Help Getting Into Starcraft 2 (and RTS's in general)

[Jolly Co-operator]

I've owned Starcraft 2 for over a year now, but haven't invested my time heavily into it. I played through the campaign, tried a few matches against bots, but haven't touched it after that. Previously, I had just played it on my family's Mac. Now that I have a gaming PC, and options for RTS's are more open to me.

It's not that I didn't enjoy Starcraft 2, I just couldn't seem to get very good at it. As I've recently come to discover, I actually really like games like Mount & Blade that let you build up huge armies, but I get overwhelmed with all that I have to keep track of when it comes to RTS's. Not to mention that my finesse with a mouse and keyboard isn't quite up to snuff. I don't have trouble with general battlefield common sense, it's executing strategies effectively that's the problem

I also can't make up my mind as to which race I should focus on in SC2. I figured I'd try the Protoss, since they generally rely on strength of units, rather than sheer numbers, which would make managing groups easier. However, I've tried playing with each race, and didn't notice a huge difference in my performance between them. I'm leaning towards the Zerg, for the entirely petty reason that they're purple by default, and purple is my favorite color . . . of course, this decision isn't set in stone . If you've the time, I'd appreciate it if you could give me a breakdown on the strengths and weaknesses of each race, and your thoughts on them.

Lastly, please leave recommendations for other RTS's. I'd prefer it if they had a setting more interesting and imaginative than real-world military, but if the game is good enough, then I can give real-world military a shot (no pun intended).

Thanks for the help guys, I really appreciate it.

(Come to think of it, it seems like I always come to the Escapist community when I need help. You guys helped me build my PC, gave me tips for MOBA's, and now RTS's. Thanks, community, you're my rock ;P )

EDIT: Does anyone know of a good pirate-themed RTS? As my avatar suggests, I love over-the-top "yo ho ho" pirates, but they're sadly under-represented in video games. Why do ninjas get all the love? :'(

 

[A_Parked_Car]

I'm a huge RTS, RTT, TBS, grand strategy and 4x gamer. Though the vast majority of my favourites involve 'real-world' military stuff. You can check out these games/game series to see if any of them seem interesting to you:

Company of Heroes 1 and/or 2:

This is a base-building, WWII RTS series that focuses more on microing a smaller number of units. It is far less APM-intensive than Starcraft. The first game in the series is considered to be one of the best RTSes of all time. I believe there is a demo for the first game available and, with the Steam Summer Sale starting up any day now, you should be able to pick up Company of Heroes 1 for next to nothing.

Men of War: Assault Squad:

This is a very slow-paced, methodical RTT game that has a very steep learning curve. It basically plays like a more realistic Company of Heroes. Though it isn't for the faint of heart. It is also WWII-themed.

Wargame: AirLand Battle:

This is a moderately-paced RTT game that has a Cold War theme. It also has a fairly high learning curve.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

Now, this is an epic space 4x (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) game. Everything is in real-time, but there is a lot more going on than fighting. If you aren't totally against empire management, this game may be right up your ally. You don't have to worry about land forces, as this game is all about massive space battles between three main factions.

 

[The_Lost_King]

Zerg may default to purple, however, Protoss look best as purple. Purple Zealots look awesome.

All I can tell you without knowing if I am wrong or not is that the protoss have the best endgame units. Colossi are amzing if the enemy has no anti-air(such as vikings). High Templars are amazing for clear swarms, and Carriers op bro(not sure if the last one is completely true).

Apparently Company of Heroes is pretty good. Thought it was meh myself. Age of Empires 2 is a pretty fun medieval RTS. Also, I have heard great things about Empire Earth(the first one), though it is an old game(as in it is on GoG) and the multiplayer might not be all that active.

Sorry I couldn't help you more with SC2, but I'm not exactly amazing myself. The best tip, though, is to watch some pros. It can give you some good builds and you can get a lot from observing. Husky Starcraft or Total Biscuit's Starcraft channels are pretty good.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

I'm a huge RTS, RTT, TBS, grand strategy and 4x gamer. Though the vast majority of my favourites involve 'real-world' military stuff. You can check out these games/game series to see if any of them seem interesting to you:

Company of Heroes 1 and/or 2:

This is a base-building, WWII RTS series that focuses more on microing a smaller number of units. It is far less APM-intensive than Starcraft. The first game in the series is considered to be one of the best RTSes of all time. I believe there is a demo for the first game available and, with the Steam Summer Sale starting up any day now, you should be able to pick up Company of Heroes 1 for next to nothing.

