Dominion Strategy Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4  All

Author Topic: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?  (Read 46424 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

RisingJaguar

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 527
  • Respect: +184
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #25 on: January 12, 2012, 01:33:25 pm »
0

By the way, that's also a game where I expect workshop to be nice - you really want those throne rooms.
I agree, also surprised that horn of plenty was untouched for a game that relied on getting quantity (of actions) in your deck. Similar idea why workshop would be nice.
Logged

Axxle

  • Torturer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1664
  • Most Valuable Serial Killer
  • Respect: +1965
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #26 on: January 12, 2012, 02:26:40 pm »
0

I always set auto-match without restrictions to a player's ranking, so a lot of the time I'm playing against lvl10-ish players and I've still risen to the top so I don't think it matters (I play my fair share of high level games, don't worry). Just make sure you don't lose against the n00bs (show no mercy).

I feel a lvl+40 player just makes a few less mistakes than a lvl30. Often this is because the lvl 40 has made those same mistakes in the past, but learnt from them while a player stuck on lvl30 is probably continuing to make those same mistakes. So if you really want to get unstuck, be extremely critical of your play.

I personally always play with +-10, sometimes more if I really want to get a game in.  I do this because I become a stronger player if I can see what stronger players are doing.  If I play against a level 10 player, he probably won't be doing anything I haven't seen before and thus I'm not getting anything out of it, skillwise.

That's definitely something I suggest to players of all levels.  Try to always play against someone slightly higher than your skill level.  Try to notice what they do and try it out yourself later.
Logged
We might be from all over the world, but "we all talk this one language  : +1 card + 1 action +1 buy , gain , discard, trash... " - RTT

jonts26

  • Margrave
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 2746
  • Shuffle iT Username: jonts
  • Respect: +3668
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #27 on: January 12, 2012, 02:33:19 pm »
+3

I play with +/- 15 most of the time. Thought I don't think it has anything to do with improving my ranking or anything. I just don't find winning games against lvl 10s to be very satisfying.
Logged

chwhite

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1065
  • Respect: +442
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #28 on: January 12, 2012, 02:35:16 pm »
+1

I play with +/- 15 most of the time. Thought I don't think it has anything to do with improving my ranking or anything. I just don't find winning games against lvl 10s to be very satisfying.

Same here.
Logged
To discard or not to discard?  That is the question.

WanderingWinder

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5275
  • ...doesn't really matter to me
  • Respect: +4381
    • View Profile
    • WanderingWinder YouTube Page
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #29 on: January 12, 2012, 02:37:37 pm »
0

I'm generally trying to get the most games I can. That's a compromise between fast games (better players play faster) and more games (wider the range, more people in the pool, faster you get a game). I also prefer playing strong people somewhat. This usually has me at +/- 15 to +/- 20 nowadays, but I look at who's in the room, start with a smaller range, and make it bigger if I'm not getting a game fast enough.

Tahtweasel

  • Navigator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 71
  • Respect: +36
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #30 on: January 12, 2012, 03:53:49 pm »
+14

View from level 39: I am strongest when I completely flout all of the conventional wisdom of the game. I am strongest when I refuse to buy Province, or buy weird cards that everyone hates, or use Throne-roomed Feasts as a makeshift source of +buy on a Highway set.


Here are two important pieces of anti-conventional wisdom:

1. The game length is extremely variable.

I know that sometimes, Province is a trap card. I love watching people build for a 14-turn game and realize that I've turned it into a 29-turn game. I buy Provinces significantly less often than my opponents, despite winning 2/3 of my games. Sometimes Goons, Monument, Bishop, Gardens, Duke, Vineyard, Ambassador, Rabble, Saboteur, or Silk Road can totally change the landscape of the game and drag it out too long.

Some strategy article writers make a big point of comparing your strategy to a 13-turn, 4-province baseline. All well and good. But what if I refuse to meet you on the other side? Rabble-Ghost Ship-Monument-Fishing Village. I don't even touch the Provinces. Have fun with your 3-dead-card hands.


