EPT1. Introduction
2. Learning Barriers
3. Types of Learning
4. Psychological Influence
5. Eliminating Bad Habits and Ladder Anxiety
6. The Importance of Losing
7. References
Introduction
Greetings Team Liquid community! I want to introduce myself before moving on because this is actually my first post. I’ve been hooked on Starcraft 2, TeamLiquid, etc., since Starcraft 2 came out. I used to play MMO and FPS games before, but I found the depth of Starcraft 2 very enticing, and so I eventually switched to RTS as my favorite genre of video games. I am aware that I am way late to the game—Brood War has been out for so many years!
Anyways, for some reason I never felt I had anything to contribute to the community, and honestly, the community as a whole is so damn helpful to anyone who needs it, that I felt obligated to contribute something that I feel hasn’t been touched upon in depth. Some of this guide is aimed towards helping everyone, but also specifically for those who are struggling to advance and improve in the lower leagues.
I've recently discovered that there are so many people that have the same problem I had. People from silver to platinum are reaching a ‘plateau,’ so to speak. They advance to the top of their leagues, but just can’t seem to break into the next level. I am here for the sole purpose of offering valuable insight into how to maximize your learning process. I believe that if you are motivated, and understand the concepts of optimal learning, you will constantly improve and never experience roadblocks in your progress to be the best that you can be.
A final note: I don't claim ownership of any of the ideas presented in this guide. I am simply taking information I have learned through research and a few great sources of information that I have had access to.
Learning Barriers
The first thing I would like to touch upon is the concept of learning barriers. During the learning process, it is imperative that you have the knowledge necessary to identify and remove any barriers that are blocking your path to progression.
This may sound simple, but believe it or not, many people have hit a learning barrier without even knowing that it is there. A common misconception is that when you stop progressing, it means you have reached your peak performance. This is absolutely not the case.
There are a few things you can do to avoid hitting learning blocks, but it is most important to understand that they are there. As soon as you are aware of what is hindering your progress, you can easily kick its ass out of your path to excellence.
A commonly heard of learning barrier is called ‘ladder anxiety.’ I can attest to the existence of this because I used to get it. I’m no psychologist, but my guess is that it is caused by the competitive nature of laddering combined with preexisting anxiety. Your brain simply uses any excuse it can to convince you out of clicking that button.
There are much more subtle barriers that one can encounter, though. Maybe someone gave you advice that isn’t actually helpful for you personally. This can happen by following generalized advice such as, “just play a lot of ladder games and you will eventually get better.” You can take this advice, play four hours a day for two weeks, and not experience a large amount of progress at all.
This is because learning optimally is never that simple. A rule of thumb is to never follow simple or generalized advice. There is much more to be said on this topic, but for the sake of convenience I will end by reiterating the most important point.
The key to continuous improvement is to identify and eliminate potential learning barriers.
Just a disclaimer: It is a basic fact that you won’t improve without playing a lot. My point is that knowing how to maximize your practice while playing is equally as important as just numbly grinding out games.
Types of Learning
I read a book called The Art of Learning recently, which offered some life altering insight into the learning process. It was actually what inspired me to make this guide; I just felt like some of this information needed to be shared.
The author of the book, Josh Waitzkin, explains that there are two ways that people approach learning. These methods are usually developed during adolescence, often without their knowledge.
First, there is the ‘entity theorist.’ This type of learner is conditioned from an early age that his successes are a result of his superior intellect. This type of condition poses a problem later in life when he reaches something that is very difficult, something that he fails miserably at. Due to the years of having this mentality, he reasons that he is simply not good at that particular thing, and that his talents are better suited for something else. Obviously you can see the damage this way of thinking can cause. An otherwise intelligent person ends up settling for mediocrity. Terrible.
Then there is the other type of learner: the’ incremental theorist.’ This type of learner is conditioned by early authority figures that hard work and dedication will always result in success. You can see how this conditioning is far superior to that of the first. Someone who has been conditioned this way will react very differently when faced with a difficult situation. Instead of reasoning that it is too difficult, they will think that as long as they put all their effort and motivation into it, they will eventually find success.
You may notice similarities in the way you approach life, so it is important to note that these identities are not unalterable and you can change your mindset with a little bit of conscious effort.
It is important to understand that hard work and motivation will almost always lead to a positive result.
Psychological Influence
Everyone reading this probably knows that awful feeling of going on tilt after a hard loss on the ladder. Usually annoyed and fuming, the player stubbornly continues playing instead of confronting the stressor that caused him to go on tilt.
Especially in the competitive world, recognizing the psychological influence on performance is the key to continuous success.
Say you win your first tournament, then your second, then your third, and then all of the sudden you fall off the radar. What happened? It is simple, really.
When you first entered the competitive world, you were excited and confident in your play. Your first win boosts your confidence even more. Your second win, even more. By your third win, it is easy to lose track of the mindset you had going into your first three victories. You were confident and excited. Your mind was sharp.