Men of War: Assault Squad:

This is a very slow-paced, methodical RTT game that has a very steep learning curve. It basically plays like a more realistic Company of Heroes. Though it isn't for the faint of heart. It is also WWII-themed.

Wargame: AirLand Battle:

This is a moderately-paced RTT game that has a Cold War theme. It also has a fairly high learning curve.

Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion

Now, this is an epic space 4x (explore, expand, exploit, and exterminate) game. Everything is in real-time, but there is a lot more going on than fighting. If you aren't totally against empire management, this game may be right up your ally. You don't have to worry about land forces, as this game is all about massive space battles between three main factions.

Company of Heroes sounds interesting. The focus on smaller groups of units and less APM dependent gameplay sounds especially appealing to me.

Sins of a Solar Empire also sounds interesting, and I've heard some good things about it. I'm not adverse to empire management, as long as the scale of your responsibilities is increased slowly, and the elements of management are well explained. Does SoaSE introduce things gradually, or does it dump it all on you at once?

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

Zerg may default to purple, however, Protoss look best as purple. Purple Zealots look awesome.

All I can tell you without knowing if I am wrong or not is that the protoss have the best endgame units. Colossi are amzing if the enemy has no anti-air(such as vikings). High Templars are amazing for clear swarms, and Carriers op bro(not sure if the last one is completely true).

Apparently Company of Heroes is pretty good. Thought it was meh myself. Age of Empires 2 is a pretty fun medieval RTS. Also, I have heard great things about Empire Earth(the first one), though it is an old game(as in it is on GoG) and the multiplayer might not be all that active.

Sorry I couldn't help you more with SC2, but I'm not exactly amazing myself. The best tip, though, is to watch some pros. It can give you some good builds and you can get a lot from observing. Husky Starcraft or Total Biscuit's Starcraft channels are pretty good.

Wait, TotalBiscuit has a Starcraft channel? I mostly watch him for his "WTF Is" series. I'll have to give that SC2 channel a look. Can you think of any other Youtubers who produce good tutorials?

 

[The_Lost_King]

Zerg may default to purple, however, Protoss look best as purple. Purple Zealots look awesome.

All I can tell you without knowing if I am wrong or not is that the protoss have the best endgame units. Colossi are amzing if the enemy has no anti-air(such as vikings). High Templars are amazing for clear swarms, and Carriers op bro(not sure if the last one is completely true).

Apparently Company of Heroes is pretty good. Thought it was meh myself. Age of Empires 2 is a pretty fun medieval RTS. Also, I have heard great things about Empire Earth(the first one), though it is an old game(as in it is on GoG) and the multiplayer might not be all that active.

Sorry I couldn't help you more with SC2, but I'm not exactly amazing myself. The best tip, though, is to watch some pros. It can give you some good builds and you can get a lot from observing. Husky Starcraft or Total Biscuit's Starcraft channels are pretty good.

Wait, TotalBiscuit has a Starcraft channel? I mostly watch him for his "WTF Is" series. I'll have to give that SC2 channel a look. Can you think of any other Youtubers who produce good tutorials?

Sorry. I used to be subbed to a guy that had some tutorials but apparently I unsubbed him, shame I wanted to watch more of them. Just know, the two channels I talked about do not have tutorials, just pro games(Well actually Husky might, but I don't think so), which are still pretty helpful.

Oh and TB's Starcraft channel is called TotalBiscuit, not sure if I am allowed to link to it though.

Edit: Husky does have a playlist of tutorials. So you should check those out.

 

[Joccaren]

RTS Recommendations... It'll depend on what you're looking for in the RTS, and how far back you're willing to go.
Some notable ones include:
-Age of Mythology. Seriously get this game and play it. Don't know if there's still a multiplayer scene, I doubt it since its that old, but it + its expansion are probably my favourite RTS games. Nothing like watching a Kraken sink a ship, a Cyclops pick a guy up and throw him off a cliff, or a Titan just crush an army beneath its feet.
-Rise of Legends. Interestingly themed races; Steam Punk, Desert Magic and Aztec Alien, and a fun campaign. Outside of that not really that notable. Its fun, I doubt multiplayer exists for it these days, but the campaign really is the highlight of the game IMO.
-Empire Earth. The first one. The second one is ok, the third sucks, but the first I loved. Broken as hell at times, but fun, and reaching all the way from the stone age through to the future. It is quite old though.
-Sins of a Solar Empire; Rebellion. Slow paced, even on fastest speed, so you have all the time in the world to react to things, and a lot of the focus of the game is more on watching MASSIVE fleets of ships duke it out in orbit of some planet. Balance is practically non-existent, or it was when I stopped playing anyway, and the multiplayer scene can be harsh from time to time on newbies [And is made up largely of older players, half of which have quit anyway], but the single player will always work and can be quite entertaining if you don't want to have to worry about executing a strategy well, just sending in a large fleet and watching it destroy things.

