StarCraft 2: Sometimes You Keep Losing

Starcraft 2

After avoiding the game for some time, I finally picked up StarCraft 2 last week. Part of the reason I did my best to thwart the temptation of this popular RTS is because I know what these kinds of games do to me. They take away my life and they make me an angry person.

You see, part of the problem is that whatever genes are required to be good at micro-managing units, I just don’t have them. This makes me generally terrible at any and all RTS games. On top of that, I do happen to have the genes that make one an obsessive compulsive stat monger. So, naturally, these two things are at odds with another, and I inevitably tumble down a voracious toilet bowl flush of addiction. I suck, I obsess about build orders, I still suck – and so on.

Anyway, I’ve spent most of last night playing (and losing) to pretty much the entirety of BattleNet. So here are my questions for you lovely people. For you StarCraft 2 players, do you have any advice for a guy trying to get his Terran on? And to everyone else, what do you do when you continually lose at a game you play competitively? How do you handle it? Go!

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I write about samurai girls and space marines. Writer for Smooth Few Films. Rooster Teeth Freelancer. Author of Red vs. Blue, The Ultimate Fan Guide, out NOW!

9 thoughts on “StarCraft 2: Sometimes You Keep Losing”

  1. If you wish to get better at SC2, you should definitely check Sean “Day[9]” Plott’s show. He’s a professional player with an uncanny talent for casting and years of experience. Sean regularly streams Sunday through Thursday at 7pm PST. As I’m European, I rarely get to see him live, but all previous episodes are available at day9tv.blip.tv.
    Full list is available here: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=104154

    The “Day[9] Dailies” are an amazing source of strategy-related information, handed to you with a pinch of comedy. Some of those are aimed at new players (on every Tuesday), others are more sophisticated and deal with the more advanced matters. Anyway, they’re certainly worth checking out 😉

  2. Try playing Company of Heroes, or Dawn of War II, or RUSE. They are all online RTS’s that focus on strategy and counters more than expert micro.

  3. @ The C4lvinist
    The first Starcraft did in fact rely heavily on expert micro. However, in the second installment of the series, many actions have been automated. With a proper strategy, 40-60 clicks per minute is enough in most cases. That’s pretty much the average for the RTS genre ;]

  4. As a famous turret once said, “the only winning move is not to play.”

    In all seriousness, though, it takes practice. Lots of it. Try looking for YouTube videos or looking at whatever StarCraft wiki is out there. That might help. I know it helped me in Team Fortress 2, even though it’s an entirely different genre.

  5. Keep playing around with the all the races and strats until it works. I was stuck around the 0 point mark for a long time until the season reset. Then it all just clicked and I ended up 1st in my division.

  6. Okay, I have a few confessions to make:

    1. I’m a Korean-American. (I know! I know!)
    2. I live 20 minutes South of Irvine, California. (Also known as: Home of Blizzard Entertainment)
    3. And most damning… I still haven’t played StarCraft 2.

    But I might still be able to help a bit. #-Group assigning is key.

    Step 1: build enough SCVs that by the time one is completed, you’ve enough minerals to build a depot.
    Step 2: build depots along choke points creating a temporary wall (zerg players will have to attack these buildings before they can get inside your base)
    Step 3: build 2 barracks and start cranking out marines.
    Step 4: select all marines, attack-move into enemy base while still building more marines (be sure to set their rally points on the perimeter of the enemy base).
    Step 5: Remember the motto of the TRUE space marines: BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!!!

  7. I’ve been playing Starcraft again lately, and it’s been an interesting challenge to get in a groove with it again. Here’s my Terran pointers Eddy: If playing against Protoss, make Marauders ASAP and get their Concussive shot upgrade. Marauders are good against Stalkers and Zealots, the two units almost all Protoss players make first. And by getting Concussive shot, those Zealots are slowed down significantly, letting you take them down before they can even scratch you. If playing against Zerg, build a Barracks as soon as possible, then create a bunker (or two) at the entrance to your base. Flank the bunker with supply depots to create a wall so Zerglings cannot get in. In fact, you always want to block your entrance with supply depots. And finally if playing against Terran, scout them very early with an SCV, and if you see they don’t have a barracks up yet, and you do, build four barracks instantly and set your rally point to their base because even if you have only a few marines, you can end the game. Also when attacking their base that early in the game, attack Barracks first, SCV’s next. Everything else comes after that. I’ve got my early game down pretty good, but my late-mid to end game is a little sloppy so I can’t give you any more advice past that. Oh and last but not least: Minerals and gas aren’t doing you any good piling up. Use them at all times.

    If you want to play sometime, or anyone else here on GS, just send me a friend request. My name is Thane, character code 170.

  8. Don’t wall off against protoss, always do against zerg, and terran probably not. Depends on opening strat. More tips in a few

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