I'm a mediocre player who's reached legend twice in 4 years of play. When I look for advice on how to improve my play and reach legend consistently, I mainly hear the something like the following:
"Don't tilt,"; "Take frequent breaks,"; "Get plenty of sleep,"; "Just keep playing,"; "Don't give up,"; "Eat your vegetables,"; "Be kind to animals"...
What is this crap? Why can't I find good, actionable, salient advice on how better to play the actual game?
It seems like most experienced players from whom I've sought advice offer something like the above because they simply don't know what else to say. It's as if they're idiot savants who just play and win and don't even know why. So they say something like that because it sounds good and fills the space where actual advice ought to go. They're just winning machines. You might as well ask a toaster how to make toast.
What an I missing? Where can I find clear, concrete, and actionable tips that will improve my win rate, and not the platitudes that I'm so weary of hearing?
"Don't tilt,"; "Take frequent breaks,"; "Get plenty of sleep,"; "Just keep playing,"; "Don't give up,"; "Eat your vegetables,"; "Be kind to animals"...
Missing from the list: Find an educational streamer you like and casted tournaments.
In the class forums on this site, you should also find some nice advice from some players with a lot of experience with certain decks and matchups. There is nothing wrong with making your own threads either.
Because the concise, actionable guidance that can be given are things players who can reach legend at all (like you) already know, like "know your win conditions inside and out," and "know every meta deck" and "play around your opponent's removal".
Getting better from there is not something you can achieve via quantum jump by reading the right words.
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Shudderwock means driving a clown car in circles around your opponent while he swings his sword at you. Half the time he chops you and your car to pieces. The other half you park on his legs and 40 clowns come out one by one, trampling him to death.
My advice: emote as much as you can. Most players are usually very lazy and aren't going to squelch you. Forget about playing fair, that is for losers. By emoting as much as you can, you will make your opponents nervous and therefore they will make mistakes from time to time, which will cost the game to some. I'm not trolling you, it really works. For example, when you start spamming emotes while your oponnent is deciding which card to play, most people tend to play instantly the card they are hovering the mouse over without thinking twice. It is really funny, hehe, check it for yourself!!!
If you haven't already, you could check out Zalae's videos on the Omnislash youtube channel. He has interesting videos that go in-depth on how to play specific decks, but he's also got some videos on the fundamentals:
It's a tough question. But I guess, the people that reach legend consistently have a lot of experience of playing the game. And by experience, I mean - they know their win conditions against each class and how the lose from each class, so they know what to mulligan for and based on the early game, they basically know the entire deck of their opponent, what to play around and basically how to win. Then it just comes down to exectution.
I know that sometimes it seems they are just playing stuff on curve and at the end they win, but it's not so simple. Try to find a streamer that explains his thought process and happens to play a competitive deck that you play/enjoy/understand/want-to-climb-the-ladder-with and watch him/her. Watch a VOD of his/her stream, so you can pause it and think about every turn/decision they make.
Also, in my opinion, try to understand the meta and adapt to what you are facing on the ladder. Be prepared to switch decks if you start facing a lot of counters to what you are playing. Sometimes, I don't pick a T1 deck from hsreplay.net, instead I go for a deck that counters most of the T1 decks from hsreplay.net. But again - you need to know the deck inside out and think about every game, how you are going to aproach it and win it eventually. There is no 100% win rate deck, which means - you can't expect to auto-win certain matches, you have to think about every decision in every match you play, so you can get the W. That's why you should eat your veggies and be kind to animals - the people that said that to you, didn't say it, because they don't have anything better to suggest - it is because those small things/details make the difference and add those .1% to your win rate. And when you add them all together, that's how you achieve 55% win rate and climb.
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“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” ― George Bernard Shaw
EU Legend: S52 (ZooHeal Lock); S76 (Highlander Hunter);
If after all this time you are still mediocre then this game is just too hard for you. You improve by playing. It's the best way. If you still suck then you will always suck. Isn't anyone that can help you. You learn by looking at why you lost. What you played and what could have been better. 4 years and still at the same level then it's hopeless.
