SC2SEA.com - Starcraft 2 SEA eSports Community Site

Hi everyone, I'm mrfool.439 and I'm here to put some thoughts I have in my mind about the SEA server, my anger over starhub for lettng me dc from like 5 games so far? Games that I never had a chance to even try it out.. So much damage to ladder points and win/lose percentage:/ also, a short update on my road to GM. This post will probably have less stuff than the previous post because it won't contain my Starcraft II history!

First! Short short update on my road to GM - I've been having good progress and am currently rank 1-8 in my division, most masters players I meet makes me slightly favored whilst when I play against top 200 GM, they're teams even with me until top 100 and they'll be slightly favored! I guess I'm in the void zone and.. Frankly I haven't gotten above 50 percent win/lost against GM to deserve a promotion even if there's space! Kudos to progress!

But grrrr!!!! Starhub for the lose! More than 5 percent of my ladder games have ended up in auto-loses due to dc! Nerd rage nerd rage nerd rage!!! Alright.. I guess that's all for the raging

Now comes the most.. How should I put it? Most juicy part! Its a few paragraphs about what I think about the SEA server - on how unique (not in a very awesome way) it is.

1- Gaming Etiqquete- Ever had a time while playing where you just HAD to pause the game because you were lagging or you had a sudden problem? Guess what? I met players in high masters/GM who unpaused right after I said 'pp' and proceeded to pause the game to fix the issue. Shame on them but I'm not gonna release names. It wasn't as if I was gonna ask to pause the game for 15 mins to half an hour but I've allowed people to pause for up to 15 mins before, I felt it was the right thing to do because one day I might need to do the same? Anyone of you ever met such people before? Comment below!

2- Playstyle(doesn't apply to all)- Right, this is what irritates me the most when playing in SEA! There are players who have only three build orders. For eg. P players who ALWAYS nexus first, another who always opens DT, another who always does 3 gate stargate warp in over cliffs, and another who always opens with cannon rush against terrans(I'm terran so I don't take interest in what they do against other races but a quick glance tells me that they do a single build too). What do I like to call these people? One trick ponies. But what league are these people in? Masters or GM.

I can't deny that if you can't get enough games(don't have that much free time?), it's probably better to learn as little builds as possible and to perfect them rather than being a jack of all trades and a master of none. Yet, I can't be appaled enough to see that so many of such players exist in the upper tier of SEA ladder! Of course, that kinda play can get you substantially high in ladder because you meet new players all the time. But, is that what one should do in the long term? I beg to differ, once such a player gets figured out, they'll easily be beaten a lot.

I don't know how to put it, but I feel that these players are playing to win instead of playing to improve in the long term. And they just fall back into the vicious cycle of playing to win because once to do not perform their one trick, their win/lost ratio changes!

Well, not like I can do anything about it but keep these people in a memo for myself and prepare hard counters to their builds.

What do you guys think about such players? Ever met people like this? Comment below!

3- Learning Attitude- Another thing I'm starting to notice is how people actually learn in SEA. There are a few types actually.

First are the ones who spam ladder just playing and playing and playing trying to get better.

The next, are those who play close to no ladder games but a ton of custom games!

Lastly, are those who watch a lot of VODs of pro players and replays, more than they actually play themselves!(I've been guilty of this myself... I had ladder fear, remember?)

Thing is, they all work but I would think that a combination of all of the three would work best! Doing too much of any of the above (while trying to be competitive) isn't that optimal. First of all, ladder games expose you to a lot of different build/playstyles! Which is good! But! There'd definitely be playstyles/builds that you aren't that good in doing against! How do you fix that if you meet it only once in say, a week? Or maybe you need to watch a pro do it, before you can copy?

Then again, if you play solely customs and not ladder, you get too accustomed to players you play with often. How are you gonna be able to keep up with the complexity and randomness of ladder players? Or, you might not have needed to try something you seen a pro do before because there's never been an occasion for it whilst practising with the same ol' partners.

Or.. Knowing all the little tips and tricks that pros do, every build possible out there because you'd rather watch than play! Only to realise that the execution isn't that easy and it takes a ton of practise(maybe against certain specific playstyles or builds) hint hint custom! Or, ever wanted to try something against a certain playstyle/build only to meet players on ladder who don't do what you'd like to practise against?

Yadda yadda! My point is, I think the better way to train than doing one of the above of spamming ladder/custom/replays exclusively is a good synergy of all three!

First, spam ladder. Find out your weakness and strength, what're you losing against frequently? On what maps?

Second, grab some pro replays / watch VODs / day9daily or what not and see how it's done! How to scout it and prepare, and no, not changing your playstyle drastically to suit that one build you can't win against! Find out how to scout it and how your go-to-build(s) on that map can be altered to win the build you're weaker against!

Then, instead of demoralising yourself by trying it out on ladder ( and losing probably? ), try it against practise partners! You probably won't win and need to get used to it too! But your practise partner can help you analyse your flaws with your new build! Afterall, others can see/pick your own flaws better than you can yourself!

Rinse and repeat and ??? Profit! I'm trying to get into this habit but it isn't easy without a clan, what do you guys think? Guilty about doing any of the above like me? Or disagree and prefer something else? Something to add to the steps above? Comment on below!

4- Higher Tier Players And Manners- Somehow, I find higher tier players more reluctant to greet opponents with 'gl hf' and an ending 'gg' than lower tier players. Well, at least, that is what I've experienced so far!

What do you guys think? Or do higher tier players concentrate so much on their play that they simply do not have time to do it? Do you prefer opponents who greet and give an ending gg? Or a game which starts and ends in silence? Comment on!




And! Another shoutout that I still haven't found a place I can call home and I do certainly hope I can find one eventually.. I know its hard to find one esp when I'm serving NS and have very irregular playtime, but ill still work hard and try to look for a home!

And that's it for this post! Thanks for reading and remember to comment!

MrFool.439 signing off!