Outside of that there're several RTS that I've played, non that instantly come to memory like those do though. You might want to look into the 4X genre too, as there are some great empire building games there, they just lack the combat graphics of an RTS, and are almost exclusively turn based.

For your Starcraft 2 questions... I don't know. Could you define what you mean by the strengths and weaknesses of each race?
All races are highly capable of any role. All can harass, all can economy, and all can build front line forces to send into the fray. Its the individual units and how you use them that makes them different for the most part. You adjust what you do to what your opponent is doing, and hopefully out Macro and Micro him.
This isn't necessarily easier with any one race either. I'd pick a race to focus on, learn some builds for that race online, and then start practicing.
Make sure you always know what your enemy is doing. Always scout. With the Zerg, changlings and upgraded overlords, Protoss Observers, and Terran scans. For all of them, attack often as a form of scouting.
When you know you're going to lose a battle, don't go all in for no reason. Pull back. Sacrifice the troops you need to to save what you can, and rebuild your army. Learn the counters to each unit, and be able to respond to what your enemy is building. Do not be shy about expanding. Expand to your naturals, move your army there, and defend it. You'll need the economy, as late game when all else is equal it merely becomes a war of attrition.
Additionally, whoever controls the map will win the game. If you don't leave your base, you don't know how many expansions your opponent has, where his army is, or what its made of. Through some means you should always have some idea of the state of the map, and try to make sure that your opponent does not.

For more advice I'd leave it to someone who's better at Starcraft that I. Outside of that I'd recommend you watch Day9 TV's Funday Mondays, as they are often hilarious and a great example of the fun things you can do in SC2. The most recent couple have been fairly meh as they're intentionally rigged, but the ones with a proper challenge, like no expanding until you have a Battlecruiser, are entertaining to watch. Especially the Champion one. That one is hilarious.

 

[Wardonno94]

There are really two main different styles of RTS games that currently popular. The first one is the old fashion base builder this included games like, StarCraft, Command and Conquer series, Supreme Commander, Age of Empires etc. The newer style mainly removes base building and focus more heavily of the micromanagement of units these include game such as Company of Heroes, Dawn of war 2, Men of War, Ground Control.

From the OP you mention that you are having a problem with micromanagement in StarCraft 2 and I have to agree that the main problem of the StarCraft is mainly the fact that a large portion of it relies heavily on high APM. The main source of this is from base building aspect of the game were it require you be paying attention to both your economy and your military at the same time.

RTS games such as Company of Heroes, Dawn of War 2 are probably better recommendation as they require less APM then Starcraft mainly because they don't feature the ability to harvest resources from your base and instead place all the resources at point around the map. This results in a very different form of gameplay from StarCraft because it forces both players to be always fighting over resources. Also instead of harvest resource in tradition method with worker you mearly you any infantry to capture points and then get set amount automatically over time. As a result you only have to micromanagement you unit and because these game focus on squad and the preservation of units you normally only have less seven units on the field at any given time for most of the game.

So my recommendation is that you probably should try either Company of Heroes or Dawn of War 2(if you want Sci-fi RTS game). Both were by same developer so they are very similar, the gameplay very different from StarCraft. Out of the two I recommend Company of Heroes is probably the better of the two as it more polish. The major different in Company of Heroes and Dawn of War 2 competitive multiplayer is that the gamemode is not annihilation and instead is Victory Point. Company of heroes is still played heavily some people probably still be playing it even after the squeal come out. There is also a community of player that have made many commentator video and tutorial about the game.

If your undecided just watch some multiplayer gameplay to determine if your interested.

