Hum. 5 game win streak today. Still have a clumsy sorta feel, like I'm still not multitasking comfortably. My APM was 59 personal best today.
Some article says:
- Around 50 = An inexperience player.
- Around 100 = An average player.
- Around 150 = An above average player.
- Around 200+ = An experience player.
My opponents usually 35ish APM. I mean, they don't totally suck. They know to reaper harass, and MMM, and put tanks behind MMM, and try banshee cloaked attacks (very dumb vs. protoss, because we always have observers). They know to expand (altho I usually have better timing and do it first and I'm always first to grab 2nd expansion). They make colossus to fight a ground battle, they build cannons in the middle of the map midgame on certain maps. I mean they're not total donks.
It amazes me how mediocre I play, and how I beat most Gold league players, and some platinum leaguers. I heard the play on Korean servers is much more skilled. ^^
I find that I play much better when I "think less". That is, when I don't spend too much time brooding over exactly what I need to do, and make more snap decisions.
Oh and I beat a cheese rusher
I usually check for cheese attacks, but this one came kinda late so I didn't expect. Anyhow, he got the cannons up in my base, but I know the counter because I've tried these rushes before. I built cannons as well, to stop his cannons. I actually forgot that he could warp gate troops into my base, so I went stalkers, and I produced an observer and then an immortal pretty quick. Observer saw...... a much weaker force in his base, so I waltzed over. Just as I got there, the jerk warp gated in 4 stalkers to my base. I had maybe 2 zealots, 8 stalkers, and 2 immortals. He had a cannon, 2 zealots, and 1 stalker at his base. Mutually assured destruction situation. I've played this situation many times. Plus, I already had my expansion up + 10 probes at it ^^. I also had a probe outside his base which I brought with me, because I was going to build a pylon during the battle, and warp in troops ^^. Anyhow, mutually assured destruction: He who has the largest army inevitably wins. Here is how it is done: You destroy his production facilities (or the pylons powering it), his nexus, and his probes. Can leave the pylons and tech facilities. By the time you get back to your base, you should still have buildings left, and possibly probes that have run away (if he chases down probes, he will be behind in building kill, or he may not even catch them). Rebuild Nexus if you can, and kill his army when you get back to your base. Now you both have just a few buildings left, except YOU have an army and he doesn't! If he isn't revealed, send 1 unit to each mineral patch. Checkmate! If there are island expansions, scout them with observer while making like 5 stargates and pylons, and claim 2 more expansions (preferably gold) while those stargates are morphing in. This guy actually had 4 cannons up at my base, and his troops were hiding behind them and tried to draw my army in. I actually just held position and was planning on completely rebuilding then killing off his remaining stalkers + cannons that he had cornered, but he surrendered ^^. If I had gone straight in I may have lost the game.
Also, I'm not really afraid of losing expansions anymore. They tend to pay for themselves very quickly. Just don't send too many probes over to a 2nd expansion which is usually very vulnerable if your main is still mining. I've seen it happen in pro games a LOT: Players attempt expansions, lose them, then attempt it again immediately afterwards. I saw a pro lose the same expansion twice, and rebuild it twice. His enemy was losing expansions and reclaiming them as well. Mutually assured destruction. Only in my games, I'm usually the only one with a midgame 2nd expansion. Enemy often dies once his main runs out. Oops... shoulda thought of 2nd expansion earlier buddy! After main is mined out, army should be placed preferably in between both expansions. Preferably scout well enough to see an incoming attack on either expansion, and go rescue it. Always attack opponent expansions in this situation too. If he doesn't have a 2nd expansion.... then... well.... you'll out-macro him. Each expansion should have 1 pylon to warp in troops, and maybe 1 cannon to prevent harassment.
