Why do so many pros protect their "secrets"?

If I lose I usually ask what I could have done better...I just played [name deleted] and lost because I couldn't figure out how to get rid of his double snipers.

He wouldn't answer any questions except to say "more active." With lots of replays to look at anyway, why are so many "pros" so reticent to help other players?

If I lose I usually ask what I could have done better...I just played RukaNewton and lost because I couldn't figure out how to get rid of his double snipers.

He wouldn't answer any questions except to say "more active." With lots of replays to look at anyway, why are so many "pros" so reticent to help other players?

People are asshats, there's no explanation required to be brutally honest. If people are reluctant to help other players then it just goes to show how enclosed and insecure some people are. I'd seek help and advice from elsewhere.

I don't even know who Newton is, so I wouldn't use his behavior to generalize about "pros".

However a lot of the top players are jerks and just won't bother helping you because they don't want to "waste" their time doing something selfless.. I reckon it's got nothing to do with wanting to hide anything.

Also the fact that you can ask what you could have done better after a loss (as opposed to blaming the bullshit game, the stupid map, or your lucky noob opponent) combined with your ability to use reticent in a sentence means you will not get much satisfaction out of the majority of people on the internet.

They are not protecting their secrets. They just don't care about you enough to help. People are selfish, not just the pros.

in my experience the best way to get better at rts games is practice and watching replays of pros

I wouldn't say anyone that doesn't want to answer questions is being an asshole. One time I had a lengthy conversation with M3allem on xfire asking him how he deals with certain things and he even gave me some replays iirc, but he never would tell me the weakness to his signature RHS Angoville strat for Wehrmacht (thought I eventually think I figured it out on my own ). Do I think he was being a dick? Not really, just trying to protect a legitimate edge he had in tournaments. That probably isn't the case here, just don't make generalizations.

If they're playing you they aren't protecting anything; they're giving you a replay account of their entire playstyle. That's as far from protecting their secrets as you can get. Good players don't ladder before major tournaments (or ladder under smurf accounts) in order to protect their strategies and prevent their opponents from being able to prepare for them in advance. Playing ladder and giving your opponent a replay to study is as far from protecting secrets as you can get.

Honestly, most people are just shitty communicators, or are just parroting a popular strategy that they know is good without having the slightest idea why it's good. Watching a replays is infinitely more useful than asking your opponent for help as the game is ending.

Take into consideration that your opponent might not speak English well enough to answer your question (though I don't know how good RukaNewton's English is)

This is pretty close to naming and shaming imo.

He may have not have taken time to give you personal advice, but thqts hardly grounds to blame or judge him on that. Hes not under any obligation to do so, afterall.

As others have pointed out, watching the replay from his perspective will teach you more thatn he could have in a thousand words. Not to mention the experience and lessons you gained from playing against him in the first place.

I just dont think this kind of post is very fair, in that regard.

Ruka clan = Russians. Its quite possible that he didnt know how to tell you effectively in English.

I always used to explain/make guides/answer questions about everything. The faster people learn to counter me, the better I can improve my strategy.

I won't tell what I do before the game, or how to counter it before hand, but it makes no difference afterwards.

Also best way to learn to play or counter something is to practice it.

Best players are there because they either have best execution or are one step ahead on strategy. It's also about reading the opponent. At the highest level it's not about the general plan either way but all the details and on the fly decision making.

And to answer the original question, they either don't have time, don't care, don't even know themselves, can't speak english, or think (wrongly in my opinion) that it will make them weaker to reveal stuff.

If someone doesn't want to help you or can not help you because of time or language constraints, just post the replay on coh2.org or gamereplays.org or wherever and ask people to help you. There are replay review request paths for both sides.

You should always watch the replay from his point of view first, though. You can often see most "secrets" easily that way.

Yeah it's a tough game. I am wasting a lot, lot of time improving. Sometimes I see the major mistake, sometimes I don't until I watch the replay.

Case in point I was trying to keep the "building" fuel on Semois, he cut me off, I sent gren to recap instead of staying together to fight off the other cons he had as at least I had a chance of winning with my support unit. So I lost fuel for a bit and basically lost the game even though it went on for 20 mins...

I heard Stephenn say once he just quits once he makes a major mistake, because against good players you can't come back...I'm wondering if I should start doing that just to stop wasting so much time. But the problem then is I will downrank so much that I'll have to go through reams of noobs, who never seem to quit when they've clearly lost.

i usually forget about the mistakes my enemy made when i win. and unless they were very obvious during the whole match. or some miss use of a certain unit. then i would probably forget it. i would have to be watching the replay and telling you.

