Starcraft 2 Strategies and Guides

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The game of Starcraft has two major parts to it: the micro game, which consists of moving units and using abilities, and the macro game. The macro game is the section of play devoted to collecting resources and producing units. While, micro can definitely help win a game usually, at least in the upper reaches of the silver league, macro tends to really drive a win home.

Whichever team is producing the most units and collecting the most resources will generally win. Building proper counters and scouting is only part of production; numbers play a very large role as well and can sometimes overcome even the direct counter to units.

In a traditional 1v1 game there is not much that can be done; a single player is in charge of all aspects of micro and macro game play. This does not need to be the case in a 2v2. In a 2v2 responsibility can be split making for a smaller possible force, but one that is much more controlled. This is how my 2v2 team works if one of us is taken out. The dead person will take control of all aspects of micro, and as such our attacking force becomes much more deadly.

This same concept can be applied to macro if the map is Twilight Fortress. This map is unique in that it is not possible for a single player to be attacked. Any attacking force must attack both players. This situation opens up an amazing strategy that can severely out produce even two players combined.

The primary objective is to have one player focus entirely on resource collection, and have the other focus completely on unit production and micro. Due to the fact that after five minutes players are able to trade resources means that any resources gathered technically belong to both players. The player that is focusing on economy should be able to have at least double the resource collection rate of any player, and as such can funnel all of that money to the other player to be turned into units.

The main focus is the first five minutes of game play. During this time the production player must secure enough units to hold off minor rushes while at the same time preparing for the massive influx of minerals. The economy player's primary goal is to get one of the high yield expansions before the pivotal five minute mark. This gives a drastic increase in the mineral collection rate and allows for the split team to have a severe edge in the minutes following.

As the game moves on, unless an extremely ferocious attack happens between 5:00 and 8:00, the enormous influx of minerals will allow the production player to produce an army that cannot be defeated. Even in the event of mass units, a team that is gathering an extra 1,000 minerals per minute or more will have enough to stop just about anything.

4 Warp Gates at 5 Minutes

Already resourcing both gas

ss3
4 Warp Gates at 5 Minutes
585 Minerals and 332 Gas Transfered at 8 minutes

Further into late game, if the game lasts that long, the mineral and gas levels of an ever expanding economy player can never be rivaled. Even late into the mid game there will be a surplus of resources that cannot be spent due to supply restrictions. The economy player will be stuck holding more than 5,000 minerals and several thousand vespene gas. At this point, the only move is for the economy player to tech for an army, while still maintaining enough resource flow to keep the production player dominating.
The Final Clash at 14:00

ss5
Resource Rates at 14:00 Notice Light Blue

A surprise injection of capital ships can almost always turn the tide of the game in favor of the split team, however this is rarely a case that comes into play as most teams will be unable to handle the sheer number of units pouring into the battle field.

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Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

To commemorate the momentous release of StarCraft 2 this week, I figured it would only be proper to feature the game in some way. During the beta, players have mostly only had access to the multiplayer aspect on battle.net. Along with the pro replays being readily available among the community (which you might not want to watch as the commentaries have a lot of awkward nerdgasms), I have compiled a list of my five favorite strategies that I have encountered during the beta. If you're new to the game or genre, this will be a great way to jump start your learning process and move up the ranks!

The list and (potentially awkward) video examples after the jump:

#5 - ThorShip

Race: Terran
Difficulty: Medium

Thors are clunky and are limited by their size and speed as they are hard to maneuver. One way to get around this is by producing Medivacs that can load one Thor each and fly them into your opponent's base doing damage to the mineral line or sniping some buildings. The difficulty here lies in it being effective. Thors can easily get surrounded and with the Thor's slow attack speed, it is hard to get rid of the lower tiered more expendable units. A quick fix would be to keep picking up the Thors and moving somewhere else to do more damage. However, the enemy can have anti-air units, which is problematic when your Medivac is very vulnerable without much life points.

It's a fun strategy to try out (especially to see the animation of a Thor being bundled up under the Medivac and to hear the "Thor izz hea-ahhhh" sound bite when it comes out of the Factory) but also very easy to counter and prevent so it's hard to justify the resource and time cost if it isn't effective.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qi0vhM6nvs&feature=player_embedded

#4 - Mass Queens

Race: Zerg
Difficulty: Hard

The strategy involves producing only Queens as units. While they are meant more as a support unit that stay near the mineral line being limited by its severe lack of speed, the unit's ability to attack ground and air units as well as having skills that can heal units and buildings and spread creep to increase its movement speed bonus are extremely useful. A nice supplement is building and moving Spine Crawlers along with the Queens across the map or into your opponents' bases.

While I think this isn't the most fun to play, it's hard to deny how effective this can be (and annoying to counter) if the player is microing very well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-nWO5n5zYw&feature=player_embedded

#3 - Sneaky Nydus Network

Race: Zerg
Difficulty: Medium

The Nydus Network is a building that a Zerg player can build to transport ground units anywhere on the map as long as the player has sight. Having sight is very easy when you have Overlords placed throughout the map. Navigating one around to a point in your opponent's base that they don't have sight in can be game winning since a lot of players are focusing more on protecting the entrance. And who said you can't create your own entrance?