I'm also willing to dramatically shorten a game. I've feasted a curse to run the pile out, and I've won games -1 to -7. I don't care if my wins are pretty.

2. "Bad cards" are good more often than we'd like to admit. Some "Good" cards are bad more often than we'd like to admit.

Some of my best cards are practically a who's who of cards that level 30 players have dutifully learned to stay away from or be wary of. Theory's articles [Edit: articles published on DominionStrategy that weren't actually written by Theory] will tell you that Smugglers is a very bad card. This is a white lie to help new players, who fall for it as a trap card. Smugglers is a bad card in 70% of games. In the other 30% - well, you know those games where you get reduced to a sputtering rage because your opponent keeps getting "free" copies of the Wharves and Festivals you "worked so hard for?" Yeah, I'm that guy. Smugglers is one of my three best cards given available. I buy it in 30% of games, but I buy it in the right 30%. I'm similarly strong with Black Market and Outpost, which are also commonly considered traps because they're overrated by new players.

Some of my cards for best Win Rate With? Thief(!) is actually #1, with Stash, Explorer, Bureaucrat, Noble Brigand, and Oracle up there as well. I only rarely gain these cards (3%, 7%, 7%, 6%, 11%, 24%) but I do so in the games where they actually are worthwhile.

My best win rates without: Gardens, Alchemist, Militia, Farmland, Hoard, Smugglers, Silk Road, Secret Chamber, Ghost Ship, Apprentice.

Seven of those are incredibly powerful cards I love to have in my deck in most games. (Smugglers, SC, and Farmland aren't particularly powerful.) The difference between me and a level 30 player is that I buy these powerful cards less often than they do, because I see something that they don't about the shape of the board.

If you see a level 40 player buying Ghost Ship, you should be worried. If you see a level 40 player skipping Ghost Ship, you should be terrified.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2012, 04:28:46 pm by Tahtweasel »
Logged

theory

  • Administrator
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 3603
  • Respect: +6121
    • View Profile
    • Dominion Strategy
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #31 on: January 12, 2012, 04:22:14 pm »
0

I think Tahtweasel hits on a really good point: identifying when good cards are bad and when bad cards are good.  It's easy to assume that Chapel is always strong and Bureaucrat is always weak, but as I think we've seen lately, ironclad rules rarely work out well in Dominion.

Of course, ironclad rules can get you pretty high, and are good for strategy articles (else every single article would be "it depends!"), but you gotta depart from it sooner or later.

Theory's articles will tell you that Smugglers is a very bad card. This is a white lie to help new players, who fall for it as a trap card.
Whoa, I never said that.  Maybe you're mixing me up with chwhite, who appears to really loathe Smugglers.  I like it quite a bit actually, as a psuedo +Buy, when the conditions are right (no great terminals, not getting $5 or $6 isn't a death knell).
Logged

Tahtweasel

  • Navigator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 71
  • Respect: +36
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #32 on: January 12, 2012, 04:27:08 pm »
0

I stand corrected. You're not the author of the "Fun With Popular Buys: Card Power Levels" article that appeared on DominionStrategy, which placed Smugglers in the "What Were You Thinking?" category.
Logged

Tahtweasel

  • Navigator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 71
  • Respect: +36
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #33 on: January 12, 2012, 04:36:59 pm »
+1

I like it quite a bit actually, as a psuedo +Buy, when the conditions are right (no great terminals, not getting $5 or $6 isn't a death knell).
Other key characteristics of a pro-Smugglers game:
  • Actions are cheap
  • Everyone agrees that certain cards are very good and should be picked up

The ideal setup for Smugglers would be something like Caravan, Highway, Fishing Village, Laboratory, Steward, Smugglers, and four useless Kingdom cards.
Logged

chwhite

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1065
  • Respect: +442
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #34 on: January 12, 2012, 04:43:23 pm »
0

Whoa, I never said that.  Maybe you're mixing me up with chwhite, who appears to really loathe Smugglers.  I like it quite a bit actually, as a psuedo +Buy, when the conditions are right (no great terminals, not getting $5 or $6 isn't a death knell).

