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I am 34 and recently found joy in this game again. Do you think I am too old to make GM?
I played WOL when it came out and 2 base muta until Diamond in 2010.
I got back last year after I randomly found out about Serral beating Koreans.
I did mutas again and only got to Plat3...then found Vibe''s Bronze to GM guide and made it to Plat1. Hitting a wall right now with A move but learned about Macro.
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are you hoping to compete in tournaments for money? if not, just play the game and have fun. GM isn't what it was 9 years ago. there are many veteran players, and the mechanics of the game are more widely understood, not to mention cross pollination from other esport games means a lot of skilled people are on ladder. you can definitely make masters at 34.
choose a simple, conservative playstyle that doesn't involve too much heavy micro and culminates in a timing attack, perfect a build for each matchup. you'll get far
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No tournament, just ladder for fun. I am hoping to follow this guide before it gets outdated. I never knew the right way to play before this guide.
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NaDa, the legend made it to ASL not long ago, he is 34 like you. Why wouldn't you? And I will say qualifying ASL is like 15x harder than hitting GM.
All you need to do is to play, not to win, but to learn. Thus you can be consistent and achieve your goal.
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Canada8755 Posts
Well like it was said, 34 isn't to old to get GM if you put the time (and have the liberty to put in the time), but even then it's not a sure thing, GM is hard, like really really hard and the climb only get slower the closer you get to the top,. Around a year back there was a thread where 2 "older" guys with full time jobs who almost never played SC2 started a race to get GM in a year with some prize for the winner, they both burn out after a few months far from getting to GM.
I would say trying to get into master is a more achievable goal and if you arrive there and want to continue there's nothing that stop you, but overall just take it slow and have fun.
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Bisutopia19025 Posts
If you aren't a pro, I think StarCraft gets easier as you get older.
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https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0094215
eventhough there might be a decline in reactiontime, doesnt mean you cannot compete on a high level. imo prioritising is what a great player separates form the good one.
only few players over 35 in GM/M1? maybe... but i guess this has more to do with how much time you can spent on practicing.
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You're good to play no problem! To be realistic though making gm is not likely unless you have a natural talent for the game, it has nothing to do with age and simply statistics, only .19% of the population is currently gm. ~750 out of ~390 thousand accounts.
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Absolutely you can. Just need to put in the time and practice intelligently.
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On April 04 2019 04:39 Jurassic1 wrote: I am 34 and recently found joy in this game again. Do you think I am too old to make GM?
I played WOL when it came out and 2 base muta until Diamond in 2010.
I got back last year after I randomly found out about Serral beating Koreans.
I did mutas again and only got to Plat3...then found Vibe''s Bronze to GM guide and made it to Plat1. Hitting a wall right now with A move but learned about Macro. been nearly black out drunk, or so high on acid im not sure im a person, and I can still casually, without watching or knowing any sc2 meta at all, make it to diamond. It is not a hard game. Your age is not a limiting factor---except obviously you cant dedicate your life to the game and go pro. If you are half way intelligent, and have the physical coordination to dress yourself without splitting your head open, you can make diamond too.
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Yes GM is definitely still possible. The question is are you willing to put in the effort that it takes to get there? Age is not a factor, GM is not the super godly league that people might imagine it is. Just very time consuming to be good enough.
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The biggest lie I told myself before I became relatively ok at sc2 was thinking that higher rank = more fun. 5k mmr or 2k mmr, the game is still the same. Units do the same, maps are same. Just have fun imo.
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After 5-6 games of 1v1 I am phyically exhausted and sweating these days. Something definitely changed for me these last years.
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On April 04 2019 05:27 outscar wrote: NaDa, the legend made it to ASL not long ago, he is 34 like you. Why wouldn't you? And I will say qualifying ASL is like 15x harder than hitting GM.
All you need to do is to play, not to win, but to learn. Thus you can be consistent and achieve your goal.
Such a good point, playing to learn! Great post.
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On April 05 2019 00:57 ShambhalaWar wrote:Show nested quote +On April 04 2019 05:27 outscar wrote: NaDa, the legend made it to ASL not long ago, he is 34 like you. Why wouldn't you? And I will say qualifying ASL is like 15x harder than hitting GM.
All you need to do is to play, not to win, but to learn. Thus you can be consistent and achieve your goal. Such a good point, playing to learn! Great post.
PS. If money isn't a big deal, hire a coach.
In music, having a teacher is infinitely valuable. Mechanics are something you can learn online from forums and guides, but learning the way a better player sees the game is something you can only learn from that player.