 

[Gali]

Concerning SC2:
A few months back,I was in a similar place as you are now - played the Wings of Liberty singleplayer, stopped climbing the ladder after getting into gold league. Now that my exams are done, I have time to learn the game again. After one month, I'm very close to get into platinum league. I'm playing Protoss because I love the lore behind this race and some aspects of their core design (warping in units, having shields etc.) is something I've never encountered in other RTS games I know (mostly the AoE and Dawn of War series).

Luckily my boyfriend is able to teach me how to play, he has been a masters Protoss for about 2 years and recently switched to Zerg. I think this is the best way to learn the game - having someone to teach you directly and practicing with you if you can't manage to play against certain builds. Or learning the game with a friend at the same time, like he did. Starcraft 2 is not as.. intuitive to play like a MOBA or FPS. If you want to get into a higher league than gold, you need to interact with others, e.g. talking about your problems, watching replays and practicing together. In short: It requires some effort.

It is also very helpful to watch pro-tournaments to see what the current metagame is like, and how you can improve your playstyle in general. Especially when commentators/casters are involved who are active players and/or former pro-gamers themselves, e.g. Tasteless and day9, you can get very helpful advice. I do not recommend the previously mentioned TotalBiscuit, since he lacks any year-long experience of the game like Tastosis, day9, Apollo and others have. And the mentioned Funday Monday is mostly about fun and weird shit, that's not how you want to play the game in general...

Some advice for beginners/lower leagues: Learn how to recognize and defend against cheese, also try to do them yourself from time to time so you can expand your toolbox of tactics/builds, but keep in mind that the higher you get, the better your opponent will hold them. To improve your macro game, practice 2 base all-ins, than 3 base and soon your mechanics are solid enough for a longer macro game.
It's also worth looking at your hotkeys. Maybe there is a configuration that works better for you. You should also think about what and how you are controlgrouping things.

Very important: This site is your best friend - http://www.teamliquid.net/
Here you can find more advice and TL is really helpful to keep track of the tournaments and pro streams that are going on. It doesn't hurt to ask questions yourself in the forums, the people over there are usually very polite and helpful.

And some thoughts of mine about the races:

Spoiler

Protoss
- As you said, this race is more about quality over quantity.
- A Protoss player has to take a careful look on the avaible maps. As a rule of thumb, you want to play on maps which have expansions that are close to each other and are not too openly placed on the map. For example: Your third expansion on this map can be protected by a wall of destructable rocks. While the third on this map is pretty much in open field. Luckily, you have the option to veto a few maps. If you play Toss, you should veto Star Station and Derelict Watcher. Maps made by Blizzard are pretty much the worst.
- Protoss-play that goes beyond cheese and all ins is not much figured out yet, never has been really tbh. Mostly Protoss players win tournaments by focusing on aggressive tactics than longer macro games. That would be a negative point if your preferred playstyle is the latter. But on the other hand, ladder games are still a different beast, so it won't matter much for the normal player.
- It's the most "gimmicky" race since you have many caster units early on, like the Sentry, Mothership core, and Oracle. For some it's difficult to manage that. In my experience, if you played MOBAS before, you'll do better than others.
- Not very mechanical race, since the only thing you'll have to manage are your Nexu's Chrono Boost.

Zerg
- Strength in numbers, obviously.
- Very mechanical race. To have a successfull production and mapcontrol, you'll need to spread your creep and inject your Hatches regulary through the Queen. If you "float energy like a motherf*cker" like my boyfriend likes to say, well, that's not very good. This can be overwhelming to newcomers since you'll need an extra portion of multitasking.
- Different way of expanding: Zerg players take expansions in an opposite way compared to Toss. Because of the following aspects: You want your reinforcements to get quicker to your enemy (units are only spawned at Hatches, Protoss' have it easier since they can build Pylons or use a Warp Prism), spread more creep and since your main base building is the same thing that produces combat units, you'll have a better defenders advantage per default.
- The most easiest race to transition into a different unit composition: Each Zerg unit requires a certain tech building, then they are spawned at a Hatch through Larvas, as you probably know through singleplayer. A Terran or Protoss has to produce through a certain building the unit he desires. With enough Larva, a Zerg can build multiple units that pop up at the same time, instead of slowly building a new army (though Toss is a mixture of both, cause Gateway units). That can surprise your opponent if he doesn't scout your base good enough.

