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Aean(: · Sun, 17th-Jul-2011, 10:42 PM

I take like 5 hours break in between my ladder games trololol. Starcraft II is a stressful game overall.

aLtShortizz · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 1:44 AM

Actually mate, there are some Zerg Builds that caters to Close spawn in ZvT. I cant even tell you how many Master+ terrans ive beat using baneling bust. DOnt be dishearten, just look around for some builds that would help you improve what u are weak at.

EscapisT · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 1:50 AM

Hmm i understand how you feel where you said the only person that can make mistakes is you.
Don't take it negatively, instead think this way; your the one who screwed up, your the one that can fix it.
I know this feeling claimed many SC2 players when they just decided to move on to something else less taxing after trying it out for the first time, but actually if you look at it in a different light this "stressful its all your fault" feeling when you lose can be used as a catalyst to force yourself to improve. Personally before SC2 I've only played games which rely on teamwork and chemistry some examples, DotA, L4D2 and i HATE to lose. So whenever we get owned i just cant help but "blame" my good friends and be a dick and feel bad afterwards when i calm down. So when i picked up SC2 the 1v1 getting owned its-all-your-own-fault feeling was very refreshing, look around, there is no one to blame but YOU. Figure out what u did wrong 1piece at a time(I said piece as to me its a giant jigsaw puzzle where you must put everything thing together) keep that piece in your mind and move on to the next game, now u have 2 pieces to work on, keep going now you have 3!. Keep working on it and one day you may find that you have pieced the whole puzzle together!!
Hoped that made sense and helped (:

duanloves · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 4:20 AM

im diamond now and got placed with gm 4 times. win 2 lose 2. Get alot of masters now and high diamond. it quite demoralizing to lose but it just means that im close to be promoted and which can then better my game.

Nobunaga · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 6:19 AM

I'm not sure what league you're in, but you can never do the "practice phase" of your gaming lifetime half-assed. You should probably hit up some customs with friends and just grind out the close spawns and cheese until they become a non-issue for you in ladder.

matthras · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 9:22 AM

@Nobunaga - I'd say around mid-Diamond, judging by the opponents I've been facing, but I have faced off a couple of Masters players (but not consistently enough to call myself high Diamond). The main reason it's usually 'half-assed' is usually because during the University semester I usually don't have the energy to commit to practice after a long day at Uni. Also, lack of RL friends at my level hurts a little, but I have mentioned a pending application to a clan so hopefully that works out

@EscapisT - It's interesting how you have a completely different view. For me with games like League of Legends, the fact that it's a team game means that to me, individual mistakes don't matter so much. If my team loses and I know I haven't majorly screwed up, then I can just easily say 'Well, I did the best I could.' I'm not one to shout and berate team members for not doing their job properly, though.
But I didn't think of it in the way of "You're the one who screwed up, you're the one that can fix it", thanks ^^;

FSDarkNemesis · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 12:08 PM

I know how you feel, I'm also having the feeling that this game is getting really taxing. And since I started laddering in Season 2 which ended up STILL with no wins for 1v1-3v3, I just keep thinking to myself:

"Seriously, I can't get the hang of this thing."

I want to train more to get out of the crappy standards and at least get something in the Silver League but with my time constraints because of army, I can't play that often with my Clan mates from Team Envy. That's why I literally ENVY those who don't have a job like I do. I still train at times and but I still want to do more, including more tournaments.

I would love BSG weekday tournaments and somebody to coach me for free (Protoss) between 8pm-10pm SGT seriously but I can't find any!

**PiG** · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 1:05 PM

Sounds like you're putting too much pressure on yourself to win the game rather then improve. Alot of players feel this way and in a competitive multiplayer game it isn't really the attitude to have. Realistically you can't hope to get much over 50% win rate until you are at the very top of GM because as you win you get matched with better players.

From what you've said here I believe you're so reliant on winning for satisfaction that you aren't improving from your losses. You need to try to use your losses as a building-board for future success. Basically as some people have said above, learn a variety of rushes for close positions ZvT and ZvP and just accept it when these fail (if executed correctly you will have great success right up to a high level of play. A simple pointer would be to use alot of spines!).

More importantly I think you need to remember it's never just ONE thing that loses you a game. There is often one LARGE mistake that will push your game clearly into the loss category. However if you calm yourself down and look over your replays more calmly I'm 100% sure you will see macro and micro errors. And if you look even deeper you should be seeing ways you could have adjusted your build order depending on scouting information. This sort of thinking about your losses will really help you improve and take your game to the next level!