Maybe at a certain point, advice has to be very specific to the deck, the meta, and even the region or time of the season. I routinely have opposite experiences of other players using the same deck, both good and bad.
The game has is no de enough to allow essays about the strategy. The skill ceiling is quite low and the key to gain ranks ir hit Legend is just farm effectively, thus the advices (take a break yadda yadda) in that direction.
What else do you want to hear? Make the right plays, try to read your opponent's hand and answer their threats precisely? Aren't those things obvious or am I missing something?
If you want more specific tips on how to improve and achieve more wins, you should ask for them in threads about the decks you are playing. If you are going to ask a general question, you will get a general answer. And to be fair, the aforementioned tips are really useful - if you are stressed out, you will make mistakes, which will lower your win-rate.
When I first started playing I was directed to the Trump teaching youtube series, yes some are dated but the advice is sound in fundamentals etc. and even an experienced player can pick up a few things.
Also the best tip I feel when I started watching streams was learn the current meta decks and know what your opponent is playing, I am sure this is common sense info you already know having played 4 years, but very useful. glhf
Because the concise, actionable guidance that can be given are things players who can reach legend at all (like you) already know, like "know your win conditions inside and out," and "know every meta deck" and "play around your opponent's removal".
Getting better from there is not something you can achieve via quantum jump by reading the right words.
These are actually the only things you need OP, as well as avoiding tilt (because it puts you in a psychological state that will make you lose more).
If you can do this, then it all comes down to the win percentage of your deck. Choose one that is above 50% and, given enough time, you will reach legend and so on.
Everything else is just stupid luck. Yes, because even knowing your win conditions and/or the opponent's removals doesn't mean you or him are gonna see those cards when needed. This means that you might play around something that isn't there, which might gimp your game by making it longer than it should be, which means he is more likely to get those removals.
This is hearthstone - a binary system based on luck. The only true skill you can get is on how to bait out certain cards and have a chance at a better chance to win later on. Yes...so many chances...
I've reached legend almost every season since early 2017 (weird flex but ok).
Taking a break and not tilting is REALLY important on ladder. Many times,rng will destroy you and if you tilt,you're gonna lose a lot of games and get even angrier. Im saying this because i've had a same experience,even when im absolutely carefree.
I would suggest findind a deck you enjoy playing,or try 2-3 decks that you think are good enough in the current meta and abuse them. That's what everyone does. I've played against so many hunters it's not even funny anymore. Playing a meta deck already ensures that you have a high chance of winning. Practising helps you find the deck weaknesses and strengths,and use them as needed. For example,im a one trick pony with togwaggle druid. I've even written a whole guide about it! I won against hunters because i knew how to deal with their early threats.
To some actual gameplay advice, value is everything. But that depends on the match-up. If e.g. you're an odd mage and he's an odd warrior, you should never draw because its a reactive deck. When you get jaina,you should always get a water elemental out and not throw your whole hand down because you're gonna get brawl'd. Generally,try to control the board as much as possible (especially in control match-ups), know your opponent's cards and combos (because pretty much everyone netdecks so you gonna know most of what they got) and most improtantly value trade : always try to take down a minion without wasting one of your owns. Use your hero power over a card when clearing a board if possible,that ensures you can always have an answer when your opponent summons any big threat. You do not have to spend all of your mana in one turn and always play like your opponent has that card that might destroy you. E.g. If you play flamestrike vs a mage and summons 2 4/4 arcane tyrants,do not spread the board because he also might have a flamestrike. That means you wasted 2 cards and he wasted only one. You're basically outvalued.
Be mana efficient. Choose a smaller minion and hero power over a bigger minion with having 1 mana crystal unspent. That also depends.
Watching streamers,or youtube videos might also help for you to grap this concept and play better! Even kripp,as an arena player, makes a lot of good decisions and you can definetely apply that knowledge to ladder.
On my stream,i try to explain my decisions and generally answer to people who want to rank up in case they're stuck for any HS info they need. Other streamers do that as well. Watching someone else play definetely helps to understand hs better.
Surely advice is deck specific at some point? Like read up on the deck you're playing? If it's a homebrew I figure you know it well enough anyway, it's more about knowing the other decks you encounter.
