My Life for Auir (07-27-10)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Shai Gar
  • Start date Start date
now THAT's impressive! congrats!

how many ladder games have you played, in total, so far? do you also play 2v2?
 
Rank 1 gold league now! Just beat some rank 11 platinum leaguer! Seriously, my mid-game sucks. I've been beating protoss and zerg with 4 gateway zealot pushes. Zergs last longer, and can be trickier; Have to flip to stalkers ASAP if they survive to build enough roaches. If zerg 2nd hatcheries at expansion, they're fucked because that hatchery won't have time to build sunken colonies and will die, leaving them with just their main hatchery. With one hatchery vs. 4 gateways they cannot outproduce me. Usually they spy me with overlord, and use sunken colonies to survive long enough for roaches. Also, their sunken colonies have to be spread out, because I can choose any angle to attack, so usually i only have to deal with 1 sunken at a time plus roaches. A good zergling rush is very dangerous too if the player is smart enough to micromanage the zerglings by running when you pull probes off the mineral line to kill them. If they keep running around in circles, your probes will never catch them, all the while their drones are collecting minerals, creating a huge advantage. If probes go back to mineral line, zerglings can either attack probes until they chase, or hit a pylon. So have to delay probe production to whip out earlier gateways.

PvT I'm winning more with void rays. If enemy flips to vikings fast enough I usually lose. I guess I need to build a 2nd gateway and pump stalkers + slow void ray production + make zealots with excess minerals + make observers. If enemy makes Thor, I'm even more fucked. IMO Thor is a way better anti-air solution than vikings.

I find that to win I need to play very aggressively and push the opponent to be trying to guess what MY next move is, and where I'm going to attack. If I'm playing defensively, I'm stuck trying to guess what my opponent is going to produce. It's psychologically intimidating get attacked too, and I think people start thinking about "not losing" as opposed to thinking about "winning".

I won 75 and lost 38 ladder games.

Oh and I was looking into protoss tech... Mothership seems to have some badass mass recall, and even MORE badass Vortex. And, it CLOAKS. I'm thinking that if Void Ray fails, then I can just make a fleet beacon and build a mothership, then vortex evil Thors or Vikings, and recall zealots into their base. I think vortex+void ray may be unbeatable. The cloaking will be a super pain for enemy too.
 
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Rock paper scissors! Lol.... beginning to see this now as I play more midgame. I've been varying my openings a bit. I think good reconnaissance may be key. I'm inclined to make a sentry, and research hallucination just so I can fly a couple void ray or observer hallucinations through their base every few minutes if they're turreted, which any decent player will be. Terrans have comsat :( Also, it's probably crucial to park a probe at each possible expansion spot to scout their expansion attempts ASAP.

I also think that at any given time, my troops should be able to kill enemy troops in a head to head fight on level ground. If not, then I'm teching too much or expanding too much. If so, then I should be able to kill expansion attempts and protect my own expansions (observers are crucial to see where evils are headed). This sounds good in theory, but this game is taking tons of practice for me to be able to execute any of my plans competently.

I've been seeing aggressive protoss building in PvP. They seem to enjoy making pylons and gateways and cannons in or in front of my base. Effective defenses for these seem to be building cannons to stop their cannons. If a probe is seen building stuff in my base, then taking my entire probe line to box the evil probe in and kill it seems to work well. Zealot push to resume after this scuffle.

Also noticing what a "timed push" is. Terran marine and marauder team can destroy zealots and stalkers easily. Can't beat them until tech'd to psionic storm or colossus (although sentry guardian shield + zealots may work). Timed push is an attack with a marine and marauder team before I can get colossus, and after evil terran gets enough units to take advantage of increasing returns to scale on ranged units, especially near chokepoints.
 
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:) :) My friend, you are getting into the real play. Ah, yeah, I forgot to warn you about the T comsat, it's a huge problem when they do it. Besides, they can build more than one, and potentially cover the map. But this makes this element equal, because P have Pylons, Z have Creep, so T should have static observatories too.

If you are already in Platinum - are you? - there I think it's all about feinting and micro. For example the Z feint building Roach W., and then don't make roaches. Meanwhile the P masses units to counter roaches and is gotten surprised.

Now with the new patch 11, there are some major changes, for example Infestors can Neuro-parasite air units. I wonder if it's possible to obtain control of a flying T base, but probably not, cuz it's not a unit. It would be cool to capture their main cc with Infestor. (:

I wish my pc had at least 1GB RAM (it has just 512mb t_t), and I didn't have to rely so much on hdd pagefile. Then, then each time the game starts I wasn't going to be necessarily the last one to enter the game, and always starting with (at least!) 10 seconds delay. It's seen in all of the build orders: opponents build new units at 0:01, I build the earliest after 0:10-12. And during the game it's all very low FPS, so I can't really even SEE some of the subtle movements. There's no way to micro the attack of units with delayed attack (normally, you should move them around, while waiting for the attack to reload); also no way to carefully save units while in battle - move the injured units backwards or burrow them only, to regenerate. This is huge advantage, if you do it, because you don't easily lose units.

