Age of Mythology Retold: What Makes Someone Truly Elite? 

You and Boit AOM LEGENDS would love to see you guys in top 10 tournies. Keep it

Absolutely top notch video. I’ve been a multiple time world champion with my team in the game Wolfenstein Enemy Territory and the way you describe characteristics as ego, but also the state of being throughout the day is what is absolutely necessary to perform at the highest level. If you don’t breathe the passion you are working at, you’ll never become excellent

I totally agree with the state of yours Magic. I've been 2K+ (Thor) on ESO back in the days, which was for me, a huge accomplishment. I remember that I reached for the first time on that rank against Vogue (Seth) The time of Ourk, Juzam and so on is long gone, such as my skills. I always felt bad that I couldn't reproduce the same, now we grew older, wiser. Indeed now we're constantly torn with responsabilities and so on. Which make little room for being competitive! Keep up the good work Magic, you're a gem to the community.

Biological rewiring to turn anxiety into adrenaline is something that top tier athletes in every sport can achieve. This is your "zone". Chinese people call it using your chi. Japanese people call it a zen state. These top tier athletes can't be in the zone all the time. But they strive to be there at least 90% of the time. When they aren't in the zone - when they're playing at their worst - their skill floor is still in the top 10% of all players. Maybe even 5%. The desire to win, and the absolute disgust of losses is crucial. I think 1v1 sports/games have it easier than team games because you don't need an effective leader to balance your team's varying skill AT THAT MOMENT - as well as the ability to recognize and capitalize on their opponents who aren't in the zone. At the end of the day, if your goal is to win a 1v1 game, you only need to play better than your opponent. But an Elite player needs to be better than they were yesterday. Everyday. They watch every replay. They are always practicing in game, or evolving strategies outside if game. I miss being able to perform with and against the best players in the world of a certain game. Those games meant more to me than any ranked game ever since. It's hard to find that feeling again. But in my experience, it is not worth chasing and obsessing over. It is normal and healthy to change and move on. To let go. GLHF to everyone out there trying to be their best, and remember to take care of yourselves.❤

Glad you're making videos now, man. You nailed it with this one.

Totally agree with you. I wanted to challenge myself to being good at this game, but I've just figured out that I simply cannot compete. The level is terribly high because of stream & youtube videos, and as working person I don't have enought time to practice. Also AoM requires a high understanding of fundamentals ( I still don't know all the units of every gods and what are the counters units, and at which costs...) Back then at my young age, everything was different, the good learners/observers could make the difference because kinda every people have the same time to play, now it is more try hard style in every game that succeed.

About decisionmaking. literally making ANY decision is super important, even if its the wrong decision, and then just being able to look back and see "well that was a bad decision, i should make something else now/next time" And you can break down decisions to some basic things: Expand, Tech, Economy, Army. And there is probably more, but if you "pick" one of those to focus on every minute, you will make a choice, and when you make concious choice it will help you get better

You just summarized the plot of Whiplash. The question you would ask yourself at the end always is "Was it worth it?". And while jazz is relatively mainstream, Age of Mythology is so niche in comparison. Is being best of the best in both fields as equally rewarding?

Mista recommended practice partner which sounds really useful, so he/she can share why certain decisions are made during the game etc.

I love the breakdown of the competitive mindset - the reality is that the majority of the population value getting along with others as opposed to having that hatred of losing which gives drive for crazy accomplishments. You see it with many highly competitive streamers especially before they become very successful then they realise that showing this side of themselves publicly holds back their career because people don’t like it so they hide it. If they learn to successfully hide it or manage it while maintaining their hatred of losing they blow up.

thanks magic, great video

Like the discussion. The ability to compete is also different than being good at games. Tournaments are peak competition.

Like the discussion. The ability to compete is very important! Tournaments are peak competition. The ego thing is real! Play into it Magic, light that passion on fire again!

This is not for everybody! But for the few this is very important to hear

hey if you or other viewers are interested in the concept of "the zone" I recommend the book Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi - not only for gaming but for everyday life as well PS. I've been binging your vids the last week hoping to one day get back into the game, cheers for the quality content

throughout my life I had one shared indicator that gave me massive growth: When I was dreaming about it, I was in the zone

Thank you very much for this monologue, especially the second half. Very interesting conclusions and vision of the game and the world around us. Very valuable information, thanks again. And for old time Sensuy too, maybe you will organize a BO5 showbatch in new Retold, your games with him always bring joy and fun!

