Hey guys,
I've been playing Starcraft 2 as Zerg on and off essentially since release now, and in that time I've grown to love the game and have a real appreciation for the level of dedication that goes into mastering the complex nature of this game.
I've recently finished Year 12 (Finally!) and have taken a year off schooling before going to university for 2 reasons. Firstly, I never really enjoyed school and couldn't wait to take a break and essentially dick around for a year. The second reason, however, was, in my eyes, somewhat more serious. I wanted to free up my schedule to give myself time to focus on Starcraft. I'm aiming to improve as much as I possibly can and ideally make a move into the competitive scene, but I've got a long way to go.
I suppose the main purpose of this post is to share my goals with the SC2SEA community, as well as (hopefully) pick up a few pointers that might help me to overcome the obstacles in my endeavours. I've started playing a lot more after recently returning from a roughly 6 month hiatus to League of Legends and have encountered a few problems:
I've been trying to play for longer periods of time in order to maximise the practice time i have available in the day. However, I'm finding that after 90 minutes - 2 hours, my concentration begins to lapse. My timings slip, I lose overlords because I forgot to move them, I lose 20+ drones to basic helion harass because I've forgotten to build spines in my mineral lines. Essentially, after playing for a while, I begin to play a lot worse and lose games that I really shouldn't.
This brings me to my next issue, Motivation. I really don't care about my ladder rank (I'm currently mid diamond on SEA and was rank 1 platinum on HotS before beta closed) so ladder anxiety certainly isn't an issue. However, It's when I start to make stupid mistakes that my motivation drops - particularly when I lose to the same thing multiple times in a row. I also find that after a long session of laddering, I always plan to get back into it but end up procrastinating and putting it off in any way I can until it's 1am and my planned 5+ hours of practice has eventuated into 2 if I'm lucky. I've set up a stream in the hopes that having interaction with others while playing might do something to boost my motivation, and it certainly has helped, but the problem still remains.
I think the biggest problem, for me atleast, is how to effectively utilize my time so that It's not wasted. Currently, almost all of my practice time goes into ladder, with the occasional tournament on z33k as well as the GPD open each week here on SC2SEA. I think that practice partners would be a good way to solve this as it allows for consistent practice against one build, so if anybody wants to practice feel free to message me
I apologise if this blog has turned into a mindless rant complaining about my own personal shortcomings, but I thought i would post it to get some feedback at the very least.
Thanks for reading and I hope to see a lot of you in-game =)
Iam only in bronze right now looking to move up through the ranks like every one else and have been succeeding at it by practice and keeping my motivation going. The whole point of this is when you are constantly playing after a specific amount of hours take a break in between and get back to it. If you start to go on a loosing streak stop and think of what you could be doing wrong step back and come back to it in a while . After you take that time to breath and think then maby watch some of the replays don't over think it. it comes down to keeping that motivation going any way you can even if you loose don't get discouraged and keep at it. Good luck and hope you keep at it.
I also struggle from time to time especially with concentration over multiple games it sucks
Well if you need any help terran related let me know i dont mind practicing with you add me on skype.
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"I'm beating kids on Christmas" - FeDe 2013
WWJDD - What would Jaedong do? Know it, Live it, Love it. Grats on Bonjwa.
SC2 ladder can be ridiculously frustrating, the most important thing is to embrace mistakes and losses and learn from them, learn from lapses in concentration, eventually the things you forgot will become second nature etc. Motivation is intrinsic, no one other than yourself can make you motivated to ladder (Though eye of the tiger/rocky definitely helps)
i do find motivation soooo hard like i cant do it on my own and my clan is mopre social so i do find it difficult i can play for 2-3 hours but that will be mostly chatting watching some gsl or somthing and afew games of barcraft n maybe 2-4 games in peepmode n 1-2 ladder games so sad!
I think a very key factor is determination, and how much you are willing to give to produce results. Koreans play about 6-8 hours a day, but you dont have to do that because starcraft is a sport of its own and like running you cant do it for long periods of time without being 'fit' enough and having the endurance, so keep playing and set goals for each month maybe by playing more or getting a particular build perfected. With time you will slowly build up the hours and time, starcraft takes a lot of time to get good at but i feel its a very rewarding game to play.
However, I'm finding that after 90 minutes - 2 hours, my concentration begins to lapse
This is the same for everyone, your most affective focused practice will come in 90-120 min intervals. You should use this to your advantage, such as 2 hours on, 2 hours off schedule.Part of your 'off schedule' can be spent snacking and watching VODs and streams to learn while you take a break! (if you're really hardcore).
Joining a Clan can help get you practice partners?
But good luck! SEA needs another top level competitive Zerg!
heres something i learnt after doing mass sessions, the first five games id go 4/5 or 5/5 generally as my concentration was good, I'd advise a 10-30 minute break after 5, get up move around go do laundry or something to just move the muscles and refresh the mind, it worked amazingly for me went from being a player who would win 50% of ladder games to 60%+ just being able to think thru everything. i guess what im trying to say is smart play is better than mass play
Try to follow the 3 golden circles. Why? How? What? Apply these to your training and motivation. Why train to be better and devise a plan of action for you training. Be discipline and take it into action and your motivation will remain.
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