I fucking suck at Starcraft

Legionnaired

Well, I do.

I play Terran, because the idea of playing 'smart' and countering everyone all the damn time really appeals to me. I can usually wreak some havoc with seige drops and marine-medic rushes... but whenever I play with my friends I usually just get rocked. My tanks die way too fast to zealots, and I'm stuck with a minor role while someone else has 50 mutalisks and 6 carriers destroying the whole goddamn map.

So...

Am I probably just not building enough? How many SCVs should I have? Depot at 8, Barracks at 10, right? Do I build an engineering lab early for the armor upgrade?

I come from a background of Generals and Warcraft 3, so I'm used to smaller amounts of more tightly controlled units. Am I just playing the wrong game?

Metal Gear Solid 2 Demo

Rush the factory, building a barracks and some marines just for initial protection. Build multiple factories.

Two armories, max out ground upgrades, build majority goliaths with sieges backing up, sweep over your enemies.

s_86

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fuelish

I just listened to the GFW podcast that had a discussion about StarCraft2, one guy had been to Blizzard for a demo. The guy was saying how fast paced it is and you really just have to play and play to learn the game. There was one guy there (Milty?) that was a long time player and he was just destroying everyone. Then I listened to the 1UpYours cast that had Milty? on it talking about destroying the other players, but he had been a four year addict to StarCraft1.

MagicPrime

I definatly think vets of SC1 will have an advantage.

Smasher

1v1 has different timings and strategies than 2v2 or whatever, but the basics stay the same. If you put up a replay of a game you feel is typical of your problems we can give more specific advice.

Anyway, the optimal number of SCVs per mineral patch is 3; for gas it's usually 3 if the geyser is directly to the left or above your command center, and 4 if it's anywhere else.

It doesn't sound like scouting is a big issue for you, but it's always worth emphasizing how important it is.

As far as tanks vs. zealots, that's what vultures are for. Earlier in the game you'll want to set up a minefield between your units and where the toss is likely to attack from, though once he gets speed zeals that can get dangerous if he knows how to mine drag. Either way, you should have your vultures in front of your tanks. This has two effects:

1) Vultures are fantastic at softening up zeals (and even dragoons until their shields run out, as shields take full damage from all damage types).

2) It creates a physical barrier between the zeals and the tanks. Giving your tanks a few extra seconds to wipe out zeals before the zeals get into your tank blob will make a huge difference, and may prevent the zeals from getting in altogether.

Also, like s_86 said feel free to come play with us in the G&T SC thread. We have a good range of skill levels and can probably help you improve more than a forum topic could.

Rye

Are you playing against computers or human opponents? Against computers, you should build a supply depot wall with a barracks latch. Same thing with human opponents, but don't rely on it too heavily.

Computers will walk around in circles like idiots if you do it right. Just wall in with marines and enforce it with 12-15 siege tanks and a few turrets. Then just spend all your money on Battle Cruisers and wait for yamato juice.

Against humans... you just have to play better. Spend your money constantly and expand before you run out of money. Siege tank is probably the single greatest unit in starcraft, but it needs to be backed up with vultures or goliaths (referred to as a "mech" build. "Bio-Mech" refers to marine with tanks. Bio-Mech destroys zerg, wheras pure Mech can tear down protoss shielding quickly.)

Dangerisk

See Terran section.
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=60601

As well as every other section.

Victor15b

Legionnaired wrote: »

Well, I do.

I play Terran, because the idea of playing 'smart' and countering everyone all the damn time really appeals to me. I can usually wreak some havoc with seige drops and marine-medic rushes... but whenever I play with my friends I usually just get rocked. My tanks die way too fast to zealots, and I'm stuck with a minor role while someone else has 50 mutalisks and 6 carriers destroying the whole goddamn map.

So...

Am I probably just not building enough? How many SCVs should I have? Depot at 8, Barracks at 10, right? Do I build an engineering lab early for the armor upgrade?

I come from a background of Generals and Warcraft 3, so I'm used to smaller amounts of more tightly controlled units. Am I just playing the wrong game?

Yeah bro, in my experience SC is more about large scale warfare. War3 tactics definitely don't apply. I haven't played C&C in years so I really can't draw a comparison there.

Also I'm practically undefeated in my group of Starcraft playing friends.....yet when I log onto Battlenet, I consistently get screwed hard like a cheerleader on prom night.

FirstComradeStalin

Starcraft has been around for way too long for a greenhorn to really have a shot. The people that still play it consistently have been playing it consistently for years and years, and are simply better. There's not necessarily much in strategy that can be changed, some people just have absurdly high actions-per-minute and are just flying around the screen, micromanaging everything perfectly.

Plutonium

Legionnaired wrote: »

Well, I do.

I play Terran, because the idea of playing 'smart' and countering everyone all the damn time really appeals to me. I can usually wreak some havoc with seige drops and marine-medic rushes... but whenever I play with my friends I usually just get rocked. My tanks die way too fast to zealots, and I'm stuck with a minor role while someone else has 50 mutalisks and 6 carriers destroying the whole goddamn map.

So...

Am I probably just not building enough? How many SCVs should I have? Depot at 8, Barracks at 10, right? Do I build an engineering lab early for the armor upgrade?

I come from a background of Generals and Warcraft 3, so I'm used to smaller amounts of more tightly controlled units. Am I just playing the wrong game?

Tanks don't do well in TvP without vulture backup - a 2:1 ratio of vultures to tanks is optimal - Vultures are needed to kill the zealots, as well as soak up dragoon fire so the tanks can stay alive.

Try playing with us in the PA channel on US West.

Legionnaired

Well, I've played a few more comp-stomp games, and I'm starting to get all my old micro skills back from my RTS days. I did a my versus double-toss comp stomp earlier and lost like, 3 marines the whole game doing M&M. Just had two hot groups of marines with stims and the distance upgrade, and like, 8 medics. The marines were stimmed the whole time, it was great, a lot of battles they didn't even get hit.

I'm discovering my biggest problem is just economy. I'd stop building at like, 15 peons.

My other biggest problem is playing $$$BIG GAME HUNTERS$$$$ or $$$ZEROCLUTTER$$$ with my idiot friends.

I'm going to do some lost temple with them soon and school them. Most of them either mass Mutalisks or Carriers, so I'll go for some early game skirmish, then tech to science vessels with EMP + Goliaths. Should do the trick.