I totally agree on other things in life distracting you from entering this elite level focus. That's usually also why very competitive people in any sport or e-sport will drop off around their 30s and retire - other things in life like family or other interests will slowly take over. There are probably a lot of things that people do to get really focused like avoiding any direct distractions, being in a familiar setting, even actively calming themselves down, meditating etc before a game. I want to highlight one thing that might work for people with lots of responsibilities: It can really help to write down all the things you have to do and get organised. Like manage to-do lists, set reminders, schedule free time for playing etc. That way these other responsibilities are "off your mind" and you don't have to constantly worry that you are going to forget to do something. Writing to-do lists is also something that helps people fall asleep more easily btw.

Here is an idea, you and the other pros do an episode where it's actually a free for all scrim, and each channel can host their POV on their thoughts and decision making. It would be a really big and fun hit! Thoughtful to see everyone perspectives, and also just fun to see the free for all. If it's good, you guys should do a biweekly or something on it.

I know this might come off as philosophy but I believe there's something to it. As we age it's sometimes hard to give ourself a break. Ofc other people's judgement matters but a person can be their own worst enemy. I know Maslow's hierarchy of needs is an overgeneralization but it's not that far from the truth, at least for men. As we get older we become more and more aware of what we could or should be doing and when some of those societal expectations aren't fulfilled it's hard to focus or even enjoy anything that is not contributing to the pyramid. A good cure I think, although very hard to pull off, is what people like Joe Rogan speak about and probably do alot. We should always be tasking ourself with something difficult so that we can give ourselves a break to enjoy the other stuff. How I read that it doesn't have to be anything special, but, it has to give us a sense that we are acomplishing something worthy and difficult. Then we can afford to truly give ourselves a break and enjoy our passions or hobbies that are perhaps not the most optimal things that we should be doing but we love to do them anyway. I know a person like Mista would likely be good at this game no matter what approach, however I think that the time he spends farming away from gaming fills him up with enough of sense of worth. He's helping his family farm, he's working hard, making money. Then when the winter comes he can sincerely take time off and enjoy a game, even as a grown up person, not completely detached from responsibility, but still, he "earned" that free time doing something he values. I never had any ambition of being the best at any game but still, I like playing alot of them, however as I get older, I find it harder and harder to forgive myself for playing and not doing something more productive with my time.. I do have a job (I'm a highscool teacher, enjoy the job) and a family, plenty of free time, but it's like, very hard for me to enjoy games the way I used to unless .. I've done something else that I value more before. I truly believe that "earning" that free time is a good mind trick, it might not get people straight in the zone, but it can certainly help with enjoying games, once again, more absentmindedly.

Kobe described ''the zone'' as him not knowing what was happening around him, with his focus solely in the game, you think like Kobe

I think those are reasonable points but I think the most fundamental idea to fully lock in is love of the game, each idea you stated is how you personally have derived love of the game. Hours a day thinking about it, sacrificing other things, being confident in yourself as a player. I will say though that hating losing or loving winning should be second to loving the competition… for instance if you had a tournament game and your opponent forfeits it would rightfully make you happy that you get to move on, but to the champions mindset it feels empty because the love of the competition is so great. Competition is exciting because it requires you to put that extra energy in to outwit your opponent whether in training or in tournament. Love the game love the competition and the zone will come natural, even with all the responsibilities in the world

totally agree with you. I played AOM when I was a student as well. But, at this current age, with job/family, it is difficult to play as intense as before. Anyway, over 20 years, you have been one of the best players in my mind. by the way, I am the staff alumni in rts-sanctuary where it was very active in the past

I miss the time when i had that ego and time to play. Nice video bro.

Great & truly honest video. Do u think devs shud add auto queue or other features to lift overall skillset & fun for new players for the game to grow? I'm asking this coz most of the pros don't want this & I think this is not helpful for the growth of the game.I think it'll end up being limited to few players only like voobly days.