You are famous; you’ve just won three major tournaments in a row. All at once you are bombarded with fame, exposure, and fans. Suddenly losing is not an option. You have fans to think about, you have the fame and exposure on your shoulders.
The point of this example is that it is too easy to let subtle changes in mindset take away that sharp focus you usually have. The easiest way to fight this is to identify the cause of your negative psychological influence. If you went on tilt for five games after a tough loss, go back to that game and find out what it was that caused you to react badly.
Once aware of what caused a negative emotional response, it becomes simpler to overcome it.
Another point I want to make is that being too focused on an outcome can act as a barrier that may seem impenetrable. Don’t dwell on the result you seek but rather the steps that will eventually take you there.
Eliminating Bad Habits and Ladder Anxiety
If you are serious about improving your play, you first should identify and eliminate any bad habits that could negatively impact your progression.
For lower league players, watching pro streams can actually be a big hindrance to their improvement. Other bad habits that hinder your progression: cheese, all-in tactics, cookie cutter builds, following advanced strategies at a low level, etc.
Don’t be BM. I know that sometimes it may be tempting but there is never a case where BM is acceptable. Never approach something you are trying to improve upon with a negative attitude—you won’t get anywhere and people won’t like you.
There are too many bad habits to list, but a recurring theme in this guide is that if you are able to identify your problems, you’ve already solved half of them.
Ladder anxiety is an interesting phenomenon; why would anyone feel anxious about playing a game? There are several reasons; the most important is probably the ranking system. For some people, this sounds ridiculous. Unfortunately, it is real, and many lower league players experience difficulty in overcoming it.
I am here to tell you that if you are motivated enough—and you will know if you are—there are some simple ways to overcome the fear of laddering. First, it is important that you tackle the problem head on instead of avoiding it i.e. only playing custom games. I will list out some simple ways to overcome ladder fear.
+ Show Spoiler +
-Purchase a smurf account, a different region than your own would be best.
-Talk to a friend on skype while laddering
-Hang out with a friend who also plays starcraft, set up computers and ladder away. This is extra helpful because then you guys can analyze each other’s play.
-Depending on your personal beliefs, you also have the option to partake in the smoking of the cannabis to rid yourself of inhibition(I particularly like this method)
-Stream, and have someone who is willing to watch your stream give you pointers after each game
-Learn to enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes with playing, rather than letting it cause discomfort
I realize that some of these options are not available to some people, and I apologize but these are all I can think of. If it makes you feel better, I was able to just snap out of it and realize how ludicrous it was to be apprehensive about playing a game.
-Talk to a friend on skype while laddering
-Hang out with a friend who also plays starcraft, set up computers and ladder away. This is extra helpful because then you guys can analyze each other’s play.
-Depending on your personal beliefs, you also have the option to partake in the smoking of the cannabis to rid yourself of inhibition(I particularly like this method)
-Stream, and have someone who is willing to watch your stream give you pointers after each game
-Learn to enjoy the adrenaline rush that comes with playing, rather than letting it cause discomfort
I realize that some of these options are not available to some people, and I apologize but these are all I can think of. If it makes you feel better, I was able to just snap out of it and realize how ludicrous it was to be apprehensive about playing a game.
The Importance of Losing
Losing games is by far the best way to learn. Unfortunately, for some people losing is devastating and demotivating. If this sounds like you, you must change your mindset if you ever want to improve. Losing is the all-in-one tool for improvement. If you are able to accept a loss for what it is—an opportunity to learn—you will see that your play will become much more relaxed and you will never have a pointless loss. If you can make use of the knowledge that each loss has to offer, you will win many more games and will be able to identify any flaws in your play.
It is important that you utilize the replay function in the game. Although this is common knowledge and has been reiterated by so many people, replays are still underused.
Keep this in mind when you lose a game:
If you lose a game and have no clue why, you are doing yourself a disservice by not watching the replay and identifying your mistake.
If you win a game but don’t really know why you won, you are doing yourself a disservice by not watching the replay and identifying what won you the game.
The End
This is the end of the guide. Again, I apologize if anyone feels that any of this information s useless. I personally believe that every insight I have offered can only do good. This is my first guide, and I honestly have no idea if i formatted this well or not, so apologies for that.
Finally, to give credit where credit is due:
Thanks to anyone who has ever posted a guide on TL. There can never be too much information, and a lot of guides on TL have influenced me in one way or another.
Of course, Day[9] has also deeply influenced my mentality and thought process, and he has touched upon many of the things I have mentioned.
On another note, I want to deeply thank Day[9] for recommending the book, The Art of Learning, which was my main inspiration and source of information for writing this guide. If anyone is interested in this book, Day[9] has a link to it on his twitch.tv channel.
I hope I have helped at least one person with this, as I did actually spend quite some time writing it. Thank you
