Teach Me Starcraft

[Lamppenkeyboard]

Do 2v2.

Take someone down with you.

It is also a pretty good idea to skim through some vids on youtube or look up strategies.

 

[Worgen]

step one, stop playing
step two, play a better rts

Starcraft is awesome D: (Still doesn't compare to age of empires 2 though ^^)

I never liked it even when I was a blizz fanboy and now I have a grudge against them so I am required by haters law to hate on them

Lol, I don't own a single blizzard game :O Just think star craft is pretty cool and respectable seeing as blizzard actually knows how to making a f*cking good game. Unlike infinity ward...

I would agree that they can make a fucking good game about any other game besides starcraft

Wait...

You're talking here about the game that outsold every other PC game that year? The game that won four Guinness World Records? The game that's become a national sport in Korea? The game that single-handedly revolutionized RTS by including 3 different races, as opposed to having two of the exact same teams fight each other? You're talking about game #37 on the top 100 games of all time list?

Don't get me wrong, it's fine to dislike it. But it's tough to call it a bad game. It's not just that it sold well, or set records, or revolutionized the genre forever, or was hailed by critics as the best game of its kind, or maintained its top-dog status for over a decade, or even that it inspired an entire nation. It's that it did all of those things, all at once.

Shame you didn't like it, but that's your call. Even haters should try to make accurate points, though. It gives your arguments weight.

- J

just because its popular doesnt make it good, mw2 sold 12 million units and really its just a copy of cod 4 with more bits added. I still dont considering it that good, I love rts games but for the life of me I couldnt get into starcraft, I didnt like any part of how it played and I thought the plot was boring at best, it reminded me of warcraft 2 and I didnt like that one either

Initial popularity covers exactly one of my points, which is that it sold well.

Let me know when MW2 can claim to have maintained it's popularity for over a decade. Or when it is regularly televised, with the top players sponsored into 6-figure salaries. It certainly didn't (as you pointed out) also change shooters forever by introducing innovations in design and structure, as Starcraft did to RTS's.

It's like calling WoW a bad game. It's the yardstick by which all others in the genre are measured. You might not like it, but to say it is bad betrays a certain myopic arrogance that robs your points of any value. I'm trying to help your conversational skills here.

- J

whats really funny is your arguing the exact way I do except your taking the argument seriously and Im not. I dont like it but I suppose its not really a bad game, in my opinion there are just much better rts games out there, when it came out there were only a few options but now we have many more and they have pushed the genre much further then it was, but that doesnt change the fact that I just dont like how starcraft plays, I didnt back in the day and starcraft 2 doesnt look to change that. And as I said before blizz effed with me so by haters law I have to hate on them and I shall

 

[Mcface]

step one, stop playing
step two, play a better rts

Starcraft is awesome D: (Still doesn't compare to age of empires 2 though ^^)

I never liked it even when I was a blizz fanboy and now I have a grudge against them so I am required by haters law to hate on them

Lol, I don't own a single blizzard game :O Just think star craft is pretty cool and respectable seeing as blizzard actually knows how to making a f*cking good game. Unlike infinity ward...

I would agree that they can make a fucking good game about any other game besides starcraft

Wait...

You're talking here about the game that outsold every other PC game that year? The game that won four Guinness World Records? The game that's become a national sport in Korea? The game that single-handedly revolutionized RTS by including 3 different races, as opposed to having two of the exact same teams fight each other? You're talking about game #37 on the top 100 games of all time list?

Don't get me wrong, it's fine to dislike it. But it's tough to call it a bad game. It's not just that it sold well, or set records, or revolutionized the genre forever, or was hailed by critics as the best game of its kind, or maintained its top-dog status for over a decade, or even that it inspired an entire nation. It's that it did all of those things, all at once.

Shame you didn't like it, but that's your call. Even haters should try to make accurate points, though. It gives your arguments weight.

- J

just because its popular doesnt make it good, mw2 sold 12 million units and really its just a copy of cod 4 with more bits added. I still dont considering it that good, I love rts games but for the life of me I couldnt get into starcraft, I didnt like any part of how it played and I thought the plot was boring at best, it reminded me of warcraft 2 and I didnt like that one either

Initial popularity covers exactly one of my points, which is that it sold well.

Let me know when MW2 can claim to have maintained it's popularity for over a decade. Or when it is regularly televised, with the top players sponsored into 6-figure salaries. It certainly didn't (as you pointed out) also change shooters forever by introducing innovations in design and structure, as Starcraft did to RTS's.

It's like calling WoW a bad game. It's the yardstick by which all others in the genre are measured. You might not like it, but to say it is bad betrays a certain myopic arrogance that robs your points of any value. I'm trying to help your conversational skills here.