The strategy is a bit hard to counter as you have to be very conscious of all the Overlords and not knowing where and at what point a Nydus Worm could pop up in your base. You just have to be very active in your clicks and mini map to be conscious of everything that's going on even while you're plenty preoccupied.

The best use of this I've seen was definitely in the unconventional sense as it was a last ditch effort in a base race by sending drones and a Queen to kill the opponent's mineral line and Nexus at a point when the opponent had no ability to get more minerals and not enough to build another Nexus.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIcIKheklh0&feature=player_embedded

#2 - Reaper Rush

Race: Terran
Difficulty: Medium

Reapers do a ridiculous amount of damage to buildings, and grouped in high numbers can snipe a building before the enemy can do anything about it. Another great thing about this unit is that they can jump cliffs so you can go into an enemy's base easily from the sides. The difficulty with this strategy is keeping the element of surprise and doing enough damage. Because reapers cost a lot of gas and doesn't do as much damage to units, it leaves you very vulnerable to an attack.

This strategy is easy to counter if you know it's coming since Reapers don't have many life points. This is why it's very important to scout out Terran players early and before they block off to see if they are getting that early Refinery since Reapers cost a lot of Vespene Gas. Then you just need to make sure to have sight all around your base and keep some units at potential cliff jumping points.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOGbD0hnMXg&feature=player_embedded

#1 - Speedlings/Banelings

Race: Zerg
Difficulty: Easy

Speedlings are basically Zerglings on crack aka the speed upgrade. Zerglings are cheap to produce and spawn in groups of two. With the speed upgrade, they move very fast and allow you to easily harass your opponents if they are not prepared. The zerglings can go in and destroy the mineral line or surround any attack units if they can take them out or just keep moving away harassing any part of the opponent's base.

An easy counter is by blocking off any entrances into your base and having a ranged attack unit standing by. The problem players can have against this strategy is that there are a lot of maps that have multiple openings that the Zerg players can exploit since it takes time to block off the openings, and even then, the speedlings can move back and forth very quickly between all the different openings trying to find or create an opening by spawning some Banelings.

Very fun, very easy, and you're able to pull it off very early.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDyYLkpmoS0&feature=player_embedded

Happy gaming everyone!

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Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

1v1:

Q. How do your placement matches calculate which league you will be joining?
A. During your placement matches we match you against players from a wide variety of players and skill levels and we watch the results; whether you win or lose. From this, we are able to determine your ability and place you in a league that we believe to be appropriate for your level of play.

Q. How do we move up in rank in your division? For example, from rank 51 to rank 44.
A. Simply by competing with other players and winning. However, it is important to remember that the individual matches themselves can vary in points awarded based on the rated difficulty of your opponent.

Example: Player A may have a win-loss ratio of 19-17 and be ranked in the Silver League at 35; while player B may have a win-loss ratio of 18-19, but because of the difficulty of some of those matches (say playing against Gold League players) he either received more points for a win or lost less for a loss.

Q. How do players move down in rank on the ladder? For example, from rank 44 to rank 51.
A. This is done simply by losing matches. You are ranked relative to everyone in your division within your league. The amount of points you lose per match is comparable to how points are calculated when you win. If you lose to someone who is rated higher than you, you should lose less points then if you were to lose to someone who was rated lower than you.

Q. What is the relevance of the Favored indicator and how does that effect the points distributed from winning or losing a match?
A. The Favored indicator helps give you an idea of whether the contender you're pitted against is considered to be even with you, challenging to you, extremely challenging to you or not a challenge.

Currently there is a known bug where the score screen will display a level of you or your opponent being favored that's incorrect. The loading screen however shows the correct level of 'favoritism'.

You can use the level of 'favoritism' to gauge the number of points you are likely to gain or lose after the match depending on the result.

Q. What are the league ranks?
A. Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum. In that order. There is also the practice league for player's starting out and there may be other special leagues created in the future, such as an invite-only pro league.

Q. How does a player move laterally from one division to an adjacent division in the same metallic league? (For Example, From Division 5 Silver League to Division 4 Silver League.)
A. In theory, they shouldn't. There have been some select cases where this has happened, but this is a known issue in the current beta build and is being looked into.

Q. Do the different numbered divisions indicate various levels of skill; is 4 a slightly tougher division than 5?
A. No. The divisions are sectioned off so that we have the appropriate amount of people in each.

Q. How does a player move from one league to another? (For Example: from Silver league to Gold.)
A. After you've finished your initial placement, the system continues to review your performance and determines what league you should be placed in based on those reviews. The time and frequency of these reviews is kept hidden.

Q. Are matches ever made between different leagues? (For Example: A Gold league player playing against a Silver league player in a rated match.)
A. Yes, you may be matched up against players from different leagues to test your skill. So be on your guard and play your best in every match.

Q. What is the bonus pool and how are bonus points acquired?
A. The Bonus Pool (incorrectly called "Rested Points" in some parts of the UI) is an accumulation of points that every player receives whether they're online and playing or not. They're essentially used as a means to help give a player a catch-up boost if they haven't played in a while. The pool does have a cap but it increases slowly until the end of a season.

Q. How is the bonus pool used in competitive play?
A. When you achieve victory against another player, you are awarded a certain number of points. The Bonus Pool points will match the number of points you received for winning.