Terran
Can't say much about that race tbh. But I'll try.
- Their low tier/default combat unit, the Marine, is probably the best all-rounder in the game. When the game takes longer, Protoss and Zerg players mostly use their Zealots and Zerglings to destroy/harass enemy bases. They are basically trash, a few minerals you'll trade in for an enemy base. Marines are more viable imo, since they can attack air units for example, and in combination with Stim and Medivacs, they are more flexible and have a better damage output.
- Terran is also quite mechanically, because of the use of Mule and Addons for your buildings.

I could say more about them, but after talking soo long about Starcraft 2, I really want to continue laddering.^^

I hope this was understandable and helps you a bit. Like I said, I'm not that experienced yet. So if something is wrong about my information, maybe a better player could correct me.
It's nice to see another person who wants to learn SC2. It is difficult at first, but a win in SC2 is imo the most satisfiyng I had in a multiplayer game for a long, long time. Also, don't be upset if you loose a lot at first, and keep practicing. Gl, hf!

Edit: The person above me mentioned APM. Well, thing is, APM comes if you know what to do - naturally. And a high APM count is only very important if you want to play SC2 on a professional level. As a beginner, you don't really loose games because you have fewer APM.
Surely it helps, but this aspect gets hyped too much imo. You have to think about much more important things than APM at first. But if you want to improve it, just keep thinking "I have to be quicker!" while playing. Listening to music with a fast rhythm helps too.
Also, the APM counter Blizzard built into their game has always been a bit messed up. You have a bit more than the game tells you.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Wait, TotalBiscuit has a Starcraft channel? I mostly watch him for his "WTF Is" series. I'll have to give that SC2 channel a look. Can you think of any other Youtubers who produce good tutorials?

Yep. His main series is called "I suck at Starcraft 2". It's a nice look at the game at a non-pro level, although he's getting pretty good lately, and only ever plays Terran. Other good channels are Day 9 (as mentioned above) and Husky's "Bronze League Heroes" series...for comedy and a "what not to do" guide, as well helping you relax about playing.

APM is not the be all and end all. It's more of a product of knowing what to do and thinking clearly than "fast hands", and you get there via playing. I'm by no means a "high APM" player...I have RSI in both wrists and fairly serious chronic pain, and I was near Diamond league when the game first launched. Gali gives good advice for lower league SC2...learn to identify and defend against cheese (this is huge in "amateur" games...the lower the league, the likelier the cheese), learn to do basic macro (get your expansion timing down, get your worker production up, etc), and practice your long game. Get up to 3 or more bases and play standard. DON'T cheese. DON'T go all-in. Both are great ways to win games early, and deprive yourself of learning experiences. Once you feel comfortable with where your macro game is at, then you start experimenting with cheese and all ins.

And really, don't let it intimidate you. It uses elo for matchmaking, so you're going to eventually settle into a 50/50 win/loss ratio no matter how good or bad you are.

 

[omega 616]

Wait, TotalBiscuit has a Starcraft channel? I mostly watch him for his "WTF Is" series. I'll have to give that SC2 channel a look. Can you think of any other Youtubers who produce good tutorials?

You want to be better at starcraft 2 but aren't watching day[9]? Duuuude!

If you watch day[9] and practice what he preaches you will gold in no time, the guy teaches you how to practice, the basics of stuff, timings, in one of them (which I will try to find) he teaches you how to put your hand on the keyboard and some wrist exercises and he makes you laugh your ass off at times.

He will take a couple of matches from pro players and break them down in really clear to understand ways, so you can copy the pro players and how they think.

I should add he is a 2 time tournament winner, so you can believe what he says.

Here is one video on how to get into SC

How to get into SC.

How to do basic RTS stuff.

If you go to day9.tv, click archive at the top, on the right hand side you will see a search box, type into it "newbie tuesday" and TAH DAH, the best start to starcraft you could hope for!

 

[A_Parked_Car]

Sins of a Solar Empire also sounds interesting, and I've heard some good things about it. I'm not adverse to empire management, as long as the scale of your responsibilities is increased slowly, and the elements of management are well explained. Does SoaSE introduce things gradually, or does it dump it all on you at once?

Yes, your responsibilities increase slowly, there is a pretty good series of tutorials and easy AI does go quite easy on you. You basically start out with a single planet and expand from there. Again, the Gabe Summer Sale should be anytime now and Sins of a Solar Empire: Rebellion should go on pretty cheap.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

Concerning SC2:
A few months back,I was in a similar place as you are now - played the Wings of Liberty singleplayer, stopped climbing the ladder after getting into gold league. Now that my exams are done, I have time to learn the game again. After one month, I'm very close to get into platinum league. I'm playing Protoss because I love the lore behind this race and some aspects of their core design (warping in units, having shields etc.) is something I've never encountered in other RTS games I know (mostly the AoE and Dawn of War series).