It's funny because I was thinking about this as well. It's also about the details and trying stuff and thinking outside the box and not just do what everyone is doing. Look at themista with moving the monuments. I never saw anyone do that. Getting at an elite level is also helped when you either are full timer gamer or you still go to school, because you have a lot more free time and less obligations. You can play a lot more and you can really learn the game without carrying to me about losing. For example, when I played AOT in 2004, I was 14 and constantly thinking about the game and strats to do. But I never put it in practice and never looked in the details. I never spent time in creating a build order. I just always did the same stuff. + I was also scared of playing ranked because I didn't like losing rating. At the end I finally got in the top1000 with 1 god. So when hope, sk1pper, melancholy,.. Stopped playing. I lost interest because I couldn't try copying their builds anymore as they weren't playing anymore. I still have it to some level but I feel that I'm old enough to stop botherint about it too. Get rid of stress and just enjoy the game. Even if there are still annoying bugs

Take a shot for every time Magic mentions his work hahahaha

Me playing my first RTS ever: Interesting

Idea for future videos: analyse medium level player (maybe 1300 Elo) replays and comment in first person and point out mistakes say your opinion about the matchup the map etc.

Congrats on the CPA! I'm (still) studying for it atm. 1/4 down and waiting to get results from 2 sections.

Great video magic! really interesting

okay, so I'm quitting my job, leaving my family, and working on growing a huge ego. omw to the top. thx magic!

"Nobody can't win Sensuy" -Sensuy

I was never past mediocre level in classic aom.. my top rank there was 1712 i think... and that was a long time ago. I got that ranking by trying hard, it was exciting, i try to learn from you, iboitv, moose and themista. And it works. I will never become a top player like you guys, simply not because i dont have the time, but because some people are born to play this game, and thats it. Im okay with this game. Some people are just naturals.

Considering your natural inclination towards gaming, taking into account that you involuntarily think about it everytime you are free, there would be a turning point at which you would seriously consider quitting your job and dedicating yourself to streaming full time?

Not to be rude, but it sounds like the key to success is immaturity? Inflated ego No responsibilities Cannot handle losses Game on your mind 24/7 Maturing seems to be a double edged sword for competitive gaming.

It's Magic time.

Flow state OP

What do you think about people who hate losing so much they never play ranked games?

Sir, this is one of the greatest RU-vid videos I have ever watched. So thankyou I'm curious if you have done any psychology research to come to these conclusions? Or is it just your intuition about your experiences?

I’m also a CPA and would grind AoM back when I was 12-13. I wonder how many RTS players end up as accountants 😂

Am elite at sometimes winning games against top 20 players but also losing against top 300... Makes me a stucked top 90 that loses in round of 60~ in tournaments 🤡

Nice video, agree with all that's stated in the video. The opportunity cost of being elite in these niche areas is simply too high. I hope that people can remember that games are first and foremost for fun. Is it safe to say that you created this channel Magic because you would prefer to have a career in video games/content creation than as a CPA? Or is this more a passion project? Perhaps you are you more attracted to the exponential scaling+compensation nature of content creation? As someone who understands the Canadian market quite well, if you want to talk through your career strategy (which I think can optimize for compensation AND interest), please let me know.

While watching this I thought, every elo has their own faults and quirks so maybe you could point them out on a replay? I don't know, maybe in 1000 elo, players are too focused on a small area around their tc they don't secure gold mines; 1200 elo players are too agressive they forget about macro (It's a guess, I dunno) so you give pointers on a replay etc. Love your content btw.

Very informative video. How have you found a balance now that you're working a full time job and married and have all these responsibilities? Your wife must be a saint!

i have to first understand the difference between a bad and a good player so i can become good first xD

Any chance you could make your twitch stream VoDs available for non subs?

Serial and clem and Max Pax

But in all seriousness I haven't played many games on the ladder because I get terrified of losing. Almost every moment of the game I'm afraid my opponent is going to appear out of nowhere with a huge army and destroy me

You might have mentioned it at some point and I also understand if you want to keep it private, but I'm curious, what do you do for work?

I get in the zone with AutoZone

Hi Magic. You are the best. One question. Why arent towers upgraded fast after getting to age 2? Is it too resource demanding and it is better to build an extra barracks?

Magic> -Dynasty Question, back when aom released, player called MMC_Starsky do you know him?

Do you have tips to train micro (mecanic), cause it's a lot a of Keys. I m from LoL and some fps but there are so many Keys so have to watch often what is the key. So yeah i cant think sometimes about macro cause i press wrong key and press 2 Keys to make one action like alt+W is pain for me and even more when it's ctrl+W for exemple. So doing this fast everytime is legit tired me to do games..

What are these thumbnails dude... They were fine before

sensuy big lion white

Playing with a controller, and beating up pc try hards!