If after all this time you are still mediocre then this game is just too hard for you. You improve by playing. It's the best way. If you still suck then you will always suck. Isn't anyone that can help you. You learn by looking at why you lost. What you played and what could have been better. 4 years and still at the same level then it's hopeless.
This, right here, has to be the least helpful comment I've ever seen when someone is genuinely frustrated and looking for advice on how to get better. Imagine if this were actually true. We'd never have had the Einsteins, Bill Gates, etc of this world, because apparently if they sucked back then, they would always suck and never improve.
Please do not offer advice to someone again. You clearly suck at it...
I'm a mediocre player who's reached legend twice in 4 years of play. When I look for advice on how to improve my play and reach legend consistently, I mainly hear the something like the following:
"Don't tilt,"; "Take frequent breaks,"; "Get plenty of sleep,"; "Just keep playing,"; "Don't give up,"; "Eat your vegetables,"; "Be kind to animals"...
What is this crap? Why can't I find good, actionable, salient advice on how better to play the actual game?
It seems like most experienced players from whom I've sought advice offer something like the above because they simply don't know what else to say. It's as if they're idiot savants who just play and win and don't even know why. So they say something like that because it sounds good and fills the space where actual advice ought to go. They're just winning machines. You might as well ask a toaster how to make toast.
What an I missing? Where can I find clear, concrete, and actionable tips that will improve my win rate, and not the platitudes that I'm so weary of hearing?
OP, there's some good (and some terrible) advice on this thread. However, most people here will be trying to offer you good advice; the problem is that aside from "Good Practice" tips like the ones you are complaining about in your post, there is little that any of us can specifically write down for you that doesn't require specific context for you to use and improve. (Barring perhaps Slyde's advice to watch streamers play and listen to what they are saying about why they make the plays they do. In particular, I can suggest Kibler or Trump as two people who I think tend to explain their plays and what they are thinking quite well)
Aside from the above, what you could really do with doing (if you can), is find someone (or some people) who will spectate and talk to you while you play, giving you advice and asking you questions about why you're playing certain cards, or making certain trades etc. Someone who can tell you when it might be a bad idea, or suggest better plays. And help you understand those plays better. It is a lot easier to improve at the game when you have someone to bounce your plays off, and to coach you.
You can find some people who are willing to do this sort of thing over in the Friends section of this forum. I am also happy to do this - tho would be the odd evening now and then (due to family commitments)
Essentially - find yourself a good coach or friend to help you get better. It will help both of you get better. :-)
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I'm a mediocre player who's reached legend twice in 4 years of play. When I look for advice on how to improve my play and reach legend consistently, I mainly hear the something like the following:
"Don't tilt,"; "Take frequent breaks,"; "Get plenty of sleep,"; "Just keep playing,"; "Don't give up,"; "Eat your vegetables,"; "Be kind to animals"...
What is this crap? Why can't I find good, actionable, salient advice on how better to play the actual game?
It seems like most experienced players from whom I've sought advice offer something like the above because they simply don't know what else to say. It's as if they're idiot savants who just play and win and don't even know why. So they say something like that because it sounds good and fills the space where actual advice ought to go. They're just winning machines. You might as well ask a toaster how to make toast.
What an I missing? Where can I find clear, concrete, and actionable tips that will improve my win rate, and not the platitudes that I'm so weary of hearing?
Missing from the list: Find an educational streamer you like and casted tournaments.
In the class forums on this site, you should also find some nice advice from some players with a lot of experience with certain decks and matchups. There is nothing wrong with making your own threads either.
Editor of the Heartpwn Legendary Crafting Guide:
https://www.hearthpwn.com/forums/hearthstone-general/card-discussion/205920-legendary-tier-list-crafting-guide
Take time before making your move and consider all possible outcomes in terms of turns planning and adversary response
Because the concise, actionable guidance that can be given are things players who can reach legend at all (like you) already know, like "know your win conditions inside and out," and "know every meta deck" and "play around your opponent's removal".
Getting better from there is not something you can achieve via quantum jump by reading the right words.