Which is actually really valuable. I thinks that's why day9's old shows were so valuable, I learned so much about how to think about the game... I was sooo bad when I started, no natural talent what so ever.
Edit: Sorry double post I just woke up.
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Northern Ireland20675 Posts
I think it's absolutely doable, especially if you've played before to any standard. Keyboard familiarity and mouse accuracy are the sole real mechanical hurdles to play the game, I'd wager most of us older folks are actually tighter on these than subsequent generations as for me at least the PC and KBM was my sole communication device to the outside world for over a decade and the hub of my gaming and music listening experiences etc.
If you can type fast and navigate your desktop accurately, you can play Starcraft well, that's all you're essentially doing, the rest is knowledge and making good reads based off that knowledge.
Generalising a bit here, it's not always going to be the case but I would wager that older people are a bit more sanguine mentally and less prone to raging hard and tilting if they're laddering. At least I've found that to be the case for me anyway. I treat ladder at least initially as me just playing vs bots and with the sole goal of improving or executing a certain strat or style, at least until I get into some kind of shape after a hiatus and then maybe winning games starts to become a goal again.
I was a pretty decent guitar player, have just come back to it recently after a borderline 3 year hiatus for various reasons. I'm not quite what I was, but 99% of that muscle memory baseline is still there, to a surprising degree actually. I'm 29 myself, I think it'd be verydifficult now to get as good as I was if I had never played, I just don't have the time to put in the hours I did as a teenager and a younger man to grind the mechanics out. I'm filling in the theory gaps I had way more effectively though, not having all that free time means I've structured practice a lot better, so that side has actually improved with the time constraints forcing me to be more efficient in my practice.
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Northern Ireland20675 Posts
On April 05 2019 01:02 ShambhalaWar wrote:Show nested quote +On April 05 2019 00:57 ShambhalaWar wrote:On April 04 2019 05:27 outscar wrote: NaDa, the legend made it to ASL not long ago, he is 34 like you. Why wouldn't you? And I will say qualifying ASL is like 15x harder than hitting GM.
All you need to do is to play, not to win, but to learn. Thus you can be consistent and achieve your goal. Such a good point, playing to learn! Great post. PS. If money isn't a big deal, hire a coach. In music, having a teacher is infinitely valuable. Mechanics are something you can learn online from forums and guides, but learning the way a better player sees the game is something you can only learn from that player. Which is actually really valuable. I thinks that's why day9's old shows were so valuable, I learned so much about how to think about the game... I was sooo bad when I started, no natural talent what so ever. Edit: Sorry double post I just woke up. Yeah, 100%. For me at least the internet is a double-edged sword, it has all the information you could need, but that's a lot of information and I don't necessarily know what is good or not, sifting through it takes time and I find it a bit overwhelming. For guitar especially, which I play, it's full of 'hacks' to improve etc when you go looking online, which usually suck because they're teaching you to skirt around having to learn theory properly, and for me theory isn't difficult to learn if you learn it all because it's all interlinked and the picture becomes clearer the more you know, so avoiding doing so is counter-productive in the long run
Hiring a coach/teacher is invaluable because you can cut through that really quickly. You also get feedback which is super useful to have, a tutorial can't talk back to you. You might have one small, weird question that you can't find an answer for online, but is cleared up in about a minute of talking to someone who is an expert in the area.
Anyway best of luck OP, do let us know how your quest is going!
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I feel that what can be attainable to some, it may be hard for others. I am about your age. I managed to reach diamond 7 years ago, and I am able to reach diamond now (thus - no progress!). I have been playing - albeit with some pauses - all this time. Often I hit a point in game where I feel that I know what I want to do, but my fingers are not fast enough. Like - there is an intense micro fight, and I think "I should now look at my base and warp in some units. But then this battle is lost". Early game PvP with adepts is where I melt consistently for example.
Probably I could train my fingers hard, but I feel I am at my limit assuming just casual play.
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I'm 39 this year, and I'm playing. The only issue is lack of time (wife and 2 kids) that's why I warmed my stay in diamond :-) But I have no ambition to be pro. Just playing for fun.
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On April 05 2019 03:57 hiroshOne wrote: I'm 39 this year, and I'm playing. The only issue is lack of time (wife and 2 kids) that's why I warmed my stay in diamond :-) But I have no ambition to be pro. Just playing for fun.
You just need to convince your kids they should be pro players, then you can be the coach
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France12463 Posts
On April 04 2019 04:39 Jurassic1 wrote: I am 34 and recently found joy in this game again. Do you think I am too old to make GM?
