<Pony> Fuck I suck so bad!!
<Mare> You know what? Me too..
<Pony> Man this fucking pisses me off! We gotta do something about it!
<Mare> Yeah.. lets quit this dumb game..
If you're just starting out or just about to quit playing because you just can't seem to GET the game, don't despair! We are all your homies here at [aLt] and we are more than happy to extend a helping hand. Man, that’s so cool. keke. PoNY loves you okay? This is more of a general guide and I will not go into details about what to build in the different race match-ups because all those can be learnt easily once you understand the basics, which is what this is about.
HERE WE GO!
<Pony> HoW The Fuck did he get All that SHIT!! I bet he Fucking HacKs!
<Mare> FUCK, you gonna fucking help me or what??!! FUCKK HELP MAN!!!
<Pony> Dude, I Don't have any troops okay??
Mare has left the game.
This is the BIG one. I cannot stress how important this is. This is usually the difference between a newbie and a decent player. Think of this as the foundation you build your game up on. Efficiency is mining as much and as fast as possible and spending every last dime on the RIGHT buildings/troops. Once you can do this, it is just a matter of using all that shit you built to inflict as much damage as possible to the other player. You should have a good clean solid build order for at least the start so you know what you wanna make.
You should only make structures you need.(e.g. DON’T Get gas early if u don’t plan to tech, Don’t get tech structures if you wont use it/make the tech unit immediately etc.)
Most of the time it is: Start making one peon ASAP and send each of the four peons to a different mineral patch. Keep making peons non-stop and always remember to make a farm just before full control and send all new peons to the fresh minerals ASAP. Make other structures appropriately and make sure you use them all the time i.e. gateways always making one unit etc. When you attack you should always try to make him lose more troops/mining time than you do.
To improve your efficiency, you need to first learn all the keyboard shortcuts and use them all the time to make your buildings and troops. You should try not to use the mouse to click on the pretty pictures in the boxes because that usually means you’re too slow already. To improve, play more games, even maybe play lots of single player custom games. Set a timer and see how fast you can build up. Play it over and over again until you get used to the interface. Learn all the tricks like shift-clicking for waypoints and cloning, learn to use the wire frames at the bottom to select or subtract or unload a unit. Learn to control group your troops/production buildings/scanners etc. Over time your clicking will get crispier and your game will improve greatly.
You will know you are being efficient if you DON'T see:
A) "Spawn more overlords", "..require more supply depots", "..more pylons".
B) More than 200 dollars in the bank unless you want to expand.
C) Production buildings not making anything, hatcheries with 3 larvae..
D) 30 idle hydras die to 3 psi-storms...etc.
E) Peons not doing anything...
F) 2000 gas and no cycore because you made an assimilator at 8 control "just for fun"
If you can do this well, the other player will never have more troops than you do.
>As a rule of thumb, NEVER stop making peons or at least not until late in the game when you need the control for offensive units. A 4:1 peon/mineral ratio is fine. When you get better, you will know that sometimes u do need to stop making peons, but its better to play it safe and try to keep making them.
<Pony> How the fuck did he know I was making DTs?? Fucking hacker!
<Mare> Maybe it was because he had that scv in your base the whole game.
<Pony> What scv?!
<Mare> The one that circled around your Templar Archives after it killed 3
probes?
<Pony> Shut up.
If both of you are being efficient it usually comes down to who knows what's up. Knowing what's up is everything from what to make in the particular match-up to knowing what your opponent is doing. A big part of knowing what's up is scouting. You should always scout as much as possible all the time so you don't get caught with your pants down.. and so you can catch him in a similar situation. Scouting alone won't be enough though, often it is through experience that u sort of have an intuition in the matter. Oh well, just play more games and be observant and analyse the outcome.
Basically: Scout early, at about 8 control, send a peon out to look for the enemy. Know where the starting locations are and also what tricks you can use on the map. Try to scout for expansions and holes in his defence throughout the game and get into action. Once you find out what his race is you should have a rough idea on how to play it, what upgrades to get, what units to make. Also you should prevent him from scouting you so the element of surprise will always be on your side.
| NEXT | MENU |