Shudderwock means driving a clown car in circles around your opponent while he swings his sword at you. Half the time he chops you and your car to pieces. The other half you park on his legs and 40 clowns come out one by one, trampling him to death.
Whizbang Strategy Reference -- update complete for Rastakhan's Rumble!
My advice: emote as much as you can. Most players are usually very lazy and aren't going to squelch you. Forget about playing fair, that is for losers. By emoting as much as you can, you will make your opponents nervous and therefore they will make mistakes from time to time, which will cost the game to some. I'm not trolling you, it really works. For example, when you start spamming emotes while your oponnent is deciding which card to play, most people tend to play instantly the card they are hovering the mouse over without thinking twice. It is really funny, hehe, check it for yourself!!!
Cheatin'? I never fight fair! :D
If you haven't already, you could check out Zalae's videos on the Omnislash youtube channel. He has interesting videos that go in-depth on how to play specific decks, but he's also got some videos on the fundamentals:
It's a tough question. But I guess, the people that reach legend consistently have a lot of experience of playing the game. And by experience, I mean - they know their win conditions against each class and how the lose from each class, so they know what to mulligan for and based on the early game, they basically know the entire deck of their opponent, what to play around and basically how to win. Then it just comes down to exectution.
I know that sometimes it seems they are just playing stuff on curve and at the end they win, but it's not so simple. Try to find a streamer that explains his thought process and happens to play a competitive deck that you play/enjoy/understand/want-to-climb-the-ladder-with and watch him/her. Watch a VOD of his/her stream, so you can pause it and think about every turn/decision they make.
Also, in my opinion, try to understand the meta and adapt to what you are facing on the ladder. Be prepared to switch decks if you start facing a lot of counters to what you are playing. Sometimes, I don't pick a T1 deck from hsreplay.net, instead I go for a deck that counters most of the T1 decks from hsreplay.net. But again - you need to know the deck inside out and think about every game, how you are going to aproach it and win it eventually. There is no 100% win rate deck, which means - you can't expect to auto-win certain matches, you have to think about every decision in every match you play, so you can get the W. That's why you should eat your veggies and be kind to animals - the people that said that to you, didn't say it, because they don't have anything better to suggest - it is because those small things/details make the difference and add those .1% to your win rate. And when you add them all together, that's how you achieve 55% win rate and climb.
“If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” ― George Bernard Shaw
EU Legend: S52 (ZooHeal Lock); S76 (Highlander Hunter);
If after all this time you are still mediocre then this game is just too hard for you. You improve by playing. It's the best way. If you still suck then you will always suck. Isn't anyone that can help you. You learn by looking at why you lost. What you played and what could have been better. 4 years and still at the same level then it's hopeless.
Maybe at a certain point, advice has to be very specific to the deck, the meta, and even the region or time of the season. I routinely have opposite experiences of other players using the same deck, both good and bad.
So you're looking for something like these?
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/OldGuardian
Twitch: http://www.twitch.tv/old_guardian
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Old_GuardianHS
Blog: http://www.kilkku.com/oldguardian/
The game has is no de enough to allow essays about the strategy. The skill ceiling is quite low and the key to gain ranks ir hit Legend is just farm effectively, thus the advices (take a break yadda yadda) in that direction.
What else do you want to hear? Make the right plays, try to read your opponent's hand and answer their threats precisely? Aren't those things obvious or am I missing something?
If you want more specific tips on how to improve and achieve more wins, you should ask for them in threads about the decks you are playing. If you are going to ask a general question, you will get a general answer. And to be fair, the aforementioned tips are really useful - if you are stressed out, you will make mistakes, which will lower your win-rate.
https://dd.reddit.com/r/CompetitiveHS/
When I first started playing I was directed to the Trump teaching youtube series, yes some are dated but the advice is sound in fundamentals etc. and even an experienced player can pick up a few things.
Also the best tip I feel when I started watching streams was learn the current meta decks and know what your opponent is playing, I am sure this is common sense info you already know having played 4 years, but very useful. glhf
These are actually the only things you need OP, as well as avoiding tilt (because it puts you in a psychological state that will make you lose more).
If you can do this, then it all comes down to the win percentage of your deck. Choose one that is above 50% and, given enough time, you will reach legend and so on.
