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SONATA · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 10:53 AM

hi guys this is my 1st post. just got this game yesterday and found it fun. was put into diamond after my placements and was thinking to maybe go pro with this game. Btw, i am 18 and still schooling. so, at this age and having school, what is the time i should put into sc2 a day to go pro? 3 hours or 4 hours? and is custom or laddering better?

Cheers guys :P

Tom · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:01 AM

You better not be trolling.

The odds of going professional and making a decent living out of it are astronomically low. I think your effort would be far better spent training for school. Only the top level "pros" make a decent living.

By all means play starcraft, just think of it as "leisure time" rather than training to go professional. You probably need to custom and ladder - too many custom games teach you to play only against certain players/styles whereas too much laddering gives you only a superficial or cheesy understanding of strategies.

In terms of time, imo quality beats quantity every time. I've found it possible to maintain a solid grandmaster ranking only playing a few 1v1s per week.

SONATA · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:04 AM

i see...cos my grades r already failing even before i started sc2 . so yea was thinking maybe i would have a chance in sc2. :P and no. i am not trolling. and no trolling please. just advices.

Cosmos · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:21 AM

average pros trains 8 to 10 hrs a day.

SONATA · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:27 AM

0.o hmmm 8 hours... think besides sch i shall play 20 - 30 ladder games a day. tht shud do it. :P right?

Tom · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:27 AM

I see. Here's the deal. For most levels of play, starcraft is like training a monkey. If you play a lot, you will get good, even if you have no particular natural talent for the game. So if you want to get good, play a lot.

But to play at a level where it is possible to make money, playing a lot is not enough. You also need to be naturally gifted and train with the right people. I'm talking "I picked up the game two weeks ago I can beat most grandmasters" gifted, not "well I steadily worked my way up from silver to diamond in a few months and with a few month months practice I will probably crack Masters" gifted.

So if the question is "how much do I need to train to be good", the answer is - either play a lot, train with the right people, or both.

If, as you have in fact asked, the question is "what is the time i should put into sc2 a day to go pro?", then I would say the answer is - if you don't have what it takes naturally, no amount of time will compensate. Playing 12 hours a day, 7 days a week will make you good, probably really good, but I don't think it will pay the rent.

I hate to sound like your mother, it just really worries me when people say things like "I'm failing school. I think I might become a professional video game player".

**nGenLight** · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:28 AM

Talented, xx amount of RTS experience, and probably 10 hours a day 6 days a week. You up for it?

SONATA · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:36 AM

yes sir! i will do my best! is there any competion in sea?

Cute · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 11:57 AM

I'm pretty sure that the guys on SOTG have talked about this before. Basically they said that waking up randomly one morning and deciding "Hey, I think I'll quit everything I'm doing to try and play a videogame at a professional level" is dumb. If you're good and have what it takes, you should be able to work your way up to a high level (winning online tournaments and such) while balancing school/work. Then maybe you should consider playing full time if it's what you really want to do.

That said, diamond after placements is pretty impressive. Do you have prior RTS experience?

SONATA · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:09 PM

erm... not really... only played dota and css. HAHA

ke_ivan · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:16 PM

Well, boxer says that he plays 30 games every day to upkeep his current skill level.

Benji · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:28 PM

Whats your previous gaming experience?

SONATA · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:30 PM

ERM... just dota and counterstrike. haha

Makra · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:39 PM

No RTS experience and you get straight into diamond? That seems like natural talent to me. But give it a few weeks. If you shoot straight up to masters and maybe grandmasters, you could have what it takes. But who decides to go pro the day after starting something?!

Benji · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:46 PM

I hope what i write here doesnt come across as harsh, but anyway:

Getting placed in Diamond would be a pretty good high 5 moment for you, you proberbly feel like you are so naturally good at this game that you could easily make it pro with a little work. Fact of the matter is that you are significantly far away from being pro at this game. Your lack of RTS experiance is your first hurdle as well as lack of knowledge of the game and as a result you will likely hit a wall, where you won't progress ladderwise for a long time.