For example: If you were to have a Bonus Pool of 30 and you win a match that would normally give you 10 points, points will then be pulled from your Bonus Pool to match those 10 points and you'll be awarded 20 points for winning that game. Your bonus pool will then sit at 20. (We're aware of an issue your bonus pool not displaying properly in some parts of the UI).

2v2:

Q. Are the gains and losses in the 2v2 game type higher than that in 1v1?
A. No, the gains and losses are the same as 1v1.

Q. Are 2v2 ranks counted individually or in pairs? For example: If Player A plays with Player B and their team is ranked 2, is there another ranking for when Player A plays with Player C?
A. Yes. Every pair is ranked individually. Of course, only after finishing the 10 placement matches.

Q. How are ratings calculated for 2v2? Is it an average of the two players or cumulative?
A. Each pairing of players for arranged 2v2 matches carries its own rating. If you participate in 2v2 random, you would have your own individual ranking. Matches that include 2v2 random players average the rating of the two players and compare it to their opponents rating.

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

This guide is for any race as it is just a training guide on how to level up on StarCraft 2. Starting out with SC2 you need to try all races so you can try to feel which race / which races macro mechanic you feel most comfortable with.

Once you find out which race / which macro mechanic you are most comfortable with then you pick 1 race, and stay with this race through thick and thin. The only time you consider changing race is after a very long time with 1 race.

The only time you play off races is in team play or ffa / non ladder games. Stick to doing basic SAFE opening builds with each race.
Zerg

1. 13 Pool - Gas
2. 16 Queen
3. 18 Overlord / Roach Den / Roaches
4. Expand if possible, if opponent is going to 3rax / 2gate then dont, (dont do this in ZvZ normally, only on some maps like desert oasis)
5. Continue producing Roaches..if you expand you need to tech for hydras asap.

Protoss

1. 9 Pylon
2. 13 gate, gas , core, (cannon if you are against Terran or Zerg, because 1 cannon is effective)
3. 2nd gate , 2nd gas (Produce 2-3 zealots meanwhile )
4. 18 Robotics Facility, start warpgates immediatly when gateways finish.
5. *Start immortal* immediatly when robotics facility finishes, build atleast 2 immortals, then move to colossus , meanwhile decide for timing attack or expanding pending on what the opponent is doing.

Terran

1. 10 Depot
2. 12 Barracks / nonstop scv pump / gas / orbital command immediate after barracks / 1 marine
3. 16 2nd depot / Tech Lab on Barracks and pump marauders from 1 barracks
4. Build 2nd barracks , Mule when Orbital command finishes. Reactor on 2nd barracks and pump 2 marine / 1 marauder nonstop
5. Then factory -> starport / medivak or Siege Tank
6. Expand with M&M&M (marine / marauder / medivac) or go for timing push once you have 2 Medivacs and the non-stop M&M pump.

From here on out we need to practice nonstop and view the replays from our losses so we can improve and find better build orders / improve on ourselves and the rest of the community. Fighting...!!
I suggest 20+ games a day at least if you want to progress quickly.

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

You might not be an expert in Starcraft 2 yet or you are already an advanced gamer but you feel learning how to use and setup your Starcraft 2 Hotkeys can increase your gameplay, either way learning how to use your hotkeyes well can increase your ability to defeat your enemy fast and easy. Here are some tips%u2026

You might think that you just use hotkey on anything. But there are more efficient ways to use hotkey. Now when your dealing with numbers 1 to 7 (possibly, what you want to do is to take your pinky, put on the control key and hold it down. Then take your index finger and push the number you want to push. That is maybe x4 faster than what people usually do when they start to hotkey which is to use their thumb to hit the control key. For numbers 1 and 2 by all means use your middle finger if you find it more comfortable and easier.

For numbers 9 and 10 ( you can do two things. 1 is to swing your your thumb up with your pinky on control and hit 9 and 10.

The second thing you can do and is what i do, is to scoot your hand over to the right side of your keyboard, press your thumb on the control key and hold it down, and then use your index, middle, or ring finger to hit 9 and 10

Now the movements might seem strenuous at first, I know they did for me. And all you need to do is practice practice practice and they will eventually feel normal. Think of it like your learning to do the coin walk or how to twiddle a pen through your fingers. Just do it enough and your fingers will get used to the movements. Using your thumb is really hard to hit letters with and i really really dont recommend it. When choosing what unit or building to hotkey to what number. What you want to think about which is the least possible travel for my fingers. Dont think about whether itll be comfortable or not. It will become comfortable, just think about which number will be fastest distance wise for my fingers to get to.

Learn how to use Hotkeys on your enemy

Here is one really important note that one should really take note of. Never Hotkey your entire army in one blob. This allows for really limited mobility of your army and makes it once big juicy splash target.

If you want to do is separate your army into chunks. You can spread your army through your hotkeys anyway you want. You can do 1 as melee 2 as range 3 as air and 4 as casters. Or 1 as a small blob, 2 as small blob 3 as air, 4 as casters. Really anyway you want. What im probably going to do is have 1 as a blob 2 as a blob 3 as a blob 4 as a blob 5 as casters and 6 or whatever hotkey is after my army, or as whatever i want to keep special track of.