He answered perfectly fairly your question. 'more active'

Obviously he had easy time picking off your units because you were sitting back.

Go with that, if you are more active and give him more trouble, then maybe he would give you some more advice as in build different units or don't do that.

Basically he gave you core reason why you had bad time in that game.

That seems quite sufficient to me.

I heard Stephenn say once he just quits once he makes a major mistake, because against good players you can't come back...I'm wondering if I should start doing that just to stop wasting so much time. But the problem then is I will downrank so much that I'll have to go through reams of noobs, who never seem to quit when they've clearly lost.

Yeah it takes something really silly for me to resign early though and it has set me pretty far behind. I do it primarily to just clear my mind, start fresh and go into a new game with solid mindset. Time isn't really a factor as to why I do this, however you could definitely say that by having a clear mind you use your time more efficiently and effectively.

On-topic though, personally I will always try my best to offer advice when someone asks. I do not feel as though there is a need to protect or hide strategical secrets. I much rather see the general skill level of all players improve, begin to grow the startegic depth of the game and hope players put their own twist on my advice. It is great to see someone adapt something, whether it be a tactical maneouvre, build order or unit positioning and it gives you new fresh ideas.

I understand, like some people have stated in this thread why people may hide their secrets. Eventually though people will always figure out ways to beat something and telling them the possible method only just makes it a bit easier for them. I basically taught CoH1 and CoH2 myself, learning most things from how my opponents functions, adding that to my own set of skills and hence never expect anything from my opponent. However, I always appreciated though when my opponent would answer my occasional questions. I know this sense of appreication, hence I will always respond to players.

If I detect one sense of disrespect or rage though I will most likely stop helping that individual. Raging clouds the minds thought process and being disrespectful gets you no where.

Also keep in mind that what he offer as a solution will not suite your play style. Best advice look at the replay and figure it out what u did wrong. Revealing an edge can be hard for people because they invested there time in it. So I would not judge them, but I personally will act differently.

People are selfish, not just the pros.

I disagree abit about that, it depends what kind of gaming community you have and the players it attract.
Yes to many top players in COH are just bad team players in general or have a bad attitude. I played EVE online for 8 years since closed beta and saw plenty of top players and teams helping new players or "average players" get into the "end game". Maturity do come with age (but some never grow up) and top teams in EVE online have much higher average age than COH. Many top teams in EVE wont accept players below 20 years (unless they know you from real life) and have average age around 25-30 years and its not rare to play with 30-40 years old players that have kids etc..
CCP devs did not make EVE they just gave us tools to do it, we the EVE community as EVE is a big sandbox game. The beta players and core group of players that worked like crazy for years to build some good teams (which are called corps) and community.
Players should stop deflecting all blame on Relic and take responsibility. I play COH2 mostly for fun and not very interested socializing with the 1vs1 community because it seems rather immature compared to EVE online.
Ingame chat (during a game/fight) are not a place to socialize and especially NOT to bitch and insult other players. Saying anything beyond hf gl and gg are not really neccessary. Top teams sometimes with hundres of players in EVE wont say anything in public chat during a fight, they all listen to those in charge (fleet commanders). Now that is self-discipline to follow the chain of command. Maturity + leadership = team win and learn from losses. You dont build a good team based on elitism thats just suicide. Elitism are very dark and counterproductive because its exclude others from the team. This is not theorycrafting, I talk from years of experience studying and/or helping top teams in EVE.

Attitude reflect leadership (like StephennJF) and instead of insulting new players, top players should lead by example and help new players get into COH. That how you build a community not scaring people away with elitism but make new players feel welcome..

Bottom line, COH top players need to GROW UP and start taking responsibility for others than themself.

EVE Online - Welcome to the New Age
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFNzIsS0-GA

I dont agree with social policing, nor do I think any players, top or low, have any responsibility or entitlement to "represent" any abstract community. Some people like to think they somehow "represent" the community at large, whereas actually all they represent is their own narrow view and small personal circle of sycophants. Unless someone is universally appointed by the "community" as a representative, they really dont have any business trying to speak with the authority or weight of the community. People like this tend to use the "we" term, as if they have somekind of personal army behind them.

Everyone ultimately represents and is responsible only for themselves and their own actions. Most times the most verbal and aggressive "social police" trying to dictate the behavior of others, are actually the most offensive and community destroying individuals themselves.

Something very hypocritical in the whole thing. Especially when these types of people like to gang up on individuals who have "unpopular" opinions or which otherwise are not "accepted" by their little group of ass-kissers. Typically they use a lot of sarcasm, passive-aggression, false implications and any manner of borderline antisocial behavior under the "pretext" of appearing civil, whereas really they are anything but.