While I'm relatively new to SC2 (began playing it heavily around December 2011), I have noticed a common theme among fans of the game when it comes to laddering.
Intimidation.
It's a very scary idea, putting yourself out there and playing against a faceless, anonymous opponent. I've often found myself logging into battle.net asking countless questions; these questions tend to have a similar theme of self-doubt.
"Is this guy really a Masters player just smurfing an account?" "What if I get supply blocked early like I did last night?" "Will he bunker rush me? That thing owns me every time!"
This self-doubt creeps in and clouds your thinking as you are about to search for a match. Sometimes you try to brush it off and are fine. Other times, you want to run, hide and pull up that Day9 daily you missed the day before. Maybe you just run here to TL and look up strategies, thinking that if you looked at that Zerg Help Me Thread that you'd be Code S level. Maybe after reading up on the Ice Fisher build for a 4th time, you'd finally put it all together.
For a great deal of time, I had no idea how to handle this feeling of intimidation and self-doubt. But recently, I have taken to thinking of a quote from The Hustler (one of my favorite movies ever, Paul Newman was a BOSS).
"I've gotta hunch it's me from here-on in...I mean, did that ever happen to you? When all of a sudden, you feel like you can't miss? 'Cause I dreamed about this game, Fat Man. And I dreamed about this game every night on the road...You know, this is my table, man, I own it..."
I always say now "this is my game" before starting a match. Is it cocky? Sure. A little corny? Absolutely. But it has worked for me, and that's what I care about right now.
The question I'd like to pose to you all is one that I'm sure has been asked by other TL users far more articulate than me: What do you use to motivate, inspire, reassure, or calm yourself before laddering?
It is not scary. Don't care about your fucking rank. Play the game to get better at it, not to get a better rank. Later on by being better you will rank better.
Simple like that, just don't be a pussy. If someone has ladder fear, then that someone is a coward ass.
"When the geyser died, a probe came out" - SirJolt
Megaliskuu United States. April 17 2012 00:15. Posts 5016
I log in to battle.net, I click on mutliplayer, and hit find match. Cmon enough of these "ladder fear" threads already, being scared to play a video game is probably the saddest thing I've ever heard. Don't think about all thse dumb things like smurfs, cheese, and assholes on ladder. If any of that happens FUCK IT, just leave the game, hit find match and go again!
aka Megalisk, TheMuTaL|BW>Everything|Add me on KR TheMuTaL.675 for practice games :)
Rannasha Netherlands. April 17 2012 00:20. Posts 2264
I prepare myself by clicking "Find Match". Not only does this put me in the right mental state, clear my head, improve awareness and create world peace, it also tells B.net to start a game for me to play. It's super effective!
On a more serious note, I'm not entirely sure where this "ladder fear" comes from, but I don't have it. There are no consequences to a single ladder match, other than a few points on a ranking. No reason to get anxious about that.
There will be no bad stuff that will happen to you if you lose, except your ladder points. So unless you are being bullied at school because you are not top 8 silver then you just press the button... ;p
I understand if you were playing in a tourney or something but if you are just sitting alone playing its not like anything bad is going to happen to you...
As a matter of fact, my life isn't very boring. I work, intern, commute to school and live happily with my girlfriend while helping non-profits and going to concerts. : )
Boner Amanda
Salivanth Australia. April 17 2012 00:45. Posts 823
I'd like to help you, but really all I do to prepare for ladder is click the Find Match button and make sure I have my builds handy. Then I put my hands on the keyboard and mouse, get into focus mode, and wait. I don't fear the ladder. In a way, it helps that Blizzard's MMR system is terrible. I don't care about losing points, though I don't like losing MMR...but I can't see my MMR, so all I know is it's up or down, probably. So, the only ladder stuff you can see? Meaningless. Except your league, which is a rough indication of your MMR range. So don't fear losing, since you can't see how it affects you
<@Wikt> so you are one of those nega-fans <@Wikt> that hates the company that makes a game and everything they stand for <@Wikt> but still plays the game <@Wikt> (like roughly 30% of blizzard's player base, maybe much more...)
TheToast United States. April 17 2012 00:49. Posts 4804
On April 17 2012 00:15 Megaliskuu wrote: I log in to battle.net, I click on mutliplayer, and hit find match. Cmon enough of these "ladder fear" threads already, being scared to play a video game is probably the saddest thing I've ever heard.
Yes, thank you. Too many people are too scared of losing. Somewhere along the line rank and division got tied into some greater sense of e-ego. Honestly who cares if you drop rank, as long as you are having fun. And if not, then stop playing. Simple as that.
I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.
HaXXspetten Sweden. April 17 2012 00:54. Posts 15716
Wow, the moment you quoted that text I recognized the scene and remembered seeing the hustler even though I wasn't quite sure I had seen it when you referenced it. Going to have to rewatch that one; the scene must've been good for me to remember it like that.