Like for example if your controlling your army, and you if your going to be amoving (attack moving) it a lot, you wouldnt use the numbers 0 9 8 7 for your army would you? No you would use 1 2 3 4 for your army because thats the least travel distance. So instead of doing this extreme motion of 0a9a8a7a you can easily do 1a2a3a4a instead, right?

Effective way to use Hotkeys for your unit producers

Let us say what we want is to put your hatcheries, your racks, at the number immediately after your army. So it would be 7 or 6. Something along those lines. As for protoss you can just hit W and all your warpgates are selected.

However, this probably going to be one of those hotkeys you really cant forget about when you get to higher and higher levels. It will give you an edge over people that dont and can really win you games.

Effective ways on using hotkeys for the upgraders

Try thinking out of the way. Maybe like 0 or 9. Something that you dont really need. This is probably the least important but it can actually be really important to keep those upgrades going especially PvZ because of that 2 hit advantage zealots get over zerglings once they get 1+ weapons.

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

Today I am going to give some pointers here and there on simple ways to improve your game. A lot of these are very basic, but can be applied at all levels of play. This is more of a how you should be practicing and how to get better post.

10. Control Emotions

Don't ever get too mad at the game. This can lead to being on tilt and playing poorly. Remain calm, learn from your mistakes and continue to focus on playing well.

9. Use hotkeys

A lot of players claim a certain hotkey setup is better than another. But in all honesty, use what works for you. If you like binding your hatcheries to 5-6-7 then do it. Just keep it consistent and make sure it makes sense to YOU. Also take the 2 seconds to learn the hotkeys for units and upgrades. Even though it takes 1 second to move a mouse, it takes even less hitting the keyboard.

8. Find a Practice Partner-

Here is a useful web application http://starcraft2resource.appspot.com/

Being able to consistently play someone without the pressures of losing in a ladder match can help calm and smooth out your game.

7. Watch Replays Of Yourself

Understanding why you won, or more importantly why you lose is a great tool. Athletes spend more time watching previous games studying how to improve then they do on the court applying their skills. Take this approach to your e-gaming also. And alway's being asking yourself the "3 W's."

6. Practice builds consistently

If you want to practice a certain build vs a certain race, then do it. Obviously if you see a cheese or an obvious reason to change your strategy then do it. But the best way to practice your own build is to experiment using it vs a wide variety of opponent strategies.

5. Use the build order tester and unit tester.

http://www.sc2mapster.com/maps/unit-tester/

http://www.sc2mapster.com/maps/yabot/

Using tools like this allow you to learn without the annoyances of an enemy. Us these tools as a warmup before any long practice session.

4. Watch Replays of Others

Another great tool of players on the rise. You can see exactly how a players build fairs vs another. It also takes the edge off of learning and allows a more spectator friendly way to learn. Follow my replays packs feature Terran and Protoss for a good place to start.

http://www.starcraft-source.com/forum/?cmd=topic&id=2273

3. Research Forums/Articles

This is especially good for intermediate players and beginning players. Be well researched. This can also save time when trying to execute a certain style.

2. Practice

This should be an obvious one. But you can't improve without hours of practice. Don't over exert yourself and take breaks after longer games to reduce hand pains.

1. Follow the "3 W's"
What? Where? Why? Asking yourself these 3 questions every time you have you Starcraft 2 screen up will make your understanding of the game skyrocket.

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

1. Playing as zerg you can build an extractor in your opponent's base. Cancel this extractor before it finishes and rebuild. Continue doing this until they have enough units to severely damage the extractor. Once they do cancel one final time and try to manoeuvre your drone to gain additional information.

2. Playing as zerg you can gain additional supply early on by building two extractors then two drones/zerglings and then cancelling the extractors. This will put you up to two over your maximum supply.

3. To prevent a quick expand place a worker on at the natural of your opponent preventing them from building until they have units to kill it. This is an excellent strategy against zerg players who try to quick expand before getting a spawning pool.

4. If you're playing against a terran player they will often wall in an excellent way to harass a terran player doing this is to use your initial scouting drone to attack the SUV building the wall. If you are playing an inattentive player you may actually kill it stalling and disorienting your opponent.

5. Using an overlord for scouting is a standard however if you pay slightly more attention you can abuse the extra view range on an overlord and once you locate your opponent immediately turn the overlord around to prevent your opponent from seeing it. This is also great if you play random and want to scout but do not want to give away your race early on.

6. Proxy factory/barracks on large maps. On large maps people tend to be less prepared for early attacks and as terran you have the ability to not only use early game proxy factory/barrack to put lots of early pressure on your opponent you can also lift off and fly them back to your base any time.

7. Hide a bunker in your opponent's base. This is a classic move from SC1 but in SC2 there are a few more interesting things you can do. The two that are most effective are reapers that can hop over cliffs this is best in maps that you can jump right up the ledge of your opponent's base and into a bunker avoiding the ramp that is normally blocked off with buildings/units. The second is summoning a mule to repair the bunker because a mule can be summoned anywhere you have vision.

8. Proxy pylon in or near opponent's base. Very effective simply get a pylon in or near your opponent's base and build warp gates as quickly as possible then warp in a few zealots to do early harassment. Proxy pylon tends to work best on larger maps when players are least expecting early pressure.

9. Fast two zerglings. In lower level matches you can easily get into your opponents mineral line and disrupt and possibly get a few kills. In higher level games the two zerglings might not do much damage but it will put your opponent in a defensive mindset often leading them to waste more resources on weak units while you build your economy.