I wouldn't say I "loathe" Smugglers at all- I do think it's the second-weakest $3, but all the $3s have some decent use.  For Smugglers I find that use tends to be stuff like Minion or Grand Market mirror matches.  Admittedly this is quite a bit different and narrower than your use for the card.
« Last Edit: January 12, 2012, 04:49:56 pm by chwhite »
Logged
To discard or not to discard?  That is the question.

ecq

  • Conspirator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 224
  • Respect: +162
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #35 on: January 12, 2012, 04:51:09 pm »
+1

Having been on the receiving end, Tahtweasel's post sounds about right.  I think it all comes down to lateral thinking.  When I lose to someone who's level 30, I usually learn something from my play.  When I lose to someone who's level 40, I usually learn something from their play.

Quote
I'm also willing to dramatically shorten a game. I've feasted a curse to run the pile out, and I've won games -1 to -7. I don't care if my wins are pretty.

I had a game where my opponent Ambassadored 2 Provinces to run out the pile.  I'd have never considered that.  You've never lost until you've lost like that.

Quote
If you see a level 40 player buying Ghost Ship, you should be worried. If you see a level 40 player skipping Ghost Ship, you should be terrified.

This.  I'll look at a board and think it's clear that I need Ambassador only to learn that Merchant Ship was the better card to go for.  That's the difference in a nutshell.
Logged

toaster

  • Young Witch
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 133
  • Respect: +46
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #36 on: January 12, 2012, 04:51:26 pm »
0

Smugglers also has the characteristic that to a certain extent its usefulness is proportional to the skill of your opponent.  If your opponent is floundering with a lot of bad buys, Smuggler is just going to toss junk in your deck.  If your opponent has a better game plan than you, Smuggler *might* help you reverse course and catch up. 

There's obviously more to Smugglers than that, but it helps to explain to a certain extent why players' opinions of the card often go down as their play improves.
Logged

WanderingWinder

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 5275
  • ...doesn't really matter to me
  • Respect: +4381
    • View Profile
    • WanderingWinder YouTube Page
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #37 on: January 12, 2012, 04:52:30 pm »
0

I stand corrected. You're not the author of the "Fun With Popular Buys: Card Power Levels" article that appeared on DominionStrategy, which placed Smugglers in the "What Were You Thinking?" category.
No, he wasn't. That was CaptainFrisk.
Furthermore, CaptainFrisk wasn't saying it was 'What Were You Thinking?' - the statistics were.

Geronimoo

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1059
  • Respect: +868
    • View Profile
    • Geronimoo's Dominion Simulator
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #38 on: January 12, 2012, 05:06:44 pm »
+3

Tahtweasel's post is cool and all, but be wary of FPS (Fancy Play Syndrome). I feel that quite a lot of the +30 (and even +40) suffer a bit from FPS where they want to combine all these cool actions or win in an unconventional matter while some boards are really not suited for those kinds of shenanigans.

Of course, the only thing at stake is your rating and not your huge chip stack in a poker tournament for real money, so I'd say: if you're having fun, go nuts and play as fancily as you can!
Logged

RisingJaguar

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 527
  • Respect: +184
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #39 on: January 12, 2012, 05:20:02 pm »
+1

Hi Everyone,

My name is RisingJaguar and I suffer from FPS. 

(I will say that as someone who recently became apart of this apparent 'lv 40' club. I don't feel like my game has changed all that much if at all.  I'm pretty sure the lv. 40 club is referring to the elite level in general, but don't take the rankings too seriously.  Have fun with the game ^^)
Logged

GendoIkari

  • Adventurer
  • ******
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 9701
  • Respect: +10741
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #40 on: January 12, 2012, 05:25:02 pm »
0

Hi Everyone,

My name is RisingJaguar and I suffer from FPS. 

