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How to Improve Your Stacraft 2 Skills

 

Stacraft 2 Skills


How to Improve Your Starcraft 2 Skills

Playing a lot of Starcraft 2 is the best method to develop. It may appear absurd, yet it is simply true. When I first started playing, I was assigned to the gold league and remained there for three months. Then, gradually but steadily, I advanced until I was among America's top 50 Grandmasters.

Obviously, not everyone can become a Grandmaster (it takes great reflexes, reaction time, and coordination, among other things), but I am convinced that with enough practice, anyone can become a master at Starcraft 2.

Understanding the game mechanics, such as armor vs. non-armored, range, attack speed, damage reduction, hidden bonuses, splash damage, and so on, is the first step. One of the things that makes the Terran siege tanks so powerful is the fact that they can hit up to eight units at once. Obviously, the 70 damage they deal can quickly go to 300-400, making them one of the game's most damaging units.

Every unit has its quirks, and becoming intimately acquainted with them will vastly increase your performance. Any Protoss player, for example, knows how to save their stalkers by blinking them individually as they are about to die. Similarly, if the adversary has air splash damage, like a Thor, a Zerg player knows not to group their mutalisks during a raid.

The second thing you should work on is your understanding of group warfare. Almost every Starcraft 2 game is decided by a single large battle, in which the loser is forced to defend and rollback, while the victor continues to push and destroy the loser's economy and production capabilities. In my opinion, it is preferable to withdraw from a war that is clearly lost rather than risk losing all of your units in a failed defense. In Starcraft 2, there's a concept known as a pyrrhic victory, in which you hold a brilliant defense but lose so much time and resources in the process that your other bases become indefensible.

Another important skill to master in Starcraft 2 is macroing, which entails generating units, mining bases, and, most importantly, expanding. If you follow professional sports, you'll observe that they all expand rapidly, sometimes dangerously so. While dangerous, an early expansion can bring him twice as many minerals and gas as one base, giving you a decisive advantage in the middle game.

Finally, whether it's a microaggression, economy, or turtling, take the time to define and enhance your style. Learning which race is best for you will help you progress as a Starcraft 2 player and steadily grind your way to mastery. In my opinion, if a player practices appropriately for one or two hours per day, he can become a master in six months.  

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