Improving at Shadow Era through willpower
First off, I would like to give full credit to this Star City Games article, by Gavin Verhey, for giving me the idea to write this post.
The First to becoming a better Shadow Era play is to commit to it.This first step is the most important one. Just like most things in life, you won’t get anywhere with out commitment. At some point in the game, most of us experience a moment where we say to ourselves that we want to better than the rest. Maybe you are tired of losing to some scrub playing Majiya, or maybe you want to be the one coming up with the next Gravebella. Either way, you are going to have to improve has a player to accomplish your goals in the game.
There are three parts to committing to be a better Shadow Era player. The first is to come to the realization that you suck at Shadow Era. I realize that this sounds a bit harsh, but it is the only way to improve. It’s not hard to find out your bad. Play some matches against some high level players and you will quickly arrive to that conclusion. You have to learn to look at your play objectively. One thing I personally do is record my games, and then analyze them after the fact. If you can learn to spot flaws in your play and decks you are already on the road to becoming a better player. Basically lower you ego down a notch, and realize the only way to succeed is to get better.
Next, ask for help. Obviously if you can admit that you are bad, the next step is to try and fix the problem. Ask some of the more experienced players around the forums and irc for help. A1 Alliance, a very strong group of players, are starting an academy for September to help new players. Most players on the forums and irc would be more than happy to provide criticism on your deck and play.
Finally, listen to the advise you are given. It’s all fine and dandy if you can make it through part 1 and 2, but part 3 is the most important. Far too many people post of the forums for help only to not take it, and end up wasting everyone’s time. For example, numerous people will post their decks on the forums, and ask for suggestions on how to improve their decks only to defend their deck choices to the grave. What’s the point of even asking for help, if you will not take their suggestions?
The second step is to commit to success at the tournament level. While Shadow Era has only had 1 official tournament so far, their will be more to come. Not only that, but Gondorian setups several himself in the Tournaments and Ladders portion of the forums. If you want to be success with tournaments, enter into as many as you can. There is no cost to enter these tournaments, so why wouldn’t you enter to as many as you can? You will not find instant success starting out, but you will leave the tournaments a better player.
The third step is to commit to fixing problems with your game. After going threw steps 1 and 2, you will probably have a solid idea what your strengths and weakness are. For example, you might be able to easily death with weapons heroes, but succumb to a well played rush deck. Now part of this could be your deck, or part of it could be you play. Either way, asking questions on the forums and watching replays of your games it the best way to improve. Once you can identify your problems you will start fixing the problems with your game.
The forth and final step is to commit to do whatever it takes to improve. Once you have reached this step you should have people to practice with. That is why guilds are formed. A1 Alliance is probably the most popular of the play test guilds. You don’t need to be in a guild though; there are plenty of people on irc to practice with. Don’t make the mistake of using quick match as a tool to replace practice guilds and asking people in irc. Generally the people you will face in quick match are poor players, or not playing to the best of their ability.
Hopefully, if you have stuck around to read this wall of text, this as been informative and insightful read for you. Feel free to leave question and comments.