(I will say that as someone who recently became apart of this apparent 'lv 40' club. I don't feel like my game has changed all that much if at all.  I'm pretty sure the lv. 40 club is referring to the elite level in general, but don't take the rankings too seriously.  Have fun with the game ^^)

28 here. I feel like my game improved a good bit when I stopped caring when I lose. I do unfortunately suffer from "I need to end on a win at all costs" which probably brings keeps me from climbing higher sometimes.

And as for FPS, last night I did this: http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120111-162402-4dae122d.html. Provinces? What Provinces? I'm just going to spend all game building up on lots and lots of cantrips and no money!
Logged
Check out my F.DS extension for Chrome! Card links; Dominion icons, and maybe more! http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=13363.0

Thread for Firefox version:
http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=16305.0

Tahtweasel

  • Navigator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 71
  • Respect: +36
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #41 on: January 12, 2012, 05:27:33 pm »
0

Tahtweasel's post is cool and all, but be wary of FPS (Fancy Play Syndrome). I feel that quite a lot of the +30 (and even +40) suffer a bit from FPS where they want to combine all these cool actions or win in an unconventional matter while some boards are really not suited for those kinds of shenanigans.

Of course, the only thing at stake is your rating and not your huge chip stack in a poker tournament for real money, so I'd say: if you're having fun, go nuts and play as fancily as you can!
I agree that I'm probably influenced a little bit by the joy of using Thief or Bureaucrat correctly. I use them in 3% and 7% of games, respectively, but maybe it should be more like 2.5% and 5%. But I'm better-off than a player who never uses them.

I'd say that the primary "fancy play syndrome" cards are ones like Highway. I can actually think of games where my opponent and I reached 4 provinces in 17 turns, despite having no attacks and Smithy on the board. Your simulator would have been ashamed of us.

Lastly, probably 70% of games between high-level players are mirror matches, where the players are executing identical strategies with almost-even tactical ability. My first post ignored these games because I can't offer much advice on winning them. "Try to draw 2 Estates with your Chapel on turn 3 or 4" isn't very helpful. ;)
Logged

chwhite

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1065
  • Respect: +442
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #42 on: January 12, 2012, 05:59:36 pm »
0

Tahtweasel's post is cool and all, but be wary of FPS (Fancy Play Syndrome). I feel that quite a lot of the +30 (and even +40) suffer a bit from FPS where they want to combine all these cool actions or win in an unconventional matter while some boards are really not suited for those kinds of shenanigans.

Of course, the only thing at stake is your rating and not your huge chip stack in a poker tournament for real money, so I'd say: if you're having fun, go nuts and play as fancily as you can!
I agree that I'm probably influenced a little bit by the joy of using Thief or Bureaucrat correctly. I use them in 3% and 7% of games, respectively, but maybe it should be more like 2.5% and 5%. But I'm better-off than a player who never uses them.

I'd say that the primary "fancy play syndrome" cards are ones like Highway. I can actually think of games where my opponent and I reached 4 provinces in 17 turns, despite having no attacks and Smithy on the board. Your simulator would have been ashamed of us.

Lastly, probably 70% of games between high-level players are mirror matches, where the players are executing identical strategies with almost-even tactical ability. My first post ignored these games because I can't offer much advice on winning them. "Try to draw 2 Estates with your Chapel on turn 3 or 4" isn't very helpful. ;)

Bureaucrat is legitimately useful way more than 7 percent of the time; I'd put it at almost 20 percent these days, though it was way less than that pre-Hinterlands. 

I think by now you all know how often I consider Thief to be a useful card. :P
Logged
To discard or not to discard?  That is the question.

