In this post I'll try to help you get through the beginning steps of learning Starcraft 2.
The basics
Starcraft 2 is a very complicated game, it's very in-depth and has a steep learning curve. But please don't let that intimidate you from trying to understand everything.Before you start a game, you can pick a race from the 3 that are available. You have Terran, the human race. Zerg, the weird creepy aliens and Protoss, the ancient wizards. You can also pick to play as random if you're up to the challenge, but I recommend sticking with one race for now.
The very basics of this game are actually pretty simple: Kill the enemies units. But there's a lot to do before you can even do that. The most important thing of Starcraft 2 is macro. This is what the game is all about. I'll tell you some more about macro later on in this post.
At the start of a game, you have exactly 12 workers, they are there to mine the blue crystals called 'Minerals' for you. With these minerals you will be able to build more workers, buildings and ofcourse units. For some structures or units you will also need Vespene gas. You can extract vespene gas from the cleverly named Vespene gas gysers. The only problem being is that you need a structure on-top of these gysers to extract the gas. You can build these structures with minerals.
This game has a supply cap. That means that you need to keep building supply structures or for the Zerg, units. At the beginning of the game you will need to build a supply unit/structure for you to be able to continue building workers and units. Try to keep building up supply so that you don't get supply blocked later on in the game. The maximum amount of supply you can have is 200.
Now that you know a little more about the basics, let's go into the deets of the 3 races we have in store for you.
Terran
Nice job picking Terran, we already have something in common. (altough I was a dirty Protoss player back in the days.)Terran is the human race of this series. You will play with an army that has actualy humans in it with giganctic space suits.
Since I have a limited supply of text I can put here, I'd like to direct you to this a website that digs into the basics of the Terran race: Click (Warning: Could be a little oudated.)
Zerg
So you've picked Zerg huh? Good choice! You'll probably be having a lot of fun controling these sticky weirdos.I recommend reading this guide about the basics of Zerg: Click (Warning: Could be a little oudated.)
Protoss
Nice! You picked the race which LotV is all about. You'll be able to control the ancient and very cool Protoss.The basics of this race can be found here: Click (Warning, can be outdated)
Micro & Macro.
Alright, we've arrived at the core mechanics in this game. Micromanagement is the process of controlling your units during the game. Macromanagement is the mechanic of getting your economy up to speed and getting a good army.Macro
Macro is basically the setting up, using and stabilizing your economy. From those 12 workers you get at the start you will be able to setup a great economy to make sure you get the money to build structures and army units. You want to make sure you have your game planned before the start of a game. The best way to do this for you newbies is to pick a build-order and sticking to it. With these build orders you will be able to efficiently macro. I recommend picking some from this site: Click! and Click here to learn how to read these build orders.
Build orders are mostly used in Multiplayer, as it might not be as good during the campaign.
Micro
While micro might not be as important as macro, it is still definitely something you need to know. As a new player it will be very hard to remember doing actions and doing them at a quick speed. That's alright, everyone on this subreddit had to learn it just like you.
Micromanagement is basically a term used to describe controlling your units. In this game you want to make sure you use your units abilities, position them right for engagements and use the units you have available as much as you can. Liquidpedia (our very own wikipedia) explains very well what you can do with your units in a game of Starcraft 2. You might not understand all of the terms used, but other then that micro should make a little more sense. Here's the guide: http://wiki.teamliquid.net/starcraft2/Micro_(StarCraft)
Usefull links
There is a lot more to learn about Starcraft besides what's mentioned above and I've created a list where you can learn those things:The /r/starcraft subreddit has a nice tutorial for beginning players where you can find a lot of information; Click
Essential Day 9 dailies
We have this awesome guy in the community called Sean 'Day 9' Plott. He is someone who shows us players how to improve our Starcraft 2 gameplay through this stream. Here are some essential Day 9 dailies that teach you newbies the essentials of Starcraft 2:
- Hotkeys, APM and Mouse Movement
- Dealing with Losing
- Refining Mechanics
- Mechanics 2
- Mental Checklist
- How to Learn and Improve
- Stealing a Build
- Reprioritizing your To-do List
- Fixing 1 Problem at a Time
- Optimizing Your Builds
Guides
Beginners guide by /u/REInvestor Click
Another great beginners guide: Click
Liquipedia's Starcraft 2 portal: Click
/u/Meoang's guides, in video form! Click
Esports
Starcraft 2 also has a big esports scene. We just got done watching the Grand finals of the Starcraft 2 World Championships Series held at Blizzcon. It was pretty exciting to watch, if I may say so myself.Starcraft 2's esports scene is so big that I wouldn't be able to explain it all in this post, luckily TotalBiscuit was nice enough to make a guide about Starcraft 2 esports in video form. You can watch it here: Click Warning: Could be oudated
Well then, that should be about it, unless I'm missing something really important. Thank you for reading all the way, and good luck in Legacy of the Void! <3
SOURCE