So, unless this game motivates me to buy a new computer (%$@^*#$&!) I'm gonna have to retire soon; reaching the optimal levels possible to play with such machine. Ofc, I still have a lot to learn about how to play well with T, P and R. I'm mostly still playing with Z.

Ahh, not to mention additional advantage if the resolution is higher, because some important information is better visible; for example when you select and assign a group, it shows you the exact number of units in the tab. Well, this number is almost unreadable in my 1024 resolution. /and if the res is higher, pc is kaputt/
 
I'm not platinum because my midgame sucks. I'm only just starting to understand it. I usually lose in the midgame actually. Lately I've been feeling that going air is a stupid idea, although feigning air is a great idea :)

WTF are you talking about P have pylons. My pylon cannot comsat (if it can, let me know how). P have observers. I hate spending gas on non-fighter units, but I guess I need like 4 of them to spy well.

Platinum players actually aren't great. That ones I've played have somewhat half-assed play and sort of know what to do. It's not like they really understand the game, or have great micro. I've only played one GREAT player, and it was PvP. He was really good. That fucker beat my 4 gateway rush by making 3 gateways. He managed to get dark templars, AND an expansion while making enough zealots to defend my zealot push during the first 10 min. I was like "holy shit, this guy must play close to perfect to be able to manage all this while defending my push".
 
I thought you meant Sensor Tower, but you meant Scanner Sweep. Sensor towers make up for Pylons and Creep, because they cover the area and can show when enemy units are moving (unless they are hidden). Observers, Overlords and Scanner Sweep are for clearing the fog of war. The game is pretty balanced, actually maybe too much - all three races have way too similar structures; especially P and T... Z are a little more odd, that's why I like them.

Yeah, platinum may have players weaker than some in silver and even bronze. That's because of how they were placed during placement.

On which server are you - US? I wish it was possible to play sometimes. Bzzrd's decision to separate nations and continents so strictly, is very disturbing.
 
WOW wtf sensor tower is cheat! Pylons are just like supply depots... they don't do anything like this.
 
rofl [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwz9hh3Ch8c"]YouTube- HD Starcraft 2 Artosis v Voidwards p1/2[/ame]
look at this game! ruling sentry use!
 
This match is pretty cool. Terran vs Protoss. Take a look at the micro stalemates caused by the Siege Tanks.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-j3eD5Snjc"]YouTube- HD Starcraft 2 Gerper v Isskincom p1/3[/ame]

(Part 1 of 3.)
 
Finally coming up against some good players. Building assimilators on terran gas is very funny. Building a new one after they destroy it is even funnier. They'll have nothing but marines, their marauders or reapers delayed. I learned how to break a Terran wall-in. Use a few immortals.

I'm starting to grasp what I should be building given what my opponents are building, when I should be expanding, when and where I should be attacking (always the expansions if they have any), roughly where to place my units for defense, and how to react to an attack on my probe line (save probes and move army over). I also know what to do in a MAD (mutually assured destruction) situation where my army has arrived at the enemy base, and I discover the enemy has arrived at my base. By the time I get back to my base, it will be devastated and my opponent's base will be fine and proper. I would rather destroy the enemy manufacturing buildings, their workers, and their command center, then head back to kill their army hopefully. I should have a few pylons and tech buildings left, and the enemy will have the same. If I win the fight, I'll have a few fighter units that can head back over and finish him. It may even be possible to kill his buildings before he kills all of mine, but Terrans can fly their buildings (those bastards).

My micromanagement currently sucks, as I have not practiced it at all. I hardly ever build high templars or sentries. I like to try to manage my base during a battle, and ensure more fighters are in production. I really need to start micromanaging though. Make sure immortals are focusing down armored enemy units (as opposed to attacking lighter units which don't give the immortals their damage bonus), moving damaged units back, using psi storms, force fields and sentry shields, pulling back to save units in a losing fight. I think that to multitask well, a good player needs to have a mental map of everything that is going on in their base and not have to check to see what they need to do next, but just know.

My ranking has dropped to 26th place, as I face better players coincidentally, and as I attempt to practice more midgame. Also, if I don't play, my ranking automatically drops as other players move up.
 
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pierce said:
WOW wtf sensor tower is cheat! Pylons are just like supply depots... they don't do anything like this.
Click to expand...
Pylons also serve as Psionic Matrix for warping and supplying P buildings, and for warping units. In this aspect, it is similar to Creep for Z, and both P and Z would like to cover larger areas of the map (it highlights the minimap too). It has shorter Sight Radius (the standard 9; opposed to 11 for Creep Tumor, and 12 for Sensor Tower), but still the Pylon grid on the map allows you to see enemy units from afar. As balance, the P Mothership has the single largest Sight Radius in the whole game - 14 - which is 2 more than all other buildings/units possible:
http://www.sc2data.com/statistics/unitsight
 
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only indy has added me thus far! I'm on the american servers.......... intuitor.intj
 
Many starcraft videos later, and with a little practice, I am starting to be less incompetent at mid-game. I've stopped using rushes as to get myself into more midgame situations. I've lost almost every match these last 3 days. I think now I'm starting to knowing the basics of WHAT I'm supposed to do at any given time, and some basic battle micromanagement. I still need a lot of practice to be able to multi-task as fast as I need to be. My APM (actions per minute) is like 55 average now. It should be at least double for competent play, but I just can't think that fast so I'll need tons practice. Gotta scout enemy main using hallucinated phoenix + scout possible expansions + scout their army movement, expand, produce units, do upgrades, keep pylons up to date, keep my army in a good defensive position, attack expansions or the main when I think the timing is right, micromanage battles, do harassment attacks, many of these at the same time! I have to think about what I'm supposed to do at any given time. It's not automatic to me yet.