I played WOL when it came out and 2 base muta until Diamond in 2010.
I got back last year after I randomly found out about Serral beating Koreans.
I did mutas again and only got to Plat3...then found Vibe''s Bronze to GM guide and made it to Plat1. Hitting a wall right now with A move but learned about Macro. You are not too old but is the journey worth it at that age? I don’t know, you probably won’t find that much joy playing if your sole goal is to become GM, mostly frustration.
I’d recommend playing as much as you enjoy it, while keeping this GM goal in mind, and not care that much if you become too frustrated.
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i'm about to be 32 and still play starcraft around master level... there's other players our age as well who are fine, age should never be a barrier. do it if you want.
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I think the majority of determined adults under 50 can probably make it to GM (on Americas) with the right type, amount and dedication to practice.
The main problem is at 34 (my age too) is life does become a real hurdle to any sincere dedication to a video game, as any thing other than a casual pass time.
The other issue that I see, is that SC2 is probably more fun (for older, less serious, non-pros) at moderately lower levels i.e. high diamond-low masters because the higher you go, the more knife-edged everything starts to become and if you're like me, this kind of stuff is frustrating.
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On April 04 2019 05:46 BisuDagger wrote: If you aren't a pro, I think StarCraft gets easier as you get older.
Turning 30 this year, and I really only started playing with some regularity 1-2 years ago (after playing a lot from WOL - HOTS). I was never any good--only made it to Diamond (but I was diamond when there was no masters!), but I think it has gotten a little easier as I've gotten older. I'm a little looser and enjoy the game more. My APM is even better than it used to be, but I don't expect this to last forever.
SC2 remains my favorite lunch-break pastime
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masters anyone can make
GM not so sure, prove us wrong buddy
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can def get GM if you take enough time off. but it has to be important to you or you won't make it. Take small steps, analyze replays, watch as much pro starcraft as possible, and not just watch it, analyze it while doing so.
Also do it on the NA server, it's way easier. i would say a 5200-5300 on EU easily makes GM on NA nowadays.
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GM is REALLY hard to reach, you have to practice your ass off and really refine your style and even then it's not guaranteed. Anyone who's willing to practice deliberately can reach M, though. The skill gap between M3 and GM is huge, though. Also don't forget: Everyone else got better over the years, too.
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Im 35 with a wife and three kids. I put the game down for about four years and just got back into it a week ago. I havent played ranked matches yet but unranked is still tracking my MMR and im being placed entirely against diamonds and beating them quite regularly. i dont think its out of the question for someone to be in their mid 30's and make grandmaster.
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You certainly ain't the oldest one on ladder, brother. Far from it. Keep trucking!
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i returned after 4years to sc2, basically i was master before, it took me about a month to get back into master3, i remember in hots it took like 3-4months to reach master (i was master in wol and stopped playing as well). One different thing i did after returning to sc2 is focusing only to macro builds, and honestly it helped me so much, i got improvements in my play each day. I can adapt new information in my play without changing much. So basically if you are planning to improve, focus on macro. Also try to to focus on your mistakes, what you did wrong each game you lost, try to analyze opponents builds, how you won, i never did that stuff before, but definitely helps so much.
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damn, a lot of players coming back in. Maymbe there is salvation for sc2? lol..anyway i got into sc2 Dec 2017 i believe. I played on and off too, maymbe a total of only 9 months of actual playing and gaming? not sure, ive been offline for a month now basically. I'm basically retired though, i use to play back then 2000-05. I would say get the old skool gamers out and just get into it. I'm AkA: gO)PaTieNt, NeT.BOY_PaTieNt. I'm sorta disabled now as well so its hard for me to compete at a competitive lvl.
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You can’t be too old, only too busy to put in the practice. To get to GM you can’t play mindlessly, you have to specifically focus on weak points and fix them with deliberate practice instead of thinking short term about winning ladder points. For example, if you are Zerg, you should practice the Serral method for injecting. You might do that by playing 5 games a day against very easy AI practicing a solid macro build and focusing on smooth inject cycles before you ladder.
That said, Platinum and Diamond are very fun leagues to be in. They are not as hard to attain andmore play styles are viable, but people still mostly play builds you would recognize for the first 5 minutes of a professional game. Bronze and Silver league you’re unlikely to see recognizable standard builds, things go off the rails after 2 minutes.
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Yeah, it is just a game, play it for fun and/or the challenge. Don't get caught up on age, just figure out what sparks joy when you play the game.