Lets say you work hard, and after many months (yes, it will take months of playing 8-10 hours a day until this pays off) you get to the top of SEA. Top of SEA isnt anything special (Sorry Whoevers no.1 atm

), you're able to compete with the top players in other regions and youll have to play over on NA or KR with the best in the world. Then you're presented with your next problem. Sponsers. Sponsers in SEA are rare and only recruit the best of the best and even then they are hard pressed getting a sponser over NA or EU players. Why? Because we are so far away from everything else, and the cost of sending you to tournaments will need to be worth the investment. Chances are you will need to move overseas to have any real success. Are you ready to move overseas?

After all this, if you manage to make it big, realize that in almost a year of SC2, only ~10-20 players IN THE WORLD make more money gaming than they could by having an ordinary job. You need to do it simply because you love the game, and with 5 games played I don't think you're in a position to say that you do yet.

Don't give up on school, if you're failing there, work harder on it.

Quick Comments

cuTesT:

Reality check from Benji :)

Next_rim · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 12:51 PM

I tried to go pro in wc3 when I was 16. Failed miserably, since I had school, g/f, fencing and parents. Basically, you have to give up everything in order to perform anywhere remotely close to a low-pro level. Practiced maybe 7 hours a day.

I only managed to beat the ladder up to level 40-ish, biggest tourney for me was wc3l, where i got to round 1/16 and was roflstomped by Crafty (at best 10-th strongest German player at the time). I played Deadman couple times too, but meh, he is superior by a vast margin. No wonder he went to WCG for Russia every time. Guess I have no talent for high-lvl RTS.

So I got a degree in financial analysis and currently working in corporate banking. It actually feels much easier both physically and mentally than beating ladder 7 hours straight

ke_ivan · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 1:03 PM

Until one of us becomes the CEO of a Fortune 500 company that endorses RTS games, chances for sponsorships can be slim. I'm hitting a brick wall myself looking for continuing sponsors for SC2 tournaments. The best shot I have is convincing them that this is a form of international chess. And really, how many people play chess professionally? Yeah, sponsorships are a big problem. SlayerSBoxeR is an exception.

Roz · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 1:55 PM

I think having no previous RTS background is not that bad. I personally dont have any prior RTS experience but i mean yes it certainly does mean that you will have to put in more time than other people to catch up in terms of mechanics and everything. To say that you wanna go pro after 5 games is kinda ridiculous, I would suggest you playing 30 games a day for a month first and then see if you are sick of it or not yet...

In terms of talent, yes you are going to need a lot of it. I dont think anyone other than glade is talented enough on SEA to even think about making a living out of sc2. Simply being talented in this isn't enough, you actually have to be like super gifted at this to make a living out of it. A lot of people can place into diamond without any prior RTS experience, so believe me, it really isn't THAT special. Whether you have the talent or not, i don't know and can't say, but i think you really need to make sure you have what it takes in terms of talent and commitment before you even consider it.

Zanderax · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 2:11 PM

It is what you make of it. For me, silver was an incredible achievement, I worked on it for months and I got it. Other people put me down for being excited about it but I didn't care because it was something for me. You are in diamond? Great! You wanna go pro? Thats fine, but don't forget to enjoy each new accomplishment. Play to have fun.

aztecx · Thu, 19th-May-2011, 2:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Next_rim

I tried to go pro in wc3 when I was 16. Failed miserably, since I had school, g/f, fencing and parents. Basically, you have to give up everything in order to perform anywhere remotely close to a low-pro level. Practiced maybe 7 hours a day.

I only managed to beat the ladder up to level 40-ish, biggest tourney for me was wc3l, where i got to round 1/16 and was roflstomped by Crafty (at best 10-th strongest German player at the time). I played Deadman couple times too, but meh, he is superior by a vast margin. No wonder he went to WCG for Russia every time. Guess I have no talent for high-lvl RTS.

So I got a degree in financial analysis and currently working in corporate banking. It actually feels much easier both physically and mentally than beating ladder 7 hours straight

Wow playing deadman (APM70) is impressive. I remember when I played warcraft 3 he was one of my favourite players.