Anyways, gogo fighting. You'll never be as good as a bw programer and you'll most likely loose 50% of your games. Knowing that you have to expect to loose right? hehe. Even though you should always say you're going to own the game up. It's a good mentality to have. Frankly, the moment I feel like I have no chance of doing so, I usually just gg.
Stratos Czech Republic. April 17 2012 01:06. Posts 1594
Had to fight it and there were times I wouldn't play online for weeks and just practice a few builds offline.
One day I made myself a promise to always play a single ladder game a day ~ at least. Every since then all the problems stopped, yeah it was that easy. I'm already accomplishing my goal when I join a game.
Whether I win or lose is suddenly not important, I'm playing the game because I enjoy it and at the same time it's very unlikely I would be getting worse by playing daily.
Last edit: 2012-04-17 01:11:33
우정호 1988 - 언제까지나
Saechiis Netherlands. April 17 2012 01:09. Posts 2883
These threads make me sad, mostly because of the ignorant people being judgemental and smug concerning problems they haven't encountered themselves. To those people, maybe if you don't have anxiety issues or problems laddering when you feel like it, then maybe you don't have ladder anxiety? So maybe you don't have that problem and actually have no idea what makes it a problem and what causes it? Maybe pretending ladder anxiety doesn't exist or portraying how silly you think it is, maybe that isn't really helping the people who DO have these problems for some reason?
Maybe just accept that other's people's brains and bodies work differently from ours and that if someone showcases difficulties in certain areas that we don't, then maybe it's because of that and not because they're just plain silly people. Maybe just post a helpful tip if you have one, maybe show some sympathy for having an annoying problem you don't have, or maybe just don't post at all if your only thoughts convey into "it shouldn't be a problem".
Maybe we need a neo-evolution of acceptance here, but it's like telling gay people not to be gay, it's just not really that helpful.
Thinking outside the box, I wonder what's in the box
What helps me is always remember that your level is shit anyway. Whether you advance or fall down doesn't even matter, nobody cares about you. Such anxiety is only justified and should require further psychological efforts when/if you get to the real pro levels.
If you stand next to my head, you can hear the ocean. - Day[9]
On April 17 2012 00:21 0ne wrote: People with ladder fear must have pretty boring lifes
...well there are other things to do in life other than laddering in SC2, I'm sure they make it somehow...
My point is if you have a normal life you have to do a lot of stuff way harder than pushing the ladder button. There's no reason to not be confident enough to play a videogame
Last edit: 2012-04-17 01:13:06
TheToast United States. April 17 2012 01:13. Posts 4804
On April 17 2012 00:21 0ne wrote: People with ladder fear must have pretty boring lifes
...well there are other things to do in life other than laddering in SC2, I'm sure they make it somehow...
That's actually an even better reason not to have ladder fear. Once you get out into the real world (read: once you get out of school) there's never enough time to do the things you want to; who wants to waste time being afraid of losing? I'm just happy when I can get some time to play games, period.
I like the way the walls go out. Gives you an open feeling. Firefly's a good design. People don't appreciate the substance of things. Objects in space. People miss out on what's solid.
nohbrows United States. April 17 2012 01:20. Posts 583
lt's silly because people are getting scared of playing a game that has absolutley no bearing on anything really consequencle. It's just a game. You aren't going to win $100 for beating a random on ladder. It's not about whether or not people's minds work differently, it just is a fear of losing, a fear that will go away after you realize that losing is a part of winning. And to many who have competed in competitions (academic, sports, music, etc) outside of video games, ladder fear seems a bit overdone. Ladder is like practice scrimmage matches. It's practice.
So OP. Relax. Make the act of click find match muscle memory and don't even think about it. Just play. Focus on gettin. Better, and not winning.
Typos suck on a smartphone.
Clouds are shrouding us in moments unforgettable~~
phiinix United States. April 17 2012 01:29. Posts 1124
Once you accept the fact that this is a video game, it's pretty easy. There's people who defend ladder anxiety on here, but honestly, I feel like that hurts more than it helps. It's like saying, don't worry, the fact that you can't even play the game that you watch and read about all the time is no problem. It's normal, keep on being scared and try to take little baby steps, maybe one day you'll play a match that no one will remember in a week. Having pressure from people who tell you that you're stupid for not being able to click the button helps. Because seriously, just click the damn button and play the damn game. I always imagined talking about my day to my friends who know I like starcraft. "so how were your games today, I remember yesterday you said you were going to play a ton" "I... didn't" "Why not?" "I get scared." "over a video game? You're not a pro, no one else is watching" "I know.." and that's when you realize you need to man the **** up.
Th1rdEye United States. April 17 2012 01:32. Posts 809
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0ne Spain. April 17 2012 00:21. Posts 2464