Luckily my boyfriend is able to teach me how to play, he has been a masters Protoss for about 2 years and recently switched to Zerg. I think this is the best way to learn the game - having someone to teach you directly and practicing with you if you can't manage to play against certain builds. Or learning the game with a friend at the same time, like he did. Starcraft 2 is not as.. intuitive to play like a MOBA or FPS. If you want to get into a higher league than gold, you need to interact with others, e.g. talking about your problems, watching replays and practicing together. In short: It requires some effort.

It is also very helpful to watch pro-tournaments to see what the current metagame is like, and how you can improve your playstyle in general. Especially when commentators/casters are involved who are active players and/or former pro-gamers themselves, e.g. Tasteless and day9, you can get very helpful advice. I do not recommend the previously mentioned TotalBiscuit, since he lacks any year-long experience of the game like Tastosis, day9, Apollo and others have. And the mentioned Funday Monday is mostly about fun and weird shit, that's not how you want to play the game in general...

Some advice for beginners/lower leagues: Learn how to recognize and defend against cheese, also try to do them yourself from time to time so you can expand your toolbox of tactics/builds, but keep in mind that the higher you get, the better your opponent will hold them. To improve your macro game, practice 2 base all-ins, than 3 base and soon your mechanics are solid enough for a longer macro game.
It's also worth looking at your hotkeys. Maybe there is a configuration that works better for you. You should also think about what and how you are controlgrouping things.

Very important: This site is your best friend - http://www.teamliquid.net/
Here you can find more advice and TL is really helpful to keep track of the tournaments and pro streams that are going on. It doesn't hurt to ask questions yourself in the forums, the people over there are usually very polite and helpful.

And some thoughts of mine about the races:

Spoiler

Protoss
- As you said, this race is more about quality over quantity.
- A Protoss player has to take a careful look on the avaible maps. As a rule of thumb, you want to play on maps which have expansions that are close to each other and are not too openly placed on the map. For example: Your third expansion on this map can be protected by a wall of destructable rocks. While the third on this map is pretty much in open field. Luckily, you have the option to veto a few maps. If you play Toss, you should veto Star Station and Derelict Watcher. Maps made by Blizzard are pretty much the worst.
- Protoss-play that goes beyond cheese and all ins is not much figured out yet, never has been really tbh. Mostly Protoss players win tournaments by focusing on aggressive tactics than longer macro games. That would be a negative point if your preferred playstyle is the latter. But on the other hand, ladder games are still a different beast, so it won't matter much for the normal player.
- It's the most "gimmicky" race since you have many caster units early on, like the Sentry, Mothership core, and Oracle. For some it's difficult to manage that. In my experience, if you played MOBAS before, you'll do better than others.
- Not very mechanical race, since the only thing you'll have to manage are your Nexu's Chrono Boost.

Zerg
- Strength in numbers, obviously.
- Very mechanical race. To have a successfull production and mapcontrol, you'll need to spread your creep and inject your Hatches regulary through the Queen. If you "float energy like a motherf*cker" like my boyfriend likes to say, well, that's not very good. This can be overwhelming to newcomers since you'll need an extra portion of multitasking.
- Different way of expanding: Zerg players take expansions in an opposite way compared to Toss. Because of the following aspects: You want your reinforcements to get quicker to your enemy (units are only spawned at Hatches, Protoss' have it easier since they can build Pylons or use a Warp Prism), spread more creep and since your main base building is the same thing that produces combat units, you'll have a better defenders advantage per default.
- The most easiest race to transition into a different unit composition: Each Zerg unit requires a certain tech building, then they are spawned at a Hatch through Larvas, as you probably know through singleplayer. A Terran or Protoss has to produce through a certain building the unit he desires. With enough Larva, a Zerg can build multiple units that pop up at the same time, instead of slowly building a new army (though Toss is a mixture of both, cause Gateway units). That can surprise your opponent if he doesn't scout your base good enough.

