How do I get better at Starcraft?
Our general Starcraft guide mentioned a few tips for getting better at SC, but for today's daily update we'll expand a little bit more on some of the principles behind improving and talk about how you can get better most efficiently.
Okay: to start with, there is no secret strategy, tip, or method to this game. You will NEED to work hard over a long period of time. There is no way to avoid this.
There is one teeny loophole to this. You can get a lot better a lot faster if you pay someone to teach you Starcraft. Before you stop reading in disgust, here's why this works:
a) the placebo effect. You're doing SOMETHING to improve, so your brain thinks you should be improving.
b) you're paying for it. The way your mind works, when you pay for something, you value it more highly. Think about free advice vs. a paid seminar, or looking things up on the internet vs. paying for a class. Sure, you get the same information in the first of each example pair, but you don't really retain that much unless you shell out dough for the tips. Your brain just doesn't like free stuff as much.
c) you're actually getting good info. Having someone watch you play and offer tips in real time is HUGE. No matter how many times you watch your own replay, you're going to remember what it was like playing the game, so you're going to focus on certain things. This is good in some sense, as you know what mistakes you were aware of making and you can watch them cascade down the rest of your game, but you're also going to miss certain things no matter what. A second viewpoint is incredibly helpful for reviewing.
We are proud to announce that we offer some of the best coaching in SC2. If you would like to schedule a lesson with someone on the craftingstars staff, check out this article outlining our Starcraft 2 coaching service for more information.
Plugs aside, here are some tips for improving on your own:
1) Be motivated now. Do the hairiest, most technical, least desirable part of your practice as soon as possible. Get it out of the way. You'll be the better player for it.
2) Set aside some amount of time daily and practice really hard for the full duration. It helps if it's a regular schedule, like 5-8pm on weekdays. Saying you'll practice for 3 hours a day is much harder because you can put it off indefinitely.
3) Do some combination of drills, laddering, and arranged games. Drills are where you focus on one small area you need to improve on, usually against an empty slot or the AI. Practicing builds, micro techniques, or macro / multitasking falls under this category. Laddering is just when you sit down and play a bunch of games on the ladder. It's important so that you stay fresh against the strategies that live players use, rather than just what your practice partners like to do. Finally, try to find a few practice partners around your skill level for playing specific match-ups on specific maps, or just to trade tips and socialize with. You can find practice partners on many community sites (like this one!) or you can simply chat with people who you felt you had good games with on the ladder.
One way of doing this would be to ladder until you find a weak matchup, then practice that with a partner, and do drills on any aspects of your play you feel are weak. Another way would be to practice a build order against the AI, try some variations of it out on ladder, and fine tune it against your practice partner. The order or exact mix doesn't matter too much as long as you do all three.
4) Outside of your set amount of time a day it's important to treat Starcraft as a hobby, not a job. Take it really casually. Watch some casted matches, play some silly team games, or hang out on some community sites. Relax and have some fun. Don't get burned out!
There are a few reasons for this. First, you absorb a surprising amount of information about the metagame by just hanging out or playing silly games. Second, fun should absolutely be a priority! It'll help keep you motivated. Third and finally, there's a good chance you'll find out things about your serious play by playing casually you never would have otherwise (unless you paid for lessons. :P). A change of pace is wonderful for spotting your own idiosyncrasies, or for coming up with new and surprisingly viable strategies.
5) Take care of yourself outside of Starcraft. Sleep well. Eat well. Socalize. If you make improving every aspect of your life a habit, it'll be easier to stay motivated to get better at Starcraft. This leads us into our final tip,
6) Stay motivated. What you get out of it is what you put into it. If you seriously want to improve, bottle up that feeling and pour a little bit out every day before you practice. Before you know it, you'll be tearing up noobs on the ladder!