- J

whats really funny is your arguing the exact way I do except your taking the argument seriously and Im not. I dont like it but I suppose its not really a bad game, in my opinion there are just much better rts games out there, when it came out there were only a few options but now we have many more and they have pushed the genre much further then it was, but that doesnt change the fact that I just dont like how starcraft plays, I didnt back in the day and starcraft 2 doesnt look to change that. And as I said before blizz effed with me so by haters law I have to hate on them and I shall

I agree. While starcraft 1 may have revolutionized things, star craft 2 is far outdated, and it just released. Unit spam and 3 races just dosn't cut it anymore. There are the SC fanboys who will defend it. But when you start matching it up to other games that require much more skill and tactics, in place of hotkeying unit builds and pressing all of 10 keys to win a game in 3 minutes, it does not hold up.

 

[Worgen]

step one, stop playing
step two, play a better rts

Starcraft is awesome D: (Still doesn't compare to age of empires 2 though ^^)

I never liked it even when I was a blizz fanboy and now I have a grudge against them so I am required by haters law to hate on them

Lol, I don't own a single blizzard game :O Just think star craft is pretty cool and respectable seeing as blizzard actually knows how to making a f*cking good game. Unlike infinity ward...

I would agree that they can make a fucking good game about any other game besides starcraft

Wait...

You're talking here about the game that outsold every other PC game that year? The game that won four Guinness World Records? The game that's become a national sport in Korea? The game that single-handedly revolutionized RTS by including 3 different races, as opposed to having two of the exact same teams fight each other? You're talking about game #37 on the top 100 games of all time list?

Don't get me wrong, it's fine to dislike it. But it's tough to call it a bad game. It's not just that it sold well, or set records, or revolutionized the genre forever, or was hailed by critics as the best game of its kind, or maintained its top-dog status for over a decade, or even that it inspired an entire nation. It's that it did all of those things, all at once.

Shame you didn't like it, but that's your call. Even haters should try to make accurate points, though. It gives your arguments weight.

- J

just because its popular doesnt make it good, mw2 sold 12 million units and really its just a copy of cod 4 with more bits added. I still dont considering it that good, I love rts games but for the life of me I couldnt get into starcraft, I didnt like any part of how it played and I thought the plot was boring at best, it reminded me of warcraft 2 and I didnt like that one either

Initial popularity covers exactly one of my points, which is that it sold well.

Let me know when MW2 can claim to have maintained it's popularity for over a decade. Or when it is regularly televised, with the top players sponsored into 6-figure salaries. It certainly didn't (as you pointed out) also change shooters forever by introducing innovations in design and structure, as Starcraft did to RTS's.

It's like calling WoW a bad game. It's the yardstick by which all others in the genre are measured. You might not like it, but to say it is bad betrays a certain myopic arrogance that robs your points of any value. I'm trying to help your conversational skills here.

- J

whats really funny is your arguing the exact way I do except your taking the argument seriously and Im not. I dont like it but I suppose its not really a bad game, in my opinion there are just much better rts games out there, when it came out there were only a few options but now we have many more and they have pushed the genre much further then it was, but that doesnt change the fact that I just dont like how starcraft plays, I didnt back in the day and starcraft 2 doesnt look to change that. And as I said before blizz effed with me so by haters law I have to hate on them and I shall

I agree. While starcraft 1 may have revolutionized things, star craft 2 is far outdated, and it just released. Unit spam and 3 races just dosn't cut it anymore. There are the SC fanboys who will defend it. But when you start matching it up to other games that require much more skill and tactics, in place of hotkeying unit builds and pressing all of 10 keys to win a game in 3 minutes, it does not hold up.

Im not really certain that starcraft really revolutionized things that much, I mean it had creative units and all but rts was still mostly in its infancy then and as I said before, it played alot like warcraft 2, really to me it always seemed like a mod for it, a polished to hell mod but a mod still

 

[Agayek]

Alright guys, I'm sure you guys can help me here. I just got beta for starcraft II and I've played two matches so far. I've figured something out, I suck. I got annihilated both times on the practice servers. I played the original a few times but that was a long time ago. I usually favor either Zerg or Terran. I'm no stranger to RTSs, I'm really quite good at Supreme Commander and Dawn of War, but something about starcraft is escaping me. Can anyone here post some beginner strategy to help me figure out what i'm doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any help.

#1) If you EVER stop building drones or SCVs, you are doing it wrong.

#2) Practice your macro and build order. You should have combat units coming out within 2 minutes of game start (~135 seconds as toss).

#3) Micro micro micro. Micro is huge in Starcraft. If one of your units is being focused, run it out of range of attacks, that gives you a couple seconds where your stuff is attacking and theirs is running around stupidly. Make sure you remember unit strength and weaknesses and apply them appropriately (use Black Rockit Guy (Marauders) against Roaches and Marines against light units, etc). Just gotta keep managing your units in very small numbers.