10. The mineral heist. A definite favourite of mine, before you take your worker out of your opponent's base steal some minerals!

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

Visit my Webpage at: http://www.starcraftiiguide.com/ for more great strategies!

I wrote this small guide to give new players a basic understanding of what they should be looking for and trying to do when starting to play Starcraft 2 in terms of their Micro and Macro.

I thought I would make a list of micro/macro techniques to help us all improve our understanding of how we can best use the abilities for the units coming in SC2. I'll try to make it short as i can, so that you guys won't have trouble reading the whole thing. Comment on whatever you like, feel free to give detailed ways of how you will (or will not) use these techniques and submit your own ideas.

Terran
Micro:

Hellion's linear splash damage (set up hellions to do maximum linear damage)
Hunter Seeker Missile(pulling only the units targeted by the missile away will keep your army safe and yes they are marked. Since hunter seeker missile has friendly splash, you can fly a raven into a large group of enemies to suicide and do tons of splash damage with less chance of them running)

Siege tanks (how to advance quickly and not risk too much time sieging: I was never a good terran in SC1 so i dont know about this%u2026except for the unlimited unit selection it should be same as SC1)

Dropship+siege tank micro (as seen in battle report you can micro your tanks like in SC1 where projectiles wont hit the tank if you get him in a dropship before the projectile hits)

Marauder punisher grenade(quickly command single marauders to hit multiple units running away to catch as many as possible)
Marine stim without early medics(makes early stim pack much more dangerous for early infantry, have to do damage when stimmed%u2026or else just lose that HP)

Supply depot "sim city" (perfectly tight fit now)

Mech build+SCVs (auto repair makes repairing much less APM dependent, with healthbars you can send as many damaged units as possible to the back of your army to get repaired by like 5 SCVs on auto-repair)
New Battle Cruisers (kind of obvious but defense matrix guys stay in front, with missile barrage and yamato as needed)
Reapers (D8 charges can be thrown to kill a lot of unsuspecting workers, a tight group of supply depots, bunkers, or large groups of units that wont run. If a low mobility army is trying to attack you [protoss or terran mech] you can throw out a few D8 charges just to scare off their army for a few seconds while you finish an upgrade or get your troops in position. At 30+30armored damage 25 D8 charges will kill a planetary fortress instantly)

Planetary Fortress (If your planetary fortress is under attack just send all SCVs to repair. If you are attacking a PF you should aim for the SCVs if they try to repair. Many gameplay videos show PF killing armies up to 2000 min 2000 gas worth just because SCVs were not targeted first)
Macro

All unit producing buildings as 1 hotkey (you can tab through each building type to make whatever you need ex, 0 tab=command center, 1 tab=barracks, 2 tab=factories, 3 tab=starport. Use this if you find yourself with too few numbered hotkeys available.)
Salvage (save money later by selling off old turrets, bunkers, reactor, tech lab for 100% refund)
Mule calldown technique(set all orbital commands as 1 hotkey, press Mule Calldown hotkey for each orbital command since its got a few second "casting time" for drop pod. Do something for a few seconds, then check back at each of your bases and tell your mules to mine)

Protoss
Micro

Stalker blink micro (with health bars on just blink back each damaged stalker as needed)
Sentry+high templar (block escape with narrow terrain/flanks/sim city+force field and psi storm their entire army)
Zealots+sentry (to keep units from kiting your zealots force field possible escape routes)
Zealot charge (try using focus fire to tell a couple zealots to charge at a unit at the back of an enemy army and use those zealots to flank or block an escape route)

Colossus shoot and move(Siege range helps, this is similar to SC1 siege tanks doing it while running. This is even better for colossus with their higher range and mobility over cliffs)
Phoenix graviton beam (Decide if you outnumber ground forces by a lot or have ample energy enough to grav beam a lot of ground units or grav beam a few at a time and focus fire those)
Void ray micro (choosing to focus fire 1 target or set 3 void rays to 3 different targets which depends on the situation)
Carrier (It now starts out with 4 interceptors and has an autocast ability to build interceptors. It goes up to a max of 8 interceptors without the need of an upgrade. There is an upgrade to increase launch speed of interceptors. It is also assumed that carriers in SC2 can micro just like carriers in SC1 could. There is no gameplay proof yet.
Dark Templar (Since Dark templar have a very long attack cooldown they can attack, run closer to target, then attack to get in better position. Commonly used against SCVs because they take two hits to kill) [Example of DT micro]

Macro:
Time warp (cant say much since we don't know how it works other than that it speeds up production time, research time)
Mass warp gates (put them at your main base and build proxy pylons as needed to keep constant pressure on the enemy)

