New to Starcraft 2 - Any advice?

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CrazyCapnMorgan

Is not insane, just crazy >:)
Jan 5, 2011
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Recently, I've been thinking about getting back into strategy games and have ordered Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty for my PC. I've played RTS games in the past with Warcraft 2 on the console being one of my favorite titles. I have not played Starcraft 1 or any of its expansions (though I hear Brood War was quite good) but I have read up on the lore of the game. I do expect to play on-line against people at some point, but I plan to play practice games against the AI to learn how the hotkeys work and the like.

I've also watched a few games with commentary on-line, as well. Most notably I've watched LAGTV, as Adam and Jeff are just hilarious, and I've also watched HDStarcraft and HuskyStarcraft. I have to say that LAGTV were the ones that influenced me the most to get into this game - learning from their When Cheese Fails segments never gets old or boring. As I watched the games being played, I noticed that the Terran race is more to my style and strategy of playing so I've already decided to be playing them the most.

Is there any advice that you can give before I get knee deep in this venture? Or is there anything you wish to say that might give me a deeper insight into the game and/or its mechanics? Thanks in advance!
 

IBlackKiteI

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Mar 12, 2010
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Know that singleplayer and multiplayer are hugely different to one another and that in multiplayer you need to do stuff as quickly and efficiently as possible, use a lot of hotkeys and make sure you keep a good balance between resource accumiliation and unit production.
 

GeneUnit

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Feb 26, 2011
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Work on your mechanics first, i.e. macro. watch Day9's newbie tuesday series of vids, especially the ones about getting into the game and newbie tuesday #1, it talks about probe production and other essential macro concepts. glhf.
 

CrazyCapnMorgan

Is not insane, just crazy >:)
Jan 5, 2011
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GeneUnit said:
Work on your mechanics first, i.e. macro. watch Day9's newbie tuesday series of vids, especially the ones about getting into the game and newbie tuesday #1, it talks about probe production and other essential macro concepts. glhf.
Watched those as well. Probably should've mentioned Day9 along with the others, huh?
 

cerealnmuffin

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May 15, 2010
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Hehehe I squealed a little bit seeing mention of Day9 (day9 fangirl). ^^ I'm also a fan of when cheese fails.

As for tips pick a race/species that interests you most instead of constantly switching it up. If you practice only one you will keep improving. Practice macro heavily and worry about micro later. I think it was RootDestiny who mentioned how that is all people need up till gold (which he proved by just massing queens) and enter a game with a strategy (ie like I usually go 3 gate 1 robo expand 2-3 gates and warp prism harass to work towards base 3). If you keep doing that one build or at least have a plan of what you will do it will keep you focused, help you become aware of your weaknesses, you will improve more rapidly, and you will begin to notice trends in your matchups.

The keyboard is your friend, try to use hotkeys as much as possible. Scout as much as possible and get in habit of doing so. Control over a xel naga tower esp on xel naga caverns is crucial. Practice for mid to late game play instead of cheeses or all-ins. Usually best to follow an attack with an expand.

I'm echoing a lot of sentiments found on many of the youttube channels you have mentioned.

Have a practice buddy, someone you can talk to after the games with and will help ease stress. I'm always terribly stressed during my first game of the day. Many people run to 4v4 because they think 1v1 is so daunting... this can become a habit many players I know get stuck in. In the end, don't stress over loses esp in bronze league. The game keeps track of wins and not losses, also many of the top players have losses that almost equal their wins. The game is designed that you will probably lose half the time. Also if you are losing a bunch of games in a row TAKE A BREAK and come back refreshed cause playing on tilt results in becoming more frustrated and sloppier play. Usually when i lose 3 matches in a row I stop that day and usually come back to get a win streak (highest was 8 wins in a row).
 

Aurgelmir

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Nov 11, 2009
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CrazyCapnMorgan said:
Recently, I've been thinking about getting back into strategy games and have ordered Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty for my PC. I've played RTS games in the past with Warcraft 2 on the console being one of my favorite titles. I have not played Starcraft 1 or any of its expansions (though I hear Brood War was quite good) but I have read up on the lore of the game. I do expect to play on-line against people at some point, but I plan to play practice games against the AI to learn how the hotkeys work and the like.

I've also watched a few games with commentary on-line, as well. Most notably I've watched LAGTV, as Adam and Jeff are just hilarious, and I've also watched HDStarcraft and HuskyStarcraft. I have to say that LAGTV were the ones that influenced me the most to get into this game - learning from their When Cheese Fails segments never gets old or boring. As I watched the games being played, I noticed that the Terran race is more to my style and strategy of playing so I've already decided to be playing them the most.

Is there any advice that you can give before I get knee deep in this venture? Or is there anything you wish to say that might give me a deeper insight into the game and/or its mechanics? Thanks in advance!
[link]www.day9.tv[/link]
As an above player mentioned; Newbie Tuesday is the place to go to.

Also Play through the single player first. Yes it is different than Multi, but it teaches you the basics.

Then try out the "newbie league" it's a bunch of matches at a lower pace to let you think a bit more.

There is also the challenge stuff, which gives you challenges which are designed to teach you both micro and macro.

And don't forget:
Pylons and Probes


glhf
 

Sandernista

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Feb 26, 2009
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CrazyCapnMorgan said:
Recently, I've been thinking about getting back into strategy games and have ordered Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty for my PC. I've played RTS games in the past with Warcraft 2 on the console being one of my favorite titles. I have not played Starcraft 1 or any of its expansions (though I hear Brood War was quite good) but I have read up on the lore of the game. I do expect to play on-line against people at some point, but I plan to play practice games against the AI to learn how the hotkeys work and the like.

I've also watched a few games with commentary on-line, as well. Most notably I've watched LAGTV, as Adam and Jeff are just hilarious, and I've also watched HDStarcraft and HuskyStarcraft. I have to say that LAGTV were the ones that influenced me the most to get into this game - learning from their When Cheese Fails segments never gets old or boring. As I watched the games being played, I noticed that the Terran race is more to my style and strategy of playing so I've already decided to be playing them the most.

Is there any advice that you can give before I get knee deep in this venture? Or is there anything you wish to say that might give me a deeper insight into the game and/or its mechanics? Thanks in advance!
Play European Risk: Revulsion. Generally on the second page of custom games, 'bout halfway down.

Never stop.
 

Motiv_

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Jun 2, 2009
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Find a build that works for you, learn it's weaknesses, and perfect it.

Might I suggest early two base speedlings? Can get countered by early air or mass Baneling/Zealot/Colossus/Hellion, but other than that it's a safe and easy strategy for early players to use.