Every time I lose, often with replay review, I'll identify precisely why I lost, and consciously try to work on that in the next game. I think that I'll be less obsessive when I plateau and become a competent player. I think it'll be really fun for me when I have all the multi-tasking basics well-practiced and when I'm playing on a more strategic level. Now I'm just struggling to do all the things I'm supposed to be doing, and thinking of what I'm supposed to be building to counter what my opponent has. I don't think I'm talented at this, and wouldn't be able to ever compete on a "pro" level. These koreans have groups of talented pro gamers who all live together and have a coach, and play 12 hours every day. The only thing I have going for me would be creativity, and perhaps the way i systematize game knowledge.

Thank god there isn't a subscription fee to starcraft like there is for WoW........... So glad gamestop offered Beta key with pre-order. I'm SURE that brought in TONS of pre-sale business for them. I spend sooo much time playing this game and enjoying it a lot............ surely worth my $60+tax!
 
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mooseman said:
This match is pretty cool. Terran vs Protoss. Take a look at the micro stalemates caused by the Siege Tanks.

YouTube- HD Starcraft 2 Gerper v Isskincom p1/3

(Part 1 of 3.)
Click to expand...

This video offers a great explanation of how to play against siege tanks with a bio army in front of them. You don't engage, like you explained "stalemate". You know what I think would be really badass, but micro-intensive? A phoenix crew creeping in from behind to graviton beam ("lift up" the tanks for 10sec). I don't think anyone would expect it. Move in ground troops right after the tanks get lifted. And if the enemy has seen you doing that he'll probably pull bio in to surround the tanks at which point you can perhaps move immortals in to take the first few tank blasts, focus fire the tanks down WHILE moving the colossi (amazing range 9 upgraded!) in to kill infantry RIIGHHTT after the first tank blasts hit the immortals. Very micro intensive stuff!

Also really enjoyed seeing how the protoss uses advance/retreat to feel out the enemy.

Also, I'm learning to use hotkey better. Bind 5 to Nexus for chronoboosts, 4 to warp gates, and 6 to robotics. For battle, bind 1 for the zealots/stalkers/sentries, 2 for colossus or high templars, and 3 for air units if I have them. It's way better to split up hotkeys for battle micromanagement.
 
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Hmm... upgraded Colossus has a range of 9. It outranges every unit in the game except siege tanks and brood lords. I can use sentry force fields and wall off every single ground force in the game (except siege tanks) and kill them from a range with colossus.
 
Do you use well Templars? DT are great harass and scout, one per base field is enough; HT are great against massive armies, including air units.

In this concise but very active game there's good use of Colossus Drop and Templars:
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPxLuVYKvyM"]YouTube- SC2 TLI Ro8 TheLittleOne vs DeMusliM 3set @ Metalopolis[/ame]

I'm trying to make a short video from this Korean replay, around 30min the P destroy massive T army of many MMM and tanks, while the P didn't have very large army, but divided it and attacked the already sieged tanks from behind with zlots and HTs, storming quickly the rest.

And now here's a $100'000 challenge - achieve this trick! :):
20zs3tf.jpg
 
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Wow, fantastic Colossus drops. Fantastic DT harass. Most terran do missile turret eventually. Even still, great harassment possibilities! Can send 1 DT at a time to all their mineral lines and their army. They'll waste lots of energy on scans, and have to build turrets and Ravens and perhaps some defense at each mineral line. I'll definitely be compiling a list of all harassment possibilities and doing many of it in every game. I see in high level games a lot of double pronged attacked. Like small attacks on mineral lines while fighting the main army. It's a multi-tasking nightmare, but necessary for good play. Terran player actually responds not bad in this video. I can tell he's really good.

Ur $100,000 challenge... you built a hatchery at 10 supply?
 
The fake gas station(s) trick can get you 12/10 (in red) in the game, but here's how it would look in the Build Order report:
2wdoivt.jpg

So it's something different. I'll post the answer next time. It was a great suggestion, though.

Here's the promised video clip. 7 sieged tanks, 2-3 ghosts with EMPs, and massive MMM. Against fewer number stalkers, zlots, a few HTs and a VR. However, the P player splits his army and engages with all stalkers and most zlots from the front (left), while suddenly joining the few zlots and HTs from the back (right), against the unguarded tanks --> gg.
 
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