However, in the meantime, I’ll share some of my other obsessions with you.
Starcraft 2 is awesome.
I’m really happy I pre-ordered the game, as you receive a Beta key when you do (good marketing). I’ve been busy this last week playing matches against others just like me. And when I say “just like me”, I mean it! Most other players out there are just as bad.
Okay, that’s not true – but what IS true is that Starcraft 2’s match-making system works like a charm. The game has a system that matches you up against opponents who will be right about your skill level. In this way, you’re never facing anyone too much better or worse than you are.
Let me bring you through my intro games so far, letting you know of my discovery of the game through them:
Match 1: Zerg vs Zerg: Victory!
First game ever. It’s suggested you start in the Novice Leagues. The Novice Leagues are LIKE real-play, with some differences. First, the maps are modified to slow down aggressive players. You’ll need to pound through 6000 hp worth of destructible rocks before you can hit either your opponent’s base or even their first natural expansion.
In this match, we both powered out as many zerglings and “roaches” as we could. Roaches are sort of the new Hydralisk (despite the Hydralisk still existing). They take up the same tech-position, but cannot hit air units with their ranged attack. They do, however, possess a remarkable healing factor – but this only applies when burrowed (which is researchable only at Tier 2, the Lair).
Match 2: Terran vs Terran: Victory!
I completely eschew the ground in favour of running my tech up to Starports. Terran air-power is second only to Protoss (very balanced, actually). I learn that Terran add-ons are essential. Taking the Tech Lab for the Starport allows for some really amazing units (Banshee, and their new Science Vessel), but taking the Reactor for mass-producing Vikings (an effective anti-air unit with anti-ground capabilities as well) really is the way to go with Terrans if you have access to enough resources.
Match 3: Protoss vs Protoss: Defeat :-(
Every race in Starcraft 2 is incredibly different from every other one. I highly suggest playing at least 1 game as each rather in the Novice Leagues just to get familiar with the way each race builds. The Protoss are even MORE “Protoss”-y. Like before the Probes can set up a work order and then go do something more important (like harvesting minerals), but the new ability of the Nexus can NOT be forgotten (which is difficult, since you’re so busy in Starcraft 2). The Nexus can increase the build-speed of any building (factory or research) by 50%. Big difference in the long-match, as it can increase your Probe count early, and help power units out the Stargate, or speed you through tech upgrades when you really need them.
My opponent here powered out more stuff than myself, and I was taken down easily.
Match 4: Protoss vs Protoss: Victory!
Discovered the awesome power of the Void Ray. I think this unit’s going to be retweaked before the game is released. At the moment, players have access to them too soon – as soon as they build a Stargate they can build these Tier 3 Siege units. 2 or 3 of these beasts are okay, but as soon as you get 4 or more, they always will power up to max-damage (their damage has 3 outputs, increasing from 1 to 3 the longer they’re firing, very devastating considering that once fully-powered, they stay powered as long as there’s little down-time between switching targets).
The game ends with a race to destroy each other’s final building first – with my Void Rays demolishing everything at lightning speed while his invisible Dark Templar go uncountered.
Match 5: Terran vs Protoss: Victory!
My Protoss opponent attempts to rush me with Carriers, and nearly succeeds. However, I quickly build some Terran Thors (a monstrously large mega-unit with anti-air and anti-ground), and support it Vikings. My opponent never expands, and I win the resource race as his main base starts running out of minerals while I have 3 expansions pulling in their weight.
There’s lots more to tell, it’d take too long. The down and short of it is that now that I’ve played 5 additional games meant to “rank” me into a league, I’ve been put into the Copper League. This league, I believe, is one step up from the Novice Leagues and holds about 100 positions. I currently hold spot # 32, after beating a player higher than me (in the score screen it actually shows who was favoured to win, yeah me!). However, I’m still REALLY low in the league system.
UPDATE:
In the days after writing this article, I played 3 games of Starcraft 2. The first one I lost, and then, on my second try (once again, with Protoss, my worst race as I’ve discovered), I think I stumbled across the secret to playing competitively from a strategic point of view.
As the game currently stands, rushing is the answer. Not necessarily a victorious rush, but just something so jarring to your opponent that it gives you the breathing space to start expanding. My mistake before was being a chronic aggressive expansionist. I would prioritize expanding over everything else. Why? It’s my style. I absolutely love soaking up wealth. Unfortunately, that means I’m not really BUILDING anything.
Often, this meant that I would start expanding before I even had any real groups of units to defend myself with or, more importantly, attack with.
In that second game, though, I played Protoss once again, and this time I focused first on pumping out as many Zealots as early as possible. With the new Protoss build-system, this is frighteningly easy – you don’t even need any vespene gas. You just hold off of using your Chrono-boost on your Nexus so that you can use it almost non-stop on your 2 Gateways. Continue producing Probes at this time – even past the point that you would normally stop. You need maximum income during this period with little investment. Then, once you have about 6 Zealots, you attack. Unless your opponent was also rushing for units, you’ll find yourself dominating your opponent’s 2 or 3 units – and then you can go to town against their workers.
The nice thing about this is that, with maximum income, you’ll still be edging ahead in saved minerals – enough to build a Nexus somewhere else (preferably at the map’s gold fields – mineral fields that are yellowish in colour and provide 10 minerals each trip instead of just 5). Even if your opponent defeats your rush, you’ll be a sizable leg up on them – since you’ll have used that time to continue building, but you’ll now have a greater income potential.
For Terrans:
Same idea, but build Barracks with Reactors. It’s absolutely terrifying to see 4 Marines being produced so quickly. I actually made a mistake in my third game with this in building a Reactor before really getting ahead with the second Barracks. Build BOTH Barracks’ first, then put out a few Marines, then upgrade. Note, you’ll need gas to build a Reactor – but you’ll also need some other bonuses to get a leg up on your opponent. Build an
For Zerg:
I have no idea yet. The Zerg’s weakness is also a strength – and they’re the reason I LOVE expanding. To build more units simultaneously (after using the Queen, do NOT forget about her Spawn Creep Tumour ability – Zerg move faster on creep, so it’s important to cover large areas of the map with it) you will NEED a second Hatchery – but this will also go at an expansion point.
So I don’t know what to do yet. You need that second Hatchery, and it should build another Queen right away, but when do you switch from expansion to aggression – I do not know. It may turn out that rushing Roaches and Hydras should be best… but that’s a lot of upgrading before you start attacking. I’ll keep you informed.
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