 

[Weaver]

One thing to note is that you can - and should - have more than one worker working on each mineral field. You can have two on each and not bottleneck. Expand whenever you can. Starcraft is largely a game about attrition.

 

[8bitmaster]

im not condoning the crack, I don't support the crack, I am buying the collectors edition on the release date if I don't preorder it, but the ai is good and will help you stratagize to prepare for early rushing and counterattack preparing. I would say start with ai and replays so you get the hang of hotkeys and find a strategy that works. Then go take on some more humans.

 

[Yeager942]

Kinda off topic, but when exactly did you get your beta, OP?

I don't have the beta so I'm not fit to give advice. From what I hear though, the penultimate zerg unit right now is the roach. Faggoty tactic? So I heard, but it works....so I heard.

 

[Baconmonster723]

Well you're initial fault is comparing it to Dawn of War or Supreme Commander. Neither can really stack up, and both are fairly different from Starcraft, (Supreme Commander is closer but not that much). Plain and simple Starcraft has one thing that sets it apart from most RTS's. That is balance. Dawn of War and Supreme Commander are frankly not balanced.

With Starcraft and Starcraft II there are not just units to throw at your enemy, there are hard and soft counters. Learn these counters and learn how to apply them. The way to win in starcraft is not necessarily to outmass or get better units than your enemy. The best way to win is to correctly counter what your enemy brings out. Hard counters are your best chance at beating your enemy. They will beat the enemy with a lesser investment. Learn them, learn how to use them well. Hard counters will help you outright win fights and stay ahead in the resource battle. Soft counters are units that are for the most part superior but don't have a distinct advantage over the unit they are fighting against, aside from being frankly better. Learn good hard and soft counters to whatever your opponent throws at you.

Secondly, scout your enemy. Know what they are up to. Don't wait until they are throwing zealots or roaches at you to begin countering. Find what they are building and try to predict the force they will send. Scouting is where most players come up short. They don't do enough and end up getting hammered before they know what is happening.

Third, and possibly most important. The game won't just be won by the proxy battles that occur outside of bases, they are usually decided by the winner's ability to recover from these battles due to out resourcing their enemy. This isn't just straight up getting more minerals or vespene than your opponent, but using counters to correctly win battles with minimal resource hit. Or fighting a superior force and causing massive damage despite being outclassed. Most importantly HARASS their workers. If their workers are dead they can't mine, if their workers are running they can't mine, for each worker you kill, for each expansion you deny that is money your enemy is wasting that they could be using on military units. It's like taking cash and tossing it into a fire.

I would also recommend that you practice micromanaging units when you fight. Don't just send them in and let them go. Learn to get the most out of each and every unit by helping them every step of the way. When two equal opponents face each other it is usually the one who micromanages the best that will win.

This will take some practice, but if you can become even simply competent with these tactics and either become a defensive or aggressive player, you will beat 80% of the people you play. Teching won't necessarily win you fights. You can play as the protoss and get 15 Colossi on the field and have them advance on your enemy, but if they hard counter them with air units that will pound them without taking damage you will take not only a massive resource hit but also a massive military hit. You have to find a good system that you are comfortable with, and alter it to best your opponent. You will lose a lot. A LOT. However, once you get your technique down you will turn the tables on your opponents and lay some smackdowns. There are very few games in the world that will give you the adrenline rush that you will feel in a really good Starcraft multiplayer match where not only every unit matters, but every unit could be the difference between you winning the match and you losing the match. Every worker killed is not just minerals but time. Every building lain to waste is precious minerals down the drain. And when you win these battles you feel like you really accomplished something awesome. Even when you lose you can walk away saying to yourself I did a damn fine job.

But like many have said learn from your replays, find mistakes not only that you made but that your opponents make. Every mistake made is a lesson to learn, every match lost is not a failure but a missed opportunity. Learn from the past lest you repeat it.

I hope this is helpful, be patient, practice, learn. And you will become the one who lays smackdowns on people.

 

[Altorin]

starcraft is just a game that you have to play. If you have someone better at it that can help you while you play, that can help, but it's not something that you can teach abstractly. Just need to practice, and if you didn't play much SC1, then you have a lot of catching up to do.

 

[BlindMessiah94]

Alright guys, I'm sure you guys can help me here. I just got beta for starcraft II and I've played two matches so far. I've figured something out, I suck. I got annihilated both times on the practice servers. I played the original a few times but that was a long time ago. I usually favor either Zerg or Terran. I'm no stranger to RTSs, I'm really quite good at Supreme Commander and Dawn of War, but something about starcraft is escaping me. Can anyone here post some beginner strategy to help me figure out what i'm doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any help.

Solution:

Give me your beta key.