If 2 games in a row are leaving you too stressed out then you are already way too stressed going into these games. Try to relax as you ladder more and more even if you're losing most of your games until you are comfortable with ladder! From a comfortable position on ladder try to look at the game dispationately! That's right, actually control your thoughts into an ordered structure and try to put all that excitement and emotion into controlled play.

Good luck taking it easy on ladder Matthras

matthras · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 1:14 PM

Thanks, PiG! You're most certainly right in that I feel I need some satisfaction from winning. This is mainly due to not playing the game so much during the University semester (and previously, the lack of a second game that I can play much more casually).
Admittedly time management hasn't been one of my strongest points, so will definitely work on that (i.e. setting aside time to ladder and be in a practice-focused state rather than just hopping on SC2, hitting up a ladder game and needing the satisfaction from winning).

I managed three games on ladder this morning and actually came out of it rather relaxed and calm and actively thinking about where I went wrong (putting it roughly, one loss due to NOT sticking to my game plan, and the other through lack of scouting). Thanks for the responses, guys

Next_rim · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 3:27 PM

Sounds like you are putting to much on yourself. Any ladder-type 1v1 game (not only sc2) is about cool mind, 0 emotions, and machine-like execution. Try to go into the game with 100% strategic readiness. Don't rage if you are given 10 zerg in a row, or if you get cheesed. It's frustrating, but every opponent is beatable, if you set yourself for it.

I admit there is RNG. I rage hard when I get distracted from the game, and lose due to it. And it is 10-fold rage if I'm being rushed or cheesed.

It seems I'm having bad luck with these. I was getting 6-pooled lately, scouted wrong way and such, but had a perfect probe stack, and had everything in the world to beat it. Then gf asks something trivial, and I lose. JUST at this particular moment, not 5 seconds later, when I'd be winning already. Or the phone rings. Or the cat starts scratching furniture, and I have to go shoo her off.

Distractions make my evil side go medieval on things around me.

But meh, I can't lock myself in the room every time I play sc2.

Set your mind for improvement, not winning, and you will have it. Focus on small things. Over time, you will say to yourself more in more - "gawd, that guy must be awful, I just stomped him like a freight train. He shouldn't even be in masters".

Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 8:01 PM

I know exactly how you feel because I similarly feel mentally exhausted after just 1-2 games.
The best thing you can do is just go play some prac games from chat channels, those always feel less stressful. Improve from there, then go back to ladder. At least that was what I did.

FrOst · Mon, 18th-Jul-2011, 9:14 PM

+1 PiG. If you're too hard on yourself you'll become frustrated after a loss, which will lead you to making rash decisions and throwing games away. I find the best thing to do is walk away after 2 losses in a row, then come back later once your head is cool and you can think rationally. If that doesn't work go find some online mates and play a few customs with them. When there's no pressure you'll find that you'll be able to think more clearly and make better decisions

DO NOT do what I do which is keep playing until you get a win. This can lead to 10+ losses in a row... haha.

**Apth** · Tue, 19th-Jul-2011, 8:29 AM

When you load up a ladder game, your goal is to win.

Instead, try making your goal something else - to have a ridiculous creep spread, to keep your money below 500 the whole game, to not get supply blocked, things like that.

That way, even if you lose, you feel like you've accomplished something - as well as improving on your fundamentals, which will result in you winning more matches in the future.

mGGDaedalus · Tue, 19th-Jul-2011, 9:30 AM

I know how you feel man, it's just the nature of the game I guess. Sometimes I just have to stop playing for a week or 2 because I get so angry at the game and myself that I don't enjoy it anymore. Like yesterday I hopped on for one ladder game and lost because of a stupid mistake I made, was so angry I had to stop playing and even that night when I was trying to sleep I was just going over my mistakes in my head because it was so frustrating.

Just take a break from time to time, it's not worth it if you're not enjoying the game, and try to play when you're feeling refreshed and focused, nothing worse than playing after a mentally draining day at work or uni and then losing because of stupid mistakes when you know better.

Azron · Tue, 19th-Jul-2011, 9:34 AM

To help me ladder - I generally like to put some music that just gets me in the right state of mind.

Besides its not really mass gaming from what I've learnt, quality game w/ analysis why you won / lost / what you could of done different really sets it apart from just massing =)