Solo league Information Sheet follow up to FML League Team

[ATiBright]

     I figured I'd take a moment to discuss and hopefully insight a few people as to how much different solo league varies from the FFA type stuff most of us know, as well as give people a general idea on how to improve and prepare themselves for participating in solo leagues.
Part 1 Practice
   While we all know quite well to participate and have success in FFA's we aren't required to put forth a lot of practice time, usually a handful of games every couple weeks combined with the knowledge, and strategy we have built up over time allows for us all to be what we consider successful or skilled FFA players.
   In solo league you can't get away with this regime or mindset.  Sure you can steal a map here and there in solo leagues with creative strategies, odd timings, etc.  But these builds can only get you so far, and usually fall to a much superior solo player.  It is far more important in solo to know timings, builds, and micro/macro importance throughout a game compared to FFA.  The only way to adjust yourself to nail down these keys is to put forth lots of practice and preparation.  My most successful months during my 2-3 year span of solo leagueing was while practicing 6-10 hours a day while playing for ATi, game after game against highly skilled opponents working on minor details each practice session.  In order to work on your overall game its necessary to work on the smallest of details and missteps in your play.
Part 2 Capitalizing on Your Strengths and avoiding your weaknesses
   This is possibly the most important thing for all players, and managers to be aware of and use to you, and your team's advantage.  It is very difficult to be an all around skilled solo player in every matchup or on every map so it is a must to identify your most skilled matchups and maps.
   Here is an example: For me as a night elf player my strongest 2 matchups were Elf vs Elf and Elf vs Orc, my best map was Terenas Stand, and then whatever odd map was in the pool for the league I was playing in (usually 1-2 maps that are uncommon and I would practice the hell out of them to give myself an advantage over the opponents always playing the norm)  In most situations Orcs thrive on Secret Valley, Lost Temple, and Echo Isles.  Terenas Stand in most cases is elves best map.  So myself and my manager were always aware that I should be playing on either TS or SV and my opponent would almost always end up being an elf or an orc.  Had I been randomly set on maps against undead and human players there is no doubt my loss column would have been much larger.  Always play toward your strengths.  However sometimes in solo league play the other team will have a player who is their ace and likely better then or as good as the best player on your team, in this situation its best for management and the player to be aware of his typical starting map and put the worst player from your team against them and just sacrifice the series, allowing you best player to win against a lesser opponent or on a map of his choosing rather then leaving top tier player vs top tier player and play the odds.   Sadly I got sacrificed against Bar, and InfC.Pride a couple of times in the latter part of my solo career :(
Part 3 Key Differences in Play
   Scouting is far more important during the early stages of the game in solo compared to FFA.  Scout at the beginning to make sure no shenanigans are going out, and scout regularly for incoming attacks, expansions, and opportunities to kill, harass or creep jack your enemy.
   Harassment is a huge key in solo that often is the difference between winning and losing.  Know the creep routes for maps, know when your opponent will be creeping a hard camp or is too far from his base to let you throw down some economical damage.  For example in solo play against orc he will throw down his beastiary & spirit lodge at 6 PM on the game clock of  the first night, this is always a perfect opportunity to slow your enemy.  Boots, Teleport Staves, Invisible Pots always keep it in your mind to use these items at precise timings but not to waste the resources when you may need them for non harass oriented spending. 
   Positioning, and resource management.  Frequently in FFA we see bad engagements player A goes 100 vs Player B who is 100 food and at the end player A has 90 supply and Player B doesn't tp out till 60 Supply, however in FFA it is still very possible player B ends up winning the game.  In solo never allow yourself to fight in a bad engagement A town portal is roughly the cost of 2 tier 2 units, and experience given to your opponent is very vital as well.  If you find yourself caught in a bad situation its better to teleport out then instantly lose the game because of 1 bad fight.


That is about all I have for now, I'm sure I have a lot more useful information but I'll save it for practice and other opportunities if this FML League team comes to be.

Anyone looking for practice feel free to add me on skype Jason.i88 or msn jay_ingledue@hotmail.com or PM me here.  I'm going to try and be on GGC around 4-5 EST practicing for about an hour or so each day if anyone wants to join in on some practice sessions.

[rygorych]

   jay_ingledue@hotmail.com

I can feel net crawlers all over this...

[Persuade]

   jay_ingledue@hotmail.com

I can feel net crawlers all over this...

It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal, he most likely doesn't care.

[ATiBright]

   jay_ingledue@hotmail.com

I can feel net crawlers all over this...

Aside from playing for league team's I helped manage a couple, my email is already all over the internet and I could care less :)

[rygorych]

Fair enough. Want to buy some enlargement pills?

[Redkeekee]

I would be interested in some practice vs some of ye olde solo players.  Only practice I get outside of shitty ladder games with a million ms latency is vs persuade and he likes to troll me in solo :P