Starcraft 2 Game Guide
There are three races in Starcraft 2 — Terran, Protoss and Zerg. Each of the races have their own unique buildings. Still, there are also many similarities between the three races, and this guide will attempt to explain some of the basic concepts that apply to all of them. Examples of similarities can be seen right off the bat in the respective worker units for each race; Protoss Probes, Terran SCVs and Zerg Drones – which perform the same resource collecting tasks.
The primary point of Starcraft 2 multi-player is to be the last player standing or the last team standing. There are two things that you are able to continually manipulate: units and buildings.
Units and Buildings: The Basics
Units are your muscle — they are the forces used to beat your enemy. Examples include zealots, stalkers, and void rays. Units are the build up of your army, without them, you cannot win. You’ll also see that many of your units have special abilities that can easily turn the tide of battle. Some units might have certain shields or armor that protect them from otherwise devastating attacks, other units might be able to disable enemy units for a short period of time. Harness the power of these abilities, as you will need to call upon them eventually.
By far the most important workers for each race are your workers. They are extremely vital because they collect the resources necessary to build your army. They also build the army producing structures.
Large and mostly immovable, buildings have a variety of functions: from producing extra units to researching new technologies and unlocking other buildings that you can use to research even newer, more powerful technologies(this is known as the Tech Tree). Each structure is different in its own right and performs unique tasks. For example, a Barracks is used to build marines, marauders and ghosts. Conversely, an Engineering Bay doesn’t build any units as such, but what it does is allows you to eventually build missile turrets, which is a anti-air defensive structure.
Units and structures alike both have hit points. When the hit points of a particular unit or structure reach zero, then it will be destroyed.
Resources
Resources are the building blocks for Starcraft 2 — without adequate resources, you will fall behind. Starcraft 2 has three different resources which are all acquired differently.
The most basic of resources are minerals. Minerals are gathered by ordering your worker units to mine them from the patches of minerals that you can see in the game map. Everything in Starcraft 2 requires minerals, so make sure that you are continually collecting minerals throughout the game. An economic advantage is a very strong advantage.
The next resource is called Vespene Gas, and it is used for both upgrades and for the construction of more advanced buildings and units. The more exotic and powerful a unit is, the more Vespene Gas it needs. Air units such as Battle Cruisers or Void Rays need a lot of gas in their construction, so it’s important you get as much as possible. Vespene Gas is obtained by constructing either an Extractor, Assimilator or Refinery over a Vespene Geyser. For maximum efficiency, you should only have 3 workers per geyser.
The final resource is food. This works differently from the other two resources, in that you need it to keep building more units for your forces. All of your units require food, and in order to obtain it you will have to build structures or units called Pylons(Protoss), Supply Depots(Terran), or Overlords(Zerg). Main structures such as Command Centers also provide food, but that is just a small added benefit.
Fundamentals of the Game
You’re going to need to understand the fundamentals of the game if you wish to succeed in Starcraft 2. The fundamentals are the things that you need to be constantly doing while playing the game, in order to keep your armed forces expanding and running perfectly.
StarCraft 2 is all about multi tasking, and you’ll need to be able to do this well if you want to compete with the best. In Starcraft 2, there are three basic tasks that you will always need to keep on top of: Spending resources, Obtaining and Controlling Information and maintaining your food supplies. Stay on top of these three items at all times and you should be ahead of your opponent.
Spending Resources
The investment of your resources in StarCraft 2 can result in returns that are exponential, therefore you will need to do this very wisely and not get left behind by your opponent. However, it needs to be done with great care. You can spend your resources on three things; the Economy, the Army and Technology. In most cases, it is best to spread your investments in all three categories, however the timing of your investments is also crucial and a key part of the game.
Economy
By choosing to invest in the economy, you’ll be gaining access to more resources later on, so it’s a wise investment. Investing in your economy can be done by constructing more worker units, or else by expanding. Keep in mind that you should continually be producing worker units throughout the game. Having an economic advantage can be pivotal in determining the outcome of the game.
Army
On top of your economy, you’ll need to continue to bolster your army with units like Marines and Marauders. Your army is essential to both the defense of your base and any attacks you want to carry out. Production of combat units is limited however, by the resources you can spare and by production cycles. For instance, a Stalker unit takes 42 game seconds to build, and you can only build one at a time with each Gateway building you have. If you construct another Gateway building, you’ll be able to build two Stalker units every 42 seconds, which works out to be one Stalker unit after every 21 seconds of game time. Therefore, you can see that having more Gateways shortens your production cycle greatly. The more buildings you have, the faster you can build up your forces. One of the keys to success in StarCraft is maintaining the perfect balance between building units and production buildings.
Technology
The final option for investing your resources is in technological development. Known as ‘Tech’, this is very important because without a high tech level you won’t be able to develop any of the new and advanced units and buildings that are vital to your success. Technology also allows you to gain access to more abilities for Spellcaster units, as well as research for more upgrades for your current units. Investment in your technology is a very important factor in StarCraft 2, because if you lag behind your rival you will soon find your army units and defensive buildings to be completely ineffective against his newer, more powerful weapons!