Introduction
This guide is intended for Bronze to Platinum level players. Although it might still be helpful if you don't have a solid sense of mechanics and are struggling in low-mid diamond.
When I look at a lot of threads in this forum, I see a lot of players trying their hardest to get better and a lot of cool people trying to help out with strategic advice or build order tweaking or replay critiques. I think this discussion and critiquing of strategies is fantastic and is definitely one of the main reasons this forum even exists. Unfortunately, however, I also believe that it's a fundamentally inefficient way to learn the game -- especially if you're coming from bronze, silver or gold and not high platinum or low diamond -- for two reasons: first, strategy is something we learn slowly and only through a combination of firsthand experience, the study and correction of our own mistakes, and the study of high level strategies and build orders from replays. In other words, it takes a long time to learn how to look at what the opponent's doing and have a good response come immediately. Second, if you're playing at the lower levels strategy is going to be something that you are constantly breaking down and relearning -- strategies that you thought were powerful in silver are terrible in platinum, rushes that worked in platinum are stopped in diamond, etc etc.
So instead, this is going to be a guide intended to help anyone who is struggling or who wants to get good fast. Unlike many guides, however, this is not about learning strategy -- at least not until later -- it's about learning mechanics. Because mechanics are the fundamentals of Starcraft 2, and mechanics are also pretty easy to learn compared to strategy. Now, I'm not saying this is the only way to learn, as you can learn plenty just by playing and developing your fundamentals slowly and naturally as you play. I'm also not saying that you even need mechanics to get diamond -- plenty of really low APM players survive in mid-high diamond purely off of timings, instincts and strategic knowledge.
However, I think that it's definitely the quickest and most efficient way to learn by far if you're at a lower level, and almost all really good players do average at least 170 APM.
Credentials
Am I good enough to learn from? I've never finished first in a huge tournament, but I'm good. I've won both of the last two goon tournaments that we held during beta and I came in 2nd in the three before those. I've been in the Ro8 a couple times in some of these huge 512 man tournaments and done okay against players like HuK and Machine. I'm rocking a moderately cool 700 points in Diamond after 60 games, which puts me around top 1000 in the US, but I still am managing a 66% win ratio against high diamond players. Which means I'm no IdrA but if I laddered a lot more I could probably be top 200 or so.
Learning the Mechanics
I'm going to keep the text part of this guide fairly succinct because reading really isn't going to help that much in learning mechanics. The goal of this training is to get a solid sense of mechanics so that you can produce more units more quickly to the point where you'll probably be able to beat any player below platinum using whatever strategy you want. Once your ability to macro while microing is automatic you'll already be stronger than a huge majority of Starcraft 2 players. To go further, of course, you'll still have to learn strategy like everyone else -- but your solid mechanics should give you a really good foundation for your strategy and allow you to focus on your strategy instead of freak out while trying to manage your base and figure out counters at the same time. The beauty of having good mechanics is that it not only gives you good macro ability, but it gives you good macro ability without even thinking about it and frees up your brain to think about strategies and counters.
You play Protoss in these exercises, because I think Protoss is the most basic race to macro with -- gateways are your core macro buildings and everything else can be sort of secondary. However, I don't really think you have to want to play Protoss for this guide to help you, as the fundamentals carry over very well to Terran and moderately well to Zerg.
This guide has two main in-game exercises. The first is designed to give you the pure physical ability -- essentially, to improve your raw APM. Now I know APM gets a bad rap around here, and you don't need to go as hardcore as you would have in Starcraft 1, but having a baseline decent APM is really really essential to being a strong player.
The second exercise teaches you how to macro efficiently - how to never stop building workers until lategame and how to build more production buildings when you expand, how and when to build more supply buildings.
Finally, when I say that these maps "teach" you these things I mean that you lose if you don't do them. So they don't really hold your hand as much as just force you to learn.
APM Practice Map
Find this map by clicking "Create Game" and changing the tab to Popular and then searching for "APM Practice."
This map is based off of a Starcraft 1 APM practice map that was probably a bit better because the SC2 map editor is hard. Basically, you have to macro up zealots well enough to beat a bunch of hydras in the upper right corner while at the same time running an SCV in the bottom hand corner away from a zealot. You have 5 SCV lives, and once the SCV dies 5 times you lose. You also lose if it takes you longer than ten minutes.
This map is basically the core of this guide. It will take you a long time to beat it if you're a lower level. Don't get discouraged, and don't make beating it your goal - make improving your APM the goal until you feel that the map is within your reach. Save your replays, watch yourself, see what you could have done better, and make a note of how your APM improves over time. You should not have to build anything but pylons, gateways, zealots, and probes. If your minerals go over 500 for 5 seconds, you also lose. Make sure you're using chronoboost!
Macro Practice Map
Find this map by clicking "Create Game" and changing the tab to Popular and then searching for "Protoss Macro Master"
This map is based off of a training exercise that DrScorp, who originally taught me how to play Starcraft 1, invented. You must defend a Templar Archvies in the middle. You do this by building zealots of off one base, then expanding after the first wave and adding gateways, then expanding again and adding more gateways. This map teaches you how to add pylons quickly and consistently so you don't get supply blocked, and how to macro in general.
If you have too much chronoboost energy building up, the map will bug you. If you aren't building probes, the map will bug you. If you go over 500 minerals for more than 5 seconds, you'll lose.
The map sends waves at the Templar Archives that should be slightly easier than the number of zealots you would have if you were macroing perfectly. Make sure you rally your gateways to the templar archives.
Where to Go From Here
If you've practiced these maps and your APM/Macro is feeling automatic and you're feeling confident about playing a full game without building up too many minerals, then I would recommend starting to learn strategy. My favorite way to learn strategy has always been through a sort of three-pronged attack of laddering, watching my replays and critiquing myself, and watching pro replays and trying to learn solid builds and solid counters from them.
If people end up liking this guide, I'll probably expand it with more difficult maps or improve the quality of the already existing maps, and maybe even add in some strategy stuff. We'll see!
Finally, if you need help/have suggestions for the maps/guide, post in this thread and I'll respond and stuff!
DrScorp posted:
These are the advanced-basics of controlling the game. The lack of just a few skills such as using ctrl groups to simultaneously scout and manage your base keep bronze players out of diamond. I make these recommendations to anyone who wants to improve in skill tier from casual to competitive.
If you wish to be competitive.
A month of splitting your time between drilling these things using mostly custom games with some real games and replays on the side will turn you into a completely different player. Do the drills every time you play. It doesn't even have to be long but more time spent will see greater improvement.
Again, this is the stuff that keeps bronze players out of diamond.
At some point as you train these skills, you suddenly realize that you can win a platinum pvz just by going 2 gate and overwhelming him with zealots, micro, and macro. If he defends you overwhelm him with a strong midgame economy which translates into, with the help of your new macro skills, a strong force. Once again, you learned all these skills in single player drills and custom maps.
Map Files (In case you can't find them or something):
APM Practice
Macro Practice