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I'm 38 turning 39 this year.
was masters multiple times but now im stuck at diamond 1.
I work a lot etc so I can't put my best effort but I do feel people have gotten better and at times when I'm tired from work I do feel slower
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Chinese caster Xiaose is 37 years old now,and he's GM in KR ladder.
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Life is what gets in the way as you get older.
I am pretty sure someone putting as much time in as a younger player can attain any level. I suspect top 100/being a pro in Korea is near impossible even if the age limitation factor is probably extremly small, that top 100 is putting as much time as humanly possible so even a very small edge make all the difference. Also, I suspect probably there is a biological limitation that is less correlated to age that we think. Some humans simply have a better brain for those tasks and can achieve higher proficiency.
Thing is : it's so much harder to justify putting 10 hours a day and seeing the years pass by when you are 35 than when you are 19.
I guess there needs to be more study on the subject?
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Set your bar at Master first (or even a solid Diamond 1). Your expectation must be realistic. Reach the Master rank first, then re-evaluate your goal and go from there. I bet you do not have to ask any of us. You already know the answer yourself.
I'm also 34 yo and is Master. Full-time job. To answer your original question, I do think it's highly possible to reach GM at our age or even older. The key is to continuously learn the game correctly and improve. You probably cannot reach GM without a solid foundation of knowledge and have no guidance. The fastest way is most likely with a coach as it is hard to learn it on your own after you get home from work.
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I don't think you will make it, it takes a lot of time and dedication. I think you need to practice at least 2 years very consistent to have a shot for GM. I was very active in WoL and on the edge of GM (M1) and played a lot of GMs (fun sidefact I have never won vs Kas I was like 0:15 vs him) - right now I play a few games a week after a 5year break (catched up with the meta cause I watched most of the big tournaments). So I win easily vs D1 and low masters BUT there is a big skillgap between M3 and GM. So everything is possible but it's a tough way and takes a lot of hours
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I don't think being good at SC2 really has much to do with age, more to do with how much time you can dedicate to it. I'm turning 36 this year, my third child is on the way, and some weeks I literally don't have time to play SC2 at all. I can still maintain a Diamond MMR pretty easily, but to think I could ever make GM with the amount of time I have to dedicate to the game is simply put, delusional.
So again, age is basically irrelevant. I know I would likely make Masters pretty easily if I could even just put in 2-3 hours/day, like 5 days a week, but unfortunately that isn't even possible for me with the time constraints I have working full-time and raising a young family.
Best of luck, and remember, just enjoy the game, and make realistic goals. Going up a Tier within your league is more the kind of realistic goal you should be setting, because putting the bar so high will only result in frustration. I know I will never be top Masters calibre because I can't put enough time and effort aside for SC2, so I enjoy playing at a Diamond lv when I do get the chance... Hope this helps.
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artosis is almost 40 and is playing both sc2 and bw at highish level
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you aren't too old to reach GM, but is it worth the time investment? almost certainly no
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i dont think you have any sorta shot past master 1.
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On April 07 2019 08:47 jinjin5000 wrote: artosis is almost 40 Artosis just turned 36 yesterday. Last week he was officially 35. That's not "nearly 40", mate.
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any old skool gamers want to play? Prolly will play a bit again, was offline for a bit. Prolly gonna focus on BW more though..Currently playing @USeast. PM me or post tag and I will add when I can, btw im 31 years old..forgot to mention that in last post. Boxer is streamin nowadays as well..hf~
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k I guess I will just post my tag then..PuRpOs3#1184 @Americas. Give me an idea what your doing when u add me. Also I thought Artosis doesn't do SC2 anymore, just bw. Whats his AkA on sc2? How much time do u guys think is needed to compete in a "competitive" lvl? I remember playing like 14-15 hours a day in my teen years lol. I know it was OD..prolly would've done things differently, laterz.
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On April 08 2019 01:42 figq wrote:Artosis just turned 36 yesterday. Last week he was officially 35. That's not "nearly 40", mate. spoken like someone who is nearly 40
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I’m 40 and made masters in 1 month. I’ve never played SC2 previously
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Northern Ireland20675 Posts
On July 20 2020 12:13 Admirable_Classroom2 wrote: I’m 40 and made masters in 1 month. I’ve never played SC2 previously A 40 year old who’d never played SC2 making Masters in a month?
Come on gotta expand a bit there, much RTS experience? If you did manage this feat I’m sure a lot of people would want to hear about your ways
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