Zerg
Micro:
Zergling surround (as evolved since SC1, zerglings surround better now so a zerg player can worry mostly about the lings who run around back of the enemy army to block their escape and ignore the lings flowing in the front that will surround effectively now)
Roach regen micro (only when burrowed, using healthbars pull roaches to the back just barely out of enemy firing range and burrow them. If the battle continues and you have burrowed roaches at full hp unburrow them and continue. This will be harder than stalker micro since they have to run to the back in addition to burrow/unburrow hotkey)
Banelings (Choosing when to engage with your banelings. Careful because the enemy can split his forces to reduce your splash damage. Don't give him time to react and split up his army)
Mutalisks (many more can be controlled at once which could be awesome harass but very vulnerable to splash damage)
Nydus Worm (just like overlord drops of SC1, you fly a few overlords over to your enemy base and excrete creep everywhere, call in a nydus worm, 10 sec cast time (roughly) and then you units in their base and lots of extra move speed)
Queen (overlord drop, nydus worm, or creep highway these guys to the fight to use transfusion on ultralisks to keep them alive, should be very cost effective and will require a little micro. Since you will have lots of ultralisks and queens you will have a larva surplus so mass lings or hydras with it)
Lurker (Lurker eggs can block ramps temporarily because they have tons of bonus armor. Lurkers now have siege range upgrade which allows them to focus fire high templar or other casters before they can get in range to cast. Remember psi storm cast range is about half what it was in SC1)
Macro

Saturate expansions fast (Bring some queens to your new base [suggested transport/creep highway/nydus worm] and spawn larva at the hatchery to quickly get new drones mining there)
Creep Highway (place overlords around the map expelling creep to delay expansions and increase zerg movement speed)
Overseers (place some overseers at strategic positions and leave them there as long as possible so they get increased sight range)
Remember keep it civil please. The mod's are keeping a close eye on everything so be friendly.

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Today we take a look at Starcraft 2 Terran strategies being used in mid to high level play. These is a basic overview of what you may come across while playing against a Terran or things you can use to try to perfect your game play with the Terran Race.

Reaper Rush
The Reaper, The Terran's jetpack-equipped infantry unit, has been hotly discussed from day one. This super fast, ranged, cliff-jumping, light-damage dealing, tier 1.1 unit takes down workers in three rapid shots and can infiltrate an enemy mineral line before he's able to produce a single unit. The fastest variation calls for building a Barracks and Refinery before the first supply depot, attaching a tech-lab to it and getting a Reaper out as soon as possible.
Since this is an economy-crippling build, the goal in this rush is to inflict more economy damage to the opponent than the Terran player has sacrificed for it. In low-mid levels of play, groups of 2-3 Reapers will be gathered first before an attack. However, in higher level play, players can smell a Reaper rush a mile away, and so, the Terran player will send his first Reaper to attack as soon as it emerges from the Barracks.

Reapers are basically invulnerable to tier 1 melee units and can kite those forever while taking shots at them if proper micromanagement is applied. The only exceptions are Zerglings on creep and Speedlings, which can catch up with the Reapers and quickly surround them. Still, with the Reapers' ability to jump up and down cliffs, their survivability and harassment potential are greatly increased.
Some are calling it the "Terran 6pool" because of the somewhat obnoxious feeling one gets from being attacked before any defensive capabilities are available. However, just like early Zergling rushes, Reaper rushes can be defended against as well if one scouts ahead and prepares accordingly.
Counters:
A single Stalker or Marauder in the mineral line, Roaches
2 Marines per Reaper
A Spine Colony or Photon Cannon + whatever units are at hand to chase the Reapers
Fast Banshees
Banshees, the Terran's rotor-spaceships, are somewhat slow and can't take a lot of hits, but dish out damage at an incredible rate. Despite being relatively high on the tech tree, the Terran's walling-off abilities make this strategy both relatively safe and hard to scout. Getting these out to the field quickly gives the Terran player a good chance to find his opponent lacking any meaningful anti-air capabilities. With more than a couple at hand, the Banshees are very capable at hit and run attacks against anti-air defenses and units, wearing down the opponent until the mineral line is exposed and the workers are good for the picking. However, even single Banshees can take out their immediate counters in one on one battles - Both Queens and Stalkers lose to a Banshee in a head-on fight, and groups of Marines are not guaranteed to repel it as well. When the defenses go down, two Banshee volleys are enough to kill one worker! If that wasn't enough, delaying the Banshee attack a little longer can allow the Terran player to research Cloak for it, making its harassment (and game ending-potential) even more effective.

Counters:
Missile Turrets with Marines, quick Vikings with Ravens
Spore Colonies, quick Hydralisks with Overseers
Photon Cannons, Stalkers with Observers added later on
Marine Rush
As simple as it gets. Get a bunch of trusty Marines and send them to the enemy base, mowing down everything on the way. This build was very uncommon in the early days of the beta - the simplest things are sometimes hardest to see - but it's been gaining traction as of late, despite the nerf to the Marine build time in patch #6. After getting a first Barracks and an Orbital Command, three more Barracks are quickly added (before the second Supply Depot, for brave players) and Marines start being produced in masses. The gang heads out to the enemy base, trying to take advantage of their long weapon range and concentrated DPS to quickly and painlessly take down any target of opportunity. With some micro inserted into the mix, the Marines will run back a bit after each firing cycle: this makes them take less hits from melee units and prevent them from getting surrounded as well as makes it harder for shorter ranged units to engage with their full attack potential. When the Terran player finally pushes his Marine force into the enemy base - usually supplemented by more and more waves of rallied reinforcements - the opportunity to deal a knock-out blow to the enemy economy is great, and the game is often decided right at that point.
Counters:
Bunkers, especially with Reapers OR very quick Siege Tanks
Banelings, Roaches and/or Spine Crawlers in sufficient numbers
Quick Colossus, dancing Stalkers, Cannons + Force Field in chokes, Charging Zealots
Hellion Opening
Hellions, the StarCraft 2 Firebat/Vulture hybrid, have been seeing more and more use throughout all stages of the game. Still, one of their most effective uses is early in the game, where few offensive units are available. Their linear splash damage effect makes them particularly suitable for killing workers - especially if these try to run away - and makes the Hellion one of the units most benefiting from good micromanagement. The Terran player will get a fast Factory right after the first Barracks, on which a Reactor addon is pre-built, and then move the Factory over it to quickly start pumping out Hellions for a devastating drive-by on the enemy economy. With their bonus damage against light targets, the Hellions remain very handy later on, if Zerglings, Banelings, Hydralisks, Zealots, and Dark Templars come into play. While the Hellions can't survive many hits, their relatively long range allows them to stay safely behind the rest of the Terran army, scorching enemy units without inflicting friendly fire damage in the process.