Everything else is just stupid luck. Yes, because even knowing your win conditions and/or the opponent's removals doesn't mean you or him are gonna see those cards when needed. This means that you might play around something that isn't there, which might gimp your game by making it longer than it should be, which means he is more likely to get those removals.
This is hearthstone - a binary system based on luck. The only true skill you can get is on how to bait out certain cards and have a chance at a better chance to win later on. Yes...so many chances...
I've reached legend almost every season since early 2017 (weird flex but ok).
Taking a break and not tilting is REALLY important on ladder. Many times,rng will destroy you and if you tilt,you're gonna lose a lot of games and get even angrier. Im saying this because i've had a same experience,even when im absolutely carefree.
I would suggest findind a deck you enjoy playing,or try 2-3 decks that you think are good enough in the current meta and abuse them. That's what everyone does. I've played against so many hunters it's not even funny anymore. Playing a meta deck already ensures that you have a high chance of winning. Practising helps you find the deck weaknesses and strengths,and use them as needed. For example,im a one trick pony with togwaggle druid. I've even written a whole guide about it! I won against hunters because i knew how to deal with their early threats.
To some actual gameplay advice, value is everything. But that depends on the match-up. If e.g. you're an odd mage and he's an odd warrior, you should never draw because its a reactive deck. When you get jaina,you should always get a water elemental out and not throw your whole hand down because you're gonna get brawl'd. Generally,try to control the board as much as possible (especially in control match-ups), know your opponent's cards and combos (because pretty much everyone netdecks so you gonna know most of what they got) and most improtantly value trade : always try to take down a minion without wasting one of your owns. Use your hero power over a card when clearing a board if possible,that ensures you can always have an answer when your opponent summons any big threat. You do not have to spend all of your mana in one turn and always play like your opponent has that card that might destroy you. E.g. If you play flamestrike vs a mage and summons 2 4/4 arcane tyrants,do not spread the board because he also might have a flamestrike. That means you wasted 2 cards and he wasted only one. You're basically outvalued.
Be mana efficient. Choose a smaller minion and hero power over a bigger minion with having 1 mana crystal unspent. That also depends.
Watching streamers,or youtube videos might also help for you to grap this concept and play better! Even kripp,as an arena player, makes a lot of good decisions and you can definetely apply that knowledge to ladder.
On my stream,i try to explain my decisions and generally answer to people who want to rank up in case they're stuck for any HS info they need. Other streamers do that as well. Watching someone else play definetely helps to understand hs better.
Hope this helps,good luck on the climb!
Surely advice is deck specific at some point? Like read up on the deck you're playing? If it's a homebrew I figure you know it well enough anyway, it's more about knowing the other decks you encounter.
This, right here, has to be the least helpful comment I've ever seen when someone is genuinely frustrated and looking for advice on how to get better. Imagine if this were actually true. We'd never have had the Einsteins, Bill Gates, etc of this world, because apparently if they sucked back then, they would always suck and never improve.
Please do not offer advice to someone again. You clearly suck at it...
OP, there's some good (and some terrible) advice on this thread.
However, most people here will be trying to offer you good advice; the problem is that aside from "Good Practice" tips like the ones you are complaining about in your post, there is little that any of us can specifically write down for you that doesn't require specific context for you to use and improve.
(Barring perhaps Slyde's advice to watch streamers play and listen to what they are saying about why they make the plays they do. In particular, I can suggest Kibler or Trump as two people who I think tend to explain their plays and what they are thinking quite well)
Aside from the above, what you could really do with doing (if you can), is find someone (or some people) who will spectate and talk to you while you play, giving you advice and asking you questions about why you're playing certain cards, or making certain trades etc. Someone who can tell you when it might be a bad idea, or suggest better plays. And help you understand those plays better. It is a lot easier to improve at the game when you have someone to bounce your plays off, and to coach you.
You can find some people who are willing to do this sort of thing over in the Friends section of this forum.
I am also happy to do this - tho would be the odd evening now and then (due to family commitments)
Essentially - find yourself a good coach or friend to help you get better. It will help both of you get better. :-)