when dealing with females, I'm sensitive to rejection so I get carried away by fear.
I cure that with booze so s'all good.
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Filter's guide taught me a lot, but probably the most important was forcing myself to "glhf" and "gg" every single game. It led me on to a much friendlier path and beeing able to compliment ur opponent actually makes u feel betyer about urself and takes away some of the "pressure"
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On June 27 2012 06:24 IFF wrote:
I have the solution to not being "psyched out" in a freakin video game: STOP BEING A PUSSY. GG.
While the OP was an interesting read...this is all that really needed to be said. It's a video game guys. If you're getting debilitating anxiety then you either are taking it way too seriously or you have some mental health issues. Everything must be put in the perspective of results. If you lose in a video game...what happens? Nothing.
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EPT
