Now sure if this explains anything, but it seems like it's up-to-date since it mentions the Master's League.

http://starcraft.sageground.com/general/ladder.aspx

hahaha, this just might be a candidate to go on the welcome screen for my stream (if i ever decide to get it listed, that is :P )

god...playing 2v2s, ****ing opponent drops...then they are double zerg, mass mass lings and beat us, good ****ing game ****ing zerg ******S DIE DIE DIE DURRRRRR LETS JUST GO MASS MASS LINGS DURRRRRR FUFFUFUUFFUUFUFUFUFFUUFUFFU

This isn't directed at orange, but he made me think about it...

I was thinking about playing 2v2 randoms as Random. That would give me exposure to all the races. I'm pretty terrible with Zerg and bad with Terran. P > T > Z.

Am I basically opening myself up to my teammate bashing me for sucking? Or am I going to get matched up with people who are just as incompetent as I am? I figure all I have to do is get my way through placement so that I can get matched up with the same level of players.

I mean, most likely I'll be in the bottom 1% of players who don't have a clue what they are doing.

i wouldn't worry about it. you can always play 3v3 or 4v4 if 2v2 is too much serious business.

4v4 is basically poo flinging.

you could just play custom 4v4s or 2v2s if you're just learning the races. the players there are pretty godawful and you'll have time to learn different BOs and such.

I like the ladder over customs since the ladder matches you up appropriately.

I've played 1v1 customs and have been matched up against Diamonds since there is no way to screen your opponent.

Maybe I'll try customs just for fun and see how it turns out.

I play a lot of games against the AI, but they are too predictable so it's not as effective to learn how to actually play a dynamic game.

I liked to test new build order ideas on the AI before taking them to customs. Its ok for T and P, but totally screwed up for Z. The AI Z goes like 1 base hydra, which I don't think i've ever seen.

I basically learned how to play SC2 by playing the AI. I just need more exposure to real players and it's hard to play against the other 2p2ers because you guys are all so much better than I am.

Sometimes I'll play against the Very Easy AI just to see how some mechanics work out, such as playing around with the mechanics of making zerg units.

But really, I wouldn't mind just going into ladder games and building up from the bottom.

If I had to do it over again I'd probably consider starting 1v1 ladder as Random. Even though my progression would be slower I think it would be very beneficial.

I mean just play 1v1 ladder or customs if you want to improve your mechanics. If you need to work on strategy stuff get a mass amount of reps of the matchup you want to improve on. Only play one race and only do one build order per matchup (but include transitions like if he goes factory for his second building I do "A", rax I do "B", unknown I do "C" etc.) Switching races and playing 2v2s arent going to help IMO.

The key to improving is just really simple stuff IMO. Knowing exactly what your scout is looking for every time you scout and what your adjustments will be based on what you see. How to react to various weird situations. Knowing the positions/situations to engage with your unit composition etc. Thats the stuff that will get you to at least diamond at 1v1s. None of its actually complicated but it takes a lot of repetition to be able to execute it cleanly while playing. Doing anything besides playing straight up ladder or customs I wouldnt recommend.

I play a lot of customs and I say to myself Im doing for example a timing attack, I do it, see if it works and think about the micro and positioning then leave. Working on one aspect of your play is really conducive to learning quickly as well.

I'm pretty sure that if I just played more I would get a lot better, with Protoss. Part of just doing the 2v2 Random is just to keep the game fresh and do something different, to keep feeling like I'm working on something.

It's really not about getting better as it is just trying to play and have fun without taking it too seriously. haha

I'm not the type to get into all of the theory and all that. I don't care to make Master's League. If I do, I do. I just want to play to have fun.

if you're worried about being berated but want to just work on your mechanics off-race, I think playing ffas might be a better bet?

That's a good idea. Does that put me against people of my same ability? I've played 1 FFA and won. I don't really know how it figured out anything as far as who to place me against.

However, at the same time, FFAs are kind of a crap shoot. If you're not attacked early or double teamed, you have a chance to win. That's how I won my first one. I was the only person not to be attacked early so I was able to just mass up some voidrays.

I guess I'm not that worried about being berated. Just the fact that people do it. I'd assume that I'd probably get placed at a really low MMR so we'd all be in the same skill level.

I might just play Random on 2v2 and see how it goes.

Why playing random? That would seem like a pretty big hindrance to progressing quickly.

Just for exposure to all races. Playing 1 race, like I did with Protoss, I've moved up quickly. If I was to switch to another race now, I'd seriously screw with my rating. I'd be playing Plat/Gold players, playing a race that I'm Bronze level. It wouldn't be a very fun ride down.

So I figure being able to start off on an equal footing where I can start with placement and get placed in an appropriate league.

Random is just to get exposure to all races so that I progress only so fast as I learn each race at the same time, eventhough, if I got Protoss I'd definitely have an advantage.

4v4 is fun. game ends in win or loss... and i have no clue how most of it happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaxZ3...ature=youtu.be


so goooooood

haha

i prefer getting competent at one race and then just semi focusing on the next...doing pure random is meh for me. i feel like i need to get a solid foundation down for one race before moving on to the next...but i dunno.

i'm almost stopping random and going for zerg because i feel dirty playing protoss, but tbh i like zerg way more than terran too. they're just fleshy and vulnerable and it seems like you get to counter quicker and obv expand more/build more units plus there's transfuse, fast banelings, broodlords, burrow, infestors, ultras, nydus', creep, overseers and all this cool **** rarely used. protoss has what? DTs and motherships? high templars or archons? Terrans got ghosts? wtf tanks are fun but not fun vs toss or zerg. vikings are fun i guess.

I improved with all 3 races just by focusing on Terran. A lot of the same general mechanics are required for all 3 races. It's way easier to develop a muscle memory for a lot mechanics like building pylons (not supply blocking yourself) and building probes with repetition. Switching between all the races will make this harder since you'll have to worry about memorizing the hotkeys and different strategies/unit compositions. Each matchup is very complex, and it's going to be a headache for you to improve trying to focus on so many different things at once. I've been offracing lately and obviously they lag behind my Terran but I've gotten so so much better with Zerg and Protoss.

and another night of a great run of games goes to absolute **** MMR wise because I can't bring myself to quit when I'm getting tired, causing myself to take 2 horrible losses in a row, causing me to tilt, causing me to start doing random **** and not even paying attention in 4-5 games all of which i lose, and i start over tomorrow. ill run 5-6 games in a row as Ws against the same competition, get tired, tilt and then lose another 5-6 at 5 AM.

more standard than ever. this is probably the only thing keeping me from moving up to masters.

sigh...my partner and i are close to masters 2v2s i think...we're playing masters nonstop...played against this psycho team who had a #1 in his masters league (haCk clan or something). got raped up the ass.

karak, I'm finding myself doing similar stuff. I think it's really important to make yourself not play when you're not focused, and to go play 2s or watch reps or something. Every ladder game you play you should be playing at or near your best? That hasn't really been my philosophy up to now, but I think if you want to really start moving up it's an important thing.