Tahtweasel

  • Navigator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 71
  • Respect: +36
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #43 on: January 12, 2012, 07:07:27 pm »
0

And as for FPS, last night I did this: http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120111-162402-4dae122d.html. Provinces? What Provinces? I'm just going to spend all game building up on lots and lots of cantrips and no money!
That's excellent play, and not FPS at all. Hamlet is one of the absolute best linchpins of a Vineyards strategy. It's a cheap cantrip that gives you +buys to get more cheap cantrips.

Vineyards is a great strategy in long games. Province stalls in long games. You took him to 21 turns, and he wasn't prepared for that. WP.
Logged

Tahtweasel

  • Navigator
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 71
  • Respect: +36
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #44 on: January 12, 2012, 07:08:09 pm »
+1

Tahtweasel's post is cool and all, but be wary of FPS (Fancy Play Syndrome). I feel that quite a lot of the +30 (and even +40) suffer a bit from FPS where they want to combine all these cool actions or win in an unconventional matter while some boards are really not suited for those kinds of shenanigans.

Of course, the only thing at stake is your rating and not your huge chip stack in a poker tournament for real money, so I'd say: if you're having fun, go nuts and play as fancily as you can!
I agree that I'm probably influenced a little bit by the joy of using Thief or Bureaucrat correctly. I use them in 3% and 7% of games, respectively, but maybe it should be more like 2.5% and 5%. But I'm better-off than a player who never uses them.

I'd say that the primary "fancy play syndrome" cards are ones like Highway. I can actually think of games where my opponent and I reached 4 provinces in 17 turns, despite having no attacks and Smithy on the board. Your simulator would have been ashamed of us.

Lastly, probably 70% of games between high-level players are mirror matches, where the players are executing identical strategies with almost-even tactical ability. My first post ignored these games because I can't offer much advice on winning them. "Try to draw 2 Estates with your Chapel on turn 3 or 4" isn't very helpful. ;)

Bureaucrat is legitimately useful way more than 7 percent of the time; I'd put it at almost 20 percent these days, though it was way less than that pre-Hinterlands. 

I think by now you all know how often I consider Thief to be a useful card. :P
Looking at your stats, it appears that you have probably gotten more thieves from Swindler than you have actually bought on your own.
Logged

Geronimoo

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1059
  • Respect: +868
    • View Profile
    • Geronimoo's Dominion Simulator
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #45 on: January 13, 2012, 02:00:51 am »
0

And as for FPS, last night I did this: http://councilroom.com/game?game_id=game-20120111-162402-4dae122d.html. Provinces? What Provinces? I'm just going to spend all game building up on lots and lots of cantrips and no money!
That's excellent play, and not FPS at all. Hamlet is one of the absolute best linchpins of a Vineyards strategy. It's a cheap cantrip that gives you +buys to get more cheap cantrips.

Vineyards is a great strategy in long games. Province stalls in long games. You took him to 21 turns, and he wasn't prepared for that. WP.
Labs/Caravans/Hamlet/Oracles + a few Banks would have soaked up all the Provinces in +/- 17 turns.
Logged

timchen

  • Minion
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 704
  • Shuffle iT Username: allfail
  • Respect: +234
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #46 on: January 13, 2012, 03:14:46 am »
0

Labs/Caravans/Hamlet/Oracles + a few Banks would have soaked up all the Provinces in +/- 17 turns.

Seriously? Seems kinda hard to play for me. How many banks should you get?
Logged

Geronimoo

  • Saboteur
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 1059
  • Respect: +868
    • View Profile
    • Geronimoo's Dominion Simulator
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #47 on: January 13, 2012, 03:27:00 am »
0

I solitaired it a few times yesterday and had 3/4 Banks (and no other money apart from the 7 starting Coppers). I think you need to go for a few mega turns (3 Provinces each turn). If the other guy is buying a lot of Labs as well I don't think you can pull it off so I'm not sure if it counters the Vineyard strategy (although you could also 3-pile with the same core if you have enough Hamlets for +buy).
Logged

TheMathProf

  • Scout
  • ****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 43
  • Respect: +7
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #48 on: January 13, 2012, 09:24:46 am »
+1

The difference between me and a level 30 player is that I buy these powerful cards less often than they do, because I see something that they don't about the shape of the board.

