StarCraft 2 is a complex game with a lot of subtleties to pick up on. In every game, the little things all matter. Every extra worker or unit you can squeeze out, every piece of intel you can gain, and every second faster that a tech structure or upgrade finishes can be the difference between winning and losing.
But before you can start working out all the small ways to make your game run more smoothly, you need to get a grasp of the basics. And the biggest mistakes that most newer players make are related to macro. Being able to produce efficiently and expand safely are the keys to getting a strong economy and overwhelming your opponents in the late game. If you’re struggling as a newer player, there are a few improvements you can make that will help your game out immensely.
1. Not making enough workers
Having a strong economy is very important in StarCraft 2. When you have a lot of money coming in, you can support more production buildings, tech and upgrades. One of the biggest mistakes that newer players make is not making enough workers to support the production levels required to win in the late game.
To maintain a solid economy, be sure to keep your worker production constant throughout the early game (provided a huge rush isn’t headed your way) and settle in at about 70-80 workers in the late game, or about 25 per base.
2. Queuing units 
When newer players see their money getting high, a common tendency is to queue up all your production buildings to the max. While it may feel good to know that a bunch of units are on the way, it isn’t a very efficient use of resources. If a unit is queued up in a building, the resources you spent on it are essentially just sitting there doing nothing.
When you have an excess of money to the point where you are queuing units, it’s time to invest in some more production facilities, a tech or upgrade structure, or a new expansion. Ideally, you want to have the perfect balance of production facilities to go along with your income, so that you are producing out of all of them simultaneously without queuing, and are able to afford the supply buildings to keep them running.
3. Not using hotkeys and control groups effectivelyHotkeys are essential when trying to control multiple aspects of your game quickly. A lot of newer players either don’t use hotkeys at all, or simply clump their entire army into one control group.
Having your army divided into multiple control groups will help you control it much better. For example, it is always a good idea to have your spellcasters, like High Templars, Ghosts and Infestors, placed into a separate control group from your main army. Doing that allows you to quickly access them and cast their important spells as quickly as possible.
It is also important to have your production facilities placed into control groups, and learn the hotkeys for producing the units out of them. Rather than having to go back to your base and individually click on the buildings and icons to produce units, you can simply hit the number of the control group and the hotkey for the unit. This will allow you to keep a close eye on your army and produce units at the same time.
4. Watching battles for too long
While battles are certainly the most exciting part of the game, keeping your attention focused on them for too long can hinder your production and put you behind. Being able to quickly assess the potential outcome of a battle and act accordingly is a very important skill. For example, if you know you can win the battle outright with a simple attack-move command, there is no point in sticking around to watch. You can focus your attention elsewhere, either setting up a new expansion, producing units, or adding on more production/supply/tech facilities.
On the other hand, if you know that you are going to be badly overrun, retreat as quickly as possible and focus on producing reinforcements, and adding on some static defenses if necessary.
If the battle is going to be close, you can spend a little more time focusing on it and trying to use good unit control and/or spellcasting to take an advantage. But if it comes down to being able to produce efficiently while battling or winning a micro fight, falling back on your macro is usually the best decision.
5. Relying too heavily on static defenses.
Newer players tend to use static defenses too early or too often. While you may feel safe behind a wall of Photon Cannons, Spine Crawlers or Bunkers, you are sacrificing a lot of unit production and map control to get them out. Static defenses are very good when used at the right time, but using them preemptively puts a serious dent in your army. Without a large army, it’s hard to move out and put pressure on your opponents, and they can expand safely to gain an economic edge.
The best time to use static defenses is when you are taking an early expansion. Static defenses are good at supporting your small army and holding off early attacks on your expansion, but they become much less effective as the game progresses and armies get larger. Use static defenses early to help buy yourself time to get your production rolling after taking an early expansion, then put your focus back on your army. Static defenses are helpful in the later stages of the game usually only when defending spread-out expansions. A few static defenses at your farthest base will help buy your army time to move across the map and protect it.
Follow these five tips, and you’ll be taking down your buddies before you know it. Remember that, at beginning levels of play, a solid focus on scouting and macro will take you a long way. Use this advice to improve your macro, check out the tutorial videos over on the left, and don’t be surprised when you find yourself rocketing up the ladder.
por FILIP_FB Qua Dez 05, 2012 11:20 am