Counters
Blocked ramps and choke points (units on Hold Position work well!)
Static defense in the mineral line
Standard M3 Ball
Ahh, the dreaded M&M&M army. Much has been said about this unit composition - comprising Marines, Marauders and Medivacs - and not surprisingly so, as it can be seen in the vast majority of Terran games, in all match-ups. The reason, of course, is the incredible robustness and all-roundedness of this build - and some would say: ease of use. The M3 ball, composed of easy to mass units, capable in both defense and offense, mobile to the extreme yet beefy enough for a stand-up fight, is clearly the "correct" go-to strategy in many situations. With Marauders dishing out heavy anti-armor damage, Marines - the highest DPS/cost ranged unit in the game, who have a great anti-air weapon - and Medivacs, the mobility and healing granting fliers, the M3 ball can be where it needs quickly, counter almost any unit composition, and stay alive long enough to get the job done. With the three upgrades added - Combat Shields, Concussive Shells and Stim Packs - the ball can serve many Terran players for the entire match.

When building up for an M3 ball, one would best be served by quickly setting up two extra Barracks after upgrading to an Orbital Command. One Barracks should have the Reactor addon while the other two get a Tech-Lab. From then on, pumping out units is an easy affair, and the ball is quickly formed by continually building two Marauders and two Marines at a time. This build allows the production of a relatively heavy army while still teching up and/or getting unit upgrades - a must for a dedicated M3 ball. When a small complement of M&Ms is gathered, a Starport is built to supplement them with Medivacs.
The M3 ball is made! This well-rounded army can then push out, look for weaknesses in enemy positions, drop on unsuspecting mineral lines, or serve as cannon fodder for Siege Tanks.
Counters:
Siege Tanks, Cloaked Banshees
Fungal Growth, Banelings + Swarm, Brood Lords in the late game
Colossi or Psi-Storm with Charging Zealots

Mid-game transitions: Siege Tanks, Thors
Once the Terran player has opened with one of the above and successfully transitioned into the mid-game, the time comes to choose a unit composition that will best serve the next transition - into a victory, or at least into the late-game. The Terran race has a variety of options and answers for all situations, but some counters are very hard and serve almost no purpose against anything but their intended targets.

Siege Tanks
The Siege Tank, one of the Terran's most symbolic units, returns to serve the same role in StarCraft 2 - ground-control and crowd-control. With the huge damage and splash effect, Siege Tanks are effective in all numbers, whether by softening up enemy units for an M&M blob or by completely denying an area of the battlefield from ground units when large enough numbers are used. Often, the Terran player will quickly get a couple of Siege Tanks after settling into the game and march straight towards the enemy base, slowly wearing him down with the help of the incredible long range of the sieged-up tank artillery cannon. From then, the Terran player is a Siege-Tank push away from victory - slowly leap-frogging the Siege Tanks closer and closer to where it hurts while keeping the enemy contained inside his base.
Counters:
Siege Tanks, Banshees
Swarming the tanks when they unsiege, Brood Lords
Immortals, Phoenix Gravity Beam, Dark Templars, carefully managed Charging Zealots
Thors
The Terran Thor, still a menacing unit despite the recent size cut, has slowly managed to find a niche on the battlefield, thanks to some patched-in changes to its attributes and a greater understanding of its role in the game a couple of months into the beta. Despite its cost, the Thor has many advantages and is very useful in many army compositions - and sometimes, even just by itself.

Since the Thor is able to take down many units - including workers - in one volley of its cannons, Tho

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Chronozeal
This strategy dominated the early days of the beta and can still be seen quite often. It is simple to execute, fast to achieve and quite devastating - especially before the Chrono Boost nerf, the 10 point reduction in Zealot shields, and the 30% increase in Gateway build time made it a little less quick and easy. This strategy involves quickly getting 3 gates up while building one assimilator for gas. While constantly pumping out Zealots and Chrono Boosting the gates, a large group of them could be amassed rather quickly. The attack is best timed with the completion of Charge research, which greatly enhances the effectiveness of Zealots. Not only does it become impossible to dance around them, they also surround enemies very quickly since the added distance already attacking Zealots add is negated by the super speed. The toughness and relatively high attack damage of Zealots make this one of the first winning strategies for the Protoss in the StarCraft 2 beta. Evolutions of this strategy involve adding a Sentry or two, helping the Zealots take less damage from ranged attacks or trapping enemies with the Force Field ability.
Counters:
Well-defended choke points
Mass Roach
Marine and Marauder balls with a couple of Hellions for flavor
Quick Colossus

