C0ffeeCast |
Worker Production The most important concept for all players, and the hardest to master as a new player, is worker (aka harvester) production. Workers are the most basic building blocks to any players game, they are those big legos you put at the bottom of your pyramid when you were younger. They will give you a stronger economy and give you a better ability to macro (defined below).
A blanket statement of when to stop building workers is never. If you want to be really specific, ~70 – 80 is the range you want to hit, though even the highest level players will forget sometimes. Always, always be making more workers. |
Hotkeys As a younger player, you may be tempted to skip learning hotkeys right away, thinking “I’ve got enough on my plate as it is.” You are absolutely wrong. Hotkeys are actually one of the most important things to learn for a younger player. They will increase the speed at which you can play the game, and reduce the number of mouse clicks you make, which can be inaccurate and all over the screen.
Hotkey setups can be different for each player, but it is important to find one setup and stick with it. In each race’s guide, I will offer a sample setup of hotkeys, and occasionally some tricks as situations warrant. Make sure that you also view the "Setup Options" section below. |
Macro vs Micro What is macro and micro? Macro is a players ability to gain a stronger economy (by harvesting resources), create buildings, train units, and manage their technology trees (“teching up”). Macro is the overall control of one’s base and all facilities within it. Micro is the control of individual units and small groups of units. In battle, a player will micro his army to gain an edge and keep his units alive as long as possible.
For all levels of play, macro > micro. Macro will allow you to have a larger army and rebuild your army more quickly should it be destroyed. Micro will keep your army from being destroyed, or at least make the losses between armies more even. Up to and for most Platinum level games, you can win simply by out-macroing your opponent, though you’ll likely want to start mixing in micro before that. |
Most of the typing and button clicking is macro. It's freaking serious business.
|