Agreed 100% with this.  I'd say this represents the difference between level 30s and lower levels as well.

As someone who sometimes flirts with level 30, I feel like I often can generate decent enough engines on engine boards, and get a pretty good feeling for when engine boards or big money boards are going to be dominant.  I feel like I tend not to overbuy terminals.  There are definitely some boards where I think I see the synergies pretty well, and sometimes even better than the level 40 opponents that I end up facing from time to time.

But there are other times where there are combinations together that I just simply can't fathom just by looking at the board... until it destroys me.  I think some of that's experience admittedly.

Case in point where experience is huge: I played a live game yesterday with three other players (the best of whom would probably be Level 10-15) who brought Base Set + Cornucopia, and we had the following in play:

$3  Fortune Teller
$4  Throne Room, Remodel, Farming Village, Tournament
$5  Hunting Party, Market, Horn of Plenty
$6  Fairgrounds, Adventurer

The three other players in the game opened Fortune Teller + something (one of them Farming Village, one of them Tournament, one of them Silver), whereas I opened Remodel/Silver.

And they all just stared at me for grabbing that Silver instead of a Fortune Teller.  "Why wouldn't you want the attack card?" the best of the players asks me.

"I'm just not that kind of guy."

And after spending the next couple turns Remodeling Estates into Farming Villages and Tournaments, I get the first Province with no Estates in hand.  It dawns on them that the Fortune Teller is forcing me to cycle my deck to put the Province on top to draw with the Tournament, and they spend most of the rest of the game clearing their decks of Curses from Followers.

Second game: same set (they prefer to play that way), nobody buys a Fortune Teller until the very end (for the 15th card with Fairgrounds).  The game's a lot closer.

I have to admit that I saw the idea of having Fortune Teller bringing Provinces to the top... because I was on the exact opposite side of that idea about a month ago.

I think there's a lot to be said for the learning curve in this game, and a lot of times, it's hard to see exactly how some of the cards are going to interact with each other... until you've been beaten by it once.  Or twice.  Or...

It seems to me that the Level 40 player not only visualizes that better, but tends to also have more experience.
Logged

Asklepios

  • Duke
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 394
  • Respect: +116
    • View Profile
Re: What's the difference between a level 30 and a level 40 player?
« Reply #49 on: April 10, 2012, 05:39:14 am »
0

I always set auto-match without restrictions to a player's ranking, so a lot of the time I'm playing against lvl10-ish players and I've still risen to the top so I don't think it matters (I play my fair share of high level games, don't worry). Just make sure you don't lose against the n00bs (show no mercy).

I feel a lvl+40 player just makes a few less mistakes than a lvl30. Often this is because the lvl 40 has made those same mistakes in the past, but learnt from them while a player stuck on lvl30 is probably continuing to make those same mistakes. So if you really want to get unstuck, be extremely critical of your play.

I think the bolded part above is the key. I'm happy that I can pull off neat games with clever routes to victory, and be aware of my deck, etc. etc.

My problem is inconsistency. One day I'll win ten games in a row and count a victory against a R40+ in there. Another day I'll lose against a R20 because I make a stupid mistake that a more consistently expert player wouldn't have. And on days I lose a match, I tend to lose five matches in a row, and am too stubborn to recognise that I'm not on top form that day, and really ought to switch off and do something else.

I think my other problem is creativity and observation. I'm fine with executing stuff I learnt here, but I'm not one of those players who would have recognised that DoubleJack is a power strategy, for example.

All in all, I'm sure 30-35 is where I belong, and probably where I'll peak. i think anyone with determination and intelligence can learn to be a level 30 player, but it takes a certain non-reproducible talent to hit 40 and stay there.
« Last Edit: April 10, 2012, 05:44:14 am by Asklepios »
Logged
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4  All
 

Page created in 0.292 seconds with 21 queries.