7/31/2019 14ways to Win at StarCraft II
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STARCRAFT II THE FINAL PUSH
www.pcgamer.com
L E , E J
So youve got access to theStarCraft IIbeta, but you suck.The
Zerg swarm your basewithin seconds. Your economynever grows fast
enough for you
to build more than a few Marines. If you domanage to survive
longer than five minutes,you discover your enemy has three
baseswhile youre still stuck at home. Battle.nethas become the
school playground all overagain, right down to the kids who call
younames which are definitely not your real name.
Dont feel bad, chum. Its not your fault.StarCraft IIis hard in
ways other real-timestrategy games arent. Where expanding
your base in Supreme Commander 2 is auseful tactic, only in
StarCrafts multiplayercrucible is it essential. And while almost
anystrategy game can be won with a quickrush, onlyStarCrafts
ghastly Zerg arefamous for it.
In fact, onlyStarCraft playersever becomefamous for their
ridiculous strategy gamingskills, because it requires a level of
skillother games dont dare ask of their players.The sequel is still
being nurtured throughthe beta stage by Blizzard, but its
principlesare already in place, and theyre prettymuch the same.
Enter an online match ofStarCraft IIwithout attack plans,
counters
and build orders already in mind, and youwill be almost
instantly ruined.
So its time to get good. It wont happenovernight, or even just
by playing it on yourown. Youre going to have to read about
it,think about it, make lists and hone yourmind and reflexes untill
youre a sleek,focused, StarCraft IImouse-clickingmachine. All you
need is a guide to helpyou get there. This guide. In the
followingpages we explore the principles ofStarCraftII, guide you
through the strengths andweaknesses of its units and give you
thestrategies you need to get good, fast.Happy hunting.
Cant tell a Ze rg Larva from a Protoss Zealot? Well guide you
fromSTARCRAFT II newbie to masterby Rich McCormick and Quintin
Smith
14 WAYS TO WINAT STARCRAFT II
50 JUNE2010
L E , E J
www.pcgamer.com
L E , E J
SPEND THRIFT
Spend resources themoment you get them
and never queue units up.Its tempting to queue and
make things easier on yourself, butyou want all of your money
goingto work on creating or upgradingthingsright here and right
now. Ifyou ever have more than 200crystal or gas, spend it. If you
everhave more than 600 crystal or gas,youre embarrassing
yourself.
ZERG RUSH
StarCrafts signa-
ture attack is simple
to orchestrate. Immedi-ately build a Spawning Pool to turn
your Hatcherys Larva into Zerglings.
Once thats up, spam the nasty critters
until youve got a gaggle ready and
attack ASAP!
BUILD ECONOMY
Everything youbuild inStarCraft IIrequires crystals orVespene
gas. Begin
by having at least twoSCVs, Drones or Probes on each crystal.As
you grow, build Vespene refinaries andhave at least three gatherers
on each.
WATCH REPLAYS Every match you play isautomatically recorded,
right down to how youropponent moved his camera. When youre
beaten, watch the replay, see themistakes you made and where
your foe went right. Copy themnext timeit might not work,but
itll make you better.
RESOURCEGROW TH
Youreconomyis neverfinished.Keepbuildingmoregathererscon-
stantly,andonceyouvegot yourVespenerefinaries,expandtonew
resourcepatches.One
tipforTerrans:buildspareCommandCenterswithinyourexistingbase,fillthemwithSCVs
andflythemover tonewresourcesfor aninstantnewbase.
STOPZERG
RUSHES
OnthereceivingendofaZergrushearlyon?IfyoureTerran,blocktheramps
upto yourstartingpoint
withSupplyDepotsandthrow
outa BarracksfocusedonchurningoutMarines.
Theycanhide behindthebuildingsand shoottheZerglings.If
youreProtoss,a fewZealotscantakedowna rushing
Zerglingforcejustmake
suretobuilda Gateway..
BEGINNER
Shaun Apollo Clark is a member of theprofessional e-sports
operation TeamDignitas and an all-roundStarCraft guru.We traveled
deep within his carbon-steeltraining bunker for intensive
training.
Whatmadeyouchoose
StarCraftasyourgame?StarCraft:BroodWarhasthelargestfanbaseandprofessionalsceneintheworld...Ispenttwomonthsoverthe
summerof2009exper-iencingthelifeandcultureof
beingagamerinSouthKorea,andit
wasanabsolutepara-dise.WiththereleaseofStarCraftII,gamersfrommultipletierswillbe
givenafresh starttotry andsucceed.
Onaverage,howmany hoursdo youpracticeeveryday?Eversincethe
releaseoftheStarCraftII beta,Ivebeenplayingan averageof12 hoursa
dayduringtheweek andeighton
theweekends,thankstosupportfrommyfamilyandthesuperbsponsorsof
Dignitas.
WhateffectdoSC2snewunitsandfea-tureshaveon thegameplay?Thisis
anextremelysensitiveareabecausethebetasonlybeen outfor
threeweeks,butcurrently,if IcouldbreakStarCraftII
down,its70percentStarCraft witha 30percentWarcraftIII influence.I
feelthatthe
gameisfasterthanStarCraft,andthereseemtobealotmorethingstokeepcontrolof,suchascorrecttimingof
theTerranMULE,ProtossChronoBoostand theZerg
Queen,whilebuildingandcontrollinganarmy witha
mixedunitcomposition,whichthenhas mul-tipleabilitiesneededto
edgetheadvantageinyourfavor.Ontheotherhand,Ifeelthatthemicrothat
differentiatesplayersseen inStarCraft
isntquiteupthereyetinStarCraftII,butIbelievethisisbecauseofhowyoungthebetastillis.
Isthereanythingyoudhave
changedifyouweremakingStarCraftII?BeingaTerranplayer,the
biggestthingI missfromStarCraft isthe Vulture,a
fast,dynamicunitthatwas extremelyfunto
playwith.Apartfromthat,IloveStarCraftII.
Helpusout:Howdoyoucounteratur-tlingProtosstechingstraightfor
car-riersandmotherships?Hesgoingto requirealot
ofVespenegas;therefore,hellneedto expand.Youcandenyhimfrom
expanding,cuttingoffhisresources,butI wouldpersonallytimean
attack,compareunitcountsand ifI feelthatIhavean advantagegoing
in,try andbustopenhisfront door.
MEET THE PRO!
2
5
3
4
ShaunClark:proStarCraftplayer.
JUNE2010
6/// CONTPC GAMER JUNE 2010BACK ENTS /// WWW.PCGAMER.COM
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