Starcraft from Scratch...

[Technocrat]

I've taken up a job in South Korea, and perhaps not surprisingly as a gamer I've been invited to have a session of Starcraft tomorrow in a cafe with some locals. Starcraft is only a little short of a national religion around here, but the problem is, I've not played it since I was about 11 - and even then, that was only for ten minutes.

So, what do the folk on the Escapist recommend? Who's good for playing as for beginners? Is zerg rushing the right thing to do?

Additionally, do you have any of your own experiences of being thrown in at the deep end with other players vastly more experienced than yourself?

 

[Jedoro]

When in doubt, zerg rush.

If they don't think it's a legit tactic, then learn something else. In the meantime, zerg rush your ass off.

 

[Agayek]

Another good, fairly simple, strat for the original StarCraft is the Marine rush. Mass SCVs and barracks ASAP, then just churn out Marines until you have a massive ball of death and send that around the map killing things. It works surprisingly well against most enemy forces.

 

[KefkaCultist]

I do protoss zealot rush. zerg rush is just as effective though

 

[Mathak]

FYI, you're so very dead. Otherwise, block your ramp (remember to pray no Dragoon decides to walk over thin air past your block into your base...$%%#= SC pathfinding) and tech straight to Carriers. Always good for a laugh.

If you actually want to win though...4pool them the first game, when they're hopefully not expecting it.

 

[omega 616]

Is there a surrender button on starcraft? Just look up "APM demo" on youtube, thats the kind of level your up against. (although there pro players so they wont be that fast)

To stand a chance go for cheap tactics. Thats all I can suggest.

 

[Georgie_Leech]

Try playing skirmish against the computer for a bit, just 1-on-1, before you play against them. You know, get used to the game again. Figure out what tactics you like, then start playing. Yeah, you'll probably lose a lot. But improving your tactics over time, learning to improvise on the fly, getting better through your own choices, and finally, finally, beating one of them in an epic showdown...

Much more satisfying than hoping for a quick, easy solution that suppossedly sees you through any situation that, in reality, has been seen before and has a defence to counter it.

 

[DazZ.]

I recommend going there with the mindset of learning.

After watching and playing them for however long you're there you'll be better than anyone here. Ask stuff and take mental notes of what they do, then go away and learn it.

There is nothing we can say that will make you win.
(I haven't played Starcraft 2 much at all though, so I may be wrong.)

 

[ottenni]

You must build additional pylons. Always, you will never have enough.

Best tip i can give is play Terran (they are the easiest to pick up) and have 3 scv's per mineral node. Took me years to figure that out.

 

[TurtleBay]

It doesn't really matter what race you play, it is all about execution. Go over to the Team Liquid website and choose one of their build orders. Practice it a half dozen times before you play your colleagues. That way at least you will have 5-6 Zealots/Marines/Zerglings before they storm your base.

 

[FrostyCoolSlug]

Definitely go terran, as ottenni says, they are easiest to pick up, and can produce a reasonably strong marine force quickly and without too much difficulty.

The best strategy tip in general though, is to keep your enemy scouted at all times if you can. Run an SCV through at the start to find out what's going on there. Do some quick googling on the available units, their strengths and weaknesses. Another useful strategy would be, when you have a few units, to place on in each 'expansion' area, so you can see where your opponent is expanding too (which will help you determine attack targets).

Be flexable and fluid with your units, if you create a blob of a single type, and get spotted, the chances are that blob is going to be destroyed easily (You'll run into a lot of siege tanks if you have a blob of marines, for example).

Expand only when you are comfortable, as terran build a new command center in your main base, and float it out, rather than building at the new point, this will give you some additional safety, but make sure you put a few units near and around it, so you can spot an incoming attack (a few transports might be useful to get units into a defensive position faster).

Be as relentless as possible, try to avoid giving an enemy room to breath, once you have a small force, go in for the attack, they may loose, but you've gained some intel into what the enemy is doing. If you turtle, block and sit back in your base, all you're doing is allowing the enemy to expand at will and dominate you on economy, you may wipe their army out, but they'll be able to rebuild quickly! *ALWAYS* leave some units back at your base, and make sure you are producing replacements when you go for the attack, the potential of a counter-attack is large, and you need to make sure you still have defence.

It's gonna be a pretty big learning experiance for you, but if you watch how others play, you'll get a much better idea of what you need to be doing. Expect to lose a lot (It's unfortunately the way these things work), get moral from the little victories in-game

Good luck, and have fun!

[EDIT: this may have been a little more than you needed ]