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A fun year of n00bcraft
 

It's Christmas, so I'm going to celebrate the hobby which has brough so much fun to my year, and practice reminiscing like a rambling old man on a porch trying to kill children through the unindictable weapon of inflicted boredom.

A year ago, after stumbling across Day[9] on youtube and having my Starcraft Nostalgia poked with a whopping huge stick, I bought Starcraft 2 HoTS. Naturally, I was terrible, but I was having fun with the campaign. I practiced for multiplayer in customs but was even bullied at first by the very easy AI. Clearly, I needed to learn what I was doing.

So I watched dailies, learned to build an overlord at 9 and a pool at 15, and suddenly I had graduated to the Easy AI. Progress! Around then I stumbled across SC2SEA and Twitch streams.

I got to watch Zepphnarde casting the WCS SEA Qualifiers, and Fenner as well. I watched the Acer Teamstory Cup. I became hooked on the eSports side of SC2, which meant I could enjoy the game at its best even though I was playing it so terribly.

At the same time I watched Fenner's fundamentals on Zerg mechanics, and soon had graduated to the Medium AI and placed in Bronze League. My ladder woes had begun =D

I burrowed into SC2SEA as a forum lurker and eventually decided to join the most polite and well-mannered clan in all the world: IXL. It was tea and scones all day every day, honest.

But I was still dying like a dog in bronze league, which was when IXL KingSlayer (now x5) suggested I just focus on Fenner's silver league build. Hours of practice later, and I had the timing down perfectly. I Roach/Ling all-inned my way from bronze to low-tier gold league in 9 games. Progress again! Eugene earned the honour of 'Best Coach Ever' for that ladder season.

But then I started to lose. A lot. Because apparently people in high gold/low platinum knew how to hold a rush. I was devastated. I would have to learn how to macro, to expand to three or even more bases. I'd have to learn how to handle a mid, or even late, game economy. The horror... My SC2 career was obviously over.

Sometime during that particularly vicious two-season-long plateau, Stephen-Senpai (x5 Arrival) agreed to give me some coaching. He taught me a ZvZ build which served as good practice for developing my ability to drone bases and build up a massive army at 9 minutes. I learned how to roach and take 3 bases. The first time I roached another macro-ing zerg into the ground at 10m, I felt like a literal god.

But I was dying to Terran all the time. And my ZvP was pretty trash as well. Having 60% ZvZ, 20% ZvT, and 30% ZvP made me realise I needed to learn more builds until I found one that suited my personality. Watching streams helped a lot, and a massive Christmas shout out to PiG and Fenner, who I got a lot of inspiration from these past few months.

This season I largely avoided ladder. I played a lot of games in customs, practicing various builds. I played around with army compositions and micro in the HoTS Unit Tester.

Balimaar also introduced me to the madness which is the Multitasking trainer (Thanks man!) - I swear, my laptop almost died to my probe-induced rage. But it helped my control groups and shift-egging immensely.

Then, in the leadup to Christmas, I found the build I had needed: one which suited my sense of fun perfectly. And suddenly I was beating Terrans and Protoss again. I dragged my ZvT up to 50% in 48 hours. I was fighting with 3 and 4 base economies, massing roach/hydra in numbers I had never before managed except in some ZvZ.

And today, I performed my first ever Roach/Hydra/Viper domination of a Protoss. My first ever Abducts on ladder, and they worked perfectly. Best Christmas present ever.

To conclude, a big thank you to all the guys in IXL, to all the SEA streamers I watch, and to all the SC2SEA folks I banter with in those Twitch streams. My year in SC2 a lot of fun.

2015, I will go Platinum #TheDream


--2014 personal SC2 highlights--

* Joining IXL
* Reaching Silver.
* Reaching Gold.
* Making friends on ladder while doing silly things for Day9 funday mondays
* Coaching with x5 Arrival
* Punning progamer names with Soul so much in one stream chat that poor Phil0 had no choice but to silence us for a couple of minutes. Kappa
* Co-Casting the AxS v DGTV Clan War with Balimaar and HvG Ice/ETL Poison/<insert new change of name here Kappa>
* Completing the multitasking trainer on Very Easy and Easy
* My first ever viper abducts on collossi, and destroying a protoss as a result.

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

Good read man it's always motivating hearing other people's success! Keep up the good work bro

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

That pun session in twitch chat was easily top 3 of my twitch viewer experience this year.
It was just soO good, don't know why philo had to Ruin it. Alas, our Journey is at an end for 2014.

I'm glad you had an awesome time all year! ^_^

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

It was a Classic experience, and BrAvO to the both of us for making the EffOrt. PartinG with 2014 is such sweet sorrow, but I'm sure in 2015 we'll Crank it up to 11.

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

If I had mod power I'd close this thread right now and edit both of your contributions Kappa

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

Have you no Heart? We need to keep this kind of tradtion aLive! I'm sure soul and I will always find a way to engineer its Revival. Kappa

But don't worry. One day I'll pun a little too far (or a lot too far kekeke) and my housemate will finally snap and end my reign of TerrOr =D

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

That Has got to be some of TheBest punny sentences I've seen.

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

The puns are real

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

Taeja. Am I doing it right?

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

TY for being Dear to SC2 this year. Don't go Rogue on us.

Hope next year you achieve your Platinum Dream in a Flash

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

All those puns were a great Xmas present for me =D
Cheers!

Re: A fun year of n00bcraft
 

Well played brother. IXL forever!!