After players began exploring the game some more, many have found the awesome power of the Colossus to be too good to pass up in just about every match. Soon enough, Protoss players understood that the Colossus literally wipes the floor with just about any ground unit, and so, many now rush to get one out as soon as possible. The most common strategy involves getting a Zealot wall to be used as fodder along with a handful of Stalkers and Sentries, with the Colossus laying back and lasering everything in sight with its huge, sweeping beams of scorching death. The upgrade found in the Robotic Bay is a critical one, increasing the Colossus' range of attack from 6 to 9. Most players seem to understand that despite its cost (200/200), this upgrade is more important than getting a second Colossus out. Indeed, upgraded Colossi are a mainstay unit for the Protoss: not only are they easy to use effectively, but with a little micro, positioning the Colossus so that the the beams inflict maximum damage or dancing with it up and down cliffs is extremely rewarding.
Counters:
Immortals, Void Rays
Banshees, Vikings, carefully handled Marauders with EMP support in the early game
All Zerg air units
Void rush
The Void Ray is a very unique unit with a distinct Protoss feel. Few tier 2 units in the game can inflict so much damage in such little time, and so it did not take long for Protoss players to abuse the potential of this unit. Requiring only the Cybernetic Core as a prerequisite and the Stargate to manufacture, the first 200/150 Void Ray can be brought to the field very quickly - especially with some help from Chrono Boost. Protoss players would quickly block off the entrance to their base, hopefully prohibiting the enemy from knowing what they're up to, and then send 2-4 Void Rays to attack their unsuspecting enemy right inside their home.

The usual harassment at this point of the game focuses on the mineral line, but Void Ray rushers do not compromise for such petty means and go straight for the Town Hall. Players who lack any sort of anti-air will lose immediately, while others who can defend will spend the next few minutes losing various units and buildings to hit and run attacks while the Protoss player solidifies his economy and expands. Players who wish to use this strategy must make sure they possess the ability to micromanage these attention-requiring units, which are quite slow and not heavily armored, while also taking the time to take care of their economy and production.
Counters:
Stalkers with Sentry (Sentries are light and, with Guardian Shield, take little damage from Void Rays)
Mid-sized Marine groups
Hydralisks
Dark Templar harassment
Still alive for the most part, and as effective as ever, or more so - now that Overlords are not detectors anymore. StarCraft 2's Warp-in mechanic allows Dark Templars to be summoned directly to expansions, proxy pylons and to the occasional Warp Prism, hitting where detection is lacking and where the dark ones are least expected. Players lacking detection or an observant eye on the battlefield will take heavy damage before stopping the sneaky, hard-hitting Templar.
Mothership
Before Yo Mommaship got so fat, it was quite the unit to aspire to and get out to the field as soon as possible. Not only did its devastating Vortex ability cost 75 energy units, allowing it to be cast in every battle easily - it was also a fighting beast itself. With 400/400 hp/shields, a powerful, rapid attack that could take down workers (sans SCVs) and Marines in a single shot, a base armor of two, and an insta Town Portal button, the Mothership was often seen patrolling the skies all by itself, looking for prey. What was the risk?

Later in the game, the Mothership carried the entire Protoss army (or just cruised around with an air force) under its cloaking veil, vortexing everything in its path and destroying the remnants. Fortunately for the enemies of the Protoss, the wide range of nerfs to the Mothership have reduced it to something resembling more of a powerful Arbiter than anything else.
Counters:
Sucked into a Vortex

What is the standard?
If one could point out a "solid" strategy, which does not either over-commit the player to a certain route nor expose him to a hard counter, it would be the standard Gateway/Robotics build.

Zealots, Stalkers and Sentries are all available practically from the very beginning, and Immortals coupled with Observers provide the early-mid game Protoss player with enough tools to deal with most normal threats. Healthy scouting and pressure that can be applied via the early attainable army would often counter most cheese tactics and allow the Protoss player to force an end to the game right away or comfortably segue into late-game play.

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God Mode

terribleterribledamage
5 Billion Credits in single player campaign

whysoserious
5,000 Gas

realmendrilldeep
+1 weapon, armor, and shield upgrade

iamironman
Units do not cost resources

moredotsmoredots
Resources granted

jaynestown
Disable ability cooldown

hanshotfirst
Disable tech requirements

sosayweall
Disable victory conditions

tyuhasleftthegame
Cinematics menu

eyeofsauron
Play the "Terran Up The Night" song

overengineeredcodpiece

To unlock the secret mission in StarCraft 2, you need to do this trick before you go to Char missions. If you already are at those missions or you finished the campaign, you have to load the game to the last mission before Char, do this trick in the Media Blitz mission, complete it and then play the secret mission. After that you complete all the Char missions and you will have 26/26. Also there are three choice missions left, so there is a total of 29 missions.

The secret mission from StarCraft II Wings of Liberty is called Piercing the Shroud and you play it with Raynor and some units. I won't spoil any details, but I can say that it is a very cool mission. If you like the video, please subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyMrEgDywQQ&feature=player_embedded