 

[Veleste]

You need to learn build orders and mid game strategies. There are many professional teams and commentators with nice sites and tips. Team liquid have a very good forum and Blizzardhusky(Or is his name starcrafthusky) commentates on Starcraft matches. He provides amazing insights if you can put up with the fact he treats it like a Spanish football match. There are a few wikis and such but once you learn your build orders it's trial and error to learn what opponents do and what seeing certain things in their base means. Took me a good 20 losses in a row to realize that I had to scout out Terran expos and get rid of them fast.

There is no one great tactic and you learn to play in stages, first your early game will get good, then your mid game, then your late game (It's really tough once your minerals start going low) keep at it though, Starcraft is a game I only discovered with the Beta but damn do I love it.

 

[Low Key]

I haven't played any of Starcraft 2, and have only played a limited yet successful amount of time on the original, and I have found that the best way to win a match (with Terran, the only class I really played with) is to build an awesome defense.

If you build a base and they can't get in, that gives you more time to create soldiers, vehicles, and buildings. You must learn to multitask, but should pretty much be an unwritten rule for Starcraft multiplayer in general. You can't sit back and watch your guys take out an enemy platoon like on single player.

I don't know if the option still exists, but try out the 2vs2 matches. It's a good way to ease into head to head matches except it's much faster paced.

 

[Stormcloud23]

WALL OF TEXT

Thank you for that man, seems like you gave me a lot of good advice in there. One more question,when playing RTSs I usually go defensive. What race is best for this? I'm thinking terran... And what are some good starcraft defensive tactics? thanks again.

 

[Sh0ckFyre]

Here's how to be successful in Starcraft 2 (According to most)

Play as the Zerg, spawn as many Zerglings as humanly possible, then go to town.

 

[OmniDesol]

Ok, Starcraft is not a static game. When you first get it, you may feel like there's some sort of "Do this, this, and this, then win" button. Not the case. Starcraft is truly a strategic game. Talk to other players, during the match. Comment on tactics; they might give you advice.

For example, I always got my arse wooped, until my friend said "Optimal number of workers is 16+6. 16 on Crystals, 3 for each Vespian Gas. Ever since then, I've been doing rather well at Protoss. Try that for starters.

Read some stuff online. It may help.

EDIT: @Stormcloud, definitely Terran. Just remember, there turrets aren't like Protoss; they only hit air. But I've had my Carriers and Colossi, and even Motherships DESTROYED by Terran defenses.

 

[Tharwen]

Yeah, I never understand how these games never manage to match you with someone else who is equally bad. Surely you can't be the only person who has just started out?

 

[Baconmonster723]

WALL OF TEXT

Thank you for that man, seems like you gave me a lot of good advice in there. One more question,when playing RTSs I usually go defensive. What race is best for this? I'm thinking terran... And what are some good starcraft defensive tactics? thanks again.

For tactics focus heavily on scouting and countering. Aggressive players force others to counter and it goes from there. Defensive players are more reactive. Therefore, get very good at scouting and countering off your scouting. Keep in mind, your placed defenses will do little more than stall an opponent until they can outrange them or take them out with minimal losses. Players can get around static defenses easily. So buildings are not necessarily your best strategy. Personally I'm an aggressive player so I'm not the bestest person to ask. But most defensive players who beat me scout me well and counter me flawlessly.

As for a specific race that is defensive, it's really up to you. Terran Defenses I personally believe are better than Zerg but it's really up to your playstyle. I would say go with Terran defensively until you get your strategy down and sound.

Very important!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Experiment. The best way to beat an experienced opponent is not to throw something at them they expect. Be unpredictable. If your initial strategy fails. It may throw them off balance and allow you to regain your footing.

 

[Zannah]

Whats with all the AoE II love on here? Age of Empires II is like one of the very unbalanced Rts' ever, where they actually suceeded in making all races play almost the same, and still screw up the balancing...

 

[Mucinex-D]

Step 1: Construct additional pylons.
Step 2: ???
Step 3: PROFIT!

OT:
I haven't had the pleasure of playing the beta yet, but I was playing the original earlier and had 1.5x row of turrets surrounding my base (a row and then another row skipping every other spot). The enemy player rushed me with about 10 carriers and they were all destroyed while entering my base. Sure my defenses were messed up but nothing compared to losing 10 fully equipped carriers.

The only advice is to watch as many replays as you can. Go onto Youtube and search HDStarcraft or Huskystarcraft. They're 2 commentators that do funny and informative shoutcasts of matches.

As Zerg one major tip I could give just from watching them is not to just mass roaches and throw them at the enemy. It seems that roaches are extremely easy to counter now, and should be supplemented with zerglings or hydralisks. I mainly focus on zerg players in the replays because I like zerg more than the other races, so I couldn't tell you much about terran or toss.