Terran
Can't say much about that race tbh. But I'll try.
- Their low tier/default combat unit, the Marine, is probably the best all-rounder in the game. When the game takes longer, Protoss and Zerg players mostly use their Zealots and Zerglings to destroy/harass enemy bases. They are basically trash, a few minerals you'll trade in for an enemy base. Marines are more viable imo, since they can attack air units for example, and in combination with Stim and Medivacs, they are more flexible and have a better damage output.
- Terran is also quite mechanically, because of the use of Mule and Addons for your buildings.

I could say more about them, but after talking soo long about Starcraft 2, I really want to continue laddering.^^

I hope this was understandable and helps you a bit. Like I said, I'm not that experienced yet. So if something is wrong about my information, maybe a better player could correct me.
It's nice to see another person who wants to learn SC2. It is difficult at first, but a win in SC2 is imo the most satisfiyng I had in a multiplayer game for a long, long time. Also, don't be upset if you loose a lot at first, and keep practicing. Gl, hf!

Edit: The person above me mentioned APM. Well, thing is, APM comes if you know what to do - naturally. And a high APM count is only very important if you want to play SC2 on a professional level. As a beginner, you don't really loose games because you have fewer APM.
Surely it helps, but this aspect gets hyped too much imo. You have to think about much more important things than APM at first. But if you want to improve it, just keep thinking "I have to be quicker!" while playing. Listening to music with a fast rhythm helps too.
Also, the APM counter Blizzard built into their game has always been a bit messed up. You have a bit more than the game tells you.

Thank you, this was actually quite helpful. It's also a bit of a relief to hear that APM is overhyped. I think I'll try out the Protoss. It will be a while, though; I'm running through the campaign again, trying to refresh my memory on all the game mechanics.

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

Wait, TotalBiscuit has a Starcraft channel? I mostly watch him for his "WTF Is" series. I'll have to give that SC2 channel a look. Can you think of any other Youtubers who produce good tutorials?

You want to be better at starcraft 2 but aren't watching day[9]? Duuuude!

If you watch day[9] and practice what he preaches you will gold in no time, the guy teaches you how to practice, the basics of stuff, timings, in one of them (which I will try to find) he teaches you how to put your hand on the keyboard and some wrist exercises and he makes you laugh your ass off at times.

He will take a couple of matches from pro players and break them down in really clear to understand ways, so you can copy the pro players and how they think.

I should add he is a 2 time tournament winner, so you can believe what he says.

Here is one video on how to get into SC

How to get into SC.
RIght, Day9. I'd forgotten about him. Derp on my part. I think I watched a few of his videos when I first tried to get into it, but unfortunately, I was too impatient. That shouldn't be a problem now, though, so I'll re-subscribe. Thanks for reminding me of him. I really can't believe I forgot.

How to do basic RTS stuff.

If you go to day9.tv, click archive at the top, on the right hand side you will see a search box, type into it "newbie tuesday" and TAH DAH, the best start to starcraft you could hope for!

 

[Jolly Co-operator]

Wait, TotalBiscuit has a Starcraft channel? I mostly watch him for his "WTF Is" series. I'll have to give that SC2 channel a look. Can you think of any other Youtubers who produce good tutorials?

You want to be better at starcraft 2 but aren't watching day[9]? Duuuude!

If you watch day[9] and practice what he preaches you will gold in no time, the guy teaches you how to practice, the basics of stuff, timings, in one of them (which I will try to find) he teaches you how to put your hand on the keyboard and some wrist exercises and he makes you laugh your ass off at times.

He will take a couple of matches from pro players and break them down in really clear to understand ways, so you can copy the pro players and how they think.

I should add he is a 2 time tournament winner, so you can believe what he says.

Here is one video on how to get into SC

How to get into SC.
RIght, Day9. I'd forgotten about him. Derp on my part. I think I watched a few of his videos when I first tried to get into it, but unfortunately, I was too impatient. That shouldn't be a problem now, though, so I'll re-subscribe. Thanks for reminding me of him. I really can't believe I forgot.

How to do basic RTS stuff.

If you go to day9.tv, click archive at the top, on the right hand side you will see a search box, type into it "newbie tuesday" and TAH DAH, the best start to starcraft you could hope for!

RIght, Day9. I'd forgotten about him. Derp on my part. I think I watched a few of his videos when I first tried to get into it, but unfortunately, I was too impatient. That shouldn't be a problem now, though, so I'll re-subscribe. Thanks for reminding me of him. I really can't believe I forgot.